[SOLVED] is it safe to oc my cpu without vrm heatstinks

[szyszka369]

CPU:RYZEN 5 1600AF
MOTHERBOARD:ASUS PRIME B450 A-M
So my motherboard doesnt have any vrm cooling, no heatsinks, no cooler, nothing.
I overcolcked my r5 1600 af to 3.9 ghz using 1.3v
Everything is super stable but i know that my vrm might be burning rn.
Unfortunetly i don t have a termal gun.
Can i be tempted to light oc without any vrm heatsink?
I can also add some heatsinks to my vrm, but is it really worth it?

 

[Dj0gany]

You dont need a "thermal gun" to monitor VRM temps, you can download HWINFO64 and monitor them there.
Both of your cpu and overclock arent nearly as demanding as they needed to be to really push the VRM's to their thermal limit.
I would be more worried about your CPU temps and cooling.

 

[carocuore]

Sane answer: no.

Insane answer: do it for the sake of science.

Expert answer: get thermal adhesive, copper heatsinks and 40mm fans to create your very own HSF solution.

 

[drea.drechsler]

...
I can also add some heatsinks to my vrm, but is it really worth it?

I remember watching a TechTuber overclocking an 1800X to 4.1Ghz or so on one of those boards so it can do it...with horrendous temperatures on the FET's. So definitely add the heatsinks. It won't make a huge difference but given that the board can overclock there's no sense in not as stock clocks are indecently low on any 1st gen Ryzen and that AF chip will eagerly clock a lot higher.

I personally hate bare FET's as any amount of heatsinking helps keep temp's stable. Stable FET temperatures means more stable regulation even when not at the limits of operation. Locating a fan blowing directly on the area also helps. A simple 50mm fan set kind of low is all it needs, strapped in place with tie straps. I made a bracket to attach to the case fan out of an old rear blanking plate. A CPU heatsink with a push/pull fan arrangement might do it too as the 'pull' side fan really stirs up the air in the area of the VRM.

The sinks don't have to be copper, and in fact might be better if aluminum. Reason is, although copper is much better at conducting heat away aluminum is much better at giving it up to the flowing air. So you really need much bigger, more heavily finned, all-copper sinks to do as well as aluminum ones. That's kind of dangerous since you'll be sticking them on with thermally conductive tape which might give way with big(ger), heavy copper heatsinks hanging on it. It won't do having one fall off and landing on top of the GPU now, would it?

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=FET+heat+sink&ref=nb_sb_noss