Question Ryzen 5 3600 at 70°C when in idle.

[Avik Basu]

Just a few days ago I bought a new CPU, motherboard, and RAM and after putting it all together and turning it on I'm seeing high temperature when the PC is in idle. I'm using the stock cooler and the thermal paste that was pre-applied to it. I have an additional 120mm fan which came with the case, which is also new so the fan is clean.

Using AI Suite 3 I see that the Core Voltage remains around 1.3v-1.4v and the Core frequency stays around 3.9GHz-4.0GHz even in idle. Task Manager says only 22%-25% of CPU is being used and only two things are using it the most, LightingService and GameFirst V.

I read in a forum thread about turning off Precision Boost Overdrive. I tried that but didn't help. During gaming, the temperature goes up even more. Last night it went up to 94, near 95. I had to open the side panel and only then did it come down to 79-80. But even with side panel open the temperature remains around 70. I understand that doing heavy-duty, resource-hungry work like gaming would increase the temperature but why would it be a 70 in idle? And I feel like whatever is keeping it at 70 in idle is the reason why the temperature is going to 90 during gaming.

Also, a couple of days ago, I was browsing the web and suddenly my screen went black and the system froze. The LED indicator on the board remained lit on yellow, which I looked up in the manual and it was the color the DRAM error. I did a forced shutdown and when it was restarting I went into the BIOS. That was when I had turned off PBO the first time and was going to save and exit when the system froze again. This time the screen stayed on.

I'll probably be advised to get a better CPU cooler and more fans. And I did plan to get them eventually. I spent a lot on the new system and I was going to pace it out and get the cooler and fans a few months after. But if I must get them now then I'll try my best. But will that solve my problem? A cooler would take down the temperature by 5-10 degrees. At least that's what I have read. That would bring it down to maybe around 60 in idle and would go up to around 80 when gaming. But that would be on cooler days like I'm having now. It must be around 26 C in my room. But on hot days, which is about 11 months a year, it goes up to 34 C. I just feel like the idle temperature should be much lower even with a stock cooler. And the CPU voltage and frequency shouldn't be so high.

I read a thread on the AMD subreddit that said that it's normal for the voltage to go to 1.3v. Except their voltage came down to 0.9v. My voltage comes down to 0.9v, the frequency to 2.0 GHz, and the temperature to 60 C only when I'm using the Power Saver mode. But that would be bad to play games in.

I checked the statuses using AI Suite 3, CPU-Z, and Ryzen Master (not simultaneously). Also, my board required a BIOS update and I'm wondering if it's the cause of the problem. The boot-up is pretty slow too. There's a new BIOS update now but I'm not sure if I should get it in case that creates more problems.

My system is -

Ryzen 5 3600
Asus ROG Strix B450-E Gaming (BIOS 2704)
G.Skill Trident Z 3200 16GB (2x8GB)
Asus GTX760 DC2 2GB
Corsair TX650M 650W PSU
WD Black 1TB HDD

 

[CosmicDance]

Yes that temperature is way too hot.
Try removing the cooler, cleaning off the thermal paste and applying some fresh as it sounds like the cooler isn't seated properly.

Andy

 

[CountMike]

Temperature at idle should be 10 - 15c above case ambient temp.

 

[Avik Basu]

Update:

After posting the first time I realized that GameFirst V was using my CPU but I wasn't using GFV. In fact, the first time I tried to open it after installing it didn't open. There was some crash error I think that I can't remember. I had let it be back then since it wasn't my priority.

On the day I first posted I tried to run it again but it wouldn't open. No error this time. So since I wasn't using it I decided to uninstall it and it wouldn't uninstall. Windows uninstaller said the program had already been uninstalled which is weird since it was the first time I tried uninstalling it. I searched for the program and it was still present in the start menu.

So I tried uninstalling it using the uninstaller right in its installation folder. Still nothing. I had to do something else so I minimized the folder. When I came back 10-15 minutes later I only found some residual files in it. The program had uninstalled without any notification.

I checked task manager and GFV was still running. I searched for the program again but this time I couldn't find it. So I restarted my PC. After starting it again I checked task manager and this time it was gone and the CPU usage had gone down. I checked Ryzen master and the temperature had gone down by 10 degrees. It was now lingering on 60C. I opened the side panel and soon the temperature went down even more 10 degrees and started lingering around 45%-50%.

I tried gaming in that condition and the temp went up around 60%, maybe 65%. I played like that for a few hours and it stayed the same. Later I tried gaming with the panel closed. While playing it went up to 70%-75%, sometimes touching 80%. I tried the whole thing again today, panel off and panel on. Pretty much the same result.

