The Intel i7 9700k failed all stress tests because of excessive heat when using Dark Rock Pro 4.
The Intel i7 9700k failed all stress tests because of excessive heat when using Dark Rock Pro 4.
Turn off AVX completely. AVX, AVX2 and AVX-512 are sophisticated vector analysis tools. There might be a limited use of AVX in some games, it performs better than regular instructions for particle calculations after explosions, but it's extremely demanding on the CPU. AVX2/AVX-512 is utilized by professionals such as LucasArts in their corporate systems during game development, not within the games themselves. There are no games I've come across that employ AVX2.
So essentially, you're only simulating a load close to 135% while the system is at full capacity. It's similar to lifting your arm—100% effort required for movement, but an unnecessary extra effort just to make the bicep bulge. This is completely pointless exercise.
I just said 4790k because it's the final CPU I used. I don't use the same cooler as before. Dark Rock Pro 4, do you think that's sufficient? Thanks for your response.
Whoa... it might be better to begin fresh.
1) Bring back the default bios settings. Then return and turn off Gigabyte's Enhanced Multi Core Performance.
This setting is located in Advanced Mode, within the Tweaker section.
2) Did Windows get reinstalled following the major upgrade? If not, reinstall it now.
Once that’s done, update or install the motherboard chipset, LAN drivers, and audio drivers from the manufacturer’s website.
3) Keep Prime unchanged for now.
4) Gain a clearer picture of the cooling setup.
What is the chassis model?
What is the fan layout? For reference:
Spoiler
It could help to capture some photos and share them here. [Use imgur.com for uploads, and clear the side glass panel before taking pictures; reflections are not allowed.]
5) 90% of the time, the turbo boost setting should be disabled.
Avoid checking CPU usage in that way — the first one stands out, though. The system has multiple cores/threads, so each must be checked individually. Games operate on a single core, which manages most tasks outside the game engine, including commands to other cores!
With turbo boost turned off, you reduced the Primary Thread speed. This likely caused it to hit 100%.
Additionally, I set the fans to full speed at 100% after noticing the overheating problem, but there was no improvement. Also, I haven't upgraded yet—I built a new SSD, installed fresh software, and used it for 1-2 years before noticing the temperature issues. I didn’t stress about it at the time, just experienced some game performance hiccups that bothered me, but I never considered they were hardware problems since certain games weren’t well optimized. Now I realize I missed stress tests.
Also I didn't think getting 100% CPU usage would happen when I turn off Turbo Boost, and vice versa. My CPU usage drops when I disable Turbo Boost so the game runs smoothly without stuttering. But when I enable Turbo Boost or push it to 4.6+, I get full CPU usage, which might seem random but could be important. Regarding temperatures, I haven't seen any unusual readings during gaming, only stress tests like XTU, Prime, and OCCT.
The initial two sections of the Task Manager display CPU utilization. When Intel CPUs have Turbo Boost active, this differs from actual CPU usage. The graphs in the Task Manager show utilization rather than usage. Just the Details tab presents CPU usage information. MX-4 performs well under high temperatures; consider using Noctua NT-H2 or a comparable paste.