I bought a PC about two years ago, and while it was on the cheaper side, I could still run most FPS games without any major issues. Recently, I upgraded some components and now have a new RTX 4070 GPU and a Ryzen 5 5600 CPU, along with an additional fan and a new PSU. Everything was working smoothly until yesterday when I encountered a blue screen. After restarting, I noticed that my CPU temperatures were around 90°C even while I was AFK in a game that doesn't require high-end specs.
I've ordered an AIO cooler and fresh thermal paste, but I'm curious—will these changes significantly improve my temperatures? Also, are there additional steps I could take to further cool down my CPU? I'm quite new to PC building, so any tips would be super helpful! I'm also considering upgrading my CPU and RAM soon for better balance in my build.
2 Answers
If you were on the stock cooler before, those aren’t great for cooling. If the thermal paste dried out or if the heatsink got filled with dust, that could explain the rising temps. The new cooler will include thermal paste, so you might consider returning the extra thermal paste you bought—might just be wasting your money.
What AIO model did you get? A 240mm AIO is usually more than enough for a 5600—it should keep your temps in check. A 120mm might work, but honestly, that could be a waste of money if you're aiming for cooler temps.
But it's not overkill if you're thinking about maxing out your Zen 4 motherboard soon. The 5800X3D can run hot!
I went with the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 280, since I'm looking to upgrade to a Ryzen 7 5700X3D shortly. Should work well, right?
Yeah, definitely need to change that thermal paste. Plus, my PC needs a good cleaning. I’m planning on swapping CPUs in a few months, so keeping the paste might be useful after all.