Ryzen 5 in idle mode at 75°C on AIO, no clear reason identified.
Ryzen 5 in idle mode at 75°C on AIO, no clear reason identified.
I'm working with a Ryzen 5 3600 in a NZXT H1 case equipped with the standard 140mm AIO and PSU. The build details are available below. This problem has persisted over time, worsening gradually. My CPU temperature consistently stays above 75°C during idle. When playing games—like Destiny 2 at medium settings—it reaches around 96°C and doesn’t cool effectively. I've tried several fixes listed below, but none resolved the issue. This is my first PC, and despite my technical skills, I'm finding it hard to identify further steps. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I've attached a screenshot from HWMonitor. Current applications: Discord, Chrome, HWMonitor. Specs: AMD Ryzen 5 3600, AMD Radeon RX 5500XT, ASRock B450 Gaming-ITX/ac 16GB DDR4 RAM, NZXT H1 Case, 140mm AIO, 750W PSU, Windows 10 v22H2. Build number 19045.3930 on a 1920x1200 display. Extra info: I’m unsure if these steps connect, but here they are for reference. Solutions tried: adjusting fan curve, cleaning dust filters, removing case sides or top, unscrewing AIO+fan for outdoor run, tightening CPU screws, replacing thermal paste, updating drivers.
To spot poor contact with the coldplate, look for irregularities in the thermal paste pattern. For paste quantity, check if it’s too thick or too thin. Regarding the pump, the intermittent squeaking could indicate air bubbles inside.
Removing the cooler reveals the paste pattern, indicating whether contact is proper. Poor contact means some IHS areas remain unpasted, though this also occurs with insufficient paste. Excessive thermal paste rarely causes overheating unless it's in huge quantities; it tends to ooze outward and create a mess, depending on pressure. Insufficient paste is easy to spot when the cooler is removed, as the paste layer stays too thin. My initial thought is the pump might be failing. Could be that one tube is overheating, showing it's losing heat too quickly?
I removed the cooler at one spot to verify contact; it didn’t make full contact, so I reapplied more paste and tightened the screws further. I’ll keep checking. The thermal paste I have is this old TG-7 tube from about ten years ago—does it degrade over time? Should I upgrade to something newer? The two tubes differ significantly in temperature; one is clearly much hotter than the other. It’s not extremely hot, but it’s definitely perceptible. Thanks for being patient and helping me out!
It does deteriorate, but from what I recall it should be quite clear. The liquid will either dry out completely, making it very viscous, or it will separate into distinct layers. I haven’t really examined thermal pastes recently, but I believe there’s a noticeable 5°C difference between the top quality and the ones sold in bulk.
I reviewed my cold plate again and noticed the paste was unusually thick and sticky, requiring some scraping. It also built up a substantial layer due to poor flow. I ordered Arctic MX-4 and it worked perfectly, reducing the temperature by about 15-20 degrees. Now I need to address the stability concerns.