How do i know if my CPU is thermal throttling?

[diegohm]

I re-applied thermal paste because my CPU apparently was overheating but after re-applying it there was basically no difference in temp. I decided to do some research and found out that for AMD CPUs AMD Overdrive is better than HWMonitor. Overdrive says that while playing, my CPU thermal margin is at about 7 C and that the core frequencies are all 300 Mhz above the target speed and the numbers were also red. https://s9.postimg.cc/3zzgp6i3j/Screenshot_1.png
https://s9.postimg.cc/xf54y6ucv/Screenshot_2.png
https://s9.postimg.cc/ok4anoda7/Screenshot_3.png
Here are some performance screenshots, is there any explanation as to why my FPS in game still haven't improved even though it's at 7 C below the max temp?

 

[Obakasama]

The first screenshot of the thermal margin readings is very low for a CPU not even on half load. Had it been in the single digits on a full load that's just about acceptable but not ideal. Assuming that minimum is when you were playing a game then anything more intensive will send the thermal margin plummeting to the negative.

Have you overclocked at all with AMD Overdrive (or in the BIOS)? If you have I would remove the overclock and revert back to stock settings first.

What are you using for the cooler? I would double check if all is well there seeing that new thermal paste didn't do anything. If water cooling I suspect something is wrong with the radiator or pump.

Also, which processor are you using? May want to use the information for comparison to know the limits of it.

 

[diegohm]

I got an A10-7700k APU black series using the stock coolers.

 

[Obakasama]

Something there definitely isn't right. Have you double checked the cooler installation when reapplying thermal paste? (The whole lot of cleaning off the cold thermal paste with isopropyl alcohol as well?) While the stock cooler isn't brilliant the thermal margins shouldn't be that low.

 

[diegohm]

Yep. As far as i know if installed correclty, I should have mentioned that i only have an intake fan at the front and no exhaust fan, maybe that is the problem.

 

[Obakasama]

Unless the case is really poorly ventilated I wouldn't expect such a large difference to what I would personally expect on the thermal margin.

From some case reviews (like the ones on GamersNexus) there's maybe 10 deg difference depending on the case and configurations. While more airflow generally does help, I'm not sure it would solve the problem in this particular scenario as it seems so low.

Just to be really sure, is the cooler fan plugged into the motherboard? (May as well try and rule out the simplest possibilities.)

By the way, which games are you referring to with regards to fps? It helps to contextualise things, though the thermals still seem an issue.

 

[diegohm]

Unless the case is really poorly ventilated I wouldn't expect such a large difference to what I would personally expect on the thermal margin.

From some case reviews (like the ones on GamersNexus) there's maybe 10 deg difference depending on the case and configurations. While more airflow generally does help, I'm not sure it would solve the problem in this particular scenario as it seems so low.

Just to be really sure, is the cooler fan plugged into the motherboard? (May as well try and rule out the simplest possibilities.)

By the way, which games are you referring to with regards to fps? It helps to contextualise things, though the thermals still seem an issue.

The CPU fan is spinning all the time even at high RPM i think. I was refering to games like competetive online games like Overwatch, League, CsGo which i assume are a litte more CPU intensive right?

 

[Obakasama]

From what I hear, Overwatch can run on pretty much 'anything' (it isn't a very demanding game on the hardware), though likelihood it depends on what settings and resolution are being used. Similarly with the other two games I would expect.

How do the games behave? For this I would suggest using MSI Afterburner to monitor usage and frequencies of the CPU, GPU and RAM; the temperatures of the CPU and GPU; fps and frame times; and perhaps even pagefile (as last resort). Have it log the results when you play the game(s) and perhaps it will show a pattern of when issues crop up. With online games there's the added complication of the servers and your own internet connection too (this I'm unfamiliar with).

I'm still concerned with the thermal margin being on the low side, though we don't seem to be able to find a reason for its apparent low value even though things seem to be working. I can't help but think we're missing something.