Question 9800X3D reporting 200 Celsius on HWMonitor?

Feb 11, 2025
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Hello, I just built a new rig and I have an issue that has been driving me crazy and can’t seem to figure it out and am looking for any input/solution. All hardware/software drivers are up-to-date with latest chipsets/firmware updates.

System Specs:
OS- Windows 11 Home
CPU- AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
GPU-Gigabyte Windforce 5080 SSF OC 16GB
MB- Gigabyte X870E Aorus Elite Wifi7
CPU Liquid Cooler- Artic Freezer III 360mm
RAM- G Skillz Trident Z5 Neo RGB Series (AMD Expo) DDR5 RAM 32GB (2x16) 6000 MT/s
CL30-38-38-96 1.35V
OS SSD- Crucial T700 Gen5 NVME M.2 2TB
Storage- Samsung 990 Pro Gen4 NVME M.2 4TB
PSU- MSI MEG Ai 1300W PSU ATX 3.1 80+ Plat
Case- Fractal North XL


So, let’s start at the beginning-

At all stock settings: CPU temps during loads are reporting relatively high even on small tasks such as opening a browser, or just general gaming. The high load temps seem to come in spikes- spiking from 45 to 90 Celsius in a few seconds, then back down to 45-50. Additionally, these load temperature spikes are causing my fan curves to run like a roller-coaster and I am not a fan of it. Nor am I fan of this CPU spiking temps that high just randomly while not at an extensive, heavy load. It is concerning.

My idle temps are fine, reporting usually anywhere from 38-45 Celsius. The thermal throttle limit is 95 Celsius for this chip out of the box, so I understand it is designed to run at higher temps. But the cooler, the better, right? Especially for chip longevity.

Monitoring Software:
HWMonitor
AMD Ryzen Master


So what have I done for possible resolutions? After extensive google research and finding some similar cases, I decided to try undervolting the CPU.

I have tried 2 different profile tweaks with undervolting/Overlocking.
*Both profiles have been tested for 100% stability using AIDA64.

1st Tweak
XMP Enabled- Adjusted RAM Speed 6000 MT/s
Precision Boost Overdrive – Advanced
PBO Limits- Motherboard Curve Optimizer – All Cores/Negative/20 Platform Thermal Throttle Ctrl- Manual – 95.
PBO Scalar Ctrl- Auto FCLK Frequency- 2000MHz UCLK DIV1 Mode- UCLK=MEMCLK

Results: Slightly lower temps, but still getting those high temp spikes during utilization from 45 to 80 in a few seconds, then back down to around 55-65. Idle temps -35-45. Load Temps 70-85. Better than stock, but not solving the issue it seems.

2nd Tweak
XMP Enabled – Adjust RAM Speed 6000 MT/s
Precision Boost Overdrive- Advanced
PBO Limits- Motherboard.
Curve Optimizer- All cores/Negative/20 Thermal Throttle Ctrl- Manual- 95
PBO Scalar Ctrl- Auto FCLK Frequency- 2000MHz UCLK DIV1 Mode- UCLK=MEMCLK
*CPU Ratio- 50.00 (5000MHz)
*CPU Core Voltage- 1.100V

*= solution to my issue


Results: Wow! My temps reduced drastically. 30-40 Idle Temps. Load Temps 50-60. No constant spiking utilization/temps. Tested stability for 10 mins- rock solid, perfect cool temps all around!!! Quiet as a mouse even under load, I thought my troubles were resolved.

However… HM Monitor reported a max value of 200 Celsius on my CPU Temp while gaming! It was reported on 2 separate testing occasions, on the “package” reading and also on the “CCD” reading of the CPU. Noticing this, I heavily monitored temperatures while idling and while gaming under load. Everything seemed fine, idle and current temps under load were solid. Ryzen Master had no reported high temp such as 200, but HWMonitor did.
I immediately did a stability test for 10 mins in AIDA64 with 100% CPU utilization. CPU temps holding steady at 50-65 underload. No report of failure or extremely high temp.
That seemed very odd to me. At 200 Celsius, I am pretty sure my PC would have turned into a nuclear reactor. PC would have shut down on its own. It would have literally melted. Weirdly, I noticed HMMonitor only reports the 200 reading when following the 2nd Tweaked profile, which the only change was setting the CPU Ratio to 5000MHz and the CPU Core Voltage to 1.100. It does not report a 200 Celsius reading at stock or the 1st Tweaked profile.



Now if the 200 reading was accurate, I would definitely NOT have a working CPU. So this can’t be accurate, right? So I am wondering if this is a software issue with HMMonitor or possibly even a sensor reading issue on my MB? It’s just really odd it only seems to happen while changing the CPU Ratio and the CPU Core Voltage. I would really like to leave it on this 2nd Tweaked Profile because the temps are running perfect and utilization is massively efficient while under load. It literally solved the issue I was having. However, the random 200 reading every time I open HMMonitor has me worried.

I am so close to having this solved.. and this happened 🙁

Should I be worried at all? Are my temps being reported accurately after the CPU ratio/voltage change? What is the likely cause of this so called faulty reading? Hardware? Software? CPU?
 
Last edited:
You could try Ryzen Master and run something like Cinebench. If the temp stays reasonable it's just HWMonitor that is wrong. You could try to reinstall it to make sure it resets it's sensors.

But you should not have to do all this undervolting to get acceptable temperatures. Those spikes to 80c while doing pretty much nothing are not normal. The 9800X3D goes hot when loaded at 100% but when running regular tasks like internet browsing or even gaming it actually runs pretty cold. Mine at stock barely reaches 60c during gaming and the only way to get very high temp like 80-90 is to run heavy benchmarks (or compile shaders). And with curve optimizer at -10 it basically never reaches more than 75c even in heavy tasks.

So your undervolting is basically hiding a problem under the carpet. You also underclocked the CPU to 5000 MHz while it supposed to boost to 5200. You are losing performance.

Are you sure the cooler is properly installed with enough thermal paste? How is your airflow?

Speaking of the cooler, this is a general comment but why so many people go with the artic freezer 3? You can't even monitor the liquid temp with this cooler. One of the main reasons to buy an AIO is to avoid those annoying fan bursts by setting the fan curve with the liquid temperature instead of the CPU. The fans are not cooling down the CPU, they cool down the liquid, and since the liquid temp changes very slowly the fan speed should be set with that. Spending so much money on a pc and going for a cooler like the artic freezer 3 is beyond my comprehension.