Maximus VII Hero - i5-4670K - A few questions \ concerns about temps

[Nite01]

Hi everyone,

i recently assembled a new machine with the following specs :

MB : Asus Maximus VII Hero
CPU : Intel i5-4670K
HSF : Noctua NH-D14
RAM : DDR3 PC1866 8GB CL9 Corsair Vengeance (2x4GB) CML8GX3M2A1866C9B - 2x for a total of 16GB
Case : Corsair 500r (with stock fans (2x intake on the front, 1x intake on the side, 1x exhaust on the back))

i'm by no means an expert in overclocking or hardware. All i did was set the XMP profile in the BIOS in order to get my RAM to work at its supposed frequency. When enabling XMP, other than the RAM settings, the motherboard also sets the "CPU Core Ratio" to "Sync All Cores".
I did also install "Asus AI Suite 3", but i didn't touch anything inside of it, other than the fan speed settings. (Today i actually tried the "5-way optimization", and ended up having to reset the BIOS to factory in order to be able to boot to windows).

I'm measuring the temperatures with "RealTemp 3.70" and "HWMonitor 1.25.0".

Stress testing with Prime95 (small FFT, 4 workers), the temperature of the first core fluctuates between 80°C-87°C.
Stress testing with OCCT (small data set), the temperature of the first core fluctuates between 62°C - 70°C.
Stress testing with the Intel XTU, the temperature of the first core fluctuates between 51°C - 62°C.
On idle, the temperature fluctuates between 30°C - 35°C

All tests were about 25-30 minutes long.

Are those temperatures normal at stock ?

I already tried to re-install the CPU heatsink. I used the "pea" method as suggested in the Noctua install instructions. This is a picture of the amount of thermal paste i applied (the one provided by Noctua) : http://i59.tinypic.com/2u8gjfs.jpg. Is it maybe too few or too much ? (i never installed any heatsink before)
I also already ordered an additional two case fans, to install on the top of the case as exhaust.

This is a screenshot of a OCCT test, together with CPUz and the temp monitoring software : http://i57.tinypic.com/dpzes0.jpg
Note : According to CPUz, the "Core Voltage" constantly fluctuates between 1.197V and 1.264V.

Same for Prime95 : http://i58.tinypic.com/24bkc3m.jpg
Note : With Prime95, the "Core Voltage" remains stable at 1.264V.

Another thing i noticed is that, according to CPUz, my CPU always(even with load at 1-2%) works at ~3800Mhz, while it only is supposed to do that in turbo mode (which i suppose it should be enabled only under full load), and it should normally work at ~3400Mhz.

Should i worry \ change any BIOS settings ?


Thanks a lot.

[HiVizMan]

Quick question have you changed your power plan in OS to performance? If yes that will cause your CPU to be at max all the time. You do not mention your SSD and some software that comes with the SSD (Samsungs) will force your system to performance mode.

What is your ambient temp?
How fast have you set your fans to spin?

There are so many variables that need knowing before we can actually make an intelligent observation about your system temps.

[Nite01]

hi,

The power plan of the OS is indeed set to performance. Also in the AISuite3, the "power saving formula" is performance.
I have 2x samsung SSDs, in RAID 1, where i installed the OS (Win 8.1 x64), and a regular HDD for data. I didn't install any Samsung software. (i tried to install the "Samsung magician" one, but with the SSDs being in RAID, it doesn't detect them, so i uninstalled it).

Room temperature around 23°C, fan profile set to "turbo" in AISuite3.

thanks for reply.

[jab383]

Nite01 wrote:
I'm measuring the temperatures with "RealTemp 3.70" and "HWMonitor 1.25.0".

What HiVizMan said, plus one more. Multiple sensing programs running at the same time tend to stumble over each other trying to get access to the monitor hardware. There are three running in the screenshot including what's built into OCCT. Pick just one.

I really like OCCT as a stability test. A profile that passes tests with anything else has given me bluescreens in Adobe CS6 at the most inopportune times. OCCT monitoring isn't quite so good. I strip the monitoring options to minimum when testing with it.

Jeff

[HiVizMan]

Please do use only one application for monitoring your system.

I do not like to install big and bulky software to do this kind of monitoring, and prefer to let my bios manage things, even my fans. So I would suggest removing all of the applications you are using and simply use a stand alone app that does not require any installation. I like HWmonitor. It is freeware and is made by the same lads who do CPUz.