Unsolvable WHEA errors, L0 Cache Error, CPU Internal Error which causes games to stutter and crash.

[patent122]

For 3 weeks I'm fighting with instability on my computer. I changed i9 7900X for i7 10700K because I'm mostly gaming. I don't remember any problems on my previous platform but maybe I just didn't see them. Any overclock on the CPU causes massive system instability, even the 5Ghz on all cores at 1.4V isn't stable. Everytime I play any game for as little as 15 minutes these errors starts to pop up in HWInfo and Event Viewer. They appear only when CPU is overclocked, I didn't see them on stock but 7900X was perfectly fine overclocked. These errors causes stuttering, performance drop and eventually game crash or BSOD. I thought it might be a faulty CPU but this is my 5th comet lake CPU at this point, this is 3rd 10700K, I also had 10850K and 10900K before that and all these CPUs had the same issue. I changed my motherboard 4 times, I thought maybe voltage regulator on the motherboard was faulty but this is my 4th high end motherboard (Z490 Unify and I have the same problem). 5 CPUs, 4 motherboards in total and on all of them 5Ghz overclock even on very high voltage causes instability, I also tried 3 different GPUs (RTX 2070S, 2080S and 2080Ti). I reinstalled windows 2004 few times and now tried 1909 to see if it's OS problem but I'm still getting Windows Hardware Errors. At this point I have no clue what can cause this problem. The current i7 I borrowed from my friend which he's using in hi computer and it's perfectly stable at 5.2GHz, I can't even achieve stable 5Ghz on his chip. I tested RAM multiple times in Memtest on many settings but no errors there. The last thing left is my PSU which is BeQuiet Straight Power 11 850W Gold. I wanted to ask if PSU can cause this instability and WHEA errors? I tested and replaced every component I could so far to eliminate the cause of the problem but it didn't help, only the PSU is left.

[Sebastian_M_Intel]

Hello patent122, 

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.   

I would like to let you know that even though Intel® releases unlocked CPUs and even tuning tools for overclocking, we do not provide support or recommendations for this. We always recommend having the CPUs working within the specifications since we cannot confirm how the unit will react working with non-tested parameters. Intel® provides the CPUs and tools for novice and experienced enthusiasts to overclock, monitor, and stress a system because we know there are a lot of users who like to go far and beyond CPU's specifications. But you should now that altering clock frequency or voltage may damage or reduce the useful life of the Intel® unit and other components, it could also affect the system stability and performance. Product warranties may not apply if the CPU is operated beyond its specifications. 

You may want to check this website for guidance (under your own responsibility): https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/gaming/resources/how-to-overclock.html 

Additionally, you may want to check with the other components manufacturers for more guidance on this, the motherboard settings, cooling solution, and power delivery is also something you need to keep into consideration.  

Regards, 

Sebastian M  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[Sebastian_M_Intel]

Hello patent122,  

I hope the previous information was useful to you. 

I would like to add that due to the fact that you have already tested different CPUs, Motherboards, GPUs, etc, this can be a problem with another component, the cooling management, and/or power delivery of your system.  

To confirm, the Power Supply Unit (PSU) can indeed cause system instability and Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) errors, so you may want to check it as well. 

Regards,  

Sebastian M  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[LUOYEZHUFIENG]

Hey bro, my i9 10900k has the same symptoms , I want to know if yours has solved this problem? If so, how did you solve it? 

[LUOYEZHUFIENG]

In addition, I would like to know that you should have used the power module cable. Have you tried to replace the power module cable?