So I'm guessing my problem is expelling the hot air. But if what @CountMike is saying is true then something else is wrong. Keep in mind though that my room is around 26C-28C, and I'm using the stock cooler with only one intake cabinet fan.

P.S. - Ryzen Master now shows the average core value to be as low as 0.3 and peak core voltage around 1.4 in idle. But AI Suite still shows the core voltage at 1.3 to 1.4, and the frequency is still around 3.9GHz to 4GHz.

 

[CountMike]

Update:

After posting the first time I realized that GameFirst V was using my CPU but I wasn't using GFV. In fact, the first time I tried to open it after installing it didn't open. There was some crash error I think that I can't remember. I had let it be back then since it wasn't my priority.

On the day I first posted I tried to run it again but it wouldn't open. No error this time. So since I wasn't using it I decided to uninstall it and it wouldn't uninstall. Windows uninstaller said the program had already been uninstalled which is weird since it was the first time I tried uninstalling it. I searched for the program and it was still present in the start menu.

So I tried uninstalling it using the uninstaller right in its installation folder. Still nothing. I had to do something else so I minimized the folder. When I came back 10-15 minutes later I only found some residual files in it. The program had uninstalled without any notification.

I checked task manager and GFV was still running. I searched for the program again but this time I couldn't find it. So I restarted my PC. After starting it again I checked task manager and this time it was gone and the CPU usage had gone down. I checked Ryzen master and the temperature had gone down by 10 degrees. It was now lingering on 60C. I opened the side panel and soon the temperature went down even more 10 degrees and started lingering around 45%-50%.

I tried gaming in that condition and the temp went up around 60%, maybe 65%. I played like that for a few hours and it stayed the same. Later I tried gaming with the panel closed. While playing it went up to 70%-75%, sometimes touching 80%. I tried the whole thing again today, panel off and panel on. Pretty much the same result.

So I'm guessing my problem is expelling the hot air. But if what @CountMike is saying is true then something else is wrong. Keep in mind though that my room is around 26C-28C, and I'm using the stock cooler with only one intake cabinet fan.

P.S. - Ryzen Master now shows the average core value to be as low as 0.3 and peak core voltage around 1.4 in idle. But AI Suite still shows the core voltage at 1.3 to 1.4, and the frequency is still around 3.9GHz to 4GHz.

You should really dump that Aisuite it can also make troubles. For teps and other data HWinfo https://www.hwinfo.com/download/
is best and most accurate. It would also be good to get an exhaust fan at back or top as you need an even flow of air rather than just pumping it in.

 

[CountMike]

You should really dump that Aisuite it can also make troubles. For teps and other data HWinfo https://www.hwinfo.com/download/
is best and most accurate. It would also be good to get an exhaust fan at back or top as you need an even flow of air rather than just pumping it in.

New chipset drivers just became available from AMD with improved AMD Ryzen balanced power plan.
What is your CPU usage like when windows are in idle state ?. Shouldn't be more than couple %.

 

[Avik Basu]

You should really dump that Aisuite it can also make troubles. For teps and other data HWinfo https://www.hwinfo.com/download/
is best and most accurate. It would also be good to get an exhaust fan at back or top as you need an even flow of air rather than just pumping it in.

Would it be right to get rid of Ai Suite? It controls the fans and VRM and stuff...

And I am planning on getting some fans at least for now. I would like to get a cooler too but maybe a few months later.

New chipset drivers just became available from AMD with improved AMD Ryzen balanced power plan.
What is your CPU usage like when windows are in idle state ?. Shouldn't be more than couple %.

I'll install the driver and see. At the time of writing task manager says CPU usage is around 4%.

 

[CountMike]

Would it be right to get rid of Ai Suite? It controls the fans and VRM and stuff...

And I am planning on getting some fans at least for now. I would like to get a cooler too but maybe a few months later.



I'll install the driver and see. At the time of writing task manager says CPU usage is around 4%.

4% is not much to cause high idle temps, it's probably best to get some more fans or at least one at the back.
Fans you should be able to control thru BIOS just as well.

 

[1LiquidPC]

Have a 3900X in my tiny ITX chassis w/ X470 board, though using 240 AIO with the 2 fans in pull. No other intake fans and 1 small 92mm exhaust fan. Do you have latest AMD chipset drivers, newest 1.0.0.3ABBA UEFI, as well as latest Win10 and Ryzen Master version installed. My idle temps are in mid 40Cs and voltage ~ 1.3v web browsing, YouTube, ect. Room temp is around 24C. PBO disabled as well. I feel you have some sort of cooler or cooling issue in general as well.

