[SOLVED] New CPU Ryzen 5950X reaching 90 degrees on loading screens

[Y4NN1CK]

Hello everyone,

Current specs:

• Case: Corsair Carbide SPEC-01
• RAM: 16GB (2x8GB) 2400 MHz DDR4 Vengeance LPX
• GPU: GeForce GTX 1080 Gaming X
• PSU: Corsair RM850 850 Watt Power Supply 80 PLUS Gold ATX PSU
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X Processor
• Motherboard: MSI MPG X570 Gaming Edge WiFi
• Heatsink: Cryorig H7 CPU Cooler
• SSD: M.2 970 EVO 500GB + M.2 850 EVO 500GB

I upgrade to a Ryzen 5950x from an i5 7600 in the hopes of being able to stream without dropping 40% FPS like I did with the i5 + plans to upgrade to a 3080 in the near future. The improvements with the 5950X were blatantly obvious an wonderful, until I noticed that I was reaching temperatures of 90 degrees for the CPU. I noticed my fan was placed the wrong way and blowing air from the CPU Heatsink inwards into the case and assumed this was the cause. I immediately reassembled the PC with the fan blowing outwards to the back of the case and added two fans, in the back and the top also following the airflow from the front intake and out the back.

Regardless there has been no improvement in the temperature:

Completely idle temperature: 39 - 40 Celsius
Basic applications temperature: 60 Celsius (downloading Steam games and surfing)
Loading screen and booting up Call of Duty Cold War temperature: 87 going to 90, after which I Alt+F4 to stop these high temps

Solutions attempted:

• Reseated CPU
• Reapplied thermal paste
• Ensured airflow is correct - Changed this direction and still no improvement
• Adjusted Power Plan in the Power Options settings in Windows - set this to Balanced
• Tested with open case (no improvement)
• Check all fans are spinning and connected
• Adjust fan speed curve in the BIOS to be more aggressive

Not sure how to check if my heatsink is actually cooling or not. It doesn't seem normal.

Suggestions would be highly and desperately appreciated.

 

[drivinfast247]

Which H7 cooler? The single or double?

 

[Phaaze88]

Current cpu cooler is well underspecced for that cpu, that's for sure.
NH-U14S or bigger air cooler, or 240mm or larger hybrid.

I'm assuming you made sure thermal paste made full coverage? The little in the middle application isn't as effective on Ryzen cpus.

 

[Y4NN1CK]

Which H7 cooler? The single or double?

If 'single' and 'double' refer to the number of fans, then I only have the one fan on it.

 

[Y4NN1CK]

Current cpu cooler is well underspecced for that cpu, that's for sure.
NH-U14S or bigger air cooler, or 240mm or larger hybrid.

I'm assuming you made sure thermal paste made full coverage? The little in the middle application isn't as effective on Ryzen cpus.

Ah really? Underspecced? The thermal paste I applied the thermal paste twice with the same result. First time applied a pea in the center, second time a pea in the center with 4 smaller dots in each quarter. Both with the same results.

This would mean a better cooler is necessary?

 

[Phaaze88]

Mmmk. If after taking the heatsink off and seeing that the paste has spread over the entire IHS, good.

You have a cooler designed for under 140w of waste heat. A 5950X breaks that limit pretty easily under a decent load.

 

[Y4NN1CK]

Mmmk. If after taking the heatsink off and seeing that the paste has spread over the entire IHS, good.

You have a cooler designed for under 140w of waste heat. A 5950X breaks that limit pretty easily under a decent load.

By how much would a 5950X break this limit? Is this therefore the likely cause for the 90C temperatures I am getting?

 

[Phaaze88]

With cooling, you want some headroom.
For example, you have said cooler designed for up to 140w of heat. Say you put it under a load that also makes the cpu draw 140w worth of power.
Cpu is now running at 100C and thermal throttling. [Note that the 5950X has a critical limit of 90C.]
A larger cooler can tolerate greater heat loads and keep the cpu from running as hot.

On heavy all core loads, the 5950X can draw up to 200w of power: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-ryzen-9-5950x-5900x-zen-3-review/4
Ideally, you'd want a cooler designed for 220w or greater.

 

[Y4NN1CK]

[Note that the 5950X has a critical limit of 90C.]

What does 'Critical limit' mean?

I will look into upgrading my case and CPU cooler to a Noctua NH-D15. Thanks a lot, never knew anything about TDP before. 😀

 

[Deleted member 2720853]

And take a look at this in case your temps are still worrying with a new cooler:

"Yes. I want to be clear with everyone that AMD views temps up to 90C (5800X/5900X/5950X) and 95C (5600X) as typical and by design for full load conditions. Having a higher maximum temperature supported by the silicon and firmware allows the CPU to pursue higher and longer boost performance before the algorithm pulls back for thermal reasons.

Is it the same as Zen 2 or our competitor? No. But that doesn't mean something is "wrong." These parts are running exactly as-designed, producing the performance results we intend.

- Robert Hallock, AMD Director of Technical Marketing"

 

[Phaaze88]

What does 'Critical limit' mean?

Critical limit = thermal limit.