I recently upgraded my system with a 9950X3D CPU and a GeForce 5080 graphics card, moving up from a 7950X and a GeForce 4070ti. Since the upgrade, I've encountered some concerning temperature readings and I'm hoping for some insights. Here's what I've observed:
- Upon starting up, with only Discord and Opera GX open, my CPU temperatures sit between 75-85°C.
- After about five minutes of running, the temperatures drop to 55-60°C.
- With multiple applications (wallpaper engine, OBS, Discord, and Opera GX) running, temperatures again reach 75-85°C.
- When playing a game on high to max settings with all previous applications open, the CPU temperature climbs to 95-97°C.
- For coolant temperatures, I'm seeing 38-40°C after the initial startup with no overloads, 40-44°C normally, and 45-47°C during gaming.
As for my setup, I'm using a Lian Li H9 Flow case equipped with Lian Li SL INF fans and an iCue LINK H150i LCD AIO cooler. My fan configuration includes three top fans as intake, one rear fan also as intake, and three bottom fans for exhaust. Additionally, I set up the AIO cooler in a push/pull configuration: Lian Li fans as exhaust near the glass and iCue fans as intake on the other side. Before this, I had the bottom fans as intake and the top ones as exhaust, but switching it helped drop my temps from previously ranging 88-97°C regardless of load.
To get some professional advice, I took my PC to Microcenter, but they indicated the 9950X3D is meant to run hot and only adjusted a standoff screw that was improperly positioned. I'm unsure if I'm doing everything right for cooling or if there's anything else I can look at for lowering these temperatures. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
2 Answers
Your cooling setup sounds good overall. Make sure your fans are set up correctly for optimal airflow, as you explained. It might be worth experimenting with adjusting fan curves in BIOS or a software tool to ramp them up sooner. That could help manage those higher temps while gaming.
It sounds like your temps are actually in line with what others have experienced when upgrading to high-end CPUs like the 9950X3D. If your CPU is under 95°C during normal use and isn't throttling, then it might not be a problem after all! But if you're worried about those gaming temps, you might want to look into better airflow or maybe even consider reapplying thermal paste on the CPU for optimal cooling.
Yeah, that makes sense. Just keep an eye on it—it may just be how the new hardware operates. But also, check your thermal paste if you haven't already; it can make a big difference!
I’ll definitely try adjusting the fan curves and see how that impacts the temperatures. Thanks for the tip!