Just how Bad are High CPU Temps? (seeking advice)

[TheFriendlyHacker]

TL;DR: My case sucks with air flow. My CPU runs between 83-88C average, peaks at 95C while gaming. Otherwise, it's fine. I can clock it down to reduce temps. But if I only game for 10-14 hours per week, are these temps particularly dangerous? My college budget doesn't really allow me to purchase any upgrades.

 

Brief background:

I have a Ryzen 5 2600x in a cheap case (AeroCool Cylon) that is absolutely terrible with air flow (regardless of # of fans / placement), thus resulting in quite high CPU temps while gaming. I have confidently confirmed that air flow is the issue via removing the side panel and watching temps drop by ~10-20C. 

When my CPU's "Turbo" is enabled in BIOS (aka, it's allowed to clock up to 4.2ghz), the average CPU temp while gaming is ~83-88C, with peaks up to 95C. However, if I disable turbo (thus it runs at its base clock of 3.6ghz), temps are perfectly under control. 

 

So my question: Just how bad is it for a desktop CPU to run in the mid-high 80's / peak in the mid 90's for hours at a time? I'm not a heavy gamer by any means; most of the time I'm using my desktop for college stuff (aka, not stressing the CPU). I maybe game for an average of 10-14 hours per week (just guessing). 

 

Basically, do you think I should continue to accept some performance loss when I do game in exchange for better temps, or do you think it's safe to let the CPU run that hot, given how often I game?

 

I know there are some simple solutions to this issue: 

1: Buy a liquid cooler

2: Why'd you buy such a bad case? (yes, judge me as you will)

3: Buy a better case

 

But I'm on a College Budget(tm), and really can't afford upgrades. I'm willing to make do with what I have if I need to. But I just want to know if I'd be a fool to let my CPU run that hot for 10-14 hours per week, or if it won't really be a problem. 

[1van]

3 minutes ago, TheFriendlyHacker said:

Brief background:

I have a Ryzen 5 2600x in a cheap case (AeroCool Cylon)

Cylon is bad, but not that bad. I used to run a 150W CPU in a Cylon Mini for fun, it was around 70-75C in gaming.

Ryzen 2600X is a much cooler CPU. I installed the PSU so its fan was UP, not down. This way it took the air from the GPU and made the system run noticeably cooler. And the case had a stock rear exhaust fan.

As you mentioned, installing 2 front intake fans there did not help in any way)

[TheFriendlyHacker]

2 minutes ago, 1van said:

Cylon is bad, but not that bad. I used to run a 150W CPU in a Cylon Mini for fun, it was around 70-75C in gaming.

Ryzen 2600X is a much cooler CPU. I installed the PSU so its fan was UP, not down. This way it took the air from the GPU and made the system run noticeably cooler. And the case had a stock rear exhaust fan.

As you mentioned, installing 2 front intake fans there did not help in any way)

 

Interesting...

I have my PSU's fan facing down (since the case has a big gap underneath for the PSU airflow). And a GTX 1070 "mini" ("mini" as in, dual-fan). Think flipping the PSU over might make a difference?

[1van]

1 minute ago, TheFriendlyHacker said:

Think flipping the PSU over might make a difference?

It worked for me, especially with GPU temps, worth trying.

The PSU in that system was an overkill, so it did not get hot by itself and passing hot air through it did not hurt it much. Otherwise it may reduce the PSU's life, the only downside I can see.

[Mark Kaine]

20 minutes ago, TheFriendlyHacker said:

Brief background:

I have a Ryzen 5 2600x in a cheap case (AeroCool Cylon) that is absolutely terrible with air flow (regardless of # of fans / placement), thus resulting in quite high CPU temps while gaming. I have confidently confirmed that air flow is the issue via removing the side panel and watching temps drop by ~10-20C. 

When my CPU's "Turbo" is enabled in BIOS (aka, it's allowed to clock up to 4.2ghz), the average CPU temp while gaming is ~83-88C, with peaks up to 95C. However, if I disable turbo (thus it runs at its base clock of 3.6ghz), temps are perfectly under control. 

 

So my question: Just how bad is it for a desktop CPU to run in the mid-high 80's / peak in the mid 90's for hours at a time? I'm not a heavy gamer by any means; most of the time I'm using my desktop for college stuff (aka, not stressing the CPU). I maybe game for an average of 10-14 hours per week (just guessing). 

 

Basically, do you think I should continue to accept some performance loss when I do game in exchange for better temps, or do you think it's safe to let the CPU run that hot, given how often I game?

