Tips for boosting performance and managing heat during 9900K overclocking
Tips for boosting performance and managing heat during 9900K overclocking
So the adjustment isn't that significant, so I've been experimenting with boosting my 9900K's performance and wanted to share my findings. Is this a solid setup or should I upgrade my AIO to a 360 model? Here are the details:
Specs: i9-9900K MSI MEG Z390 ACE Corsair h115i Platinum 280 AIO TridentZ CL17 3600MHz 32G Memory (4X8) Nvidia 2080 Ti FE 11G Samsung NVMe M.2 512G & 1TB EVGA Supernova 750W P2 Platinum
I ran CPU-Z for a full 10 minutes under stress, keeping the voltage at 1.30V. It felt a bit too hot. I've customized the cooler's fan curve to its maximum and also lowered it slightly to test if that would help.
After reducing the voltage a bit more (to 1.27V), I captured another photo while the test was ongoing to check the fan performance. Unfortunately, the fans didn't reach 2,000 RPM, and they got quite loud.
Finally, at 1.25V, I concluded whether to keep fine-tuning the voltage or consider a more aggressive setting. Temperatures dropped a bit as expected.
Any suggestions or adjustments you'd recommend?
CPU-Z operates slowly during stress evaluations. For thorough testing consider Realbench, Prime95 29.8 non-avx, OCCT, or Intel Burn Test using eight threads. Maximum temperatures reached at 78°C in your most recent run are reasonable, gaming won’t approach that level. My 9900k reaches 5GHz around 1.34V VR VOUT under Prime95 AVX, which is quite high; I can manage with 1.24V if not using AVX. Could you share your VR VOUT value in HWINFO during load? Also, what LLC setting are you employing? Switching from a 280mm to a 360mm case mainly affects airflow—radiator size remains similar, though the 360mm model has a slight advantage. Avoid worrying about overheating unless temperatures climb into the 90–95°C range, which signals throttling. Such spikes usually occur only with intensive tasks like blender; lower clockspeed might be necessary then. Edit: If your radiator isn’t installed as an intake, it can help raise coolant temps, thus easing CPU heat. GPU and other components may heat up a bit, but the effect should be limited because the 9900k’s temperature often limits performance.
It's also available on their site. Cinebench r20 works well for a fast, brief stability or temperature assessment. You can adjust the duration in your settings if you wish to repeat the test automatically.