It seems Prime95 is affecting your VRM performance. Consider trying an alternative test to confirm the issue.
It seems Prime95 is affecting your VRM performance. Consider trying an alternative test to confirm the issue.
Prime95 small FFTs keep my VRM at 103°C. I'm not pushing the limits...! Even with Prime95, my motherboard throttles because the VRM gets too hot at default settings. Only light workloads affect the VRM temperature. I plan to move toward overclocking, but Prime95 remains the go-to tool for testing. Are other stability checks like Blender renders, code compilation, and Cinebench safe? Or should I accept that my board lacks proper VRM cooling? Just a note: my CPU is an i7 6700K. My motherboard is the GA-Z170N-Gaming-5 rev 11 model from Gigabyte. At stock speeds, it stays under 40°C during Prime95 small FFTs.
Are there any nearby fans close to the VRM that could circulate air across the board? This might improve temperature control.
There’s nothing to worry about. Prime95 isn’t a heavy task, so you’re not wasting effort running it.
I wouldn't use prime95 because it's a massive power virus. I'd go with AIDA64 or ASUS RealBench. P95 seems completely out of place... Also, what kind of motherboard do you have? Is your VRM strong enough?
I've included a photo of your current configuration. Would swapping the rear exhaust fan make a difference? Adding fans in the upper slots facing down could also help. Your motherboard details are available in the original post. The highest temperature I’ve managed is around 80°C with that setup.
Orient the fan directly downward for best performance. Attaching it securely is important—zip ties are a common choice, though you should verify their suitability at high temperatures to avoid melting.
Alright, thanks! I'll give that a try. Unfortunately I'm out of fan headers, but I have a fan header splitter so the same header that controls the rear case fan will also control the VRM fan. I hope that will be alright.