Your new i9-13900F experiences frequent throttling during gameplay.
Your new i9-13900F experiences frequent throttling during gameplay.
I've just upgraded my build with a new processor, but I'm concerned about excessive heat and frequent throttling during games. My current setup includes an i9-13900F with Dark Rock 4 cooler from Gigabyte RX 6800XT Gaming OC, 16GB RAM, and a case with two intake and two exhaust fans. When installing the CPU, I adjusted the BIOS settings to match Intel's recommended values (65W and 219W). This helped somewhat, but during gaming—especially in Fortnite—temperatures stay around 80-90°C and throttling occurs often. The power draw never goes above 100W, so it seems the cooler struggles when other parts heat up. I tried running stress tests with Cinenebench and Unigine Heaven to see if both CPU and GPU were under pressure. Since I'm not aiming for peak performance, I'm considering downgrading to a less power-hungry i7 model or swapping the air cooler for an AIO. The NZXT Kraken 120 might be less efficient than the air version, so I'd need to adjust fan settings in the BIOS. If reducing power is necessary, changing the case could be my final option. Any advice would be appreciated?
Turn both intake fans fully open to let in fresh air, allowing the PSU to push out the warm air. This setup forces every fan to work harder with the existing configuration. Adding another fan at the back will direct the exhaust straight into the PSU, speeding up the removal of hot air.
It seems the system is expelling air from the CPU cooler, which aligns with the recommended installation configuration. The expelled hot air is directed toward the left exhaust fan as intended.
Here’s the revised version:
I’ll format it for clarity.
This is the flow path you should use.
You’ll need this airflow route instead.
I can't capture images directly. However, you can take a photo yourself by placing the CPU fan in the position you described and turning off the system.
Sorry, the image isn't complete because I just noticed I haven't installed the intake fans yet. In fact, there are two intake fans at the bottom of the case (near the "grid") that draw air in mainly toward the GPU and inside the case, while two exhaust fans at the top should expel hot air from the CPU (especially the left one) and from the entire case (mainly the top panel). I don't think placing intakes at the top of the case is typical... right? If anything, warm air tends to rise from the PSU, CPU, and GPU coolers, so it would be best to push that air out as soon as possible. Also, something odd I observed is that the PSU fan only occasionally spins, which suggests there isn't much heat coming from the side of the PSU.
I placed it exactly as shown in the photo. I assumed the label shows the airflow direction, meaning it pushes air away from the cooler...wrong?
The fan rotates in the opposite direction. This setup allows it to move air past the cooler effectively.