The processor is capped at 130 watts!
The processor is capped at 130 watts!
Hi, your 9700KF was boosted to 5.1GHz on an AIO setup, but now you're using open loop cooling and aiming to extract maximum power from the CPU. At 5.2GHz running at 1.34V it performs well without problems, though at 5.3GHz it becomes unstable with erratic LLC and voltage changes to 1.42V—power draw stays constant while the system caps around 130W to 149W, even though the site claims up to 235W. I haven’t seen any mention of power being locked, but this consistency might be why you're noticing instability when pushing higher speeds. Your board is an Asus Rog Z390F with an 8+4 pin EPS PSU (XPG Core Reactor 850W Gold).
You obtained that figure from AnandTech's testing of the 9900k. Their results showed it only achieved 166w. Power Consumption review covers the Core i9-9900K, Core i7-9700K and Core i5-9600K.
Intel CPUs employ two distinct turbo power thresholds. It’s not uncommon for these processors to become restricted if the limits aren’t sufficiently raised. Examine your BIOS settings to discover the current turbo power values. Many motherboards configure both limits extremely high during overclocking, ensuring they don’t hinder peak performance. Utilize HWiNFO to monitor throttling indicators and confirm whether your CPU is unable to operate at full capacity under load. Intel CPUs are quite perceptive; they’ll alert you if any throttling occurs.