Better cooler or better paste?

[depau]

I built a few weeks ago a new desktop with an AMD Ryzen 5 3600X. I'd like to overclock it since I'm gonna use it mostly for software builds and I want it to be fast.

 

I tried to OC it to 4.3GHz and it settled at around 85°C while stress-testing it. However, this happened in a chilly day. Today it's 30°C outside and I tested it again, I had to stop the test very quickly because it was going to rise above 90°C (I lowered it for now).

 

My question is, if I want to go back towards the higher frequencies, should I get a better cooler or get better thermal paste (or both)?

 

Currently I'm using a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (which I bought before discovering the cooler tier list in this forum), and I'm still in time to return it to Amazon. I was considering to replace it with a Corsair Hydro H100X AIO since it's not too expensive, seems quiet enough and I read somewhere that "240mm AIO coolers are good for almost any set up". Also it's listed as "tier 1" in the previously mentioned list.

 

My biggest worry is that I noticed that, while the fan takes 2-3 seconds to get to full speed, the CPU takes very little to reach high temperatures, and once the fan is going it still tends to go higher (temp graph attached, each bar is 2 seconds, peak 90°C). I'm worried that this may cause trouble in CPU usage spikes, when the temp rises fast and the fan doesn't get the chance to go full-speed promptly enough.

 

I used the Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste, I'm also worried it might not be transferring the heat quickly enough.

 

AIO and air cooling both work for me, and I'm not too bothered if the cooling unit is slightly noisy when under load, but I wouldn't like to spend more than ~100€ on the cooler unless it's really needed. I don't really need custom GPU cooling since it's not a priority for me.

[SavageNeo]

DO NOT get an aio for that cpu. be quiet dark rock pro 4 will match the aio in cooling for lower price. that paste is really good do not worry.

Save the money and buy dark rock pro 4. the saevd money use to more storage etc

[depau]

5 minutes ago, SavageNeo said:

DO NOT get an aio for that cpu. be quiet dark rock pro 4 will match the aio in cooling for lower price. that paste is really good do not worry.

Save the money and buy dark rock pro 4. the saevd money use to more storage etc

Thanks for the tip. I forgot to mention it but I was also considering an AIO because it doesn't cover the whole motherboard, though I value more performance/€ than the volume.

[00RaZoR11]

On 7/26/2020 at 6:12 PM, depau said:

Thanks for the tip. I forgot to mention it but I was also considering an AIO because it doesn't cover the whole motherboard, though I value more performance/€ than the volume.

I guess you mean price/performance vs size. If you don't ever want to buy another cpu cooler, I recommend an nhd15 or nh u12a. They are probably overkill for a 3600x, but they could work really quietly (if your case airflow allows). The be quiet dark rock 4 (pro) would be good too. Thermalright silver arrow IBE (I think they make am4 mounting brackets). I have a custom loop with 2 radiators, it looks nice and it's plenty powerful, but now I'd rather use an aircooler (like the nh u12a) because of maintenance.

In my opinion all non-expandable or aluminium AIOs are trash products. They have a limited life by design, thus they are extremely difficult to maintain. I don't like that mindset. If you really want water but not a full loop,  I recommend something from EK or Alphacool. They have aios with copper radiators and standard fittings, which you could clean, refill and expand should the need arise.

 

There's nothing you can do about the skyrocketing temps (aside from delidding or using better TIM, like liquid metal; sometimes higher mounting pressure can help, if the cooler is mounted properly, increasing the pressure in any way can be risky). There are numerous heat transfer layers in there, the temp sensors (i guess) are pretty close to the cores, and above those

1. is a transition to (gold, then) the solder,
2. then another layer of gold
3. then the nickel plating
4. then the copper
5. there's technically another layer of nickel
6. the thermal paste you apply (noctua)
7. (the nickel plating of the cooler)
8. copper heatpipes,
9. (aluminum fins)
10. and finally air.

The inefficiencies of the layers add up, and some heat "gets trapped" around the cores. Heat needs to get carried away through the materials. The cooler has a large thermal capacity, so it takes a while to get warmer. That's why your fans don't have to follow the temps exactly.

Aside from that, heating follows a logarithmic curve, so the rate of temperature increase decreases over time. Cooling is similar to that, it follows exponential decay, where the rate of temperature decrease decreases. You could recognize both curves with a higher resolution of temperature monitoring (like 100ms instead of 2s). (You could see it in MSI afterburner if you have something other than a navi gpu. Set sensor refresh rate / sampling to 100ms, set your gpu fans to 50%, then start a test and look at GPU temp curves.)

 

Bottom line is, it's normal that the cpu temp increases for a short while after the sudden spike. If it keeps rising for minutes on end without stopping or at least slowing down, your cooling system is inadequate (max temp should be reached within 15 minutes). You should either

• increase fan speeds,
• improve case airflow,
• get a bigger cooler.