 

[Avik Basu]

4% is not much to cause high idle temps, it's probably best to get some more fans or at least one at the back.
Fans you should be able to control thru BIOS just as well.

I plan on doing that. Hopefully within the week. I also got rid of Ai Suite. I think it helped with the bootup a little but I'm not completely sure. Could be a placebo effect.

Have a 3900X in my tiny ITX chassis w/ X470 board, though using 240 AIO with the 2 fans in pull. No other intake fans and 1 small 92mm exhaust fan. Do you have latest AMD chipset drivers, newest 1.0.0.3ABBA UEFI, as well as latest Win10 and Ryzen Master version installed. My idle temps are in mid 40Cs and voltage ~ 1.3v web browsing, YouTube, ect. Room temp is around 24C. PBO disabled as well. I feel you have some sort of cooler or cooling issue in general as well.

I got the latest chipset yesterday but not the BIOS. Should I get the BIOS? I'm a bit hesitant about it since updating BIOS can have its own complications. When I bought that motherboard they had to update the BIOS to support Ryzen 3000 but there was some complication and it failed to support the CPU even though the update completed without any errors. They had to replace my board. I have Windows 10 1903 installed. And I got Ryzen Master just a few days ago so I'm guessing it's the latest.

I plan to get 3 additional case fans to go with the one I already have. My PBO isn't turned off. I loaded the default settings to see if it helped and that also turned on the PBO. I didn't care much for it since turning it off didn't make any difference. Should I turn it back off? I don't care for overclocking so I probably don't need it. But I also don't want to limit the board's efficiency.

 

[scout_03]

put the cpu quiet fan off and had in the case more fans for the air flow i would aslo repaste cooler and made sure it is well seated in the bios use the pwm settings for cpu fans on auto .

 

[1LiquidPC]

PBO is decreasing efficiency as its holding the boost duration longer. It doesn't seem to be adding any speed though based on reviews of 3000 series. What UEFI version are you currently running?

 

[CountMike]

AGEESA 10003ABBA fixed problems with inadequate PBO boost, My 3700x now boosts to 4.45GHz on preferred cores and 4.41 on others. That's right at what AMD is saying it should be.

 

[Avik Basu]

PBO is decreasing efficiency as its holding the boost duration longer. It doesn't seem to be adding any speed though based on reviews of 3000 series. What UEFI version are you currently running?

So should I turn PBO on or off? I can find three PBO options if I use the search feature in the BIOS but only one that I can get to navigating normally to the overclocking section. I have no idea where the other two are. I'm not sure how to find out UEFI version but if you're referring to BIOS then it's 2704.

AGEESA 10003ABBA fixed problems with inadequate PBO boost, My 3700x now boosts to 4.45GHz on preferred cores and 4.41 on others. That's right at what AMD is saying it should be.

So should I upgrade to the new BIOS?

I have ordered the case fans and they should be here soon.

 

[CountMike]

So should I turn PBO on or off? I can find three PBO options if I use the search feature in the BIOS but only one that I can get to navigating normally to the overclocking section. I have no idea where the other two are. I'm not sure how to find out UEFI version but if you're referring to BIOS then it's 2704.



So should I upgrade to the new BIOS?

I have ordered the case fans and they should be here soon.

Yes, update BIOS to 2801, it has AGESA 1003ABBA.

 

[Avik Basu]

OK, so I got installed the fans and updated my BIOS to the latest.

Good news: Idle has gone down to 50C-55C. And while gaming it goes to 70C-75C.

Bad news: Idle has gone down to just 50C-55C, sometimes touching 60C. And I think the BIOS update messed up my RGB settings.

Since yesterday evening and a good part of today, I couldn't get it to work properly. And then when I did it worked for a few minutes and then got stuck a random point of the light loop. Fixed it again. Got stuck again.

And when I put the PC to sleep and woke it up only the motherboard, RAMs and the original case fan would light up in a static color with the motherboard and the fan in one color and the RAMs in a different color. The new fans don't light up after waking. They still keep spinning so that's good.

And because the lights are in a static color the LightingService is not using CPU at all, which brings the temperature down a bit more. So I guess that's another good thing.

 

[RodroX]

OK, so I got installed the fans and updated my BIOS to the latest.

Good news: Idle has gone down to 50C-55C. And while gaming it goes to 70C-75C.

Bad news: Idle has gone down to just 50C-55C, sometimes touching 60C. And I think the BIOS update messed up my RGB settings.

