[SOLVED] ThreadRipper 3960 runs too hot (65C-85C) when idle

[elduende]

Dear All,

I bought my new ThreadRipper 3960X rig a few days ago and I realised that, despite having a decently sized AIO water cooler (Corsair H150i with a 360mm radiator), the CPU runs a little too hot for what it does...or, rather, doesn't do.

My idle temperature anything between is 65C to 85C, quite close to the edge of operating temperature of 90/95C. I use the PC for software development so my definition of "heavy load" is less dramatic than for rendering/video editing or hardcore gaming.

Even during standard development work (multiple IDEs and a couple of VMs with applications running) the temperature rarely exceeds 85C. However the CPU clock speed is kept between 2.80 and 3.40 GHz, well below the base speed of 3.80 GHz, which looks like thermal throttling.

According to some reviews I saw online, a good idle temperature using an AIO water cooler should be between 40C and 50C.

I have some rather fast memory (8 blocks of 16 GB Corsair 3600 MHz) and already tried slowing it down to 3200 MHz and even 2400 MHz, with no effecty on temperature/clock speed profile.

Could the excess temperature be simply a problem of the CPU cooler plate not being perfectly mounted, or anyone had a similar problem, or it might be due to something else?

Any advice much appreciated.

These are my specs:

CPU: AMD ThreadRipper 3960X
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series H150i PRO RGB 360mm Liquid CPU Cooler
Memory: 128GB Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB DDR4 3600 MHz
Motherboard: Gigabyte TRX40 Aorus Pro Wifi (rev 1.0)
GPU: Palit GeForce RTX 2080Ti

Thanks!

 

[Phaaze88]

1)Are you controlling the pump speed with Corsair iCUE? It should be set to max.

2)What is the chassis and where is the radiator mounted in said chassis?
The fans on the H150i are low rpm - done on purpose to emphasize the quiet profile. Because of that, though, you have to be aware of where you install it: if the front panel is open mesh, that location is fine. Any other design, best stick it up top as exhaust.
Then again, you do have that 2080Ti: if it's one of the axial fan models, it dumps most of it's waste heat into the chassis when it's at work, which would eventually get pulled into the H150i, if it's mounted up top.
There's a balancing act present...

According to some reviews I saw online, a good idle temperature using an AIO water cooler should be between 40C and 50C.

The air temp in the chassis will always be warmer than the air in the room.
What's the temperature of the air going into the H150i? < You won't know this one unless you have a small thermometer or thermal sensor sitting in front of the rad.

 

[jasonf2]

If you are running that hot something is wrong. I have a first gen threadripper and ran water (not corsair) on it to begin with. For the first little bit the numbers were around 36C but a couple of months in it was showing numbers like what you have. I went back over to a huge premium air cooler and even folding at full bore I am running at 50C. I figure that when the fan on the cooler fails at least the heat sink will protect the cpu as it throttles. My guess is that you either have a pump not connected properly, programmed right or not working at all. If your cooler is working right my guess is that you would be in the high 30s in idle at normal room temp.

 

[Makaveli]

I agree I think something is not mounted properly or not setup correctly.

 

[RodroX]

Or maybe the stick from the the cooler surface was not removed before installing it over the CPU?, Could be the mounting system, not mounted correctly.

Im guessing you got he right brack for the socket: "Purchase bracket CW-8960054 on CORSAIR webstore for compatibility with AMD socket sTR4/sTRX4"

 

[elduende]

Thanks Phaaze88, jasonf2, Makaveli, and RodroX for the kind replies!

I realised that the H150i hadn't been connected to the motherboard via the USB cable, so it couldn't be controlled by iCUE. I asked the tech support centre that built my machine and he said he didn't find the cable in the original box (strange).

I used a standard USB connector for now and I was able to set the pump and fan to the max ("extreme"). The CPU is now posting a constant 55-57C which is much better, and that is after overclocking to 4.30 GHz.

 

[Phaaze88]

Not sure overclocking your work machine is worth it though.

 

[elduende]

Not sure overclocking your work machine is worth it though.

I have tentatively overclocked by 25% and will see if the machine is stable in the next few days. I don't do anything extremely heavy, just software development and running components on VMs.

Thanks,
V