Intel 14th Gen performance problems with overheating
Intel 14th Gen performance problems with overheating
I noticed signs of throttling based on the behavior of these chips. The TVB feature boosts performance until they reach 100°C, which matches the 4.5GHz target for allcore operation. The 6 P-cores in my 12600KF run operate at 3.6GHz under allcore loads, while the E-cores stay at 3.6GHz. After prolonged high temperatures, the cooler changes helped stabilize performance, dropping to around 4.2GHz allcore. The D15 model maintains a steady 4.5GHz throughout. In my setup, temperatures can spike in this environment, especially during heavy workloads like linpack, which may push it into the 80s.
ThrottleStop 9.7.3 offers flexibility to adjust MSR PL1 and PL2 turbo limits according to your cooling capacity. Begin testing by lowering the voltage on CPU cores and P cache by at least 50 mV. This helps identify stability thresholds. Reducing power consumption also decreases heat generation. When modifying ThrottleStop settings, restart HWiNFO for updated readings. The Turbo Power Limits displayed in the top-right of the TPL window refresh instantly. I tend to prioritize locking MMIO power limits instead.
Intel's high-performance CPUs are impressive, especially with their fast running speeds. I believe tweaking the power limits and possibly undervolting could lower those temperatures. Although I'm not experienced with this configuration, I found a tutorial demonstrating how to adjust package power limits on an MSI Z790. There are several models available, so check if your setup matches the options shown. Watch the video around the 2:30 mark for instructions on adjusting the limits.
the cooler doesn't provide sufficient cooling for a 180w load
Thanks for the video. I was mainly searching for PL1 or PL2 in my bios, not their actual meaning. I configured an undervolt and set PL1 and PL2 to 125W, but temperatures remain at 85°C—possibly lower than before. Now the CPU runs much slower, and I’m trying to identify the main cause of this problem.
Based on HWinfo's findings, I adjusted the voltage and configured pl1 and pl2 to 125W, yet temperatures remained high at 85°C. My core clock speeds dropped by roughly 0.2–0.3 GHz.
Oh yeah, that explains it. It’s not really about slowing down the hardware itself, but rather the reason the system hits its power cap. With my GPU, it can hit the advertised speeds or even higher, but always limits it to “power” in MangoHUD (or MSI Afterburner on Windows). This doesn’t mean the card is actually throttling clocks—it just reaches a maximum power limit. In this case, I think there’s an internal voltage or current restriction, since it can reach 200W but only draws around 170-185W most of the time, after which boosting stops. For CPUs, they can safely run up to 100°C, so they push to the full boost and then stop increasing the multiplier. It still runs at about 45x for the six cores I have. You can check your BIOS settings—if you leave per-core overclocking enabled, you’ll see the original boost numbers. Likely it’s around 45x when three or more cores are active. A real thermal throttle happens when the chip falls below its set boost limits, not because of heat, but because it gets too hot and cuts clocks to protect itself. As I said before, my 12600K would drop to about 4.2GHz on an older cooler instead of maintaining the full 45x boost.