I've been having issues with my i5 13600KF that's been in my setup for about 2 years now. It's built on an Asus Z 790-P D4 motherboard with Corsair 32GB (2x16GB) 3600MHz RAM and a MAG Coreliquid C360 AIO cooler. My temperatures are around 60°C while idle, but during gaming, they shoot up to a staggering 100°C even though the AIO is running at its maximum speed of 2000 RPM.
I've tried reapplying the thermal paste, which didn't seem to help, and I updated the BIOS—previously, it was from 2 years ago. Interestingly, the BIOS update seemed to make things worse, as the temperatures might be even higher now; the CPU voltage seems elevated. I ran Cinebench and only scored 17536, which is lower than expected. After updating drivers through Asus DriverHub, the score did improve slightly to 18400, but the temperatures remained the same.
I'm really stuck here. The AIO cooler seems well-rated, so what else can I do to improve my scores or lower my temperatures? Should I consider undervolting? I'm not sure how to go about it and I'm a bit nervous about potential complications.
Let me know your thoughts!
3 Answers
Have you thought about changing your cooler? It seems to be running pretty hot. I have a setup with a contact frame and different fans for my 12900KF, and I’m seeing temps between 27-30°C in BIOS, which is much cooler. Your AIO might just not be cutting it anymore.
First thing, if you haven't already, reapply thermal paste. It's a cheap fix, even though it's a bit unusual for it to be a problem after just two years. If that doesn't help, try temporarily swapping to an air cooler if you have one. You might just have a failing AIO pump. If your temps keep hitting 100°C, it could indicate a hardware issue with your CPU itself. I faced similar issues and had to switch to AMD eventually!
Sounds like you might have a problem with your AIO cooler. Those sudden spikes in temperature usually mean the pump has either failed or there's a blockage in the coolant flow. You might want to check if the pump is working properly. If it's not, consider getting it replaced under warranty or swapping it out for a different cooler.
I did reapply the paste a couple of days ago, and the Armoury Crate shows the AIO pump is running at over 3900 RPM, which is quite high.