h100i v2 - High'ish load temps

[keerf]

Hi Everyone,

 

Just completed a new build with system specs listed in my profile (provided they show up).

 

I'm not sure if I missed a setup option (or if my Gigabyte board might be doing some auto overclock). But I am noticing that when I do an Aida64 stress test, with in 10 minutes my temps will spike to around 70/71.

 

Is that normal for the H100i and Kaby Lake?

 

Also, with the Gigabyte board, should I be settings the fans to 100% all the time? If so, in SmartFan what should I possibly turn on/off.

 

Also I should mention, I'm not using the Corsair link software. Never really used it, but I also know there seem to be issues with Kaby Lake and that software.

 

Thanks for any help!

[DevBiker]

Haven't done an Aida64 stress test myself but that doesn't seem far off from what I've seen with stress tests on my Kaby Lake with RealBench.

I'm not sure what you mean by having the fans set to 100% all the time. Are these the fans for the radiator or the fan setting for the pump that's connected to CPU Fan 1 (if you followed the installation instructions)? If the latter ... yes, you should have the fans set to 100% -or- PWM mode. Essentially, you need to make sure that it gets the full 12V. If it doesn't get the full 12V - and the fans a plugged in to the pump as is the default, then you will absolutely have issues with both pump speed as well as the fans. You'll see the coolant temperature rise and rise and rise and rise ... which is not good.

The CL software does have issues with Kaby Lake - it doesn't see any of the temperatures from the Kaby Lake processors. But that's not really much of an issue; it's better to control the fan speed based on the temperature of the coolant, not the temperature of the processor. And so, with that said, I do use CL to control my fans on my H100 v2 ... I've tweaked the profile to be a touch more aggressive at ramping up the fans than the default profile.

For comparison ... I have mine overclocked to 4.9 Ghz @ 1.33 VCore. During a 2 hour run with Asus RealBench, I averaged around 70C with an occasional spike up to 83C. Coolant temps reached 37.5C and stabilized between 37.2 and 37.4. The case temp got up to 33C (I have a temp probe connected to the motherboard that's right in front of the cooler's intake so I can monitor the temperature of the air going through the radiator).

[keerf]

Thanks DevBiker!

 

So I switched my CPU Fan control to PWM on the bios, I had that set wrong, but I left fan speed as normal, not full. Or should I change that as well. I ran the cable for Link as well.

 

Just did a quick Aida test again for 6 minutes, and this is hwmonitor and Link reported:

 

Liquid: 28c

Temps: 67/68c for all 4 cores

Fan: 1440/1500rpm

Pump: 1950 rpm

 

That look normal?

 

Thanks!

[c-attack]

If you are going to power and control the fans from the motherboard, then you need to set them to PWM and your desired fan speed. This is less efficient than controlling them from the pump and will require some tinkering to find your ideal speed. More fan speed doesn't always help and is obviously louder.

 

Whether you control the fans from the motherboard or the pump, the header connected to the H100i v2 must be set to 100%/PWM/disabled or whatever language your BIOS uses to describe a constant 12v signal. If you have your fans connected to the board and they are on CPU_FAN, the pump can be connected to another header. However, something must be on CPU FAN.

[keerf]

Hey c-attack,

 

I have the fans connected to the pump, and the pump is on CPU_FAN.

 

In the bios, I have the CPU fan set to PWN, but the fan speed set to normal.

[c-attack]

That should be fine and the PWM signal will provide 12v at all times. However, be careful of making adjustments with desktop fan control software. I am not familiar with Gigabyte's version, but others are capable of overriding the BIOS fan control when tuned. Just something to keep an eye on if you use the software to make system wide fan changes. With the radiator fans connected to the pump, use Link as normal to effect changes there.

[keerf]

Hi c-attack,

 

I don't have any Gigabyte software installed. I always think the added "benefits" of motherboard software cause more problems usually.

 

I guess I am just more worried about temps. My last processor was a 4790k with a Noctua air cooler, and peak max spikes was around 55c.

