i7 6700k - High Temp issue

[noeljm]

I have a gaming build which is close to four years old now (built it in 2016).

Specs:
CPU - Intel i7 6700k @ 4GHz. Turbo upto 4.2 GHz (no overclocking)
GPU - Zotac GTX 970 (no overclocking)
CPU Cooler - H100i GTX
Motherboard - Asus E3 Pro Gaming v5
BIOS version - 2606
Case - Corsair C70 Vengeance (lots of openings for airflow)
Fans - 5 [2 intake and 3 (2 AIO radiator+1 rear) for exhaust ]

Of late, I observed quite high idle temps on my CPU (close to 60c with random spikes up to 85c), while gaming (Arkham Knight, GTA V, Alien Isolation) it would shoot up to 90c and occasionally hit 100c (never had an automatic shut down though). 
I hadn't replaced the stock thermal paste which came with the H100i GTX in all these years. So the first thing I did was replace the stock thermal paste with the Arctic MX-4 2019 edition and for good measure cleaned out the case, air filters, fans and the radiator fins. I even replaced the stock thermal paste on the GPU with the Arctic.

Although my idle temps have come down from 60c to hovering around the 45c-50c mark (I think this is high for idle), I can still see spikes of up to 85c.

Playing Batman Arkham Knight on Ultra ( with PhysX turned on) yields sustained temps of 85c-87c with spikes of up to 100c on the CPU and the GPU stays close to 80c but never exceeds it. Running even a simple stress test such as the CPU-Z bench for 10 mins gives sustained temps of 95c-100c at 100% load. I didn't bother with Prime95. Motherboard temp is at 41c. I live in India where the climate is warm. The ambient temperature is usually around 30c in the monsoons and can even hit 40c in summers (I have an air conditioner in the room but I don't run it all day long). Could this be a contributing factor?

At first, I thought I had botched the thermal paste application but since then I have cleaned and re-applied the same (dot method) at least 6 times with the same high temps. The cooler pump is working fine and so are all the fans.

I am at my wits end as to how to proceed with this. I have ordered the Noctua NT-H1 as a back-up because the Arctic is only good for two-three more applications.

I would like to hear some suggestions from you guys.

Does the i7-6700K usually run at high temps?

Is the Arctic MX-4 any good or should I use the Noctua NT-H1?

Should I opt for air cooling (Noctua NH D15) instead of AIO? (getting the CPU block to mount is a bitch due to the thick tubes)

P.S. I know, too many questions. Apologies!

[Haro]

Make sure the pump is working by listening to it 

Re seat it and try 

Also update the bios just Incase maybe it's a wrong reading ( highly unlikely tho)

[Master Disaster]

At this point you should just pull the AIO and install the Noctua. After 3 years its possible the AIO has developed an issue (maybe some of the liquid evaporated or the impellor isn't running as fast as it should be any more) and TBH its good practice to replace AIOs once in a while anyway. Nothing lasts forever.

 

I'd say its a fairly safe bet that once the AIO is replaced things will settle down again.

[flashiling]

7 minutes ago, noeljm said:

P.S. I know, too many questions. Apologies!

you're on a tech forum and you need help, and you did a better job describing your problems than 99% of most people, i can't help you with your issue but you don't need to apologize for this, especially when you gave all the info needed.

[Master Disaster]

1 minute ago, flashiling said:

you're on a tech forum and you need help, and you did a better job describing your problems than 99% of most people, i can't help you with your issue but you don't need to apologize for this, especially when you gave all the info needed.

I'd much rather a wall of information over

 

"I ran something, some kind of error popped up and now something else wont work. Please HELP!!!!!!"

[PCGuy_5960]

-Merged posts and moved to troubleshooting-

 

No need to post in two subforums at the same time 

[noeljm]

29 minutes ago, TofuHaroto said:

Make sure the pump is working by listening to it 

Re seat it and try 

Also update the bios just Incase maybe it's a wrong reading ( highly unlikely tho)

I did check the pump status with iCUE by Corsair. No red flags by the software whatsoever, but it's highly possible that it could be a hardware issue undetected by the software. I'll give it a week with the new paste in case it requires burning in and re-seat the pump if necessary.

 

As for the BIOS, 2606 (released in 2018) is the last compatible version for the E3 Pro Gaming V5 motherboard according to the Asus website.

