Intel Core i7-7700K overheats and hangs under load, despite proper cooling and no overclocking

Question

I have i7 Kaby Lake 7700K with Asus Z170-K which I cannot make stable.

In idle mode the temperature (measured by RealTemp) hovers around 35 C, which I think is pretty normal. However, when I run stress test (with Intel Burn Test), it works OK in high load, but in "very high load" the temperature quickly goes up to 90 and eventually the system freezes. The CPU is not overclocked.

I have a decent cooler (Cooler Master Hyper 212), with thermal paste and everything. I tried multiple times to re-assemble it with different amounts of paste and different screwing techniques.

I updated the BIOS.

Still... under very high load the system freezes.

Answer 1

This is a known problem with the i7-7700K.

I'd blame it on the low-quality thermal paste Intel uses to conduct heat from the processor die to the integrated heat spreader (IHS). There is plenty of evidence that this is a major factor; most tellingly, users who "delid" the processor (remove the IHS) and replace the thermal paste have reported dramatic drops in temperature, often well in excess of 20 °C.

Intel's response is to tell users to not overclock the processor, but this is not a satisfactory response for many. Firstly, users have reported overheating even at stock clock frequencies. Secondly, the processor is unlocked for overclocking, which comes at a premium over locked Intel processors.

AMD's new Ryzen processors do not suffer from this problem because the IHS is soldered onto the processor die for optimal thermal contact. Delidding is much riskier on Ryzen and has little benefit.

You can try the following:

• Adjust the processor fan so that it runs faster (there are many utilities that let you do this).
• Use a liquid cooler for increased cooling capacity.
• Return the processor and get a delidded unit from Silicon Lottery (no affiliation), which should perform far better than the normal retail processor. (I do not recommend delidding the processor yourself.)

Answer 2

I think it may be a problem with the PSU and not an issue with an overheating CPU.

Overheating CPUs usually cause the computer to shutdown if the CPU temperature exceeds the threshold set in BIOS.
PSU problems such as a faulty PSU, underpowered PSU etc.. usually cause the computer to freeze.

From what I read about the Intel Burn test, it not only stresses the CPU but other components as well. This would then increase the power draw of the Computer. However if the PSU is having problems handling that load, it would cause the computer to freeze.

To diagnose if it is the PSU that is causing problems under high load, try running the stress test with only the essential components. For example, if you have a discrete GPU, disconnect it and use the onboard GPU. If the stress test runs fine in such a configuration, it is most likely that your PSU is the component causing the problem.