Adjusting the cooling system for the 9900KS
Adjusting the cooling system for the 9900KS
Hey there! I've been working with my 9900KS setup and trying to keep it running smoothly without much luck. So, if you're interested, I'm sharing my experience here—check out the details below. My system setup includes an ASRock Z390 PHANTOM GAMING X (manual link), an i9-9900KS with 4.0GHz base and 5.0GHz boost, a Noctua NH-D15 SSO2 D-Type Premium CPU cooler, two NF-A15 fans, a Corraiser Vengeance LPX 128GB, and a GeForce RTX 2070 Super GAMING OC 3X with 8G VRAM. It's mainly used for light gaming, video editing, audio work, and school research—often cranking up to 90GB of RAM at a time.
The main problem I've faced is overheating during intensive tasks like rendering videos or running benchmarks. Even when I try to lower the CPU temperature, it quickly spikes above safe levels—sometimes hitting 100°C or more before I can stop it. The package TDP jumps between 260W and 290W, and the voltage stays high at around 1.45V. Idle temps are usually between 37°C and 43°C, but when I push it, it climbs to 60°C or higher during heavy loads.
I've changed coolers a few times using different pastes (NT-H1, Arctic Silver 5, TM30) to see what works best. The NT-H1 with a thin X-shape paste gave the best results, but still got hot under stress. I've experimented with undervolting and adjusting Vcore, but nothing seems to fully solve the issue. I've also tried boosting at higher voltages, but it causes instability and crashes.
My current approach is setting the IccMax to 190A and boosting power to 200W. This keeps temps around 85°C during rendering, which is safe, but it limits performance. If I push it to 5GHz, it would be closer to stock settings, but way hotter. I'm not sure if this is normal for my build or if the chip just can't handle the defaults without overheating.
I'm open to suggestions—any tips on improving cooling, switching to an AIO or custom loop, or anything else that might help. This is frustrating, but I'm determined to get it working smoothly!
I own an i9 9900k at 5ghz with all cores active at 1.27v, drawing 142 watts when under load. It runs at about 32°C during idle. Switching to 1.45v likely triggers some multicore optimization. I recommend applying an XMP profile for your RAM and turning off multicore enhancement. Then search for a manual overclocking guide tailored to your motherboard.
I'm really considering waiting until the 4000 series is released before making any changes (though I might still try now). For now, I'm just searching for alternatives that don't require a complete hardware overhaul. I've already turned off multicore enhancement—it's set to off by default. I started with an XMP profile, thinking it was my standard setting, but I found it running hotter when enabled. Even though MCE is disabled, I'm not sure if it's truly off. I checked the BIOS to confirm, but it doesn't look active there. It appears as a feature in XTU, but I'm not sure that means it's enabled. I'll keep looking for more details on the board; it seems less common compared to their "Taichi" line.
The issue is clear, and switching platforms might help. I’m sure an i9 9900K can handle overclocking well. My Intel chips stay cool even at 5.1GHz. Previously, my i7 6700K would throttle but later learned about VRMs and better cooling. Now it idles around the high 20s thanks to improved motherboards and cooling. I don’t think quitting is wise—you gain more by persisting.
This situation doesn't quite add up, especially since it's meant for higher binning. I experienced a very high 9900k—starting with a D15—and despite needing significant voltage, the D15 managed to keep up with a full 5.0 core (though temperatures climbed into the low 80s to low 90s). Most standard 9900ks usually reach 5.0 in the 1.35-1.37 vcore range, and top models can even lower it further. The KS should perform better given its binning, but it seems you ended up with a warm unit. Could this be connected to the motherboard? I have mixed feelings—on one hand it's frustrating, on the other it would be great if it worked. Given how expensive these boards are now (700+ bucks on the used market), selling it could be profitable. Still thinking about it out loud. The buyer on eBay might flag it as defective if it overheats and demand a refund. Any chance you can initiate an RMA?
Draw at 240w seems unusual; try reducing it to 160-180w with BIOS tweaks. Your motherboard handles 5ghz on the 9900ks and typically uses up to 185w max—unless you're dealing with water, which might be the issue. If the stock voltage is 1.45V, that’s likely sufficient for 5.2-5.3V systems.