Temperatures stay between 70-80°C at rest. 110°C during heavy use!
Temperatures stay between 70-80°C at rest. 110°C during heavy use!
My CPU performance drops significantly when usage is low, staying near 75°C, while high loads like gaming push temperatures up to 110°C and cause shutdowns. I own a Ryzen 5 5500 with the stock cooler from the Ryzen 3 2200G. The system runs on three basic case fans—one front blowing air toward the CPU and two exhausts above and behind. The PC has been in this setup for a few months, and I’ve been dealing with the problem without much help online. Now summer is here and my machine is becoming unreliable; I don’t want to risk damaging the CPU. Possible fixes include replacing the case, getting new fans, installing a better cooler, or returning the CPU if possible. I recently dropped the CPU after bending its pins, but after straightening them with a razor blade and reapplying thermal paste (twice), it worked perfectly and temperatures stabilized. Anyone have advice on resolving this? I’ve tried cleaning with isopropyl alcohol, using microfiber cloths, reseating the cooler twice, and applying a pea-sized amount of thermal paste.
Consider reducing the voltage or switching to a fresh CPU cooler.
Has everything stayed the same since the beginning? This is odd, particularly for mid-range CPUs running at 75°C. Maybe PBO2 has been pushed too hard—you could revert to the default settings using Ryzen Master or BIOS. Would you mind sharing your CPU performance chart in Task Manager while it’s idle? Another suggestion that’s been discussed before is reducing the voltage (through PBO) or replacing the cooler.
AMD offers similar configurations like cool quiet or Intel speed step to lower idle processor clocks. If these aren't available in the BIOS or are being overridden by Windows performance settings, adjust power plan settings and locate advanced options. Expect around 15 settings, possibly fewer without battery support. Set the minimum CPU usage to zero for minimal idle power and avoid running at 3.7GHz constantly. For temporary fixes, enable full CPU fan speed in BIOS and boost rear exhaust fan speed significantly. Use a tool like Speccy to monitor additional metrics such as disk temperatures and compare before and after changes.
From this image, because it operates at 3.8GHz instead of the standard 3.6GHz, it suggests the Radeon software has enabled auto overclock. However, this doesn't explain the unusually high idle temperatures you're seeing. It's acceptable to keep it active since it provides good performance. The positive aspect is that with idle at 3% and a speed of 3.78GHz, it indicates no background processes are forcing the CPU to work excessively, meaning the issue likely lies with hardware rather than software. The main hardware concerns could include: 1) Missing plastic around the CPU cooler, which can hinder heat transfer even with high-end coolers; 2) Improper mounting or loose connection of the cooler fan to the motherboard; 3) Missing thermal paste application; and 4) An inefficient cooling setup, such as a case fan that doesn't create enough pressure. If the cooler feels cool during idle, gaming, or rendering, it's probably due to poor contact between the cooler and CPU.
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Make sure the CPU idles down, there is NO good reason at all, ever, to have the CPU at 3.6 Ghz with mostly idle load. My CPU when set to full highest allowed clock speed, 3.7Ghz and stock settings for voltage, runs at 34 C in UEFI. If I run it at 0.8 Ghz, and the lowest stable voltage settings, it drops all the way to 24 C. This radiates less heat into the room, saves small amounts of power, and your cpu speed will still go up as needed.