HELP - Intel i7 4770 throttling under load, constant beep from MB speaker

[NaysWindu]

Hi there.
Im in need of help

Earlier today, I was trying to play some PUBG, and I noticed a significant drop in FPS (avg 22 fps @ low-medium settings). At the time, I thought nothing of it (normally get 60-90fps), as it had occurred a few times, but was normally fixed with a restart, which I did. However, the problem persisted. I alt tabbed and checked my CPU temps in OpenHardwareMonitor, and to my shock, my CPU was running at 97-99 degrees Celcius, implying that it was thermal throttling. I downloaded Aida64, and ran a stress test, and was told that my CPU was thermal throttling at around 12% (first time using aida64). At the time my motherboard speaker wasn't plugged in.

I figured that maybe i forgot to put thermal compound in when I built it 4 years ago, but I haven't had any problems until now. I opened up my case, and saw that my CPU cooler (stock intel 4th gen) was filled with dust. I figured this was what was causing the throttling. I also cleared out a bunch of dust, and plugged in my case's included speaker (that I'd obviously forgotten about). Loaded back in, ran aida64's stress test. No improvement, and I was now throttling at 14%, with the motherboard speaker emitting a constant tone when the throttling occured. Any help would be much appreciated

System Specs:

CPU: Intel i7-4770 (stock cooler)

GPU: NIVDIA GTX 970 (EVGA FTW) (ACX 2.0)

MB: Gigabyte GA-Z87-HD3

RAM: Corsair Vengeance DDR3 2x8GB @2400Mhz

PSU: Corsair AX 860

Case: NZXT Guardian 921b

Storage - 1x Corsair Force LS 240GB SSD, 1 Seagate Barricude 1TB HDD, 1 WD 1.5 TB HDD, and my laptop's old 2.5" HDD (320GB)

Images:

System under load with speaker tone on.

Idle temps (surprisingly high):

[TheRandomness]

Is the fan running properly? Also, the 4770(k) was notorious for running hot, but if it’s been fine for 4 years, well, that’s a little confusing. 

[NaysWindu]

1 minute ago, TheRandomness said:

Is the fan running properly? Also, the 4770(k) was notorious for running hot, but if it’s been fine for 4 years, well, that’s a little confusing. 

Yeah it appears to be when I look at it. It could sometimes be a little loud, but i figured that that was normal for a stock cooler. I also think that Fan1 in the hardware monitor might also be the CPU fan

If it helps, im currently running LoL in practice tool, and the game is extremely stuttery. (frametimes all over the place). And the sound occasionally drops out too.

[Skiiwee29]

Probably could use a fresh application of Thermal paste truthfully. 

[NaysWindu]

2 minutes ago, Skiiwee29 said:

Probably could use a fresh application of Thermal paste truthfully. 

I'll be able to get some tomorrow (dont have any atm). But shouldnt the stock cooler be able to handle it on its own, even without compound. Like, i was throttling just now even in a low demand game like league. (at medium settings)

[Jurrunio]

Just now, NaysWindu said:

shouldnt the stock cooler be able to handle it on its own, even without compound.

Hell no. I mean, without paste I'd be glad that it doesnt throttle at idle.

[Sir Asvald]

19 minutes ago, NaysWindu said:

System Specs:

CPU: Intel i7-4770 (stock cooler)

That is your problem.. Get an actual cooler.

[NaysWindu]

16 hours ago, Jurrunio said:

Hell no. I mean, without paste I'd be glad that it doesnt throttle at idle.

Wow ok. Didn't think that thermal paste was so critical. I knew it was important, but not to that extent! I'll apply some tomorrow, and I guess I'll reply back with what the results are.

 

16 hours ago, Abdul201588 said:

That is your problem.. Get an actual cooler.

I'm actually doing a full system upgrade in about 3 months :). I'll be getting a new cooler then.

[Sir Asvald]

3 minutes ago, NaysWindu said:

I'm actually doing a full system upgrade in about 3 months :). I'll be getting a new cooler then.

Well there is nothing you can do. 

[JoostinOnline]

8 minutes ago, NaysWindu said:

Wow ok. Didn't think that thermal paste was so critical. I knew it was important, but not to that extent! I'll apply some tomorrow, and I guess I'll reply back with what the results are.

The purpose of TIM is to fill the gap between the IHS (the metal part at the top of the CPU) and the base of the cooler. At best there are microscopic gaps between the IHS and cooler. At worst, they are barely touching. The thermal paste makes sure the heat can transfer evenly from the CPU to the cooler.

 

Make sure to clean off all the old thermal paste before applying new stuff. You can use a napkin or strong paper towel (ones that won't leave fibers) and rubbing alcohol. Don't use water. When applying paste, put a dot slightly bigger than a pea right in the center of the CPU. It should give pretty even distribution that way.

[Skiiwee29]

16 hours ago, NaysWindu said:

I'll be able to get some tomorrow (dont have any atm). But shouldnt the stock cooler be able to handle it on its own, even without compound. Like, i was throttling just now even in a low demand game like league. (at medium settings)

no.. the TIM is what allows the transfer of heat between the IHS and the cooler. Without it.. there is little to no real transfer and the CPU just bakes faster than a chicken in the oven. 

 

16 hours ago, Abdul201588 said:

That is your problem.. Get an actual cooler.

Stock is actually fine, its a non K chip so no overclocking. They are adequate for non overclocked chips. 

[Sir Asvald]

1 minute ago, Skiiwee29 said:

Stock is actually fine, its a non K chip so no overclocking. They are adequate for non overclocked chips. 

I had to replace my stock cooler and I'm using a non-K i5 4690... They are terrible. Gaming the CPU would reach up to 86C. I even changed the thermal paste, no difference. Got a hyper 212, worked fine ever since.

[Taf the Ghost]

If it's the stock cooler, isn't there a pre-applied TIM? You probably just need a decent 20 buck cooler + paste and it'll be fine.

[Jurrunio]

56 minutes ago, NaysWindu said:

Wow ok. Didn't think that thermal paste was so critical. I knew it was important, but not to that extent! I'll apply some tomorrow, and I guess I'll reply back with what the results are.

ya, that's integrated voltage regulation in the CPU doing its job

[NaysWindu]

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE! Thermal compound in, and temps are WAY better. I was having some issues with it not booting, but it turns out it was due to the HDD i also installed not initialising or something. Disconnected it and got into windows fine.

Here's a screenshot of  the temps under full load now.

 

Looks like thermal compound is super important! I definitely learnt a lesson lol.

Thanks so much guys for helping with troubleshooting and offering advice