[SOLVED] Ryzen 7 2700x Temperature Spikes

[DrummerManSpike]

Hi, I'm having what looks like a fairly common issue with the Ryzen 7 2700x. During idle, and sometimes during load, the temperature will instantly shoot up 10-15C and cool back down for about 10ish seconds before happening again, over and over. The only time this doesn't happen is if I don't touch anything whatsoever, like the mouse. But the moment I move it again, the spiking resumes.

This is a brand new build.
CPU: Ryzen 7 2700x
Mobo: MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
RAM: G.Skill FlareX 2x8GB 3200 C14

Currently I've got it locked into its base 3700mhz speed, at 1.35 volts, 1.1 volts on the SOC, and 1.4 volts on the DRAM (this was a recommended setting from an other online user). Precision Boost Overdrive is disabled, as is any other "gaming boost" setting, both in BIOS and in Dragon Center. I've also disabled XMP and manually set the RAM to the same settings as my preferred XMP profile (3200mhz, 14-14-14-14-34 I think). AMD Cool n' Quiet is enabled, set to profile 0.

I've tried a wide variety of changes. Keeping everything on Auto, keeping only some things on Auto and some on manual, keeping almost everything on manual. It's done this at 4200mhz and is still doing it on 3700mhz. Online tips have included disabling BlueTooth, which I did, and setting windows to power saver mode, which didn't seem to make a difference. MSI Dragon Center's silent mode actually made the chip run a bit hotter.

The CPU voltages do not rise with the temperature, and I'm not sure if there's much correlation with the CPU load. Right now as I'm typing, I have Chrome and Task Manager open. Task Manager shows me an average of 2-3% CPU usage, but temps seem to take that sharp increase when that raises to around only 8-10% load, which also falls back down.

This is an issue I've been having since I first booted up the system at default values. Maybe the only thing I changed in the BIOS overclock menu before I first got into Windows was enabling XMP to get the full amount of rated RAM speed.

I'm still very new to overclocking, so would I be better off setting everything in BIOS back to Auto? My only issue with doing that is that the voltage was constantly averaging around 1.46, which isn't great for longevity. Temperature spiking still occurred also, though at higher average temps due to the increased voltage.

I just updated the chipset drivers (not sure if those were installed previously or not) and I'm about to install CPU-Z for monitoring (apparently other programs like iCue and Dragon Center aren't optimal for this) and I'll see what happens after, but any other tips or advice will be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks!

 

[Karadjgne]

It's a Ryzen, not an Intel, there's a considerable difference in the way the 2 work and their habits.

With Intel, they lower voltages and speeds across all the cores at idle, but all remain active, giving a rough spread of @ 30°C on all cores.

With Ryzen, they shut cores down completely, parking them, when unused, but leave 1-2 fully active at idle, so most cores won't have a temp reading as such, but 1-2 will 'idle' at a higher rate. Usually 40-50°C.

Since most temps are read as a single source, the hottest core, all of Intels cores will average roughly the same, Ryzen averages just 1-2, kinda misleading at a single readout. Tends to freak ppl out, not realizing it's only 1 core at that temp, the rest being effectively 0°C.

To top all of that is Microsoft. Years ago, Windows was almost internet free, you had to log on, so the only background tasks were ones a user had running, the odd security or AV check. Idle temps rarely moved. Nowadays, Windows is all about the 'Net Experience', everything from Cortana Search, security checks, Windows Store updates, driver checks and updates, etc. So it's really hard to catch a true idle now, as Windows is constantly doing its own stuff in the background. Active or background, the cpu sees a load. Load equals work, work equals heat. Windows will very frequently bounce idle temps 10-15°C on average as stuff starts and gets the heavy spike, settling down a second or three later.

It's perfectly normal 'modern' Windows behavior.

 

[TechyInAZ]

This is completely normal with 1st, 2nd and 3rd Gen Ryzen CPUs. ALL my Ryzen builds have the exact same behavior, 30C idle, then under just a small amount of load, it'll shoot up to 40C(+).

 

[drea.drechsler]

This is completely normal with 1st, 2nd and 3rd Gen Ryzen CPUs. ALL my Ryzen builds have the exact same behavior, 30C idle, then under just a small amount of load, it'll shoot up to 40C(+).

To a lesser degree, my FX-6300 did it too. AMD seems to have been messing around with algorithms for aggressive boosting from idle (causes the temperature spikes) for quite a while, with each Zen generation getting more and more pronounced.

 

[DrummerManSpike]

Interesting, still seems weird that such a small load increase spikes the temperatures so drastically. You'd think with such a huge sudden jump the CPU load would be at like 40-50% load but it's barely over 10.

Since posting, the repeated idle spikings have stopped, and it now only happens when actively doing something on the desktop, or if a background process visibly starts up. Not sure what specifically helped out there, if it was the chipset driver or something else I changed.

I'll do some more testing under load to see if it still happens. I know originally it used to be completely stable under load, but after tinkering with the OC and driver settings it started having repeated spikes even while under load. Unfortunately I've got a stripped cooler mounting plate, meaning the heatsink isn't properly seated (though it still does a decent job with cooling) so I gotta wait for the replacement part to come in before I can safely stress test again.

I appreciate the info though! Nice to know I'm not dealing with any faulty hardware at least.

Many thanks

 

[drea.drechsler]

Interesting, still seems weird that such a small load increase spikes the temperatures so drastically.
....

It's easy to understand when you understand that Ryzen has dozens of temperature sense points all over the CPU and the readout is the highest temperature sensed at the time. When you're seeing a temp spike, it only has to be one tiny little part of one core where that one little point had to do a lot of work extra hard.

I liken that to a match being lit in a room. The match itself is hundreds of degrees while it burns, then dies away back to room temp as it burns out. You'd even see that temperature if you had the temperature gauge right on the match and falsely assume the whole room got just as hot when actually it's still comfortable and safe for you to be in.

You're well advised to go looking for a utility like HWInfo64 that shows a Tdie (average) reading. That's a moving average that more closely reflects true thermal state of the CPU. Ryzen Master also reports an average temperature reading, but HWInfo has so much more to tell about the state of the CPU, GPU, Memory and whole computer if you're interested.

 

[Karadjgne]

You also have to figure the difference between load and usage. When something like AV kicks in a search, you've got a dozen or more services and processes that were previously inactive are now enabled. That's a decent sized instant load, but each process or service is tiny in usage, even with cumulative totals. The cpu doesn't actually use many resources such as bandwidth or cache, yet what it does use is a hammer, doesn't take much effort at all, but hit your thumb and it's gonna hurt, a lot. Pile all that onto a single core and temps are going to be larger in scale than the spikes seen by Intel.

 

[MisterMeow]

The sawtoothing effect is pretty normal. I've seen it happen on every ryzen cpu I've used so far. The only thing that I've ever seen stop the behavior is changing the windows power plan to power savings. But I haven't seen any bad effects from the sawtoothing to begin with.

 

[Karadjgne]

Ryzens run best on Balanced power plan, using performance just bumps up minimums, which Ryzens use for lower power states like idle etc. It doesn't hurt to use eco, but you don't get the same boosts, or performance but you don't get the same idle. Balanced will boot like performance and drop like eco.