[Haro]

3 minutes ago, noeljm said:

give it a week with the new paste in case it requires burning in and re-seat the pump if necessary

If the issue still persists I recommend listening to the pump and making sure it's working

[noeljm]

30 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

At this point you should just pull the AIO and install the Noctua. After 3 years its possible the AIO has developed an issue (maybe some of the liquid evaporated or the impellor isn't running as fast as it should be any more) and TBH its good practice to replace AIOs once in a while anyway. Nothing lasts forever.

 

I'd say its a fairly safe bet that once the AIO is replaced things will settle down again.

I have to admit, that is a highly tempting solution. I guess I am in denial that the AIO isn't working well because it wasn't cheap when I bought it. I checked the pump status with iCUE but it gave no red flags, could be a undetected hardware issue.

 

I really don't want to go for the Noctua before trying other avenues because even that is not gonna be cheap. I was hoping I could give the thermal paste route a try before buying new equipment. Thanks for your input though, appreciate it!

[noeljm]

32 minutes ago, PCGuy_5960 said:

-Merged posts and moved to troubleshooting-

 

No need to post in two subforums at the same time 

hey, thanks a lot!

[noeljm]

36 minutes ago, flashiling said:

you're on a tech forum and you need help, and you did a better job describing your problems than 99% of most people, i can't help you with your issue but you don't need to apologize for this, especially when you gave all the info needed.

Thank you! This just made me feel better. I was wondering whether I had fallen short on information (LOL).

[noeljm]

5 minutes ago, TofuHaroto said:

If the issue still persists I recommend listening to the pump and making sure it's working

will do.

[Jurrunio]

55 minutes ago, noeljm said:

Does the i7-6700K usually run at high temps?

Is the Arctic MX-4 any good or should I use the Noctua NT-H1?

Should I opt for air cooling (Noctua NH D15) instead of AIO? (getting the CPU block to mount is a bitch due to the thick tubes)

Not unless the mobo decides to push stupid high voltage into the CPU, at stock it should be somewhere around 1.2V core voltage.

 

MX-4 has a longer run-in period than NT-H1 but otherwise, both are mediocre pastes (best and mediocre \are like 5 degrees C apart so they are still competitive)

 

You're bending the tube really hard? Is it hitting the memory sticks? Maybe you have a mounting pressure problem then

[noeljm]

22 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

Not unless the mobo decides to push stupid high voltage into the CPU, at stock it should be somewhere around 1.2V core voltage.

 

MX-4 has a longer run-in period than NT-H1 but otherwise, both are mediocre pastes (best and mediocre \are like 5 degrees C apart so they are still competitive)

 

You're bending the tube really hard? Is it hitting the memory sticks? Maybe you have a mounting pressure problem then

I just checked the BIOS and yes the core voltage is at 1.2V.

 

I was considering the Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut at first. But, sadly, it is way beyond my budget (for now).

 

"You're bending the tube really hard?" - Not that I'm aware of. I take out the memory sticks every time I un-seat/ re-seat the cooler. How do i verify that there is a mounting pressure problem?

[Jurrunio]

27 minutes ago, noeljm said:

"You're bending the tube really hard?" - Not that I'm aware of. I take out the memory sticks every time I un-seat/ re-seat the cooler. How do i verify that there is a mounting pressure problem?

When the tubes arent applying pressure to the block, the screws wont go tigher easily without tools. that's what should happen if mounting pressure if sufficient

 

Also where did you mount the radiator? Tube side of the radiator pointing up or down?

[noeljm]

2 hours ago, Jurrunio said:

When the tubes arent applying pressure to the block, the screws wont go tigher easily without tools. that's what should happen if mounting pressure if sufficient

 

Also where did you mount the radiator? Tube side of the radiator pointing up or down?

The cooler has thumb screws for the mount which I am able to tighten without the help of tools, no problem, and I do feel the tubes apply sufficient pressure (these tubes are thick AF). The radiator is mounted to the top of the case with tubes pointing down.

[Jurrunio]

2 hours ago, noeljm said:

The cooler has thumb screws for the mount which I am able to tighten without the help of tools, no problem, and I do feel the tubes apply sufficient pressure (these tubes are thick AF). The radiator is mounted to the top of the case with tubes pointing down.

The tubes shouldnt be the one applying pressure, it's the thumb screws and only the thumb screws.

 

Are the radiator fans pushing air past the radiator or is it pulling?

[noeljm]

33 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

The tubes shouldnt be the one applying pressure, it's the thumb screws and only the thumb screws.

 

Are the radiator fans pushing air past the radiator or is it pulling?