 

I know there are some simple solutions to this issue: 

1: Buy a liquid cooler

2: Why'd you buy such a bad case? (yes, judge me as you will)

3: Buy a better case

 

But I'm on a College Budget(tm), and really can't afford upgrades. I'm willing to make do with what I have if I need to. But I just want to know if I'd be a fool to let my CPU run that hot for 10-14 hours per week, or if it won't really be a problem. 

Those temps really seem a bit high... Are you sure you can't somehow put more fans in the case? 

 

Ideally 3-4 intake 

1-2 exhaust fans 

 

I'm unfamiliar with that case but that is about the minimum you need for "good" airflow in most cases (no pun intended) 

 

And what are your cpu fan speeds?  

 

I let mine on default,  about 1500RPM while idle to 2500RPM under load and generally I don't exceed 55-60C with a Ryzen 3600.

[TheFriendlyHacker]

1 minute ago, 1van said:

It worked for me, especially with GPU temps, worth trying.

The PSU in that system was an overkill, so it did not get hot by itself and passing hot air through it did not hurt it much. Otherwise it may reduce the PSU's life, the only downside I can see.

I'll give it a shot! Needless to say, I cheaped out on the PSU too. Got something that "Will work fine", but isn't exactly "good" (it's a SeaSonic S12, rated Bronze 80 lol)

[1van]

Just now, TheFriendlyHacker said:

I'll give it a shot! Needless to say, I cheaped out on the PSU too. Got something that "Will work fine", but isn't exactly "good" (it's a SeaSonic S12, rated Bronze 80 lol)

It's a great PSU. Japanese high-temp caps, fan control, 5 yrs warranty, you'll be fine)

[TheFriendlyHacker]

Just now, Mark Kaine said:

Those temps really seem a bit high... Are you sure you can't somehow put more fans in the case? 

 

Ideally 3-4 intake 

1-2 exhaust fans 

 

I'm unfamiliar with that case but that is about the minimum you need for "good" airflow in most cases (no pun intended) 

 

And what are your cpu fan speeds?  

 

I let mine on default,  about 1500RPM while idle to 2500RPM on load and generally I don't exceed 55-60C with a Ryzen 3600.

I have 3 case fans total. 2 exhaust, 1 intake. I'm actually not quite sure what their speeds are, but I know they've worked well in other cases from personal experience. I've tried all sorts of combos with these fans, but it didn't make a difference (at least not a significant one). The case is just bad with airflow (look at a pic of the front panel and you'll understand. I was duped by positive reviews lol). 

 

The CPU fan is the stock cooler that comes with the 2600x. Which obviously isn't the best cooler, but should be able to do better than this. And on top of that, removing the side panel from the case brings temps back down to reason (which, I guess, "proves" it's a case airflow issue). 

[Mark Kaine]

Just now, TheFriendlyHacker said:

I have 3 case fans total. 2 exhaust, 1 intake. I'm actually not quite sure what their speeds are, but I know they've worked well in other cases from personal experience. I've tried all sorts of combos with these fans, but it didn't make a difference (at least not a significant one). The case is just bad with airflow (look at a pic of the front panel and you'll understand. I was duped by positive reviews lol). 

 

The CPU fan is the stock cooler that comes with the 2600x. Which obviously isn't the best cooler, but should be able to do better than this. And on top of that, removing the side panel from the case brings temps back down to reason (which, I guess, "proves" it's a case airflow issue). 

And can you put 1 or 2 more intake fans perhaps? 

 

You also don't need 2 exhaust fans,  rather use one of those as intakes (if you need to) 

 

 

Generally you should always try to go for "positive pressure" meaning more intake than outtake. 

 

It's just common sense too,  you need as much fresh air in the case as possible and 1 exhaust is usually enough, it'll get the hot air out...  Also don't forget in most setups the PSU also acts as exhaust.   

[TheFriendlyHacker]

4 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

And can you put 1 or 2 more intake fans perhaps? 

 

You also don't need 2 exhaust fans,  rather use one of those as intakes (if you need to) 

 

 

Generally you should always try to go for "positive pressure" meaning more intake than outtake. 

 

It's just common sense too,  you need as much fresh air in the case as possible and 1 exhaust is usually enough, it'll get the hot air out...  Also don't forget in most setups the PSU also acts as exhaust.   

I agree. And my case can fit 1 more fan. But it doesn't seem to make a huge difference how they're arranged. I've gone 2 intake + 1 exhaust, 2 exhaust + 1 intake, I've even tried putting a fan in over the PSU cage as an intake. But none of those combinations seem to make a difference. The front panel of the case is just kinda well...poorly designed for air flow. That stood out to me when I saw the case on Amazon, but I fell for the "surely all of these positive reviews aren't wrong" trap lol. 

