[SOLVED] Wraith Max cooling issues

[rootordie]

Good evening.
I recently built a new home computer with a Ryzen 3 2200g, a Wraith Max cooler, and an Asrock B450M Pro 4 motherboard. The case I used was a Thermaltake Versa H17 with 4 case fans installed (2 intake fans in the front, an exhaust fan on the top and an exhaust fan out the rear of the case). The machine POSTed and everything was apparently fine, however I noticed afterwards that the CPU temps were about 31C at idle, and 40-50C and up during basic load (using Chrome, etc). I know that the Ryzen 3 can handle those temps but shouldn't it be running a bit cooler than that especially under a pretty marginal load? Stress testing it through CPU-Z had the temps pushing 75C.
I will note that during the build, I had trouble getting the cooler to seat on the motherboard (had to re-seat it several times which did end up smudging the pre-applied thermal paste quite a bit). Not sure if that's the problem or something else. Is the Wraith Max a better option than the stock cooler that came with the Ryzen 3? And more importantly, are those temps anything to be concerned about in the future?

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. I want to make sure this computer is reliable and will last. If anyone has further questions I'll be happy to provide more info if you need it.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Download and run Prime95. Choose the Small FFT option. Not "smallest FFT", just Small FFT. On the option screen when you first open Prime you will have options down below to disable AVX and AVX2. Disabling one will un-gray the option to disable the other. Disable them both.

Run Prime95 for 15 minutes. If the CPU core and package temps do not exceed 80°C then you are good. CPU-Z does not have a suitable thermal compliance test regiment. In fact, there are really NOT any other utilities better suited for this than Prime95 Small FFT which is a steady state load. Steady state is the key element here. Fluctuating workloads do not offer a suitable result because the CPU gets a chance to "rest", and that skews thermal results. To be clearer, thermal testing and stability testing are entirely different things, and for thermal testing you MUST use a utility which utilizes a steady state workload or you are simply getting a false indication of compliance.

Your temps do not seem unreasonable, but run the test as I've outlined just to be sure. And to clarify further, unless you have an extremely high idle temp, in the mid 40's or higher, then idle temperatures are irrelevant. They don't matter at all, except to identify that there may be a larger cooling issue or bad mount job. As long as you don't exceed maximum temperatures under full load for a period of 15 minutes, then everything else is irrelevant.

Testing guidelines can be found in my overclocking guide, which will still be applicable for testing a system that is not overclocked.

CPU overclocking guide and tutorial for beginners

Covering the basics If you found your way here it's likely you are looking for help with basic overclocking. Either that or you're a long time overclocker interested in seeing whether I had any eye opening insights that you may have been lacking. Rest assured, I don't. This is only intended as...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[rootordie]

Download and run Prime95. Choose the Small FFT option. Not "smallest FFT", just Small FFT. On the option screen when you first open Prime you will have options down below to disable AVX and AVX2. Disabling one will un-gray the option to disable the other. Disable them both.

Run Prime95 for 15 minutes. If the CPU core and package temps do not exceed 80°C then you are good. CPU-Z does not have a suitable thermal compliance test regiment. In fact, there are really NOT any other utilities better suited for this than Prime95 Small FFT which is a steady state load. Steady state is the key element here. Fluctuating workloads do not offer a suitable result because the CPU gets a chance to "rest", and that skews thermal results. To be clearer, thermal testing and stability testing are entirely different things, and for thermal testing you MUST use a utility which utilizes a steady state workload or you are simply getting a false indication of compliance.

Your temps do not seem unreasonable, but run the test as I've outlined just to be sure. And to clarify further, unless you have an extremely high idle temp, in the mid 40's or higher, then idle temperatures are irrelevant. They don't matter at all, except to identify that there may be a larger cooling issue or bad mount job. As long as you don't exceed maximum temperatures under full load for a period of 15 minutes, then everything else is irrelevant.

Testing guidelines can be found in my overclocking guide, which will still be applicable for testing a system that is not overclocked.

CPU overclocking guide and tutorial for beginners

Covering the basics If you found your way here it's likely you are looking for help with basic overclocking. Either that or you're a long time overclocker interested in seeing whether I had any eye opening insights that you may have been lacking. Rest assured, I don't. This is only intended as...

forums.tomshardware.com

Thank you for your help. I ran the test on Prime95, and ended up with a CPU temp of 95C by the end of the test. Based on what I described in my original post (my issues seating the cooler and the thermal paste smudging), what would you recommend my next step be? I still have the stock cooler that came with the processor (think it's a Wraith Stealth), or I could buy new paste and try to reseat the Wraith Max cooler.

 

[Darkbreeze]

That is too hot. Something is not installed correctly. Double check the mounting hardware. Double check the backplate. Double check the fasteners and screws. Something is either not fully seated or installed correctly, or, you forgot to remove the plastic slip covering the thermal pad when you installed the CPU.

Personally, I'd recommend just getting one of these which offers better cooling and is quieter anyhow.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU Cooler: Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 74.34 CFM CPU Cooler ($20.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $20.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-12-24 15:17 EST-0500

 

[rootordie]

That is too hot. Something is not installed correctly. Double check the mounting hardware. Double check the backplate. Double check the fasteners and screws. Something is either not fully seated or installed correctly, or, you forgot to remove the plastic slip covering the thermal pad when you installed the CPU.

Personally, I'd recommend just getting one of these which offers better cooling and is quieter anyhow.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU Cooler: Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 74.34 CFM CPU Cooler ($20.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $20.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-12-24 15:17 EST-0500

Bought the cooler, installed it, much cooler temps now. Appreciate the help!

 

[Darkbreeze]

For sure. Just did a few Ryzen builds myself and those 3600x processors came with the Wraith spire. They were all hitting about 84°C at the stock configuration with PBO disabled while running Prime95 with AVX/AVX2 disabled, and after installing better coolers on them they all dropped significantly. I am even less of a fan of the Wraith cooler now, than before. On one of them I went with a Thermalright True Spirit direct 140, which is extremely small for a 140mm tower cooler, and it still dropped the temperature by 11°C to a highly acceptable 73°C under full Prime95 Small FFT load.

So, glad it worked out in your case as well.