CPU temperature scare

[cbreemer]

I had a bit of a scare yesterday. My VideoPad Professional v13.67 was busy exporting a 40-minute video, me doing something innocuous like playing FreeCell or web browsing, when I noticed a funny smell. I started up SpeedFan and to my horror saw all core temperatures were up to 80-90 degrees Celcius. The Temp1 reading (not sure what exactly that is) even reported 100 degrees 😲 I quickly terminated VideoPad, and some other programs that were open but not doing anything, and saw things slowly getting back to normal - which is core temperatures of around 36-40 Celcius. My video isn't even finished yet, the final version will likely be twice as big or more. I am now worried if I'll be able to complete this project without melting my hardware.

My PC, which I've had for 8 months now, isn't especially configured for hardcore video editing but I think the specs should be more than adequate:
 

Quote

Model:                Intel NUC12WSHi7
CPU:                   12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1260P, 2100 Mhz, 12 Core(s), 16 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS:                  Intel Corp. WSADL357.0090.2023.0821.1714, 21/08/2023
Motherboard:    Intel NUC12WSHi7 version M46422-304
Memory:            64Gb
Graphics:           Onboard Intel Iris Xe Graphics
OS:                    Microsoft Windows 11 Pro Version 10.0.22621 Build 22621
Disk 1:               Adata Legend 710 2Tb SSD
Disk 2:               PNY CS9000 2Tb SSD

I have about 3Tb free diskspace on my two 2Tb SSD drives combined. The video project currently has 11 mp4 files (total 10Gb) and 10 wav files (total 4Mb).

Any advice would be welcome.

[borate]

Video work is resource intensive, and it's wise to close other programs.  Are the mp4s 4K?  It might help to reduce export resolution.

The PC specs are adequate, similar to this water cooled Windows 11 system that has had no heating issues.

Is is possible that BIOS temp regulation is not optimally configured to kick in more aggressive cooling when under heavy load.

That's likely something to explore with the manufacturer or a qualified tech.

[cbreemer]

Thanks for that. I know video work is heavy but did not expect it to be so dramatic.

I don't know about 4K, can't find this in the video properties. They're just videos shot with my smartphone. I don't really want to lower export resolution but perhaps I can lower the frame rate somewhat. I'll take care to close as many other programs as I can next time. Also clear the cache (although I have bags of free disk space).

I could not find much in the BIOS about cooling under load. Only something called (IIRC) Fan mode which could be set to Cool. I left it as it was, on default.

In my VP Advanced Settings, the GPU Video Processor is set to Default - whatever that is. The available options are None (CPU only) and Intel(R) Irix (R) XE Graphics. Should I change this ?

What looks promising is the Windows 11 option to set Efficiency Mode on a specific process., Apparently this throttles down resource-hogging apps. Seems worth a try.

[borate]

Default is fine.  "None" can be tried, but it's bound to be slower.

To see file res and much more...https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo

[cbreemer]

Thanks.
Nice tool but it does not tell me whether my videos are 4K either. I don't think they are though, having only 1920x1080 resolution (YouTube standard).

[borate]

Media info should list the resolution.  If it is 1080 then it is full HD.

If it is 3840x2160 it's 4k.

[cbreemer]

Ok, mine are definitely not 4K then.
I experimented with export settings. Using 30 Fps frame rate and 1080x720 resolution looks reasonably good, though not as sharp as 1920x1080. If next time I still have a CPU problem, I'll use that format.

Thanks for your help.

[n1x1]

Hi @cbreemer

 

There are some tools that can limit the CPU usage of the program that might help but be 
aware that may cause the program to run slower. You may want to check the following: 

> BES - Battle Encoder Shirase
BES is a small tool which limits the CPU usage for a specified process: for instance, you can limit the CPU usage 
of a process which would use CPU 100%, down to 50% (or any percentage you like). With this, you can use other 
programs comfortably while doing something CPU-intensive in the background. By limiting the CPU load, you can 
also cool down your CPU immediately when it happens to get too hot. Of course the processing speed will slow 
down proportionally if you limit the CPU usage, but it should be much better than crashing because of heat or (in 
the worst scenario) having your computer broken with a burned CPU.

> Process Lasso
Process Lasso is a unique new technology that will improve your PC's responsiveness and stability during periods 
of high CPU load. Windows, by design, allows programs to monopolize your CPU without restraint -- leading to 
freezes, hangs, and micro-lags. Process Lasso's ProBalance (Process Balance) technology intelligently adjusts 
the priorities of running programs so that badly behaved processes won't negatively impact the responsiveness of 
your PC.

Finally, the easiest solution I found is to limit Processor power:
- Go to Control Panel.
- Hardware and sound
- Power options
- Edit plan settings
- Change advanced power settings
- Processor power management
- Maximum processor state and lower it to 80% or whatever you want. Using software that measure CPU 
temperatures like 'Speed fan' you will see that 
temperatures drop.

https://www.makeuseof.com/windows-limit-cpu-usage-program/
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/how-to-limit-cpu-usage-for-a-process-in-windows

 

[cbreemer]

Many thanks for your reply @n1x1 

Excellent information ! I was planning to Windows 11 Efficiency Mode first, which looks promising on paper. Now this being a Microsoft thingy I half expect it not to work 😁 in which case I can try the power management option or both of these tools you mentioned. There's bound to be some solution that will let me complete my video without burning the house down 😉