Temperatures for this model range between typical and high usage levels.
Temperatures for this model range between typical and high usage levels.
You're just starting out with PC building and have a Ryzen 9 5950X, RTX 3070, and MSI AIO setup. It's normal for your CPU temps to rise during demanding tasks like playing Borderlands 3, especially when it gets hotter. The increase from 50-60°C to 80-90°C suggests your cooling system is working hard. Make sure your fans run smoothly and consider upgrading the case or adding more cooling if needed. Keep an eye on temps regularly to ensure everything stays stable.
The AIO radiator measures a specific size, though it can get warm. The available cases are designed to fit your setup.
It needs a solid 280mm to 3600mm AIO with good quality to maintain acceptable temperatures. I wouldn't rely on a smaller one for that. Still, 80-90°C is still within the CPU's operating range.
The AIO was likely pre-pasted or came with a plastic sticker. You probably should have taken it off the sticker and used your own thermal paste. If it had paste already, check if you touched it by accident. You may want to reapply the paste. Also, verify the mount is firmly attached.
I didn't find any pre-applied paste; I used my own which was already on the CPU before this one. It came from a Ryzen 5 5600X, and I upgraded to the 5950 with the same AIO. After reapplying, I thought maybe the amount wasn't enough, so I disassembled it, cleaned it, and added a bit more. The temperature changes were minimal.
You could enhance the performance by applying undervolting with the PBO2 curve optimizer. It significantly lowered temperatures on my 5900X and improved chip efficiency. You'll need a full day to configure it properly, especially with 16 cores. Download OCCT—it's free but includes a brief 10-second pop-up between tests unless you purchase it. After restarting, enter BIOS and navigate to the CPU overclocking area. Enable Precision Boost Overdrive, set it to manual/advanced, adjust power limits to match your motherboard, apply a negative offset, and specify per-core settings. Begin with core 0, set the offset to 30, and leave others unchanged. After rebooting to Windows, run a CPU test in OCCT using large, variable, AVX2 settings. In advanced mode, leave everything except core 0 unchecked and choose physical/virtual configurations. Execute the test for 15 minutes or until errors appear. If errors occur, reduce the offset by 5 and retest. Continue adjusting until no errors appear. Once stable, increase the offset by 1 and repeat, testing each core until you reach a consistent setting. This process may take time, but the results are worth the effort.