Your 13700F is overheating.
Your 13700F is overheating.
Motherboard model: z790m Aorus Elite (rev 1.0) – BIOS version F7 (just updated). RAM: 4x16GB DDR5. GPU: i7-13700F. Cooler: Cougar Poseidon Elite ARGB 360mm AIO case. Cooling system: DeepCool Matrexx with 50mm ventilation. Room temp: About 31°C at idle (45-50°C gaming, 70-80°C with heavy use). When I run Cinebench R23, CPU instantly draws 250W to 270W, reaching 100°C in under 5 seconds. Voltage fluctuates around 1.25V and 1.45V during load, rising at startup and dropping as speed increases (max turbo ~5.1GHz, actual ~4.7GHz). Some users report similar problems with this CPU, especially with the non-K version. I've undervolted but saw little effect. Changed Vcore settings and LLC/AC specs without improvement. Disabling Multicore Enhancement helped slightly. Lowering power limits like 220W helps temps but reduces performance. Performance isn't terrible for gaming, but throttling is noticeable. I'm still looking for a better solution.
What are your fan speeds and pump speed when operating at maximum capacity? (It seems like 100% is typical.) Is the water flowing properly? Adjusting the Intel ILM settings on a contact frame could enhance heat dissipation.
I could definitely explore ways to boost cooling efficiency (it works perfectly at those temperatures), but no matter what adjustments I make, I doubt I’ll manage to keep such a hot chip under control even with a 5°C reduction from the AIO. What I really aim for is lower power consumption without sacrificing much performance.
Just reduce the clock speed then. It’s easy—just restrict the maximum frequency or configure it in BIOS. Push the speed to its highest setting at 4.5GHz, which will cut temperatures a lot while maintaining solid performance. Or go even lower at 4.3GHz. My i7-11700F gets quite hot, so I cap it there and it functions well with at least a 10°C drop in heat.
I know you can restrict TDP or reduce clock speeds, but that means sacrificing performance, which isn’t ideal. I’d like to operate at maximum speed without wasting extra power. I expect this CPU to run at full turbo boost on a 360mm AIO without issues. Intel claims only 219W during turbo, yet I’m seeing 250W and higher, plus it’s pushing up to 1.45V—something unusual. I don’t see many coolers capable of handling that level of heat.
The drop in performance is minimal. You're using a 13th generation Intel CPU, so the only noticeable slowdown comes when you run it at 2.0GHz or 3.0GHz, mostly at 2.0GHz. You won't feel any significant impact, probably around just 10% and it would go unnoticed.
Did you hit a barrier or just stop trying? If you're precise, you should notice lower voltages in cpu-z, for instance. I saw it too. You seem to be able to keep the system running at full capacity in practice. I get your concern though. Edited December 18, 2023 by leclod
Hi leclod, I’ve explored quite a bit and ended up getting stuck in a rabbit hole about Undervolting Protection. It might explain why changes in BIOS offsets don’t yield the expected results. Experimenting with AC calibration, LLC settings, Power Saving, and Low mode helped me lower voltages and achieve better temps and clocks, but performance suffered significantly. From what I read, this protection feature seems to reduce performance even when metrics look fine, and there’s not much clear information available. My BIOS also lacks an option to disable it.
I found some useful undervolting details for MSI boards, including Microcode features that let you turn off Undervolt Protection entirely. However, I don’t see those settings listed on your Gigabyte board. Your current undervolt range might be different, and performance drops could happen gradually before becoming obvious.