Temperatures are elevated on the i5-3570K.
Temperatures are elevated on the i5-3570K.
I've boosted my i5-3570k to 4.0 GHz at normal voltage, but when I run GTA V or other demanding games, the temperature climbs to 80-85°C and briefly hits 90°C. I'm using a standard 120mm AIO liquid cooler, yet it doesn't seem to bring things down enough. Wouldn't this be a problem if I had a better cooler? Should I be worried? My CPU stays around 30-35°C when idle on the desktop.
120mm AIOs, particularly the slim models, don't deliver top-tier cooling performance when compared to decent air coolers. Also, Ivy Bridge wasn't soldered in the same way as the earlier Sandy Bridge chips, and the thermal interface material wasn't especially impressive, which likely caused them to overheat more than the previous generation. It wasn't until Haswell or Devil's Canyon that the TIM improved under IHS.
It’s perfectly within normal temperature ranges, yet the cooling device hasn’t been installed for a while. The thermal grease might have dried out and needs refreshing.
The maximum safe temperature for that chip is 67°C. It might be better to reduce the clock speed or use a more efficient cooler.
Intel's Thermal Specification for the i5 3570K lists a CPU temperature of 67°C. The core temperature is 5°C higher because of sensor placement, resulting in a core temperature of 72°C. Operating in the mid-70s is considered safe. The throttle temperature reaches 105°C.
Intel places its temperature monitoring devices on the hottest areas of the processor. These sensors manage cooling adjustments and remain inactive until temperatures reach 105°C on the third generation chips. The shutdown threshold is set at 130°C, but the actual thermal cutoff occurs 25°C higher. Accurate Tcase readings require inserting a thermocouple into the IHS, which is best suited for engineers rather than regular consumers. Intel doesn’t anticipate users modifying the IHS with tools like a Dremel. The correlation between Tcase and peak temperature isn’t a simple +5°C increase—it changes based on cooling solutions and software usage, potentially varying by up to 30°C. The Tcase specification helps builders craft systems that avoid thermal throttling; maintaining a Tcase of 67°C on the heatsink ensures the CPU rarely throttles under normal conditions. This is the intended function of the spec. Note—the days of high-heat testing are behind us. Here’s a 3570K run at 101°C with no throttling observed for both the Intel CPU and GPU. No throttling needed even at that temperature. https://i.imgur.com/qtZ7qWh.png
Typically the default voltage on motherboards is too high. Using CPU-Z can show the actual voltage when the CPU is under load. Adjusting the BIOS settings to a lower fixed voltage may reduce temperatures significantly. You could lower the CPU voltage by about 0.1V or more compared to the stock level.