Results show CPU speed is less than anticipated during testing.
Results show CPU speed is less than anticipated during testing.
The ThrottleStop log indicates why your CPU isn’t operating at its maximum capacity. It displays a high temperature reading in the upper right section and shows core temperatures consistently between 99°C and 100°C. These readings can shift rapidly. A noticeable rise or drop of 30°C to 40°C within a second is typical, particularly when using the Intel OEM heatsink. A recent screenshot reveals thermal warnings glowing red on both the CPU limit reason and PROCHOT 100°C displays. This data comes from several sensors, confirming the same issue. Running at reduced speed despite these signals confirms throttling. Even if you accept this information, the speed fan and BIOS likely track temperatures via a socket sensor, which usually reads about 30°C lower than core temps. Intel uses thermal throttling based on peak core temps, as reported by ThrottleStop, HWMonitor, HWiNFO, Core Temp, etc. There are multiple temperature sensors, so discrepancies aren’t surprising. Voltage regulators appear unaffected at the moment; they may fail later. ThrottleStop will list VR THERMAL or VR CURRENT if regulator issues arise. First address the CPU thermal throttling—verify the heatsink is securely fastened, check all four pins are fully seated in the motherboard, and consider pushing two pins at once diagonally for better contact. Even with a properly installed heatsink, this model is underperforming and may need replacement. An aftermarket cooler will likely allow your CPU to run at full speed without constant throttling.
If the thermal is red, it means the CPU is overheating and trying to protect itself by throttling. What kind of cooler are you using? To run at 4.8 you’d need a solid tower like the 224 XT or H212 (unless it’s too expensive), or better yet a top-tier single or dual cooler. You can’t really overclock much without risking damage. Upgrade your cooler first—consider downgrading some firmware if possible. Liquid metal thermal paste might help with temperatures. Swapping the B550 for a Z87/97 motherboard could work too. SpeedFan seems to give accurate readings, which is good since it can vary by system.
Yo right, my intel fan was not properly installe as 1 pin slightly out. Meanwhile, this did not fix the max out temp on the cpu, it only made it a bit longer before it reach that 100. I will get a new heatsink. I just can't decide which one is better for the price. Thanks alot. It's definitely overeating and "speedfan" made me think I was around 70 to 75. I've placed an external fan facing my Pc and significantly better outcome even after hours of gaming. See you in the Warzone.
I installed an external fan to help cool my PC before getting the heatsinks. Now I’m facing an issue with the EDP current warning, which appears when the voltage goes above 1.1761 V. I also noticed that the PL1 and PL2 lights turned on after the PC started up. After clearing those lights, they didn’t turn back immediately. I think they’re related to reaching the power limit. I’m curious if using the same motherboard can help avoid the EDP warning, even though I’m not sure what it actually is. Besides, I’ve hit the VRM limits and I don’t fully understand them.
At one core, performance drops to around 4.2GHz. With today’s games, this won’t be a big issue. A noticeable drop is less than 5%, which is hardly noticeable. To truly experience maximum speed, you’ll need a better cooler. The Intel built-in cooler isn’t suitable for an i7 processor.