i9-14900k thermal throttling

[krypthos]

Hi!

I have recently completed a build for myself with the following components:

i9-14900k

NZXT N7 Z790 MB

Corsair iCUE LINK h150i 320mm AIO

After initial stock configuration, I observed consistent thermal throttling and temps at about 95-100 degrees in games like Cyberpunk and CS2. 

After that, I did the following:

1) Reapplied thermal paste switching to MX-6 twice with different methods (current one is thin spread layer with a drop in the middle)

2) Updated BIOS on the MB to the latest version

3) Undervolted CPU -100mv

Now, in Cyberpunk I am seeing temps at around 75-90 degrees, which is better but not perfect. However in The Finals (just came out), the CPU consistently sits at 100 degrees, with edge cases overflowing to 107, and thermal throttling all the time. I don't think it is safe for the CPU to be operating at these temperatures.

Is there anything I could do? Maybe some settings in BIOS except for undervolting? Any advice is appreciated. And yes, the case is properly cooled with 10 fans and consistent airflow.

[n_scott_pearson]

There are no (well, reasonably-priced) cooling solutions that can keep up with the rate-of-temperature-change that is occurring in the later generation processors (especially if the Turbo Boost feature is active). Depending upon the size of the thermal mass in the water block, it is not uncommon - and perfectly normal - to see the temperature spike up to (or close to) the Tjmax temperature for the processor when you start any intensive activity (a game, etc.). It should only stay there for a short time, however; the cooling solution should respond and start to pull the temperature back down to more-normal levels. These temperature spikes, if kept to minimal length, are not going to ever harm the processor. If temperatures are staying near Tjmax (and perhaps even resulting in thermal throttling), however, this is concerning. In this case, you need to determine why the response is limited.

Have you verified that the AIO's pump and fan speeds are increasing as the processor's temperature increases? In some cases, the BIOS's default fan speed control algorithms are not geared towards the support of an AIO and have to be configured differently to work properly. This is especially important if the pump has a separate connection (from the fan(s)) to a motherboard header.

Hope this helps,

...S