Since yesterday evening and a good part of today, I couldn't get it to work properly. And then when I did it worked for a few minutes and then got stuck a random point of the light loop. Fixed it again. Got stuck again.

And when I put the PC to sleep and woke it up only the motherboard, RAMs and the original case fan would light up in a static color with the motherboard and the fan in one color and the RAMs in a different color. The new fans don't light up after waking. They still keep spinning so that's good.

And because the lights are in a static color the LightingService is not using CPU at all, which brings the temperature down a bit more. So I guess that's another good thing.

RGB lighting issues can often be solved by turning off the system, and removing the cmos battery for 5 mins. After that just put the battery back on, turn on the system and (if you have to) go to he BIOS set XMP profile and all that.
Then at Windows you should set everything back to what you like in the control RGB program.

As for CPU temps, I have the same CPU and with the stock cooler temps were a piece of crap at idle until I went to the BIOS and disable all the PBO options (there were 3 things to disable on my Gigabyte board). After that, even with the stock cooler temps got a lot better. Later on I changed to an after market air turret style cooler and now temps are great.

Even for my case that doesn't have the best airflow desing (https://cougargaming.com/products/cases/turret/)

And you really should do what CountMike wrote and add a second fan to the back of the case to remove the hot air.

 

[Avik Basu]

I actually did take out the battery and kept it off for 3 hours, in case 5 mins wasn't enough. I had forgotten to mention it in the last post. And it did reset the BIOS. But that did not solve the RGB problem. But that's old news. The night before when it stopped working again I deleted the LastProfile.xml file from the LightingServices folder as was mentioned in the solution I had found, then I shut down the PC. Then when I had turned it on in the morning it started working normally again. Tested it throughout the day and it worked as it should.

Not sure what fixed it. Could've just decided to work on its own. Or maybe it didn't work because of the Aura software. Right now I'm running the RGB through the Armoury Crate app.

I have turned off the PBO too. I too have 3 PBOs. 2 just PBOs and one PBO Scalar. All disabled. Idle temps still the same. Cougar parts are not available in my country but I do hope to get a third-party cooler but that'll take a few months.

And, as I mentioned in the last post, I have installed the fans. Since there's only one spot for an exhaust fan in the back I have put one there and one on the top. And there are two intake fans in the front. I got the Cooler Master MF120R fans because they have nine blades than the other options. And I read that the more blades the better.

Edit: The RGB is stuck again soon after I posted this. It only worked for 36 hours.

 

[Avik Basu]

Update:

A few days ago, fed up with heating issues, lighting issues, and some lagging problems in games that didn't lag in my old system, I decided to format and reinstall Windows. But instead of installing the latest one that I had done the first time I installed an older version of Windows 10 (1607) that I had on a different USB stick.

After installing it the first thing I did was install Ryzen Master and checked the CPU temperature. It was in the low 40s sometimes even going down to 38 or 36 in idle. It didn't stay there for long but it went there quite often. Then I started installing the drivers that I downloaded fresh before the format instead of using the disc that came with the motherboard. I only installed the drivers and no utilities and checked the temperature after each installation. The temp stayed in the low 40s.

Then I updated my Windows to the latest version (1903). That's when the temp started to change. Not much though. It was still in the low 40s but it was a couple of degrees hotter than before. And didn't go below 40 at all. Other than that everything seems alright. Even the Peak Core voltage sometimes goes down to 0.9v. I used to think it normally stayed at 1.4v and the average was the one that came down.

While playing Hitman 2 at moderately high settings the temp goes up to 65C and for Greedfall it can go up to 75C at medium settings which I find strange since Greedfall is the lighter of the two games. The lag is still there though. But it has gone down a lot for Hitman 2 where it only happens for a few seconds occasionally. But for Greedfall it's pretty much the same. Mostly happens during cutscenes. Not sure if it's a game bug or my system. I can't find anything related to it online.

But for now, everything seems to be running alright. Even the lighting issue is gone.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for their replies and advice. Especially @CountMike. I really appreciate it.

 

[RodroX]

Yeah, always try to avoid disc drivers and use the updated ones from their respective website motherboard/gpu/chipset/cpu).

Also utilities can always tax the CPU even at the background and they can also have an incompatibility with drivers and other utilities, thats why the less of this software crap you have install the better.

As for testing, I don't believe that Ryzen Master is the best just cause AMD say it, thats why I always use the portable version of Hardware info (which is great cause, as you can see from the "portable", theres not need to install it).

Cheers!