Why does my FPS drop 20-30 after changing the thermal paste?
Why does my FPS drop 20-30 after changing the thermal paste?
Hello everyone, welcome! Thank you all for your support. I’m new here, so I really appreciate your help. I decided to change my thermal paste because it’s been five years, and I took the fan out to clean the CPU. After watching 200 videos, I figured out how much time it would take. When I opened the PC, they asked me to put in the recovery key, but I disabled it. So I joined a game and the FPS was around 20-30. Why do you think that is? Can someone help me understand?
Welcome to the forums, newcomer!
Please list the specs to your build like so:
CPU:
CPU cooler:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:
Monitor:
include the age of the PSU apart from it's make and model. BIOS version for your motherboard at this moment of time.
By recovery key, are you referring to the fTPM message after a cold boot? Did you use isopropyl alcohol to remove the prior thermal paste off of the CPU and CPU cooler? Did you make sure that the CPU was mounted correctly onto the CPU's retention mechanism?
Yes, the CPU is positioned within the mechanism. I don't use alcohol for cleaning; instead, I use paper to ensure it's thoroughly cleaned. I'm confident in my cleaning skills and know how to properly maintain it. 😛
CPU model: AMD Ryzen 7 3700 3.8 GHz
Cooler: Ampere Amd
Motherboard: ROG Strix X570-E Gaming
RAM: 32GB GSKILL RGB
SSD: 2GB
PSU: RMS850X
Chassis: Corsair
Operating System: Windows 11
Monitor: Gigabyte 1080p 165Hz Curved
Thermal paste fills every tiny gap between the heat sink and the CPU heat spreader (cover). Since they're so small, you won't be able to see how thoroughly you cleaned. You might have left behind small pieces of old paste. Based on the paper you used, you could also have left behind fibers.
Have you looked at your CPU temperatures to confirm they're the issue? The drop in frames per second is only related to replacing the thermal paste if the CPU is throttling (which occurs at 85 °C for your processor).
It's a bit too late, but swapping out thermal paste just because it's old often can make things worse. If temperatures are manageable, it's usually best to leave it as is.
When you completed all that it most likely reinitialized CMOS/BIOS to factory defaults, which are safe configurations with reduced performance. Now you would need to access BIOS/UEFI and enable certain features such as XMP/EXPO and boost. You can utilize Ryzen Master to verify those settings.