CPU hitting 100 degree Celsius during Benchmark test - New CPU cooling suggestions

M

masouth

Active member
Hi,

My CPU-Z spec is linked HERE, but highlights are,

Intel® Core™ i7-10700K CPU @ 3.80GHz
Asus TUF GAMING Z490-PLUS Motherboard
48 GB RAM (2x 8GB + 2x 16GB) Corsair Vengeance
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (GA102-200) @ 1710 MHz - ZOTAC International
Corsair 750W quiet power supply
2K Monitor 144Hz
CPU Cooler: PCS Frostflow 120 Series ARGB High Performance Liquid Cooler (125W TDP) - £38
PC case is the PCS branded Corsair Icue 220T

Basically this was a PCS configuration for Gaming in September 2020, that I bought to coincide with the GPU release and so I upgraded the power supply to meet the GPU's needs, and added 32 GB more ram because I work with video and engineering simulations.

There's a long story of troubleshooting that has let to this point but i wont go into it here. Simply i've narrowed the issue down to a combination poor ventilation due to the PC positioning under a desk and the CPU coolers performance.

Moving the PC to a better ventilated location (not under the desk) alleviated the stated issue when doing non CPU intensive tasks, but the problem persists when using prolonged CPU intensive tasks like Benchmarking tests or FPS gaming (Warzone in my case).

I've set all fans to maxmimum in BIOS for testing they run at 1500 rpm ish i think,
When i run the CPU-Z stress test or a 3DMark benchmark test or warzone for example CPU temperature reaches 100 deg Celsius in under 10 seconds.

The questions i hope you can help with are therefore
  • Should this cooler be able to cope, is it likely faulty?
  • If im going to upgrade the CPU cooler what should i go for, note there is only room for one 120mm fan/radiator at rear.
Also i don't have any fans on roof, should I?

Thanks in advance
 
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M

masouth

Active member
Martinr36 said:
before you go messing with the cooler have you given everything a good blow out
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply.
I've not, that is a good point. Slightly nervous about going inside the cabinet, what should i be blowing out, the radiator?

Thanks
 
M

masouth

Active member
SpyderTracks said:
I'm afraid that cooler is not sufficient for that processor, doesn't matter how clean the system is.
Click to expand...
It's interesting that PCS didn't suggest this at the time when building it for me, the processor and cooler combination was their pre configured suggestion.

Can anyone suggest what would be a minimum spec for the CPU cooler?

While there is some visible dust, it does seem unlikely to be so bad that it would cause this, the blower is a decent investment though if it lasts for many years thanks for the suggestion @Martinr36.
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
masouth said:
It's interesting that PCS didn't suggest this at the time when building it for me, the processor and cooler combination was their pre configured suggestion.
Click to expand...
PCS are just a system builder, they build what you order, it's up to the customer to know what components they're choosing or ask for advice if they're unsure.

masouth said:
Can anyone suggest what would be a minimum spec for the CPU cooler?
Click to expand...
That processor runs hot, you'd want at least a corsair H100i Platinum or Capellix.
 
M

masouth

Active member
Thanks all, I can see now it does need a better performing cooler.

Can’t understand why this one was suggested to me in the first instance, but I guess it’s my fault for not questioning it, rather than PCS fault for not sense checking it.

In any case, is there any advantage to returning the pc to pcs to add a new cooler , over doing it myself or finding a local shop? Now that one year warranty is over?
 
Martinr36

Martinr36

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
you could do it yourself, it isn't difficult, if you get the cappelix like @SpyderTracks suggested that comes with a commander core which you can set fan curves via using Icue, as well as controlling the rgb
 
M

masouth

Active member
Yes i was just thinking about that actually. I do still have cover for the free PCS Labour however, but id have to pay for the courier. If the task is simple and we're sure the Frostflow is not adequate (rather than just defective) it would certainly be more cost effective to do it myself and it would be resolved much quicker.

I suppose if i then mess it up or really want it to go through PCS Quality Assurance process i could then pay the courier and have them do the tests (which would be free as im still covered for Labour).

I'm thinking the H150i mounted on the roof btw - is there any reason not to go 3 fans and stick with 2?
 
Martinr36

Martinr36

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
masouth said:
I'm thinking the H150i mounted on the roof btw - is there any reason not to go 3 fans and stick with 2?
Click to expand...
Your case wont take 3 fans in the roof only a pair of 120mm, hence the h100

1646670765775.png
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
masouth said:
Hi i dont believe that is my case, or certainly the front doesn't look like it.

Corsair iCue 220T RGB Airflow Tempered Glass Mid-Tower Smart Case, Black | Ebuyer.com

Get a great deal on a Corsair iCue 220T RGB Airflow Tempered Glass Mid-Tower Smart Case, Black as well as thousands of products at Ebuyer!
www.ebuyer.com www.ebuyer.com

but glad you said something, as this spec actually states, "Top: 120/140 mm fan mount x 2 ¦" as well.
Click to expand...
Most cases won't support over 240mm radiators, yours doesn't.
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
masouth said:
Hi i dont believe that is my case, or certainly the front doesn't look like it.

Corsair iCue 220T RGB Airflow Tempered Glass Mid-Tower Smart Case, Black | Ebuyer.com

Get a great deal on a Corsair iCue 220T RGB Airflow Tempered Glass Mid-Tower Smart Case, Black as well as thousands of products at Ebuyer!
www.ebuyer.com www.ebuyer.com

but glad you said something, as this spec actually states, "Top: 120/140 mm fan mount x 2 ¦" as well.
Click to expand...
That's not your case though, yours is the cooler master masterbox according to the link you posted
 
M

masouth

Active member
My bad it seems selecting the case from the menu doesn't affect the url. i've update my original post and removed the link to the PCS site.

Thanks very much
 
M

masouth

Active member
To round this thread off I just happened to find this video, which happens to be identical to my build except I got 3080 gpu and a bit more ram. It shows that h100i will be able to fit on the case roof!


EDIT: only the fans are on the roof the radiator is on the front and Zotac 3080 is longer than featured 3070 so this eact config may not work.
 
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SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
masouth said:
To round this thread off I just happened to find this video, which happens to be identical to my build except I got 3080 gpu and a bit more ram. It shows that h100i will be able to fit on the case roof!

Click to expand...
In that video it's on the front?
 
T

TonyCarter

VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
I’ve got the 220T case, with a 3080Ti, and a H100i cooler in the roof.

However the warning I got from the forum experts when I was building mine was that roof-mount was fine but not with RGB RAM.

I originally wanted a bigger cooler for the toasty 5800x CPU, but was also told that the H100i was about the biggest I could roof-mount.

You can fit:
  • 240mm (2x120mm fans) rad on the top
  • 280mm (2x140mm fans) on the front
  • 360mm (3x120mm fans) on the front if you remove the HDD cage
 
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