The CPU's overclocking abruptly turned unstable.
The CPU's overclocking abruptly turned unstable.
Hey everyone, just wanted to share what’s going on. I changed the radiator fans, and my overclocked CPU became really unstable. Let’s go through it. I’m using an i5 7600K on an Auros Z270 motherboard with a Corsair H105 240mm liquid cooler installed as an intake on the front. In BIOS, I set the i5 to 5GHz at 1.38 volts, which translates to about 1.32 volts in AIDA64/Cpu-Z. On the H105, I have the standard SP120 fans plus one extra SP120 for aesthetics and extra room—three intake fans in total. These two SP120s are connected via a Y-cable and pass through a fan controller that only works in PWM mode.
My average temperatures were around 60-65°C, with cores peaking at 70°C and AIDA64 stress testing reaching about five degrees higher. Not bad, but the fans felt like they were running on a jet engine. It gets really annoying when the CPU hits 100% during loading or opening programs, causing the fans to spike briefly. I decided to replace them with Thermaltake Riing12s, which were already mounted as exhausts.
Immediately after the change, my system went completely unstable. AIDA64 wouldn’t run for five minutes without freezing. Even opening Chrome while stressing caused a crash. During the stress test, temperatures rose by around 10°C, averaging mid-70s—still manageable with quiet fans. But overall, it was quite unstable. Raising the Vcore to 1.4V in BIOS or setting AIDA64 to 1.344V didn’t help much. Turning fans up to high RPM lowered temps slightly, but stability remained an issue.
With everything set to stock, Chrome showed only minor lag during stress tests, but I wasn’t happy if the system wouldn’t hold for a few minutes in AIDA64. Phew, that was a long explanation... Hope someone can help me out from Germany!
3.8 to 5Ghz is quite a jump. I’d recommend lowering it to 4.8Ghz with 1.2v and checking the temperatures from there...