i5 4690k experiences elevated temperatures during overclocking with adequate cooling.
i5 4690k experiences elevated temperatures during overclocking with adequate cooling.
Hello everyone, thank you for taking the time to read this.
I've been trying to locate a reliable OC for my i5 4690k @3.8ghz. At idle, it operates between 30-40°C. When I increased the speed to 4.0ghz using the default voltage, the CPU temperatures reached up to 83°C on all four cores within the first two minutes of stress testing with Prime95.
Regarding cooling, I own a Cryorig H7 Quad Lumi, which includes a front intake fan for the heatsink, three Corsair LL120s in the top and rear sections of my case, and two intake fans at the front. This setup should be sufficient for safe overclocking, though the Quad lumi fan is nearing its maximum RPM during these tests. Additionally, my GTX1080 OC has never exceeded 69°C under heavy load, with an ambient temperature around 21°C.
My troubleshooting steps:
- Loosened the heat sink slightly—no change in temperature. Tightened again, but no improvement.
- Swapped the stock Cryorig fan for a LL120—results were disappointing.
- Bought another Cryorig PWM fan and installed it in the rear of the heatsink to help dissipate heat, along with my rear fan. Temperatures dropped by only 2–3°C.
- Replaced the H7 Quad Lumi carefully, paying close attention to applying thermal paste correctly (a pea-sized amount in the center of the CPU). I believed this would help, but it didn’t make a difference.
I’m exploring hardware adjustments but feel uncertain about the MSI BIOS settings, as I haven’t changed anything beyond adjusting the CPU multiplier. I noticed others achieving 4.4ghz with much lower temperatures, and consumer reviews suggest most users with this setup maintain idle temps under 30°C.
I truly value your time and any advice or suggestions you might have. For my own peace of mind and finances, I’m hoping I might be overlooking something clearly obvious here.
The version of Prime95 being tested is 26.6, and the specific test being conducted is the majority of baseline stability and thermal limit evaluations using the Small FFT option.
I was running Prime95 v29.3 with the small FFT setting.
After downloading v26.6, I achieved an OC of 4.5ghz without exceeding 73°C for about five minutes—a significant improvement.
I plan to keep testing tomorrow, but this appears to be the best solution that eliminates doubts about faulty hardware.
I should have used the old temperature readings with caution since my CPU reaches 95% usage in-game and temperatures stay below 65°C.
I also increased the voltage to 2.0, though I’m unsure if it’s needed or effective.
Thanks for the insights!
NO WORRIES, THAT'S A VERY HIGH VOLTAGE. YOUR CPU VOLTAGE SHOULD GENERALLY BE NO MORE THAN 1.35V, PERHAPS 1.4 IF YOU'RE USING A QUALITY SILICONE COMPONENT. I'VE SEEN MANY PEOPLE, INCLUDING MYSELF, REACH 4.6 AT LESS THAN 1.35V. SOMETIMES EVEN LOWER.
I BELIEVE IT'S BEST TO START OVER AND GRADUALLY IMPROVE, WHICH IS THE CORRECT APPROACH FOR ALL OVERCLOCKING TASKS. FIRST RAISE THE MULTIPLIER UNTIL TESTING BECOMES UNSTABLE, THEN INCREASE VOLTAGE UNTIL IT'S STEADY AND THERMALLY ACCEPTABLE. I'D SUGGEST STEPS AROUND 200-300MHZ WITH TESTING AT EACH ONE. SPEND ABOUT 15 MINUTES ON A SMALL FFT TO CHECK THERMAL STABILITY AND BASIC, BASELINE RELIABILITY. ONCE YOU REACH YOUR TARGET FREQUENCY OF 4.5GHZ, TEST FOR 15 TO 24 HOURS.