Are you experiencing high idle temperatures on your CPU?
Are you experiencing high idle temperatures on your CPU?
Hi, when I'm not gaming my Ryzen 7 5800X3D it stays between 60-70 degrees Celsius. I have seven standard fans, six on the front and bottom for intake, one at the back for exhaust. The CPU is cooled by a nzxt kraken elite 360mm with the exhaust fans and the thermal paste is mx-6 in an nzxt h9 elite case. My RTX 5080 is around 30°C when not gaming, which is normal. What’s the issue? Is it the AIO being on top and acting as exhaust? Could be the thermal paste? Or something else? I’m not sure, help would be appreciated.
Sincerely, Aequipondium
Glass roof wouldn't provide much benefit. Although a tiny grille is available for heat to escape, it's too narrow and going around the case multiple times before opening is less effective than a direct exit. Background programs (such as wallpaper engines), or using a very high dpi mouse setting that keeps several cores active, and the software merely reflecting those cores, are also contributing factors.
Do those minimal background applications really influence temperatures? While gaming the CPU hits 75-85 and sometimes up to 90, I've seen some people report ambient temps at 40, which is 30 degrees lower than mine. The top grille seems like a reasonable consideration if we're looking for a replacement in the Netherlands.
It's normal for cores to rapidly 'spike' into action, then sleep, over and over, but some applications may keep them from taking breaks, and so, they steadily run warmer, until they reach an equilibrium.
75-85C is OK operating temperature. This pushing 90C in a game though... either the game is that taxing, or there's an issue with displacing the waste heat out of the case fast enough.
By having the AIO radiator as top exhaust, not just the CPU, but the waste heat from all devices below it pass through, but there's just the little grille off to the side - I didn't forget about the rear fan.
It's not enough.
It would be wise to reposition the CPU cooler and apply fresh thermal paste just in case. As someone who owns a Ryzen 7 5800X3D, I’ve noticed my typical idle temperatures around the 40s in a room at 78°F (25.5°C). Light tasks stay in the 50s, medium loads reach the 60s to 70s, and extreme cases hit close to 90°C. I’m using a compact Noctua 120mm tower cooler, which is less powerful than the larger 360mm AIO you have. Keep in mind that certain games can push the chip into the 90°C range, so check if your performance is up to the task.
I'll proceed, I've also purchased a replacement for the top panel with mesh to allow heat to escape directly.
Install CAM on your NZXT AIO and monitor the liquid temperature. If it remains elevated during idle (around 15-20°C above room temperature), it may indicate excessive airflow through the radiator or insufficient pump speed. I found better performance with the front radiator and intake fans, which helps cool the liquid via fresh air, though this setup still needs proper case ventilation. If the temperature is only slightly above room level and doesn't rise significantly during gaming, the issue likely lies with your CPU cooler's coupling.
With coupling refers to the connection between the aio and the cpu?
I'll check the liquid temps when I'm home from work
Reaching 48c during gaming indicates the heat dissipation between the CPU and liquid coolant is adequate, though still elevated. The coolant should remain below 10c above room temperature, which is achieved here at 21c. This could be due to an inefficient radiator fan setup, causing excessive heat from the GPU to enter the airflow path. Improving airflow or adjusting the intake design would be beneficial. For idle periods, the coolant temperature remains acceptable despite higher overall temperatures. Background applications using multiple cores likely cause the sensor to spike while the CPU remains low-power, preventing excessive warming. Check CPU usage in Task Manager during idle times.