Are there any indications that my CPU is experiencing instability?
Are there any indications that my CPU is experiencing instability?
Switch to the Intel default setting.
Check that the values now align with the recommended baseline for Intel.
ICCMAX 249A
PL1 125W
PL2 188W
I was using Intel Default Settings and had three options available. Could you clarify what settings you were looking for in the BIOS? I’d appreciate your help since I’m not very familiar with the technical details.
Just check the link he shared, move from extreme to performance—it will reduce from 320A to 245A, which should lower the heat. If that’s still too high for your cooler, drop even further to the baseline, bringing the power draw down to a maximum of 188W. If you still experience thermal throttling, it means your cooling is inadequate or not correctly configured.
I've reviewed all the comments and didn't see any mention of your CPU temperature being posted. The stress test indicates your CPU is throttling, which points to an overheating issue. Keep track of your CPU temperature and share the results here. I usually display my CPU temp on both the keyboard and cooler for quick visibility without much effort. It's surprising that someone with thermal throttling problems doesn't monitor it.
Intel claims stability issues, but based on the stress test, it seems the real problem is temperature. A standard AIO should handle a 13900k at default settings without trouble. Possible causes could be a faulty cooler, incorrect pump/fan settings, or improper installation. Before changing Intel's default mode or making adjustments, make sure to monitor your CPU temperature under idle, light load, and heavy load conditions.
Additionally, since you're experiencing software crashes, also keep an eye on GPU, drive, and RAM temperatures. Poor airflow can lead to overheating and crashes.
Likely the company's general direction, avoid giving tech enthusiasts a chance to create content about Intel not replacing CPUs affected by problems, regardless of unrelated issues.
I've spent my whole career working with consoles, so I wasn't familiar with thermal throttling until Intel reached out and I had to research it. Could you clarify what you mean by "light load" and "heavy load"? I'm curious about how the Cyberpunk benchmark fits into those categories—playing videos or general browsing might be light, but running it at full capacity is heavy.
A light task refers to activities that don’t demand much CPU power, such as browsing the web. When using Chrome or Firefox, the CPU should remain lightly engaged, causing a slight rise in temperature—around 50°C for a short time—before returning to normal once the browser is open. If the CPU overheats during such tasks, reaching 70°C, it may indicate a cooling problem.
A heavy task can be tested with a stress test that fully utilizes all cores. I prefer AIDA64 for this purpose as it also checks memory usage, but you can use any tool mentioned in your original post to observe the temperature at throttling, the time taken to reach it, and the cooling duration afterward. Cyberpunk benchmark offers a moderate CPU load since the game doesn’t use all cores, while being a strong GPU test (also helpful for checking GPU temperatures).
Edit: I tried not to be harsh; sorry if it came across that way. The main point was that the CPU temperature should have been mentioned first, and for some reason it remained unclear after 16 discussions here.