The highest-end PC setup is quite poor.
The highest-end PC setup is quite poor.
Hello, thank you for reading my update. I manage the computers in my office. Recently, I installed a high-end Intel PC using IBuyPower. The daily user relies heavily on Excel (thousands of formulas) and Blue Beam (multiple tasks at once). They handle numerous spreadsheets and edit PDFs simultaneously. In theory and in benchmarks, performance is outstanding. However, real-world use proves challenging. I tested it with Cinebench and it achieved Single Core 2238 Multi 38,782. All benchmark scores have been impressive. Yet, daily operation remains problematic. The PC consistently struggles. Performance issues are constant from the start. Delays appear in every function—from File Explorer to all applications. (Attached are my benchmark results and installed apps.) Rendering tasks—Blue Beam, AutoCAD, Adobe—are notably slow. Excel frequently crashes or freezes. While not critical, the overall load time is around 25 seconds. Intel Gaming PC DDR5 Configurator 4 priced at $3,789.55. Case: iBUYPOWER Slate 5 MR ARGB Tempered Glass Gaming Case with Intel® Core™ i9-13900K processor (8x 3.00GHz + 16x 2.20GHz/36MB L3 Cache). Motherboard: Asrock Z790 Taichi - WiFi, ARGB Header (3), USB 3.2 ports (2 Type-C, 8 Type-A), M.2 slot (4). RAM: 32 GB [16 GB x2] DDR5-6000MHz. Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 - 16GB GDDR6X (VR-Ready). Case lighting: none. Power supply: 1000 Watt, CORSAIR RM1000e (80 PLUS Gold), fully modular cooling. Processor: iBUYPOWER 360mm Addressable RGB Liquid Cooling System – Black. Storage: 1TB WD Black SN850X M.2 PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD (Gen 4 Read: 7300 MB/s, Write: 6300 MB/s; Gen 3 Read: 3500 MB/s, Write: 3500 MB/s). Secondary storage: 2TB Samsung 870 QVO SSD (Read: 560MB/s, Write: 530MB/s). Sound card: 3D Premium Surround Sound. Network: Onboard LAN (Gb or 10/100). Keyboard: iBUYPOWER RGB. Mouse: Combo. Operating system: Windows 11 Pro (64-bit). Media card reader/writer: none. USB expansion: none. Case fans: 3 silent units. We have multiple external drives connected at all times—initially only 4, later adding 2 internal SSDs and 2 external HDDs when issues arose. Fan setup: Three 120mm PWM fans for quiet operation. We set up a 3 (1) HDMI and 2 DP monitors with a wired keyboard and wireless mouse, plus Ethernet. There were initially only four external drives connected. I upgraded the SSD to M.2 slot 2 to free up GPU space. RAM was upgraded to 64GB G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB Series (Intel XMP). Performed 64 clean reinstalls of Windows. All tests—HCI, MEM, CHKDSK, CrystalDiskInfo, CPU-Z—showed no problems. Still, performance remains inconsistent. Any suggestions or further details would be appreciated. UserBenchmark-Score.pdf
Recent motherboard BIOS updates, newest GPU VBIOS releases, and the most recent SSD firmware versions.
Thank you for your prompt reply! I'm working to connect to the PC right away to obtain the answers.
Motherboard BIOS Version - 6.04 GPU vBios - 95.3.e.40.8d SSD 1-1TB WD Black SN850x-620331WD SSD 2- 2TB Samsung 870 QVO Firmware - SVQ02B6Q SSD 3-4TB WDS SN850x-Firmware - 624331WD SSD 4-4TB WDS SN850x-Firmware - 624331WD SSD 5-4TB WDS SN850x-Firmware - 624331WD SSD 6-4TB WDS SN850x-Firmware
Execute hwinfo64 to monitor temperatures during performance drops. Focus on SSDs and disconnect non-essential drives, keeping only the system drive active. Verify if the issue persists afterward. Adjust the CPU overclock from 6000MHz to 5600MHz via BIOS. Proceed step by step—don’t tackle everything simultaneously. This setup may help, but the system is quite demanding and the CPU will generate heat without proper cooling. If overheating occurs, apply thermal paste or use a high-performance pad like Thermal Grizzly Carbonaut. Avoid applying paste directly; instead, clean old residue with an alcohol wipe.
I value your feedback. I've assembled multiple PCs and haven't encountered anything similar before. I plan to follow your advice today and share the outcomes. When I test Intel's XTU benchmark—or any other testing tool—it causes immediate thermal throttling and maintains that restriction throughout. I haven't pushed it overclocked; it runs at stock speed, just to evaluate its performance.
It shouldn’t slow down right away. There’s likely a cooling or voltage issue. It should jump to 70s or 80s quickly then rise gradually. Some boards apply extra voltage to the CPU. Set the vcore to 1.30v in BIOS. You should still reach maximum clocks but with significantly less heat. Make sure the cooler is functioning properly. If you touch the aio tubes, they should feel similar temperature on both sides—radiator end and CPU end. If the CPU side is hot, there’s probably a pump problem. Another concern is that the socket locking mechanism can warp the CPU, leading to poor contact with the cooler. If lowering the voltage doesn’t resolve the thermal throttling, verify the heatsink installation first. If everything checks out, you may have a bent CPU; the solution is to replace it with a better contact frame that avoids this issue.
Thanks for the suggestions! Here’s a revised version:
Status Update: Followed each recommendation step by step. Updated firmware for motherboard, GPU, and SSDs—kept only two internal SSDs (WD 850x & Samsung 870 QVO). Used hwinfo64 to check SSD temperatures; they’re stable at around 50°C. Inspected AOI Cooler tubes—temperatures match. Adjusted Vcore to 1.30v. Checked socket paste options and plan to try them soon. The PC still throttles under load.
Note: My benchmark scores dropped from 13,500–13,800 to 12,500–12,800 after the first test with Intel XTU. This is unusual. I’m experiencing the same issue on all i9 13900K builds. Another machine in the office (IBuyPower) with an i9 13900K on an Asus Z690 Prime also throttles immediately. All hit thermal limits right away. I’ll test it for a short time to see if fixes work. Main concerns: latency, crashes, and rendering issues.