How hot is too hot for a Ryzen 2600x?[Solved]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($210.85 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 33.84 CFM CPU Cooler ($42.29 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty B450 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 660p Series 1.02 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($118.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon RX 5700 8 GB Video Card
Case: Phanteks ENTHOO EVOLV SHIFT Mini ITX Tower Case
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS SGX 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply
Monitor: Acer H236HLbid 23.0" 1920x1080 60 Hz Monitor
Monitor: LG 25UM58-P 25.0" 2560x1080 60 Hz Monitor ($158.98 @ Amazon)
Total: $616.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-25 15:00 EDT-0400

Recently I want back to Windows as my friend is begging me to get back in to gaming. Now that I got a Macbook Pro, I at least have a secondary machine if things go wrong. I decided to look at temps while in Windows and Noticed my 2600x was running about 60c on idle. Using AIDIA 64 CPU stress test I seen temps as high as 105C. I reseated the CPU cooler to make sure it was good. While temps got a little better, I was still seeing spikes of 101C. Mind you this is just in a stress test and not actual games.

I dont think its in my list, but I got 2 120mm Phanteks Fans in the basement of this case as intake, thats what Phanteks suggested. The fan next to the CPU cooler is in exhaust.

Anything greater than, or equal to 70 degrees Celsius.

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Well I blew that out of the water.

If you’re idling at 60C, then either you are in the middle of Death Valley, or you have something wrong with your cooler or mounting mechanism.

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I remounted/pasted and it didnt help. And no I dont live in Death Valley I live in Metro Detroit.

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What is your current cooler?

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 33.84 CFM CPU Cooler ($42.29 @ Amazon)

If you removed the plastic sticker on the heatsink, are sure it’s mounted properly, and the fan spins then I am left to assume you have a defective unit or you might have some funky UEFI settings either setting too high a voltage or with terrible/absent fan curves

I set the fans to performance in the UEFI. There is no plastic on the heatsink (Not my first rodeo). I think its the fact the CPU cooler sits less than an inch from the glass side panel.

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Yeah its starved of intake.

On Noctuas website it says that cooler is only rated for your cpu without tubo or overclocking headroom.

Your last option would be to disable turbo (?) and undervolt your CPU which will help with TDP but sacrifice some performance. However, if you’re hitting TJMax then this would be better.

If you have the space this would be ideal for an AIO as air is too restricted.

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The case is rated for a 120mm Liquid cooler, but I just need to know which one would work the best. Also Ive never overclocked, so im not familiar when it comes to changing voltages and such. What would be a good voltage to set? Also which option would be the best? Would I be able to leave my CPU settings alone if I got an AIO?

Third option I could get a different case.

Check Gamers Nexus reviews for AIO. Tldr you want an asetek 3 design because they significantly improved the impeller and microfin coldplate designs. Also, high RPM fans is what you can you in the meantime.

Undervolting is basically the opposite of overclocking.

You set a specific voltage and tell the cpu to get all the performance at that specific voltage and go no higher. Something like .9V or 1V

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Comined result of the L9a being somewhat underpowered for the 2600x and it being starved for air, as @Dynamic_Gravity said.

There should also be an option in your BIOS to limit TDP.

Not sure if it would fit your case, but something like the Thermalright AXP-100 or Noctua NH-L12S would do better.

IIRC someone on these forums modded the Evolv Shift for better airflow.

One issue is I have RGB ram so there is a clearance issue there I think. What Im thinking might be a better choice is just change the case. I can use this case if/when I rebuilt my Plex server, as Im not going to be using high grade gaming hardware in that machine. Maybe I can look at a Smaller mATX case that has better airflow, then just transplant the guts in to it.

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thoughts on this case? Would I need a new PSU? Should I still consider a different cooler as well, or would my current one work fine with better airflow?

Dude. My ambient temp is around 33-ish degC at noon-ish (no aircon). Idle temp hovers at mid 60s degC.

Granted its a i5-6600K, its doing fine.

Crashes start at around 80-90 during Dota 2 sessions and Monster Hunter World, in which I take off the side panel and put a desk fan pointed at it and its fine again.

Been at it for about 5 years+ now and the rig is still alive.

That’s Intel though. They can actually run that high.

Are you advocating Intel for the use case in my enviroment? Or will a Ryzen simply run cooler in a similar use case?

Not sure if its true anymore. But at one point I read that Intel chips can take a bit more heat but they have a tendency to heat up quickly. While AMD CPU’s had less of a thermal threshold and would take a while to heat up fully, at least when they are adequately cooled. I think it had to deal with how the head spreader was attached to the chip.

Do you guys think an APU would work ok in this case? My thought is I can switch to a mATX case, but when I decide to rebuild my Plex server(Transcode Box) I can just upgrade the motherboard in my gaming rig, and use my current motherboard in the Plex server with an APU. Id assume that AMD’s APU line should be good for 3 streams with 2 being transcodes of 1080p or less content?