Issues with your R9 5900X and Dark Rock 4 Pro? Let's troubleshoot together.
Issues with your R9 5900X and Dark Rock 4 Pro? Let's troubleshoot together.
I'm dealing with some temperature problems that are really getting to me. My BIOS is set to default, and I don't change anything except what comes with my AMD/Motherboard's built-in settings. I prefer not to limit my CPU performance just to keep things stable. My CPU model is R9 5900x, and I use a Dark Rock 4 Pro cooler with two fans, plus Corsair case fans. The case uses a Cooler Master HAF EB EVO with a mesh top instead of glass. I'm running an EVGA 3080Ti on MSI MPG X570, and I've applied the thermal paste that came with the Dark Rock Pro 4. I usually stay idle at around 55-61°C. When I start gaming, it climbs quickly to 80°C sometimes reaching 90°C during CPU-heavy tasks. I understand 80°C is acceptable, but this is my first AMD chip in over 15 years. I've never experienced such high temps on Intel CPUs before. The last Intel I owned was an i7-8700k, which I'd have considered upgrading to the R9 5900x for better performance. Even with maximum load, that CPU might only hit 72-74°C with a weaker cooler. I purchased the Dark Rock Pro 4 specifically for this R9 CPU. From research, people with similar setups report much lower temps. I'm unsure what's going wrong. I clean my case weekly, but it seems I've spent too much on fixes. My CPU is overheating and I can't run anything else. *Note*: These issues have persisted for nearly a year; my room stays cool, GPU idles at 44°C, and under heavy load (like 4K gaming), it stays between 78-80°C without exceeding. Thankfully, the GPU isn't affected. Updated September 8, 2022 by NeoMink
What are the fan speeds? Have you changed them in the BIOS or is it fully set at 100% after reaching 75°C? When you removed the cooler, did you check if the thermal paste was applied correctly and made good contact? Intel CPUs from recent generations tend to be quite hot, particularly the 12th and upcoming 13th series. Ryzen processors generally handle heat well when properly cooled, though they may run warmer at idle. Reaching 90°C seems unusual with your cooler in place, suggesting a possible mounting pressure issue.
You mentioned not having any original configuration but noted the motherboard handles an OC. Have you attempted to remove it? If it altered voltage settings for the CPU, temperatures may rise noticeably. What clock speeds does the processor display when idle versus under stress? Does it consistently increase its performance?
The BIOS indicates performance reaches 100% when temperature exceeds 75°C and caps at around 1,500 degrees for both fans. Both units are connected to the same CPU cooler port on the motherboard, using the included splitter or similar connector. There isn’t a separate secondary cooler plug on the board. After removing the cooler today, I applied thermal paste evenly without any spillage. When reinstalling, I tightened each screw evenly rather than individually. I adjusted fan speeds intermittently over time, but didn’t see improvement. Even at idle with low CPU load (1–2%), stability is absent, fluctuating between 3.95 and 4.30. Using Task Manager to increase temperature caused a slight rise. Disabling PBO previously helped only marginally, reducing FPS. Overall, this experience leaves a strong negative impression of AMD’s cooling performance.
I’d also look into the power plan settings—AMD offers a Ryzen balanced plan in Windows. I’ve seen that choosing “ultimate performance” or “High performance” causes overheating. Also, have you updated the UEFI? Just installing mine now shows it’s running at 33°C (previously 28°C with 2700R). Version 1.2.0.7 should handle it better.
My BIOS is configured for balance. The BIOS I believe contains UEFI, and I recently upgraded it from the 2021 release to the latest version available last month.
Executed a Cinebench R23 run (single test) and shared the multicore score. If it falls in the 20k range, everything looks normal—just follow the same approach we used two years back and focus on what matters for Ryzen 5000 and upcoming chips. Are you tracking temperatures with HWInfo64? Which reading are you relying on? It seems there aren’t any obvious issues based on your current reports, though I’d like to dig deeper into this case. Robert Hallock – Technical Marketing Lead, AMD
I share the same CPU and cooler as your office workstation. When rendering—especially with heavy compression—I hit high temperatures, averaging around 63°C, peaking at 85–87°C during full-core tasks. With six 120mm fans, it’s manageable, but under all-core loads I reach 85–87°C. An AIO would be a good option; a 240mm model works, though a 360mm could let you run fans at lower speeds. You might want to consider this for your office setup too.
I had it chilled using a water system with a 240mm AIO, but it didn’t work well. The Dark Rock 4 seemed to handle it a bit better.