3600X reaches 90°C with stock cooler—should it use additional liquid cooling?
3600X reaches 90°C with stock cooler—should it use additional liquid cooling?
I had a poor impression with slightly more affordable standard fans. They never kept temperatures below 70-80°C, even when using my H115i Corsair. In my region it’s quite hot—around 42°C during the day!
Capture the screen while the game runs. Once you switch tabs, the CPU will slow down and show lower power readings. Check the room temperature—both the 3600X and 2600 models generate more heat, but the surrounding air might be affecting performance. I believe the issue could relate to how you placed the thermal paste or positioned the cooler; even with the original cooler, it shouldn’t reach those high temps.
Taking the side panel off affects airflow into or out of the case. This could mean insufficient cooling, either too little or uneven pressure. Using only stock paste for three applications isn’t unusual—it’s designed to be applied thickly. If you’re running at 50-70% load and 70-78% under stress with the panel off, it might point to a CPU cooler mount problem. Possible causes include poor pressure or misalignment. However, since I haven’t worked with PCs in similar ambient conditions, this could be the bigger issue. The best fix would be using a larger heat sink.
I might reapply the thermal paste again since you've already used the standard paste for multiple mounts. @Tristerin has a point—it's probably not performing optimally anymore. Another option could be to lapping the CPU to smooth out the heat spreader, though I won't suggest it as it carries risks and can void your warranty. If you're really worried about temperatures, getting a NH-U12A or 212 Evo cooler would be a more affordable upgrade.
Here I am... The thermal paste only covered two sides of the CPU, like this: |__ In the middle and the other two sides it wasn’t applied at all after three tries to reattach... I’m certain it’s the Gigabyte back plate or an AMD factory error!!! I’ll return the item. I’m experiencing headaches from this issue today.