Hello everyone. I have exactly the same graphics card: an MSI GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB Shadow 2X OC Plus. My experience is very similar to the one reported in this thread.
After RTX 50-series hotspot monitoring became available, I noticed brief but very high hotspot temperatures during gaming. The regular GPU temperature always looked good, which is why I had never noticed the issue before.
Stock behavior observed in games:
- GPU temperature: approximately 76.5°C maximum
- Hotspot: up to 104.9°C
- Maximum delta: approximately 28–29°C
- Memory: approximately 60–62°C
- The fans would suddenly ramp up when the hotspot approached 100°C
- This happened most frequently in Black Desert Online while flying quickly through demanding areas, although I also recorded a hotspot of approximately 98°C in Path of Exile 2
- The high values were usually brief and not constant
My case has good airflow with multiple case fans. My motherboard BIOS and NVIDIA drivers are up to date, and the graphics card has never been opened.
To mitigate the behavior, I created a more aggressive fan curve and configured the GPU to approximately 920 mV / 2497 MHz using MSI Afterburner. The effective voltage under heavy load is normally around 0.915 V, with the effective clock around 2415–2430 MHz.
With this undervolt, real gaming improved considerably. During demanding Black Desert gameplay at 1440p, high settings and up to 120 FPS—including flying with the Pegasus and grinding with all effects enabled—I recorded:
- GPU maximum: approximately 72°C
- Hotspot maximum: approximately 93.7°C
- Maximum delta: approximately 24°C
- GPU power maximum: approximately 134 W
- No errors, artifacts or thermal-throttling indication
- The previous abrupt fan ramping was greatly reduced
I also ran OCCT 3D Adaptive Variable tests to reproduce a worst-case synthetic load.
At a 90% power limit (162 W power limit recorded):
- Hotspot maximum: 102.3°C
- GPU maximum: 75.8°C
- Delta maximum: 27.0°C
- Fan maximum: approximately 3,850 RPM
- No OCCT errors during the complete 15-minute test
At the minimum available 83% power limit (150 W power limit recorded):
- Hotspot maximum: 101.1°C
- GPU maximum: 75.4°C
- Delta maximum: 26.5°C
- Hotspot remained at or above 100°C for approximately 24.5 seconds
- Fan maximum: approximately 3,830 RPM
- No temperature-limit indication or instability
The synthetic result is obviously much more demanding than my normal gaming workload. In actual games, the undervolt has kept the hotspot below approximately 94–96°C and the card has remained stable.
I have already contacted MSI support and sent screenshots of the original 104.9°C hotspot result. I am waiting for clarification about whether this is considered expected behavior for the compact Shadow 2X cooler or whether MSI recommends an inspection/RMA. I will not open or repaste the card while it is under warranty.
Considering that another identical Shadow 2X in this thread behaves similarly, I am wondering whether this is primarily a limitation of the compact heatsink rather than an isolated manufacturing defect.
I would especially appreciate results from other Shadow 2X owners:
- What hotspot and GPU temperatures do you get at stock settings?
- What is your maximum hotspot-to-GPU delta?
- Has MSI provided an official hotspot limit or RMA recommendation for this model?
