Question Advice needed on Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 - - - strange CPU temps ?

[Pineapple87]

Hello everyone! I recently built a new computer. This is my first experience with a DIY build. Previously, I selected components and ordered assembly from a store.
Here’s the list of hardware:
CPU - Ryzen 9800X3D
MoBo - Asus X870-F Gaming
Case - Thermaltake CTE E660 with 6 140 mm fans (bottom and rear, intake) and 2 120 mm on top.
AIO - Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360, installed at the front side for exhaust to the right side.
GPU - MSI Ventus RTX 5080

I did not overclock either the CPU or RAM; in the BIOS, I only disabled Fast Boot and switched PCIE to Gen 4 because I am using a riser that only supports Gen 4.

I am very concerned about the CPU temperature, especially its dependence on tightening the pump screws.

I applied MX-6 paste, which came with the cooler, in a cross pattern, as indicated in the manual. I tightened the pump screws about 70%, I believe. A small amount of paste oozed out, so I assume there was enough paste.

After installing Windows and everything else, I launched Star Wars: Outlaws and got a CPU temperature of around 65 degrees Celsius. However, since I read the AIO installation instructions carelessly, I thought I had tightened the pump screws too much and decided to loosen them a bit. After that, I got around 53 degrees in the same game in the same scene, and I was using the all-in-one cable.

A day later, I decided to change the cable to CPU+Pump+VRM. I removed the pump from the CPU and saw that there was indeed enough paste. I wiped it off and reapplied it from the syringe, also in a cross pattern, but a bit less (as it turned out, that was also sufficient). Visually, I assessed that if I gathered the applied paste into a blob, it would form the recommended pea-sized blob. Then, still thinking that the pump screws should not be fully tightened, I tightened them about 30% with small turns alternately. The paste did not ooze out. After that, I configured the fans using Armory Crate. Here are my settings. C is degrees Celsius, and RPM is RPM.

CPU fan
1 - 20/20 C/RPM
2 - 30/25 C/RPM
3 - 40/34 C/RPM
4 - 50/45 C/RPM
5 - 60/60 C/RPM
6 - 71/76 C/RPM
7 - 80/100 C/RPM
8 - 100/100 C/RPM

Chassis fans (1, 2, 3 - case fans)
1 - 22/14 C/RPM
2 - 30/18 C/RPM
3 - 40/20 C/RPM
4 - 50/25 C/RPM
5 - 60/30 C/RPM
6 - 68/36 C/RPM
7 - 72/50 C/RPM
8 - 100/60 C/RPM

Chassis fan 5 (VRM fan)
1 - 20/20 C/RPM
2 - 30/25 C/RPM
3 - 40/34 C/RPM
4 - 50/45 C/RPM
5 - 60/60 C/RPM
6 - 67/80 C/RPM
7 - 70/100 C/RPM
8 - 100/100 C/RPM

AIO Pump
1 - 20/80 C/RPM
2 - 30/81 C/RPM
3 - 40/83 C/RPM
4 - 50/85 C/RPM
5 - 58/87 C/RPM
6 - 65/92 C/RPM
7 - 70/100 C/RPM
8 - 100/100 C/RPM

As you can see, if the CPU heats up to 80 degrees, both the pump and radiator fans run at 100%. Idle temps are 40 for the CPU package and 37 for the CPU, which is good. In Ghost of Tsushima, it's 49-50 degrees; in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, around 55 in the forest and about 58 in a town; in Star Wars: Outlaws, from 52 to 57; in Cyberpunk, from 55 to 65 depending on the scene; in Oblivion Remastered, 50 indoors and from 58 to 68 outdoors. I believe these are good temperatures, but it should be noted that I used Frame Generation in games where it was possible to achieve stable 138 FPS (I have a 144 Hz monitor with G-Sync); without FG, the temperatures should be a bit higher.

It should also be added that when loading a game, for example, Ghost of Tsushima, the temperature could spike for a fraction of a second to 85 degrees, but as far as I know, this is normal and there's nothing that can be done about it. I should also mention that during the first launch of the game in RPCS3 while compiling, the temperatures were around 76 degrees.

In the Prime95 Small FFT test (I didn't change anything in the Run a Weaker Torture Test section), the temperatures were around 86 for the CPU package and 76 for the CPU. The test was conducted for 30 minutes, and around the 12-minute mark, the temperatures briefly spiked to 88 degrees. According to reviews on the Internet, I should have received lower temperatures even without undervolting. This kept bothering me, and I continued to search for information online. I accidentally discovered that the instructions explicitly state that the pump screws should be fully tightened. I saw the same information on some forums and in a video from Gamer Nexus. So yesterday, I fully tightened the pump screws. After that, I ran Prime95 again, and within 5 minutes, the temperatures exceeded 90 degrees; in Ghost of Tsushima, it's now 53 degrees, and at idle, it's 41 for the CPU package and 38 for the CPU. Yes, in games, the difference is small, but it exists! In Prime95, the situation is much worse. And it is about 85 when compiling stuff in RPCS3. Now I am completely confused and don’t know what to do.

In a day or two, a new MX-6 will arrive, and maybe I will try to repaste and remount the pump, and this time I will apply the paste in the center as one blob, although I doubt this will improve the situation, as when I removed it last time, it was clear that the paste had spread across the entire IHS.

I really need advice and information. I'm feeling very sad and confused. Any help is greatly appreciated!

PS Sorry for any mistakes if there are any. English is not my native language, but I am doing my best and using the help of AI.

 

[Pineapple87]

In case if someone interested. I've contacted Arctic support and described my situation. And here is their answer:

Thank you for the detailed description and the photo. Your idle and gaming temperatures look absolutely safe. Even under load (Cinebench, Prime95), the temperatures are still within the normal range – especially for a 9800X3D, which is known to get quite warm.


The orientation of the pump (tubes to the left due to the rotated motherboard) is not technically a problem. The radiator position with the hoses is also fine. The thermal paste, the installation, and the airflow in your case also sound well thought out.


It's normal for higher temperatures to occur under load with this setup (especially Cinebench/Prime95). The AIO is working correctly. The rapid temperature drops after the load is removed show that the heat is being dissipated well. The slightly lower clock speeds in Prime95 are intended by the motherboard logic and are perfectly fine.


In short, your system is running smoothly, and the values match the CPU and cooling.


I hope this helped you