I recently installed a Be Quiet! Pure Rock 3 Pro on my Ryzen 7 9800X3D. During normal gaming, temperatures stay around 60–70°C, but when loading into a new match in Squad, the CPU briefly reaches about 96°C for roughly five seconds while utilization jumps to around 96%. I assume this may be shader compilation, since I have only recently started playing and have not loaded many maps yet. The temperature spike only happens during map or game loading, not during regular gameplay. Is this behavior expected, or does it suggest the cooler is not removing heat quickly enough? I am also considering using Curve Optimizer in the PBO settings to reduce temperatures and potentially improve efficiency. Can I simply apply a negative all-core Curve Optimizer offset, test stability with OCCT, and leave the other PBO settings at their defaults?
3 Answers
The processor is designed to operate near its thermal limit under short heavy workloads, and running around 95°C is not automatically harmful. Still, check that the cooler is mounted firmly, the fan is responding correctly, and the thermal paste application is adequate. A modest Curve Optimizer undervolt can lower temperatures, but stability testing is important because every chip tolerates a different offset.
Brief spikes like this during shader compilation or loading are generally normal. Ryzen processors boost aggressively until they reach a thermal, power, or voltage limit, so a short burst can hit the upper 90s even when gaming temperatures are much lower. You can set a lower thermal limit, such as 85–90°C, if you prefer, though that may slightly reduce performance. For undervolting, starting with an all-core negative Curve Optimizer value around -10 is reasonable. Test stability carefully, then try a stronger value only if it remains stable. You can leave the rest of the PBO settings on Auto or at their defaults.
Several people see similar temperature jumps during shader compilation, even with large dual-tower air coolers. One system reached around 92°C during compilation but stayed much cooler during actual gameplay. Since your spike lasts only a few seconds and normal gaming temperatures are 60–70°C, it does not necessarily indicate a cooler problem.
So I can change only the all-core Curve Optimizer value to a negative offset and leave the other PBO options untouched, then test it for stability?