My Ryzen 9 5900X averages around 90°C while playing Fortnite or GTA, although it sits near 55°C when I'm using Microsoft Edge with six or more tabs open. I recently bought replacement thermal paste and I'm wondering whether that could solve the problem. The PC was purchased used about a year ago. My hardware includes an ASUS ROG RTX 3080, NZXT Kraken Z73 liquid cooler, Lian Li O11 Dynamic case with Uni SL120 fans, 32GB of G.Skill Trident Z Neo RAM, a Samsung 4TB QVO SSD, an EVGA 1000W power supply, and an ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII X570 motherboard. My monitor is capped at 160 FPS. What should I check first?
3 Answers
Your 160 FPS cap is useful information, but temperatures can still reach the 90s if the game is heavily using the CPU. Monitor the CPU clock speeds and utilization while gaming. If the clocks drop noticeably as the temperature rises, that indicates thermal throttling; otherwise, improving the cooler contact, pump operation, and airflow would be the next steps.
Around 90°C is still within the Ryzen 9 5900X’s operating limit, but it is warmer than I’d expect from a Kraken Z73 and a well-ventilated case. If the processor is not reducing its clock speeds, it may not be technically throttling, but checking the fan and pump curves could help lower the temperature.
Since the system was bought used and has been running for about a year, the thermal paste could be degraded, but there are several other possibilities. Check that the cooler pump is running, the radiator fans are spinning, the cooler block is mounted evenly, and no protective plastic was left on the cold plate. Also verify that the case fans are arranged for proper intake and exhaust airflow. Air trapped in the AIO or a failing pump could also cause unusually high temperatures.
I bought the PC used about a year ago, so I’m going to replace the thermal paste first and then check the pump and fan setup if the temperatures stay high.
What exactly does throttling mean? I’m still pretty new to PC hardware.