Question Airflow/CPU cooling

[Dj0gany]

Hi, yesterday I bought a Ryzen 7 5700X, to replace my R5 3600, works great, no major issues.
I have a ROG Ryujin 360mm, which is mounted on the top of a H500P Mesh , cooled by 3x CoolerMaster ARGB MF120 HALO fans, with all 3 of them being exhaust, all 4 (if you include the rear exhaust one) being set to 60%/ or 1950RPM and the EMBEDDED MICRO FAN on the ROG Ryujin is set about 2200RPM / or about 40%, on the front i have 2xCM SickleFlow 200mm fans.
Now the thing that "bothers" me is that my idle temps are going from 42C to 72C, like for example at 12:52 i looked at hwinfo64 and the temp was 45C, at 12:54 it was 71C, then it goes back to normal, while i only have 2 Opera GX tabs open. While gaming, typically FH5 or GTA 5/LoL, it doesnt go further than 70C, which im happy about, but its still weird that it sometimes idles at 70C!?!?
Now this might cuz of the fact that I have a $1 thermal paste on it, just to survive until monday, when i will receive my Noctua NT-H1, which I think will sort things out. But as you might know, the top of a h500p is covered by some acrylic panel, its not open mesh, like in the front for example.
Now im thinking of doing some DYI work, removing the top acrylic panel, and making my own mesh one, like I did on my older case.
Or it could be that the AIO is old and the liquid in it is trash and i need to buy a new AIO 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️
So do i need to change my fan config a bit or is it something else??
Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Dj0gany]

Edit: I notice when im doing something, the CPU temp stabilizes, at lets say ~55C, but when i let it loose on idle xD, it goes to +70C
Example: i load up League of Legends, go to the kitchen, come back after a few minutes, the temp is 50C stable, but if im just looking at my desktop wallpaper, with nothing opened up, it goes crazy.

 

[Phaaze88]

Is this through Wallpaper Engine? That's known to use a fair bit of resources. Perhaps a similar program?

This has more to do with the programs/services run on your PC than a cooling issue, from the sounds of it. The 70C game load and the drop in temperature after the spike while supposedly doing nothing is evidence.
Burst loads are just that fast.

 

[Dj0gany]

Is this through Wallpaper Engine? That's known to use a fair bit of resources. Perhaps a similar program?

This has more to do with the programs/services run on your PC than a cooling issue, from the sounds of it. The 70C game load and the drop in temperature after the spike while supposedly doing nothing is evidence.
Burst loads are just that fast.

Nope, just a basic wallpaper i downloaded from Armoury Crate if i remember??
Edit: no animations whatsoever

 

[Phaaze88]

Try monitoring task manager processes.

 

[Dj0gany]

Absolutely nothing is out of ordinary
But temp spikes are like: 45C -> 58C in a second, then drops back to 40C-> then 63C in a second, and it just repeats until i run some game on it, then it stabilizes to lets say ~55

 

[Dj0gany]

I mean its nothing close to overheating, but i'd still want to stabilize it, if you know what i mean

 

[Paperdoc]

First, your concern about the closed top panel. According to the case manual you can remove the top cover and then slide out of that the closed panel, exposing a mash screen in the frame. Then you replace that on the top and you do NOT have to create your own mesh! Definitely DO THIS - you cannot get air to flow out of your top-mounted rad with the solid panel in place!

Second, be aware that SOME models of CPU will show short-term temperature spikes of several seconds as their workload shifts, even during idle periods, and this is normal. I do NOT know whether this applies to YOUR particular CPU.

Lastly, I note you have set the rad fans to a FIXED speed at all times. There is NO need for this. The whole idea of an automatic fan control system guided by the temperature sensor inside your CPU chip is that it will adjust itself at all times to the cooling needed by the CPU. At high workloads and heat generation a rad fan fixed to 60% may NOT provide enough cooling, causing the CPU to overheat. If you set the rad fans to use the normal automatic control system they WILL speed up when extra cooling is needed, and slow down when it is not.

 

[Dj0gany]

First, your concern about the closed top panel. According to the case manual you can remove the top cover and then slide out of that the closed panel, exposing a mash screen in the frame. Then you replace that on the top and you do NOT have to create your own mesh! Definitely DO THIS - you cannot get air to flow out of your top-mounted rad with the solid panel in place!

I have no mesh panel in my case, that i can put on top?
BUTTTT, i have found this individual who did this: https://www.reddit.com/r/coolermast...0m_mod_added_mesh_top_panel_for_unrestricted/
so i might do that.

Second, be aware that SOME models of CPU will show short-term temperature spikes of several seconds at their workload shifts, even during idle periods, and this is normal. I do NOT know whether this applies to YOUR particular CPU.

Lastly, I note you have set the rad fans to a FIXED speed at all times. There is NO need for this. The whole idea of an automatic fan control system guided by the temperature sensor inside your CPU chip is that it will adjust itself at all times to the cooling needed by the CPU. At high workloads and heat generation a rad fan fixed to 60% may NOT provide enough cooling, causing the CPU to overheat. If you set the rad fans to use the normal automatic control system they WILL speed up when extra cooling is needed, and slow down when it is not.

On my r5 3600, i noticed that the temps were getting a bit to hot, and the fans were set to automatic, then i started playing with the fan curves, it didnt go well, then i set them back to automatic, and they were incredibly load, like the whole table that the PC sits on was shaking, so i decided to find the balance between cooling performance and noise, which is 60% fan curve on all 3 ( 4 if you include the rear exhaust) fans.

