Hey everyone, I'm working with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D powered by a be quiet! Light Loop 360mm AIO that's mounted on the top, alongside three side intake fans and one rear exhaust. The fans are running on the default settings from the Gigabyte BIOS. My ambient temperature is around 22°C.
While my core temperatures are sitting at a reasonable 26°C when idle, the temps on the IO die, CCD, and hotspot are significantly higher, sitting at about 50°C. Right after booting, I see idle temps around 47°C, but after doing any kind of light browsing or gaming, those temps hover around 50°C and don't seem to drop even after closing all my apps and letting the system rest.
I've used Arctic MX-6 thermal paste (the pea-sized method) and cleaned everything thoroughly with the included wipes. I've gone over my cooling setup, fan placements, and BIOS settings multiple times, and I'm not seeing anything obviously wrong.
So, is this behavior typical for the 9800X3D, or could I be dealing with a defective chip? Here are my specs for reference:
- Gigabyte X870E AORUS Elite WiFi 7
- Ryzen 7 9800X3D
- Gigabyte Gaming OC RTX 5070 Ti
- Samsung 990 Pro 2TB NVMe SSD
- Corsair RM1000x PSU
- be quiet! Light Loop 360mm AIO
- iBUYPOWER Element 9 Pro case
I'd really appreciate any insights or advice!
3 Answers
Just checking, did you remove the plastic film from the CPU cooler? It’s a common mistake! Also, remember that the 9800X3D has a TDP of 120W, so it tends to run hotter than many other CPUs. Lots of builds on PC Part Picker report idle temps in the high 40s, which is normal for this chip.
Your temps sound pretty much in line with what I'd expect for the 9800X3D, especially since it’s designed to handle up to 90°C under heavy load. It seems like your setup is operating normally. Just keep an eye on it while gaming, and game on!
The pea-sized method is good, but since the IHS is larger now, try applying a bigger dot in the center and maybe thin lines spread outwards. Also, your radiator might not be getting enough cool air; consider checking your temperatures with the side panel off to see if that helps. Sometimes positive pressure is best, but it really depends on your setup.
I’ll give that a go! I applied a decent pea-sized dot and let it spread out when I installed the heatsink. Any suggestions on alternative thermal paste methods would be awesome. And yeah, I’ll test with the panel off to see if that changes things up.
I see a lot of other folks online with the same CPU getting low 40°C even with worse cooling. Kind of makes me wonder if you might be experiencing a bit of variability.