Ryzen 7900 VS 7800X3D
Ryzen 7900 VS 7800X3D
It seems you're exploring options for cooling and mounting in laptops. You're considering using higher voltage settings and custom cooling solutions. The advice suggests that with careful adjustments, you can manage temperatures effectively, especially under stress conditions. It also mentions the importance of choosing reliable components and being mindful of heat management. If you need more specific guidance on parts or techniques, feel free to ask.
It’s a mix of stock and custom work. When watching the video with Jay, he could use the stock mount from his AIO without having to take out the AMD CPU retention bracket or similar parts. But once he took off about 0.8mm of IHS material, his AIO cold plate stopped making good contact with the IHS and started throttling. After trying several solutions, he discovered that adjusting the motherboard stand-off screws on his AIO bracket helped—by lowering their height by roughly 1mm. This allowed him to reattach the block just like before. Small tweaks can work depending on your cooler model, with up to 1.0mm of material removal possible. Going past that requires taking out the AMD retention bracket and using an aftermarket contact frame. Once you reach about 1.6mm of IHS removed, you can remove up to 1.6mm, reaching DerBauer’s recommended limit and beyond. For more details, check the product page: https://www.thermal-grizzly.com/en/produ...en-7000-en. It’s important not to exceed 100°C for safety. Remember, ScatterBencher only reached around 92°C with a stock IHS, so your CPU shouldn’t be that hot. Steve from GN mentioned during the official review that the 7800X3D runs close to 75°C under stock conditions—definitely better than a toaster. Keep in mind, my Noctua D-15 will behave similarly, hitting around the same temps even with stock IHS. This gap between the D-15 and a 360mm AIO is easily covered by proper modifications. I’m certain there are some 240mm AIOs that outperform the Noctua D-15 in its standard setup. Whether you go full custom or stick to ready-made loops, there are good and bad designs. You’ll find options with thick or thin radiators, strong fans or weak ones. The key is overall performance—generally, the Noctua D-15 matches or exceeds most premium 240mm AIOs when their default fans run at full speed. I’m keen to try swapping to Noctua Industrial PPC fans for my Phanteks P500A case (three 140mm at 2000RPM intake and two 140mm at 2000RPM). It already feels like a wind tunnel inside the case when they spin up. I’m not concerned about getting confused with setup—I’ve watched DerBauer’s guides and would follow them closely. He even acknowledges that removing the dies is risky, since they’re soldered to the IHS. There’s no certainty you’ll avoid breaking one. In short, custom loops are the best cooling choice for most builds, though they come at a higher cost. I’m considering a B-650 MoBo instead of an overpriced X-670. If budget wasn’t an issue, I’d opt for an Intel i9-13900K, RTX 4090, and a full custom liquid cooler with the Thermal Grizzly 13th gen DeLid kit. This would give me both lightning-fast gaming and smooth multitasking. The biggest challenge is the Lapping mod—its cost is minimal ($20 for the tool)—but it really makes a noticeable difference in temperature. Overall, I could probably get the job done for around $60 with my current Noctua D-15, some sandpaper, thermal paste, and a bit of patience. If I can modify the 7800X3D for air cooling, I’d want to see what performance is possible.