 

So I'm quite confident that my case is a lost cause in terms of keeping a non-neutered 2600x under control while gaming (unless I keep the side panel off...which I really don't want to). 

 

My main question is "How bad is it for the CPU to run that hot for ~10-14 hours of gaming per week?"

[Mark Kaine]

19 minutes ago, TheFriendlyHacker said:

I agree. And my case can fit 1 more fan. But it doesn't seem to make a huge difference how they're arranged. I've gone 2 intake + 1 exhaust, 2 exhaust + 1 intake, I've even tried putting a fan in over the PSU cage as an intake. But none of those combinations seem to make a difference. The front panel of the case is just kinda well...poorly designed for air flow. That stood out to me when I saw the case on Amazon, but I fell for the "surely all of these positive reviews aren't wrong" trap lol. 

 

So I'm quite confident that my case is a lost cause in terms of keeping a non-neutered 2600x under control while gaming (unless I keep the side panel off...which I really don't want to). 

 

My main question is "How bad is it for the CPU to run that hot for ~10-14 hours of gaming per week?"

Well I see,  I kinda think maybe something is still wrong with the setup - maybe not,  who knows... 

 

As for your question,  I think ~95c won't be so good for the CPU and other components in the long run,  but it won't damage them directly either,  just more wear,  you know? 

 

 

BTW, just as example here's my case's airflow,  which BTW is supposed to be very bad (which is of course nonsense) 

 

 

It's a pretty special case tho (inwin 301 m-atx) that is designed differently than most cases so I'm not sure how applicable that is for you. 

 

 

 

Two front intakes, one exhaust...

 

 

PSU directly above the CPU acts as another exhaust (pretty clever imo) 

 

 

Intake directly under the GPU,  with space for another! 

(with dust filter of course) 

 

 

 

 

[TheFriendlyHacker]

@Mark Kaine Here's a pic of mine. I've got an MSI Bazooka V2 (Micro-ATX). There's a second exhaust fan directly above the CPU cooler that you can only barely see, and I removed the 3rd case fan for cable management (after much testing, I kid you not, the 3rd fan did not make an appreciable difference. Sounds crazy, but it really didn't). 

 

Mind you, the 95C temps are only spikes (aka, the "Max" column in CPUID). The average temps are 83-88C.

 

There's also a pic of the front of my case. As you can see, it ain't great for air flow lol

[Mark Kaine]

10 minutes ago, TheFriendlyHacker said:

@Mark Kaine Here's a pic of mine. I've got an MSI Bazooka V2 (Micro-ATX). There's a second exhaust fan directly above the CPU cooler that you can only barely see, and I removed the 3rd case fan for cable management (after much testing, I kid you not, the 3rd fan did not make an appreciable difference. Sounds crazy, but it really didn't). 

 

Mind you, the 95C temps are only spikes (aka, the "Max" column in CPUID). The average temps are 83-88C.

Lol that's actually pretty similar to mine? 

 

I think you could still put even two bottom intakes - there's holes, and holes for the screws too it seems!? (I'm not actually sure - I suppose underneath is the PSU tho) 

 

And well I believe you but imo you should try this + another intake...  I'd go for Noctua Chromax fans actually,  they're pretty cheap and very good,  the two intakes alone made my whole PC about ~10C cooler compared to the ones I had before. 

 

 

And I'm also thinking about your boost settings - though I'm not sure,  because I set absolutely no boost for the CPU anywhere and it still boosts to 4.2GHz occasionally (just not constant obviously) 

 

So yeah, maybe it's just like that for your CPU,  I don't know,  but honestly more and possibly better fans couldn't hurt - I don't think it's your case's fault anyway. 

 

The Chromax are cheap, 12€  each! 

 

And they're freaking awesome, I may add!

[TheFriendlyHacker]

3 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

Lol that's actually pretty similar to mine? 

 

I think you could still put even two bottom intakes - there's holes, and holes for the screws too it seems!? 

 

And well I believe you but imo you should try this + another intake...  I'd go for Noctua Chromax fans actually,  they're pretty cheap and very good,  the two intakes alone made my whole PC about ~10C cooler compared to the ones I had before. 

 

 

And I'm also thinking about your boost settings - though I'm not sure,  because I set absolutely no boost for the CPU anywhere and it still boosts to 4.2GHz occasionally (just not constant obviously) 

 

So yeah, maybe it's just like that for your CPU,  I don't know,  but honestly more and possibly better fans couldn't hurt - I don't think it's your case's fault anyway. 

