CPU temps
CPU temps
You've got a solid setup but there are some red flags to watch for. Running temps near 50°C on both CPU and GPU is normal under load, but the CPU spikes to 60°C during gaming and fluctuates wildly—jumping between 55-70°C and even dropping suddenly to around 34-42°C. That kind of instability suggests your AIO heatsink might not be mounting properly or airflow isn't sufficient. The fact that you see such rapid changes, especially during idle, indicates poor thermal management. It’s worth checking the heatsink attachment points, ensuring the fan blades spin freely, and verifying the coolant level. If the pump is working but temps still spike, it could be a cooling bottleneck. Consider reseating the heatsink or upgrading to a better one for stability.
Its fine and to be expected behavior. Remember there is always a ramp up time for the cooler and when the temp spikes it compensates.
It should increase to 100°C, but your OC i7-8700k already handles gaming at 60-70°C. The higher temps in Cinebench might be due to the increased load from the higher temperature.
The temperatures look a bit higher compared to what I've experienced with 13th generation components, yet the board I have operates at a lower voltage than typical for that generation. Many motherboards come with excessive voltage at default, far exceeding what's necessary, so you might just need to slightly reduce the chip voltage for better stability.
I haven’t found any manual instructions for this yet. I just completed the setup and started testing temperatures; what bothers me most is the sudden jumps in readings.
It varies by board and chip. I've tested three different 13th gen chips—some barely held -50mV, others dropped to -120mV. Because of this inconsistency, manual undervolt testing is recommended. You could run a stress test, gradually reducing the voltage offset in 10mV steps until the system fails, then increase it back until stable for about an hour.
Yes, it's better for the long run to have XTU running so you don't need to restart frequently. In the short term, doing XTU quickly is much faster because you avoid constant reboots when adjusting settings. Typically, I first tune XTU using tools like Dragon Power or Turbo VCore, then transfer the changes to the BIOS once everything is set up to save time and effort.