 

[Paperdoc]

I guess I misunderstood the drawings in the case manual. I am really surprised that the top of the case does NOT include any mesh! So, once the top is removed, is there a simple way to remove from that the solid panel before replacing the top frame over the rad system? Apparently that would leave the top of the rad completely exposed. In that case I agree that some mesh panel is needed there to protect the rad fins from impacts. Since this is an air exhaust location there would not be a need for a tight mesh to act as a dust filter.

Your experience with noisy fans under automatic control LIKELY is a direct result of the CLOSED top panel that prevented any real air flow though the rad to remove heat. Once you get that resolved, go back to using the default automatic control system AND start with using the default pre-set fan curve. AFTER you find out how that works you could consider your own custom fan curve it needed.

 

[Dj0gany]

So, once the top is removed, is there a simple way to remove from that the solid panel before replacing the top frame over the rad system? Apparently that would leave the top of the rad completely exposed.

Yeah, the acrylic panel is built in the top panel, but i can see some patterns telling me how to remove it, plus, i can just slide the custom mesh panel in the fittings in which the acrylic panel was installed in to, so no need to drill any holes or anything, feels like it was made for a mesh panel but CM decided to put a acrylic panel in it xd.
Just need to get the dimensions right.

Your experience with noisy fans under automatic control LIKELY is a direct result of the CLOSED top panel that prevented any real air flow though the rad to remove heat. Once you get that resolved, go back to using the default automatic control system AND start with using the default pre-set fan curve. AFTER you find out how that works you could consider your own custom fan curve it needed.

Fair point, will definitely try messing with the fans once the mesh is installed.
Saw some guy on reddit say his EVGA 3090 FTW Hybrid card dropped 10C once he installed the mesh panel on top, since its cooled by a 240mm rad i think.
Anyway, thank you so much for your time and advice!

Edit: i will post the before/after once i install the mesh, if anyone has any more advice, feel free to share!

 

[Phaaze88]

I was using this case before I switched to the O11D Evo.
The acrylic panel is there for 2 reasons: aesthetics(careful, acrylic scratches easily), and to purposefully force a positive pressure setup. The top is not entirely sealed off, just reduced. Removing that panel will change the pressure inside the case.
I DIY'ed a mesh panel up there out of curiosity, and also because of the my dual AIO setup.

Know that radiators should only really be installed against mesh panels. The rads themselves are a source of air resistance, and by installing the rad up there, you have stacked the resistance from the rad and the top panel together.

 

[Dj0gany]

I was using this case before I switched to the O11D Evo.
The acrylic panel is there for 2 reasons: aesthetics(careful, acrylic scratches easily), and to purposefully force a positive pressure setup. The top is not entirely sealed off, just reduced. Removing that panel will change the pressure inside the case.
I DIY'ed a mesh panel up there out of curiosity, and also because of the my dual AIO setup.

Know that radiators should only really be installed against mesh panels. The rads themselves are a source of air resistance, and by installing the rad up there, you have stacked the resistance from the rad and the top panel together.

So what are you saying, should i do or not?

 

[Phaaze88]

So what are you saying, should i do or not?

Do what, the mesh? If you want to.
I was just mentioning the why of that top panel.

 

[Dj0gany]

Do what, the mesh? If you want to.
I was just mentioning the why of that top panel.

Alright, thank you!

 

[Dj0gany]

Well, I did it xD
Its not perfect, but it does the job.
Here is how it looks:

https://imgur.com/a/h500p

View: https://imgur.com/gallery/h500p-mesh-top-panel-mod-vPmgYLP

So I conclusion what I upgraded was:
CPU: 3600 --> 5700X
Added another CM SickleFlow 200 on the front
Bought Noctua NH-T1 3.5g thermal paste
After I did the top panel mod, I ran cinebench r23, when doing both single and multi core performance the temps literally dont go past 60C, so its usually around ~58C.
When gaming "CPU intensive games" like Forza Horizon 5 or Cyberpunk, CPU temps dont go past 55C.
As for the idle temps, its still jumping around, just not as high as before.
Before it was from 35C to 75C, now its from 35C to 55C, and tbh i cant be bothered with "fixing" it, its not really an issue, more of a personal preference.
Also i put Noctua NH-T1 on my GPU, and the temps dropped drastically aswell, but i think adding another fan on the front helped aswell, since its blowing directly at the GPU.
Overall im really happy with how this turned out, with the outside temps reaching 42-43C here in Serbia, having ~60C max temp on CPU and ~65C on the GPU, in a room with no A/C, is really a great result.
If anyone has any questions feel free to ask, and thanks again for all the people who helped!!!

EDIT:
These are the temps with all fans, including GPU fan curve, being set to 60%

 

[Dj0gany]

Try monitoring task manager processes.

By the way, i noticed when im running Opera GX, my GPU and CPU spikes to 100%, with the GPU hitting ~250W TDP and ~75C, same with the CPU (65W TDP and ~60C), the moment I close, everything returns back to normal.
I use Opera GX mostly for Spotify, this website, and YouTube, so i really dont know whats the reason for this sudden 100% usage??

EDIT:
For example: I close Opera GX, run the Spotify app that i downloaded, and everything is normal.

 

[Phaaze88]

Also i put Noctua NH-T1 on my GPU

Keep an eye on that. NT-H1 is known for pump out on direct die applications.

By the way, i noticed when im running Opera GX, my GPU and CPU spikes to 100%, with the GPU hitting ~250W TDP and ~75C, same with the CPU (65W TDP and ~60C), the moment I close, everything returns back to normal.
I use Opera GX mostly for Spotify, this website, and YouTube, so i really dont know whats the reason for this sudden 100% usage??

Try a different browser(s), and see if it isn't just something going on with Opera?