Overclocking and Temperatures
While testing the overclocking on both motherboards, we do our best to keep the ambient temperature as close to 20°c (68°f) as possible. Where the I7-8700k used in this review is technically a retail sample, it was provided by Intel. On both the Z390 Pro and the Z390 Phantom Gaming SLI/ac, our retail i7 8700k overclocked no higher than 4.8 GHz. In fact, I’ve not gotten this 8700k past 4.8 GHz on any board. If I set the voltage higher than 1.30 volts, it instantly crashes. On the Phantom Gaming SLI/ac, our 8700k hit 4.8 GHz at 1.312 volts. In the Z390 Pro, the same processor hit 4.8 GHz at 1.308 volts.
For temperatures, the I7 8700k that was tested on both motherboards had very similar temperatures during the AIDA64 Stability test. On the Z390 Pro, our max temp under load, on the CPU Stability test was 66°c. While idling, on the Z390 Pro, our 8700k averaged 29°c at stock and 33°c while overclocked. On the Phantom Gaming SLI/ac, the max temp under load on the SPU Stability test was 67°c. While overclocked to 4.8 GHz, our 8700k idled at 35°c and 31°c at stock speeds.
