PC Processors

[bartmazur]

Hi guys,

Please help me out. I've got a Threadripper 3960x cooled with Corsair H115i Platinum RGB and while on heavy load temperatures reach 88C and 93C with PBO turned on (max temp according to AMD is 95C; CPU doesn't switch off after reaching that level). By heavy load I mean 3D rendering using Arnold (CPU-based renderer). Idle temps are oscillating around 60C. Is that normal? I am not sure whether I'm experiencing throttling. All cores work steadily around 3.8-3.9GHz and render times per frame are stable as well. I guess that means no throttling? 

All drivers, including chipset drivers, are up to date as well as Windows is where it should be too. Here is the complete spec and let me know if you need more info.

AMD Threadripper 3960x 

Corsair H115i Platinum

Aorus TRX40 Xtreme

Corsair CMK64GX4M4C3200C16

Corsair 680X

GeForce RTX 2080Ti

Samsung Evo Pro m2 1TB

Segate HDD 4TB 5400 RPM 

Windows 10 Pro 64

Shall I consider switching to a bigger cooler like Wraith Ripper? Shall I invest in better cooling paste? Shall I not worry at all?

Thanks a lot,

Bart

[elstaci]

You have AMD Recommended liquid CPU Cooler installed: https://www.amd.com/en/processors/3950x-thermal-solutions 

But if your idle temps are around 60C you have a problem. Those are very high temps during idle loads.

I would check to make sure your AIO is correctly installed and the water block is making good evenly tight contact with the processor. Also make sure the Thermal paste is covering the entire processor surface with a very thin layer.

I would check for Air flow around the CPU Cooler's radiator and fan. Make sure it isn't obstructed and the fan is spinning at maximum with high temperatures.

Make sure there is good liquid circulation through the hoses to and from the Radiator and water block. No blockages or leaks.

I noticed that Corsair has a CPU Cooler software. Make sure you have the fan configured to be aggressive:

CORSAIR iCUE software allows you to control and synchronize your cooler’s RGB lighting with all iCUE compatible devices, monitor CPU and coolant temperatures and adjust fan and pump speeds, all from a single intuitive interface.

Zero RPM cooling profiles in CORSAIR iCUE software allow fans to stop entirely at low temperatures, eliminating fan noise.

By the way, Corsair has a new update for the above software iCUE:

CORSAIR iCUE v3.26.95

WINDOWS

3.26.95 | 03/03/2020

[bartmazur]

Thanks elstaci! I've played a bit with cooler's fans settings and I've managed to get a couple of degrees off the chart. Current idle states in Windows are around/below 50 C. I must add that proper idle state in BIOS shows temps around 40 C. That should be fine, shouldn't it? 

If rendering (no PBO) day to day for hours at <90 C temp should I worry about my CPU being damaged? What better cooling solutions could you all recommend?

[elstaci]

40C seems to be a good idle temperature. But maybe another User with the same processor can post their idle & heavy load temperatures to compare.

The CPU Cooler you have, in my opinion, is fine and recommended by AMD for your processor.

Your Processor's Maximum Temperature is 95C so it is getting close to its max temperature. I would try to get it down below 85C.

I suggest you open a Corsair Support ticket to find out if that is normal temperatures for your CPU Cooler and also an Online AMD Service Request to see what they suggest from here: https://www.amd.com/en/support/contact-email-form 

Here is Corsair FAQ concerning its Hydro Series CPU Coolers: Hydro Series AIO Cooler FAQ – Corsair 

[zhuokai]

I am also running 3960X with Aorus TRX40 Xtreme. And I am having similar temperatures as yours. I am using the NZXT Kraken X73, which is a 360mm AIO. When heavy-loaded, and pump, fans running at 100%, I am having around 90 degree C on the CPU.

From this post, I am seeing similar temperatures 

https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/ehesmy/3970x_owners_what_temperatures_are_you_seeing/

So I think you are fine, or at least not alone. 

[marcalex399]

I am experiencing similar with a 360mm radiator.

Threadripper Pro 3975wx

Corsair 360mm H150i RGB PRO XT

To combat the (too) high temps under full load I've implemented a push-pull fan system with 3 fans either side of the radiator.

The idle temps are still around 55-60°C on the Performance Power profile in Windows. I recommend creating your own "Cooling Preset" in iCUE. Try different workloads for different periods and see where your coolant temperature sits. I found that when doing low/medium workloads you can then get a good balance between noise and cooling. If you don't care about noise (or can't be bothered with the above) then you can obviously set more aggressively and perhaps just use the "Extreme" profile.

My full workload temperatures have now gone from 90°C+ before the addition of the 3 fans to around 80°C, even on a 30 minute Multi Core Cinebench R23 test.

The benefit of adding the extra fans also means that it will be cooler at idle and therefore the RPM will be lower which will be good for fan life and quieter for your ears.

There is another option. I imagine you bought a Threadripper for performance reasons...! However, you can significantly reduce temperatures by reducing the maximum clock cycle even just by a little bit. I have created a power profile which limits the CPU to 3400MHz and in this profile it runs as cool as a cucumber (advanced setting of the power profile: Processor power management -> maximum processor frequency); and it's little surprise, because if you use the "Core Temp" app you will see that instead of using 280W it will be more like 180W.

AutoPowerOptionsOK is also a great app. You can use it to set the Windows power profile as Power Save when you're not using the PC (no mouse of keyboard movement) and then changes back to the Performance profile when you are using it. This will help keep the coolant temperatures lower when not using it or if you are reading something or on a conference call, so that when you then do need it to do some work it should take a little longer to hit higher CPU temps due to the lower starting coolant temperature.

If any of this helps at least one person then it was worth writing