 

The Chromax are cheap, 12€  each! 

 

And they're freaking awesome, I may add!

When I'm talking about the "Boost"/"turbo", I'm basically referring to the CPU's factory settings. Aka, base clock of 3.6ghz, can turbo up to 4.2ghz. And it happily does turbo up to that, even with this sh***y case! But in exchange, it runs 83-88C average lol. 

 

It runs games surprisingly well with turbo disabled (aka, 3.6 is its max speed)...but FPS are still noticeably lower. I've even encountered occasional bottlenecks with Minecraft when it's running at 3.6 lol (the "chosen" core that's running Minecraft will be at like 95%, but the 1070 will be chilling at like 55-75% usage....GPU usage is only that high because I use shaders lol). 

 

I might give better case fans a try. I'm guessing 12 Euros is what, $15 USD? Not too bad. 

 

But if all else fails, how much damage will I be causing by running at 83-88C for 10-14 hours per week?

[1van]

9 minutes ago, TheFriendlyHacker said:

But if all else fails, how much damage will I be causing by running at 83-88C for 10-14 hours per week?

83-88C should be fine.

There is a lot of room in the case. I'd recommend to check if the CPU cooler is installed properly, it may be a reason for high temps.

[sphbecker]

Letting the CPU run hot shouldn't hurt it, just make sure you are not overclocking. If the CPU is allowed to work as designed, it shouldn't allow itself to get to a point were damage will happen.

[Mark Kaine]

1 hour ago, 1van said:

83-88C should be fine.

There is a lot of room in the case. I'd recommend to check if the CPU cooler is installed properly, it may be a reason for high temps.

You're right didn't even think of that maybe the cooler isn't seated properly 

 

*is still confused about not at least two intake fans but ok*

 

 

1 hour ago, sphbecker said:

Letting the CPU run hot shouldn't hurt it, just make sure you are not overclocking. If the CPU is allowed to work as designed, it shouldn't allow itself to get to a point were damage will happen.

Except a electronic part that runs hotter will naturally last less long than the same electronic part that runs cooler on average. 

 

 

Just because it's within "recommend specifications" and because it won't damage the CPU outright doesn't mean there aren't any long term consequences of running a setup hotter than it should be. 

14 hours a week maybe doesn't sound much but it adds up. 

[sphbecker]

41 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

Except a electronic part that runs hotter will naturally last less long than the same electronic part that runs cooler on average. 

Yes---ish. In theory a CPU should be able to run for 30-40 years without an issue, and it doesn't matter if it was at 40c or 88c that entire time. In practice, electronics fail due to imperfections in manufacturing that lead to silicon breakdown which causes electrical shorts. If you have a good CPU that will last basically forever, then high heat doesn't really hurt it. If you have a faulty CPU that is dentin to fail in 5 years, high heat could cause it to fail much sooner. You could also have a situation where a part would last forever at low heat, but due to a defect cannot handle as high of heat as it should be able to. So yes, heat will bring out the flaws in products, which statistically will make them fail sooner and more often.

 

That is speaking strictly of pure electronics (like a CPU). Once you start talking about things like fans, power supplies, hard drive, then yes, heat hurts those things.

[Mark Kaine]

1 hour ago, sphbecker said:

So yes, heat will bring out the flaws in products, which statistically will make them fail sooner and more often.

Well,  I didn't even think so much in detail,  just common sense,  hence I said "on average"

 

And I guess that also answers the question,  no it won't break immediately,  but long term the likelihood is high it will due to high temps   

[TheFriendlyHacker]

18 hours ago, 1van said:

83-88C should be fine.

There is a lot of room in the case. I'd recommend to check if the CPU cooler is installed properly, it may be a reason for high temps.

I did double-check the cooler awhile back and even re-applied the thermal paste, so no dice there. 

 

Thank you all for the replies! I'm thinking I'll just let it run hot. Even if it does reduce the CPU's lifespan, I'll likely have upgraded by the time it kicks the bucket. 

[Mister Woof]

That's way hotter than my 1600 at 4ghz/1.4v in a super cheap case on a wraith spire

 

What is the voltage automatically set at?

 

Might be overvolted or some such

[RonnieOP]

You could always just take the front panel off.

 

Itll look crappy but if you are on the college budget it wont matter.

[C17H23NO2]

Tbh, my r2600 had almost the same temperatures with the stock cooler. Also got a shitty case with one intake and one exhaust fan,but changing the cooler to an aftermarket one changed everything. 
From 80-93°C to max 60°C in gaming.