9700X Thermals is a product line offering advanced thermal solutions.
9700X Thermals is a product line offering advanced thermal solutions.
I've been testing my new PC over the last two days and monitoring temperatures, clocks, and other details. I've observed that my Ryzen 7 9700X shows an unusual temperature trend. For instance, while playing Path Of Exile about an hour ago, the CPU reached close to 80°C according to HWInfo, but the core stayed below 62°C at its peak. It seems the spike happened when loading shaders and then stabilized. This behavior occurs with many other games. The cooler keeps it around 38-40°C during idle, but these sudden heat spikes are prompting me to consider reseating the cooler. It's my first experience with an AMD build, so I'm not sure if this is typical for Ryzen.
I don't own an AM5 setup, but I can confirm your observation is typical. Starting a game or level often puts the most strain on the CPU. My 5900X typically runs at about 30-40% usage during play, but can reach 100% when loading. For games like POE, you'll usually see high demand across all eight cores at startup, then only a few cores get busy afterward. Also remember that AM5 chips are built to handle heat rather than power or speed limits. At peak load, expect temperatures around 95°C and maintain that until the task finishes.
My worry wasn't limited only to PoE, but extended to games in general. Considering something demanding the CPU, like Monster Hunter Wilds, made me question if my setup was right or if there was an issue with my cooler. As you mentioned, AM5 CPUs are built with thermal constraints, which I hadn’t realized before. After digging deeper during the day, I’d say it’s functioning as expected and I’m probably just overanalyzing.
It's typical for the TCTL and DIE sections to run slightly hotter. It took some time to understand this.