I recently installed an Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 AIO cooler, but I'm worried about my CPU temperatures. During a full stress test, my Ryzen 7 7800X3D reaches around 85°C, and when idle, it sits at about 55°C. Although I've read that 85°C is generally acceptable for this CPU, I've seen reviews where the same cooler performs better on a Ryzen 9 9950X3D, which has me worried. This is my first time installing an AIO cooler myself, so I'm questioning if I applied the thermal paste incorrectly or if there's something else going on. Previously, I had a Thermalright Frozen Notte 240, and its idle temperatures were around the 50s, but I swapped to this new cooler thinking the old one might be failing since it started idling at 35°C when I first built my system. The similarity in temperatures between the two coolers is puzzling me.
3 Answers
It sounds like you might need to reseat your cooler. With a good AIO, you should expect temperatures closer to around 70°C under load. If it’s consistently hitting 85°C, it could indicate that the cooler isn't mounted correctly or that there's an issue with the pump.
I agree, remounting could help. My CPU, even with just an air cooler, idles at around 55°C without undervolting, so that might be worth checking out. If your pump isn't running optimally or the cooler’s not mounted right, that could explain the high temps. Don’t forget to verify your fan curves too!
I have the pump at 100% and the fans in standard mode, not turbo. I even re-applied the paste and made sure to mount it better, yet I'm still seeing the same temps.
I've used the same Thermalright 240mm AIO you had, and it wasn’t up to par either. I switched to a PS120 Evo, which keeps my CPU temp around 55-65°C in games and about 45-50°C when idle. It might be time to upgrade if you’re concerned about heat!
When you say reseat, do you mean I should reapply the thermal paste? I struggled a bit when I was screwing it in, so I wonder if the paste shifted around.