I recently installed a new system but noticed my CPU throttling. I have an i7 13700k with a Noctua NH-D15 ASUS Z790P Prime Wifi Gskill DDR5 6000 32 gb Lian Li Lancool 216 (two front and two bottom intakes, back exhaust). The temps reach 100°C during Cinebench or Prime95. After undervolting, only a slight reduction of 0.04 is stable, still causing throttling with temperatures around 90-99°C. Cinebench remains solid at 30K. I attempted Intel specs for PL1/PL2 but it fixed the throttle but hurt my score to 25k. Adding a contact frame (thermalright) didn’t help much. My idle temps are normal, mid-30s. I’ve re-seated the CPU and reapplied thermal paste. Am I doing something wrong or is this typical? I saw these CPUs built for higher heat now.
The Micro Center combo looks like it's functioning properly. I've noticed improved performance with other setups, though they often need an AIO or a tailored loop for optimal results. These chips tend to get quite hot when under stress, but as long as the output numbers are acceptable, I'm open to running it. Based on my experience, if you're aiming for lower temps, setting up a full manual overclock could help. Adjusting the voltage regulation and using static/adaptive methods might yield better results with a stable load voltage.
Yup Microcenter combo is my go-to setup. Gaming keeps me within safe temps, around 70°C, which is great. Just checking if the benchmark results were normal. The contact frame didn’t seem to behave unusually, but that’s okay. I’d rather skip the full manual testing. Thanks!
The board's impact varies somewhat, but it tends to work better in the 12th generation compared to the 13th because the latter has a stiffer IHS that resists bending. It performs more efficiently with AIO and water cooling systems, which feature flatter cold plates than traditional air coolers. I was surprised it didn’t make much difference, but I wouldn’t be too surprised if it only achieves 3-4°C instead of the higher 6-8°C with liquid cooling.
Based on the results, I think the PL2 was limited to about a minute, but Intel says it can run indefinitely on K CPUs. I’d likely set the PL2 around 160–180W, which should manage heat while staying nearly as quick as the standard version, even with all-core tasks. You could also try PL1 at 180W and PL2 at 253W, then lower PL1 after a minute—this would keep short all-core loads fast like stock, but with better control for longer sessions.