Hades Canyon NUC8i7HVK BIOS fan settings and 90 °C temperature assistance

[Mo1]

I noticed that while gaming, my Hades Canyon NUC8i7HVK CPU has been reaching temperatures up to 85-90 °C although the CPU usage is between 50 to 60%, so i went into BIOS to adjust fan settings.

I knew that my fan settings were set to the "Balanced" profile before so i thought that "Cool" will be much cooler than balanced but to my surprise it was set to higher temperature thresholds, anyhow i decided to do custom settings.

At this point, settings seemed a bit more complicated regarding Duty Cycles, what i understand is the temperature thresholds which i decreased as per attached screenshot to 40 °C.

Now the processor is a bit cooler yes during idle and during gaming it's at around 75 °C and the fans are at ~ 2500 RPM.

Please review my settings and let me know.

The room ambient temperature is about 25-30 °C and i am using "HWMonitor" for the sensor readings.

[Wanner_G_Intel]

Hello Mo,

Thank you for posting on this Intel Community.

To better assist you, we would like to check your system configuration (e.g. BIOS, operating system version, etc.).

Please run the Intel® System Support Utility (Intel® SSU) and attach the report to this thread.

1. Download the Intel® System Support Utility and save the application in your computer.

2. Open the application and click "Scan" to see system and device information. The Intel® SSU defaults to the "Summary View" on the output screen following the scan. Click the menu where it says "Summary" to change to "Detailed View".

3. To save your scan, click Next and click Save.

Also, run the Intel® Processor Diagnostic Tool and attach the report. Before running this tool. We recommend loading default BIOS settings and document the CPU Fan header information in case you would like to use it later.

1. Press F2 during boot to enter BIOS Setup.
2. Press F9 to set defaults.
3. Press F10 to save and exit BIOS.

Wanner G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[Mo1]

Hello Wanner,

Thanks for your support, SSU results attached.

[Mo1]

Also PDT results with default fan settings (Balanced mode) attached (could not attach both to same reply).

[Wanner_G_Intel]

Hello Mo,

Thank you for attaching the information requested.

According to the report attached, the temperatures of your unit are high but lower than 100°C, which is considered expected behavior and it is within product specifications. You have also tried the following steps to fix this issue:

1. BIOS firmware is up to date.
2. You are using BIOS default settings.
3. You have tried different fan control settings (e.g. Cool, custom).

Since dust can cause ventilation problems, and prevent your computer from cooling itself properly, we recommend:

1. Placing the Intel® NUC in a well-ventilated area.
2. Checking for obstructions around the Intel® NUC's air vents.
3. Inspecting the fan to check if something is obstructing the fan.
4. Using a can of compressed air to clean dust off the fan and the unit.
5. Checking for signals of physical damage.

Wanner G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[Mo1]

Thanks Wanner, i have gone through your suggestions and all are not a problem for me but i will consider cleaning the unit.

[n_scott_pearson · Accepted solution]

My general feedback on your configuration:

• I personally do not recommend using the Fan Off capability. These fans (they are actually blowers) produce the airflow that, in addition to cooling the processor, cool all of the components on the board and in the M.2 slots and Memory sockets. It is best to keep this airflow consistent as there are not enough temperatures sensors to be sure that all components are being addressed.

• If there is some particular maximum temperature that you wish to maintain, set the Duty Cycle Increment parameter such that the blowers reach maximum speed at this temperature. For each degree that the temperature is above the Minimum Temperature parameter, the Duty Cycle is increased by the Duty Cycle Increment parameter's value. In your example, you said you wanted the blowers to react to temperatures above 40c (your Minimum Temperature) and not exceed 75c (your implied Maximum Temperature). This provides a temperature range of 35c. You also said you wanted the Minimum Duty Cycle to be 40%. This means a 60% duty cycle range is necessary. This means that you need a Duty Cycle Increment of *2* (60 / 35 = 1.7 and this needs to be rounded up to 2 since integer specification).

• You get to define two fan speed control ranges, one for the processor temperature and one for some other point on the board (near primary M.2 SSD, near Memory SODIMM(s) or in PCH component (chipset), whichever you prefer). At any particular point in time, the controller determines what fan response - what duty cycle - is currently required for each of the fan speed control ranges. Then, whichever one of the fan speed control ranges requires the higher fan response has its required duty cycle applied to the blowers.

Let me know of any additional question you might have. Understand that I will not be able to answer any until sometime tomorrow, however; I will be jetting my way across North America later today.

...S

[Mo1]

Hello Scott,

Thanks very much for your detailed response and hope you had a safe trip, i have increased the minimum temperature to 45c and I also increased the duty cycle increment to 2% and I can say that it's running much cooler now :)

Is this the best resource to understand the NUC fan settings? https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005946/mini-pcs.html

Also what did you mean by 75c is my "implied maximum temperature", how did you assume that?

[n_scott_pearson]

There are two documents that provide information about the NUC fan settings, this one and the Intel NUC BIOS Settings Glossary. I helped put this one together not long before I retired (those 14 3rd and 4th gen NUCs were all that existed then). It looks like the team has not updated the document since, unfortunately. The descriptions for most parameters remain pretty much the same, however. A parameter was added in later NUC generations for turning off the fan (blower) below a certain temperature. It's not a feature I like; the board gets little airflow without the blower spinning.

I assumed that you wanted to keep the temperature at this level since this was the highest number that you supplied. I actually think that this limit is a bit low; the processors will all be happy if their temperatures are kept at or below 85c or even 90c. Using the higher limits will allow for a quieter experience as well.

...S

P.S. Yes, it was a good trip. My parents both turn 90 this year and we had a combined birthday party to celebrate.

[Alan_J_T]

I use mine for gaming Horizon 4 Gears OF War 4 and other high end games and I find that i hover around the 85c to 95c mark only real way to keep it cooler is to scale down the amount of details in games as the CPU and GPU and its 4 Gig of memory share the same heat sink. so even if CPU load is only 60% GPU and GPU Memory may well be maxed out. Balance the game to reduce overall load on the heat sink.

[Wanner_G_Intel]

Hello Mo,

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Wanner G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[Wanner_G_Intel]

Hello Mo,

We have not heard back from you, so we will close this inquiry. If you need further assistance, please post a new question.

Wanner G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Under Contract to Intel Corporation