[Stock 9900K] Autovoltage too high?

[MMand13]

At the moment I am considering which CPU to buy for a new PC. After reading up on the heat issues of the 9900K I suspect that the motherboards still supply too much voltage on auto to be on the safe side, thus causing high temperatures.

If I remember correctly my current i7-6700k ran at ~90° with a Dark Rock 3 on auto voltage. I think the board pushed 1.42V into the CPU, and I reduced that to 1.25V whilst moderately overclocking by 200 Mhz resulting in ~70° load temps.

Is this still the case? My focus when building PCs is usually silent operation, so my goal would not be to OC it, but to keep temps and therefore cooler RPM within reasonable limits.

[AndrewG_Intel]

Hello MMand13,

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.

As you mentioned, it is known that some motherboards come with some features enabled by default, these features may refer to auto voltage, auto overclocking, etc.

Altering processor and memory RAM clock frequency and/or voltage may reduce system stability and useful life of the system and processor; cause the processor and other system components to fail; cause reductions in system performance; cause additional heat or other damage, and affect system data integrity. Intel has not tested, and does not warranty, the operation of the processor beyond its specifications.

Having said that, we recommend checking with the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of the motherboard for the specific features on the BIOS. The OEM is the one that is familiar with the BIOS options so they can assist in order to make sure settings (even auto-enable settings) are not causing overclocking on the processor. Any (auto) overclocking will require more energy to the processor, and thus, more heat would need to be dissipated from the processor.

Good system integration, proper installation, cooling solution/fan supporting the processor's Thermal Design Power (TDP) specification and proper application of Thermal Interface Material (TIM) is crucial.

To check the processor's TDP, please refer to https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark.html, type in your processor model and refer to Specifications >> Performance. Also, the system case is important to make sure it provides the proper environmental conditions to allow proper airflow. (size, holes, airflow design, etc).

Additionally, it is important checking with the OEM to make sure the system is running the recommended drivers and BIOS version.

Please let us know if you have additional inquiries.

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

A Contingent Worker at Intel

[ZWang106]

In my case, MSI Z390-ACE gave my stock 9900kf about 0.95 or 1V when I entered bios to OC it for the first time; however, voltage means little unless above 1.5v or 1.6v. Check the power status if heat is a problem.