Question Ryzen 5 2600 Idle Temperatures Fluctuate

[PAULO40]

Hi All

Just wondering if someone can confirm whether my Ryzen 5 2600 idle temperature fluctuations are ok, or whether I need to look into why it's happening.

My Ryzen 5 2600 is being cooled with a Corsair H45 liquid AIO cooler with an Arctic BioniX F120 PWM fan attached, plus Noctua NT-H1 thermal compound. It is overclocked to 4.00GHz at 1.325V and been stable at that for months, but the CPU temps fluctuate between 35 and 47 degrees on idle and the temp rises and falls rapidly between this range, which in turn is making my cooler fan spin up and down constantly.

I know I could adjust fan speeds to stop it spinning up as much as it does, but I'm just wondering if these temperature fluctuations are safe, or a sign something needs to be done. I've read similar threads relating to this and the one's I've read seem to suggest this is ok, but just needed some info relating to my specific setup.

Any thoughts, comments and advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

It's a budget AIO water cooler , similar in performance to a low end AIR cooler , you will get fluctuations like that and even more because your OC.

 

[Karadjgne]

It's extremely difficult to actually get a true idle in Windows10. You have all sorts of background stuff that happens constantly, like windows store updates, AV checks, etc. All that background noise equates to a certain percentage in loads, and as loads go up (even temporarily) so do cpu temps. The starting of apps most normally uses the highest loads, right after start they usually settle right back down, so periodic temp jumps as high as 50ish °C are quite normal Windows behavior.

This can be moderated by using the motherboard software, most have a fan curve setting which will allow you to change the curve points, so you can set the minimum curve to not even start until the cpu hits @ 50°C, above your idle jumps. This'll totally kill the bouncing fan without dropping fan speeds. You can even raise minimum fan speeds slightly, which might lower idle temps a little, so the jumps have less impact and the curve is gentler after @ 50°C, reducing sharp ramp ups during active apps like gaming. My curves are set for gentle curve upto 60° (@ 5° above my normal gaming temp, 400-600rpm) then a sharper rise to 70% at 70° (@ 900rpm). The last 30% or so on the fans only drops temps 2°C and just adds noise, for no real gain. For most fans, anything below @ 900rpm is silent to very quiet.

 

[PAULO40]

Thanks for the prompt responses, much appreciated.

So with a combined combination of Windows 10, budget cooler and overclocking then my CPU is likely to experience the temperature fluctuations I'm getting at present. Nice to know this is all quite normal behavior though, and I have adjusted my fan speed curve accordingly and it does make a lot of difference, although I might look into upgrading my cooler.

Many thanks again for your comments.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

We are always glad to assist.