Not sure what I can do about the tubes, they are stock. Plus, they worked all these years, dunno why they would be an issue now? I understand what you're saying and the downward pressure from the tubes is not that great (I can see that there is an even spread of the thermal paste when I take off the cooler), the thumbscrews are still doing most of the work.

 

The fans are pushing the air (exhaust config).

[Jurrunio]

41 minutes ago, noeljm said:

Not sure what I can do about the tubes, they are stock. Plus, they worked all these years, dunno why they would be an issue now? I understand what you're saying and the downward pressure from the tubes is not that great (I can see that there is an even spread of the thermal paste when I take off the cooler), the thumbscrews are still doing most of the work.

 

The fans are pushing the air (exhaust config).

Permeation is a thing, basically steady loss of fluid that you cannot control. 3 years is on the fast side on when it could cause bad thermals like that tho.

[frozensun]

9 hours ago, noeljm said:

I have a gaming build which is close to four years old now (built it in 2016).

Specs:
CPU - Intel i7 6700k @ 4GHz. Turbo upto 4.2 GHz (no overclocking)
GPU - Zotac GTX 970 (no overclocking)
CPU Cooler - H100i GTX
Motherboard - Asus E3 Pro Gaming v5
BIOS version - 2606
Case - Corsair C70 Vengeance (lots of openings for airflow)
Fans - 5 [2 intake and 3 (2 AIO radiator+1 rear) for exhaust ]

Of late, I observed quite high idle temps on my CPU (close to 60c with random spikes up to 85c), while gaming (Arkham Knight, GTA V, Alien Isolation) it would shoot up to 90c and occasionally hit 100c (never had an automatic shut down though). 
I hadn't replaced the stock thermal paste which came with the H100i GTX in all these years. So the first thing I did was replace the stock thermal paste with the Arctic MX-4 2019 edition and for good measure cleaned out the case, air filters, fans and the radiator fins. I even replaced the stock thermal paste on the GPU with the Arctic.

Although my idle temps have come down from 60c to hovering around the 45c-50c mark (I think this is high for idle), I can still see spikes of up to 85c.

Playing Batman Arkham Knight on Ultra ( with PhysX turned on) yields sustained temps of 85c-87c with spikes of up to 100c on the CPU and the GPU stays close to 80c but never exceeds it. Running even a simple stress test such as the CPU-Z bench for 10 mins gives sustained temps of 95c-100c at 100% load. I didn't bother with Prime95. Motherboard temp is at 41c. I live in India where the climate is warm. The ambient temperature is usually around 30c in the monsoons and can even hit 40c in summers (I have an air conditioner in the room but I don't run it all day long). Could this be a contributing factor?

At first, I thought I had botched the thermal paste application but since then I have cleaned and re-applied the same (dot method) at least 6 times with the same high temps. The cooler pump is working fine and so are all the fans.

I am at my wits end as to how to proceed with this. I have ordered the Noctua NT-H1 as a back-up because the Arctic is only good for two-three more applications.

I would like to hear some suggestions from you guys.

Does the i7-6700K usually run at high temps?

Is the Arctic MX-4 any good or should I use the Noctua NT-H1?

Should I opt for air cooling (Noctua NH D15) instead of AIO? (getting the CPU block to mount is a bitch due to the thick tubes)

P.S. I know, too many questions. Apologies!

We share the same CPU,I even clocked it to 4.5 GHz and only get around 40 C in gaming,but I own proudly D-15.

Yout temps are way to much and you won't find solution here.

But you don't need D-15 or Dark Rock 4 Pro you are goood even with Hyper 212 as long you don't OC your CPU.

As for changing thermalpaste I didn't change it for 4 years too,so that is not an issue.

Just get any air cooler like for example arctic esports frezeezer is good and enjoy in games.

[noeljm]

Hey, guys! A small update after more than two weeks of the original post. I changed the thermal paste to the Noctua NT-H1,

 

It's been a week since I've applied the H1 and I'm seeing marginally better temps, although, I wouldn't say they're 'great'. Idle temps are now in the 35c-40c range and gaming temps lie somewhere in the high 70s (celsius). At least I'm not getting spikes that touch 100c, for now.

 

After going through the replies I really think that something's not right with my cooler. It could be any number of reasons you guys listed i.e. permeation or a worn out pump, etc and I've decided to change my cooler in the near future.

 

Thank you, amazing folks, for the prompt replies and suggestions! You guys are the best!