[SOLVED] Upgrade my cooling pump? I have a Ryzen 3700x Processor and CyberpowerPC MasterLiquid Lite 120mm ARGB Liquid Cooler.

[RandallCarey]

I recently upgraded from an AMD Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz processor to an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6GHz (4.4GHZ max boost) processor. I kept my CyberpowerPC MasterLiquid Lite 120mm ARGB Liquid Cooler. The average temperature of my original processor in idle was probably around 38-39 degrees Celsius. With my new processor, I'm getting 48-65 degrees Celsius.
Under heavier loads (playing a game), it may reach 73 degrees or so.

Do I need to upgrade my cooler, and what temperature should I aim for?

I don't want to burn my processor up, and I don't want to lose efficiency any more than necessary.

Thanks.

-- Randall C.

 

[sizzling]

Those temps are still safe. If it was hitting 85c or above you would want to look at changing something.

 

[Karadjgne]

Its a Ryzen. It'll govern its own temps. Officially it'll boost to 4.4GHz, but what you'll see is that when your temps are fully hitting 70's, the boost is probably closer to 4.2-4.3GHz instead. If that was an Intel cpu, you'd be hitting the full 4.4GHz, but would have temps in the 80's instead. Ryzens will lower boost amounts to save its skin, keep temps in what it considers a safe range, Intel will not.

You moved from a non-PBO 1600, to a PBO 3700x. That's a move from a cpu that has a hard time hitting its 65w ceiling, to a cpu that can hit its 88w PPT. The 3700x is going to run a little warmer.

A 120mm AIO is generally rated to handle upto @ 140w. That means there's plenty of thermal headroom between cpu and cooler. Whether YOU like those temps is entirely different to whether the CPU can deal with those temps.

Your cooler Size is fine. Going bigger will not necessarily mean getting lower temps. First, the cpu needs to be able to hit max boost without any temp interference. Once that happens and cpu is max boost, then increasing size still won't matter as much as increasing efficiency. The Noctua NH-U12S can get better temps on a Ryzen than a NH-D15. The U12 is more efficient, The D15 has higher capacity. At 150w, the U12 still has plenty of headroom, allows max boost, and still has room to more efficiently lower the temps. The D15 is the same, but the 250w capacity does nothing for a cpu that's hitting less than 88w. Its less efficient at low wattages, gets worse temps.

Changing the fan on the AIO has the possibility of lowering those temps as such, Arctic just paired a decent, quiet, existing Arctic fan with a thicker AIO rad, whether that's as efficient as a fan Designed specifically for thicker rads is a different story.

 

[RandallCarey]

Those temps are still safe. If it was hitting 85c or above you would want to look at changing something.

Those temps are still safe. If it was hitting 85c or above you would want to look at changing something.

Thanks for the info.

 

[RandallCarey]

Its a Ryzen. It'll govern its own temps. Officially it'll boost to 4.4GHz, but what you'll see is that when your temps are fully hitting 70's, the boost is probably closer to 4.2-4.3GHz instead. If that was an Intel cpu, you'd be hitting the full 4.4GHz, but would have temps in the 80's instead. Ryzens will lower boost amounts to save its skin, keep temps in what it considers a safe range, Intel will not.

You moved from a non-PBO 1600, to a PBO 3700x. That's a move from a cpu that has a hard time hitting its 65w ceiling, to a cpu that can hit its 88w PPT. The 3700x is going to run a little warmer.

A 120mm AIO is generally rated to handle upto @ 140w. That means there's plenty of thermal headroom between cpu and cooler. Whether YOU like those temps is entirely different to whether the CPU can deal with those temps.

Your cooler Size is fine. Going bigger will not necessarily mean getting lower temps. First, the cpu needs to be able to hit max boost without any temp interference. Once that happens and cpu is max boost, then increasing size still won't matter as much as increasing efficiency. The Noctua NH-U12S can get better temps on a Ryzen than a NH-D15. The U12 is more efficient, The D15 has higher capacity. At 150w, the U12 still has plenty of headroom, allows max boost, and still has room to more efficiently lower the temps. The D15 is the same, but the 250w capacity does nothing for a cpu that's hitting less than 88w. Its less efficient at low wattages, gets worse temps.

Changing the fan on the AIO has the possibility of lowering those temps as such, Arctic just paired a decent, quiet, existing Arctic fan with a thicker AIO rad, whether that's as efficient as a fan Designed specifically for thicker rads is a different story.

VERY informative, and I appreciate it.

 

[Karadjgne]

No worries. It's all in the little details, the ones often overlooked or not considered.

Take a tennis ball and a baseball. Pretty much the same size, both get hit by players holding bats and trying to hit them. On the surface they are similar mechanics. But you can have the best baseball bat on the planet and be absolutely lost trying to play tennis with it, or the best tennis bat available and playing baseball is a lost cause. All because of one little detail, the composition of the balls. Racquet to tennis ball, baseball bat to baseball maximizes efficiency, best results.

Same applies to coolers. An awesome heatsink with a fan not designed for it = lousy temps. An awesome fan with a heatsink that's not designed for it = lousy temps. It's the entire premise behind Noctua, the chances of finding a fan better suited to a Noctua heatsink, or vice-versa, is slim to none. It's why they consistently get the lowest temps on cpus, they maximize the efficiency of the pairing.

Most other companies kinda skip most of that and throw an rgb fan at you and make it look snazzy, but actual performance is a dismal 3rd place consideration.