I'm having an issue with high temperatures on my 9800X3D CPU. My setup has a top exhaust fan that seems to be pulling in cool air and exhausting it before it reaches the CPU heatsink. I measured temperatures with a thermal gun and found that the top right exhaust fan is always cool, while the left one is warm, showing a 6°C difference. Under load, my CPU hits 95-98°C while playing different games, with varying temperatures like 65-75°C in some titles, and around 85°C in Cinebench, where I also got a low score of 1302. I know the CPU can handle these temps, but I'm wondering if these numbers are too high. Should I consider reversing or removing the top right exhaust fan, especially since it's connected in a daisy chain with the others?
3 Answers
A good fan setup would be to have your bottom rear and middle fan as moderate strength intake fans, with your front bottom and front fan as your strongest intakes. The top front should be the weakest exhaust, focusing on removing excess heat without acting as the primary heat exhaust. The top back fan should be the second strongest outtake while the rear panel fan should be the strongest. This configuration helps your GPU get cool air while ensuring an effective airflow from front to back with minimal turbulence, plus it keeps your system at positive pressure to reduce dust buildup.
Noctua has done tests on this, and they suggest flipping the top fan to act as an intake instead of an exhaust. It’s a quick change—takes just a few minutes to try it out. While it might not drastically affect performance, it's worth experimenting with for better airflow.
I totally get the hesitation though. Taking everything apart can be stressful, especially if you’re worried about cable clutter or dust getting in!
Honestly, it doesn’t really matter too much. If this really bugs you, just swap to an AIO cooler. Then you won’t worry about those top exhausts getting too hot anymore—solves the problem easily!
I’m not too worried about the heat itself, it’s more about that cool air getting pulled out before it can even reach the CPU. Just doesn’t feel right.
Also, remember that shader loading really stresses CPUs. Games that pre-load shaders can push temps high because it’s super intensive. AMD CPUs can take these temps for short bursts, but if it lasts too long, you might want to check your fan curves or thermal paste.