@Somerandomtechyboi Here it is, I found a review of the 7800X3D on Air Cooling, it is by Hardware Canucks because they decided to see what the 7800X3D could do in a worst-case cooling scenario - an ITX Small Form Factor gaming machine with a low profile cooler. Note that yes, with the low-profile Noctua NH-L12 cooler, the 7800X3D DOES hit TJ-Max 89C with the stock IHS and stock settings right out of the box. However, he also wanted to see what a Higher-Tier Air Cooler can do, so he got the DeepCool AK620 Dual-Tower/Dual 120mm Fan air cooler and at full 100% all-core workload, the 7800X3D barely hits 80C, mostly staying at 79C. It never reduced clocks and ran at maximum all-core boost frequency the entire time on the AK620 Air Cooler. And remember, the Noctua D-15 is actually a class above the AK620 - being a Dual Tower/Dual 140mm fan Air Cooler. The Noctua D-15 is much larger than the DeepCool AK620. So Im not sure why you were saying the CPU could hit 115C because that just isn't possible. Even with TJMax limiters disabled Ryzen 7000 cannot operate at max frequency above 90C, the silicon just can't clock that high at such high temps no matter what you do. In order to clock higher, you have to cool better, so lets use the information from this video to predict my ability to cool the 7800X3D: First of all, if running an air cooler I will certainly be sticking with the larger twin-tower 140mm coolers because they are my favorite and the only class of air coolers than can match 240mm AIOs. That combined with shaving down the IHS by 1.0 mm with good thermal paste like Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme should have my temps sitting around 68-70C during a 100% all-core workload at the CPUs factory default settings. Thats a pretty good start but not fantastic. With about 20C Thermal headroom (Trying to stay at or below 90C to protect the sensitive 3D Cache) I should be able to overclock somewhat but probably not to the level that SkatterBencher did. He was able to push all cores above 5.4 GHz but was hitting over 90C even using his 360mm AIO. Now of course he was on the Stock IHS but pushing that kind of extreme OC does actually benefit from liquid cooling and so thats why I think I will be able to hit 5.2GHz all-core because the voltage and heat output wont be quite as extreme. The Hardware Canucks video link starts you at about 7:30 in because that is where they test all-core 100% stress workloads on the Air Coolers:
I see the concern about custom loops costing a lot. I received the components for one unit and spent roughly $20–30 on a 400mm diameter (40mm thick) design. I added another $15–20 for a standard copper waterblock with microfins, though I didn’t purchase one since it was too pricey at the time and I was considering attaching a waterblock directly to the CPU—something that lets water flow over the die for cooling.
On the other hand, I’m thinking about going the traditional route: using a car radiator and a basic aquarium pump instead of expensive PC radiators. Even the best budget PC radiators from Barrow or Bykski can’t match the performance of a larger car radiator.
The main drawbacks are size, needing to assemble the build yourself (a lot of DIY), and having to run about 20% antifreeze to reduce galvanic corrosion (though I think electroplating the block could help). But the big pros are cost-effectiveness and strong cooling power. I went a long way with a cheap radiator, but for around $3 it should work fine. I’m still curious if all the oil has been drained—those are usually for car AC systems (refrigerant), not water. Used radiators tend to be very affordable, though they require cleaning. New ones are also reasonably cheap.
Obviously, this isn’t ideal for everyone, but it’s the best value I’ve found in terms of price and performance. The cooling would blow out both low-end and high-end loop options depending on the radiator you choose.
I built it mainly to get top-tier cooling without breaking the bank, though with more money I’d probably upgrade to a better radiator. A $20 investment for a piece of nylon might seem silly—don’t just sand a glass piece for flatness! Also, most high-end thermal pastes only differ by a few degrees, so go for something like GELIED GC Extreme or KRYNOUT EXTREME. Make sure you get ones that support asynchronous ECL. The cheapest options are the B650E AORUS Master and X670-F.
This is definitely not about a car radiator or aquarium setup. I’m talking about a regular desktop built for daily use, something sturdy enough to handle the grind but not so complicated it becomes a headache to maintain. For me, this isn’t the right path. I prefer components that fit neatly into a case and are easy to service. Water cooling would be costly—buying PC radiators and blocks isn’t cheap. A $20 investment in nylon isn’t cheap either, but it’s a decent Thermal Grizzly product. The company behind it develops top-notch accessories, and they even share prototypes on YouTube before launching. It’s all about quality and reliability.
There are cheaper thermal paste options, but even that costs around $9.99 for a few CPUs. With a modern build like this—7800X3D—it makes sense to spend a bit more, maybe $2 to $3 extra. I’m not chasing extreme modifications; I’m building a functional system for gaming and everyday tasks. Sanding metal or using case panels is just practical. I could probably keep it under $50 if I really want to save. This isn’t about pushing limits—it’s about getting a solid, maintainable machine that works reliably.