Question Ryzen 5 5600x restart crash under load, WHEA-Logger event 18

[Fergus_2]

Computer Type: Desktop
GPU: EVGA GTX 1080 Ti 11GB FTW3
CPU: RYZEN 5 5600X
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK
BIOS Version: 7C91vA6 (May 2021)
RAM: 16GB Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 2 x 8 GB DDR4-3600MHz CL18
PSU: EVGA G3 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

I upgraded my build a month and a half ago, and got a 5600x paired with an MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk, and I’m using the stock Wraith Stealth air cooler. Things worked mostly fine, but sometimes I’d get restarts out of nowhere without an error message. At first I thought it was a BIOS issue, but today it happened after 10-15 minutes of playing Fortnite and I got a system message that the CPU had overheated. I downloaded HWMonitor and sure enough, the processor hovers around mid-80s C under load and goes as high as 86 C, tested in Destiny 2. I know I got an appropriate coating of thermal paste when I installed it. I’ve never noticed throttling or a performance drop when this happens, it seemed to happen out of nowhere before I started monitoring temperatures. I've run Rocket League, Destiny 2 and The Binding of Isaac for long sessions with no issues, but I got the restart to happen twice with Fortnite. Only got the overheat message the second time.

How can I get temps down? Should I get a new cooler or reapply thermal paste? Or should I try undervolting or adjusting the Windows power plan? I asked over in r/buildapc and the top comment said those were normal temperatures, which didn’t sound right to me especially if the computer is going to be force restarting. The system is fully stable at idle, and I could leave it running all day with no issues; this only happens under load.

I have not overclocked at all short of enabling XMP to get 3600MHz out of my RAM. Read that XMP may be causing instability with the processor?

I checked Windows Event Viewer and I'm seeing WHEA-Logger Event 18, "A fatal Hardware error has occurred." Reported by: Processor Core, Error Source: Machine Check Exception, Error Type Bus/Interconnect Error.

Any advice to solve this restart error would be appreciated.

Troubleshooting:
Adjusted fan curve to be more aggressive. Turned off Auto Restart option in Windows so I can see BSOD error if it happens again.

 

[hotaru.hino]

The CPU is rated to go as high as 95C and the stock cooler isn't going to win any awards. What case do you have? How it's design can have a huge impact on how well the fans can circulate air through it.

 

[Fergus_2]

The CPU is rated to go as high as 95C and the stock cooler isn't going to win any awards. What case do you have? How it's design can have a huge impact on how well the fans can circulate air through it.

Honestly, I don't know the exact case model. It's from this prebuilt: https://www.amazon.ca/CYBERPOWERPC-GXiVR8060A2-Desktop-i5-7400-7200RPM/dp/B01MT0781S which I swapped the parts out of. ATX case, 3 front fans behind a mesh and one on the back, removable panels on the sides, passive airflow out of the top.

Edit: Actually only 2 front case fans.

 

[kurdtnz]

According to your motherboards support page, you need BIOS version 7C91vA7 to run the 5600X which is 'the next one up' from the version you are currently running.

 

[Fergus_2]

According to your motherboards support page, you need BIOS version 7C91vA7 to run the 5600X which is 'the next one up' from the version you are currently running.

I'll definitely update the BIOS. I'm surprised the system runs at all if what you said is true, but it looks a BIOS update is going to be the best first step. Thanks!