PC running abnormally hot

[cemerson]

Hi all,

 

I come in desperation and hope that someone can help me with my PC! The CPU temps on the PC idle in the 60s and 70s most of the time, sometimes (but rarely) gets down to the 50s. I've had the issue since I built the PC at the end of last year, and I don't think it's manifesting as any actual problems that I've noticed - no crashes or anything like that - other than leaving performance on the table and probably not being healthy for the components. As I am typing this my room temperature is around 23°, but the CPU is ranging from 75 - 81°.

 

I've tried swapping out many components and sent others away for the manufacturer to test, tried Asus support (as the motherboard manufacturer - I thought it must be a BIOS setting problem) but they were pretty useless, and I'm out of ideas. Hoping someone can help.

 

Specs: Ryzen 9 5950X, Asus Dark Hero motherboard, 64GB Corsair Vengeance RGB, Asus TUF GTX 3090 OC, NZXT Kraken Z53 cooler (had a Corsair H115i Pro XT in there for the first 3 months - same issue), Be Quiet Straight Power 11 1200W, some SSDs and HDDs - full list here: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/cemerson/saved/fwQnTW

 

Things I've tried:

• Replaced the cooler (both 240mm AIOs). No change.
• Sent back the CPU to Scan UK where I bought it, thinking it must be that. They tested it on an MSI Tomahawk motherboard with the AMD stock cooler and saw idles in the 30s, stress test didn't go above 40s. They sent it back, but weren't able to tell me anything about BIOS settings they tested under.
• Had the opportinuty to swap out the motherboard for another Dark Hero. Did so, but nothing changed. Am back to the original one again now. Both were on the latest BIOS when I did this (couple of months ago now).
• I update my BIOS regularly and am on the latest version (3801)
• I've checked for obvious things like thermal paste application (I reapply Noctua NH-T1 each time I've had the need to, and there's no plastic cover on the cooler coldplate...)

 

GPU temps are fine and there are plenty of fans in my case so I don't think it's an airflow issue.

 

I run Windows 10 Pro 64 bit. Current version is 21H1 but none of the updates since I built the PC have affected the issue. Temperatures are high in BIOS too when idle so I don't think the OS is doing anything here. I'm convinced it must be some BIOS trickery I'm using or not using (PBO is off - should I be using that?), but I have no idea. Can anyone help?

 

Thank you!

[Kid.Lazer]

What is your CPU voltage set to in BIOS? It almost sounds like it's auto-applying a very high voltage, or you have one set manually high by accident. Higher voltage with no other changes will still make your temps skyrocket. Just a possibility though.

[CommanderAlex]

Welcome to the forums!!!

 

How is your CPU spread when you remove the CPU cooler??? What method are you using??

 

This sounds like improper mounting on the CPU cooler. 

[cemerson]

The thermal paste spread is fine - I've used a small pea sized blob in the middle of the CPU, have remounted several times and the spread has always covered the whole CPU without too much excess. The old cooler used the horrible AM4 mounting system but I did try to remount it when I realised I was having these issues and made sure to apply even pressure to both sides, even counting the number of times I turned the screwdriver for that. The newer cooler has a much nicer mounting system, using a backplate and standoffs, and again have mounted it several times, each time making sure I've applied even pressure on all corners.

 

As for BIOS voltage settings - I did check this and didn't find anything abnormal. I'll have to check the exact number and post back but HWInfo doesn't show anything particularly high, 1.35V rings a bell. I will check the exact figures and post back, though I loaded optimised defaults and haven't touched the voltage settings since setting up / last updating the BIOS. The things I have changed in BIOS are to turn CPU virtualisation support on, DOCP profile for the memory, resize BAR, (+above 4G decoding), and some fan curves.

[cemerson]

Attached some photos of my BIOS settings. Sorry for the potato shots! I've built computers for a long time but never gone too far into the detail of all these settings (and the knowledge I do have is well out of date anyway), but maybe these can provide a clue to someone?

[cemerson]

Apologies for the bump, but does anyone have any ideas on this? It doesn't seem easy but I'm hoping someone can help!

[cemerson]

Another bump - to see if anyone around now can help with this. I'm still seeing these issues - have updated to the latest BIOS and temperatures are still very high, even just sitting in UEFI/BIOS.