Why are my temperatures so low after overclocking?
Why are my temperatures so low after overclocking?
I faced an unusual issue. I decided to try a straightforward three-step approach as recommended in the guru3d Threadripper review, using the 901 beta BIOS. First, I enabled 4000MHz and adjusted the CPU core ratio. Then, I set the CPU voltage to 1.35V, switching to manual mode and overriding it if necessary. After rebooting with just these adjustments, my Cinebench score improved slightly to 3095. My idle temperature stayed at 30°C, but peaked at 59°C during the test. Once I switched back into BIOS and made some memory tweaks (as suggested in the guru3d article), things improved further.
I was testing a Corsair Vengeance LPX 2666 with 8GB of RAM, previously only reaching 2133MHz. Using AI Overclock Tuner, I set the D.O.C.P. to DDR4 2667 at speeds between 15-17-17-35 and increased the memory frequency to 2666MHz. After saving, exiting, and rebooting into Windows, I noticed something unexpected: my temperatures were much lower than expected (see attached).
In idle mode, my average was 30°C, compared to 7°C before. During benchmarks, my scores remained similar but peak temperatures dropped to around 30°C. Also, when monitoring via MSI Afterburner, the fans barely made noise.
Here’s a link to my CPU-Z profile: https://valid.x86.fr/xpwbia
It seems this issue might be worth discussing with OC experts. My suspicion is that the recent BIOS changes may have altered the CPU sensors, causing them to report temperatures 20-30°C lower than the actual readings. It’s like having a car speedometer that only shows 60km/h when you’re going 120!
I also noticed a mismatch between the CPU-Z memory information and the data in the uploaded profile (attachments included). Here are the links:
https://imgur.com/FPlqka2
https://imgur.com/TZIZu1l
Although I haven't observed any input regarding the reason, it's evident the temperature reading is inaccurate. Unless you were cooling the CPU with liquid nitrogen or something similar, the only plausible explanation for it idling at 7C (45F) would be a room temperature lower than that. I also question whether you're actually in a walk-in refrigerator. : P
If the fans aren't increasing their speed under load because of the wrong temperature detection, it's likely the CPU is running hotter than before. Something must have been incorrect in the BIOS, and resetting it might be required.
Getting the same idle temperatures in HWinfo within BIOS was the problem. I went back to BIOS 804 and it still had the issue. Loading defaults didn’t help either. Clearing the CMOS with the button on the back panel resolved it, and now everything looks normal! I don’t know what caused it, but I’ll keep using BIOS 804 for now. My goal in testing the latest beta BIOS was to check if the fanxpert problems are fully fixed. It still feels unstable, particularly in manual mode.