[c-attack]

Yes, the Kaby's are definitely a bit spiky in terms of CPU temperatures and a lot of people are flocking to the forums with the same concerns. There are two main reasons for this. One, Intel has taken a Skylake and clocked it pretty high right out of the box. It is going to be warmer than most 6700K's. The other factor was also an issue on Skylake and that is the rather flexible instructions on how the CPU handles Vcore. If you are on AUTO voltage, it will be very compliant in providing additional voltage when under load conditions, particularly synthetic stress tests.

 

Nothing you can do about the first, but the second can be addressed by setting a specific adaptive voltage, even if you do not intend to overclock. There is an Asus guide that is helpful for those board owners. Perhaps less so for you, but there still is general information about the CPU that may further explain it's behavior. Also, Asus has a BIOS setting for Load Line to tighten the reins on the loose Vcore. Perhaps Gigabyte has something similar.

 

In terms of the cooler, keep an eye on your starting and load coolant temperatures (H100i Temp). This is the only variable radiator fan speed directly affects. When you see high CPU temps but with little change in coolant temperature, this is something that must be dealt with on the BIOS side. No cooler can really prevent these types of spikes and the Intel and the board makers are likely to improve as time goes on. What I have seen so far is 7700K owners get high CPU temps, but the wattage is still quite low and efficient. This means only small changes in coolant temperature and you are limited by voltage and the programs used.

[DevBiker]

Yes, the Kaby's are definitely a bit spiky in terms of CPU temperatures and a lot of people are flocking to the forums with the same concerns. There are two main reasons for this. One, Intel has taken a Skylake and clocked it pretty high right out of the box. It is going to be warmer than most 6700K's. The other factor was also an issue on Skylake and that is the rather flexible instructions on how the CPU handles Vcore. If you are on AUTO voltage, it will be very compliant in providing additional voltage when under load conditions, particularly synthetic stress tests.

 

Nothing you can do about the first, but the second can be addressed by setting a specific adaptive voltage, even if you do not intend to overclock. There is an Asus guide that is helpful for those board owners. Perhaps less so for you, but there still is general information about the CPU that may further explain it's behavior. Also, Asus has a BIOS setting for Load Line to tighten the reins on the loose Vcore. Perhaps Gigabyte has something similar.

 

In terms of the cooler, keep an eye on your starting and load coolant temperatures (H100i Temp). This is the only variable radiator fan speed directly affects. When you see high CPU temps but with little change in coolant temperature, this is something that must be dealt with on the BIOS side. No cooler can really prevent these types of spikes and the Intel and the board makers are likely to improve as time goes on. What I have seen so far is 7700K owners get high CPU temps, but the wattage is still quite low and efficient. This means only small changes in coolant temperature and you are limited by voltage and the programs used.

 

I've had both Skylake and Kaby Lake. At the same clock speed, Kaby Lake runs cooler than Skylake. Early tests that showed Kaby Lake as hotter were using beta bios code that was flaky, at best. Unfortunately, that has gotten out there. Kaby Lake is also capable of clock speeds at reasonable temperatures that you simply couldn't get out of a Skylake. Overclocks to 4.9 and 5.0 GHz are not only possible with Kaby Lake but common. Skylake would only regularly get to about 4.6-4.7 Ghz, with outliers up to 4.9/5.0. A look at Silicon Lottery tells the tale ... their max clock for SL was 4.9 GHz, for KL, it's 5.2Ghz.

That said, it is spiky, particularly when running benchmarks. I suspect that at least some of this is due to the sub-par TIM that Intel is using; I've seen loads of reports that delidding and replacing the Intel TIM drops temps by 15-20C or more. The other issue is, as you mentioned, the greed for voltage of the CPU when set to Auto mode. I've seen mine request (VID) 1.350V ... even though my VCore hasn't gone above 3.28. That additional voltage, had it been actually supplied, would certainly impact temperatures for the hotter. And ... when I did have it all set to Auto, I definitely saw temperatures MUCH hotter than I'm seeing at 4.9 Ghz now ... at only 4.8 Ghz (90+). Finally, the type of benchmark also impacts the temperatures that you see. If you have an AVX-heavy stress test (like Prime95), you'll see higher and spikier temperatures. RealBench seems to put less heat into the CPU ... but it also tests the GPU and memory pretty extensively and can (IMHO) provide a better picture of how your system temps will behave when under a combined load (like gaming).