X470 Gaming Plus MAX with Ryzen 9 3900X - Do I need to reset the cooler

[eddie_atherto151502d2]

Recently upgraded to a Ryzen 9 3900X processor with the supplied Wraith Prism cooler and am now seeing the following temperatures:

When I installed it, the thermal paste looked a lot less than I'm used to seeing on combination units, but went ahead anyway. It was only later, when I found out about HWiNFO that I started to monitor.

Cheers.

 

[citay]

In HWinfo64, can you show "Sensors" with all sensors expanded (click on the little <--> arrows on the bottom)? First let it run a bit while in idle, so the "minimum" baselines for the values are established. Then produce full CPU load for example with Cinebench R23. After the CPU temperatures have stabilized at the highest level, take a screenshot. This will show everything at once.

I also need to see the power draw numbers to put things into perspective. Temperatures certainly seem higher than normal. The Wraith Prism should probably hit above 80°C, but not mid-90s.

Make sure to update to BIOS 7B79vHE1(Beta version) from https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/X470-GAMING-PLUS-MAX/support
AGESA 1.2.0.6c contains important fixes.

 

[eddie_atherto151502d2]

Note, I have not upgraded the BIOS. Still running the 7B79vHD (non-Beta) version.
I closed all the open windows except a couple of Paint, to capture screen shots, Cinebench R23, so it was ready to run, and HWiNFO. I let the system idle for 15 minutes before resetting the sensors, which I then left running for 15 minutes to capture this:

Then I started Cinebench, and as soon as it ended this:

Hopefully that's enough to see what's going on.

Cheers, and thanks for looking.

 

[citay]

I want to highly recommend installing the beta BIOS, because the AGESA 1.2.0.6c is a very important microcode update for the CPU, direct from AMD. The AGESA 1.2.0.5 microcode (or what MSI call "AMD ComboAm4v2PI") used in the previous BIOS vHD is problematic, see here. Don't let the "beta" tag unsettle you, it's just because they wanted to get this out as soon as possible. Other brands also released it as a beta, i think.

Ok, going through your screenshots. Your power draw in idle and under load is ever so slightly elevated, normally i'd like to see about 10W less each for a 3900X, maybe that's something that the new AGESA can also tackle (it's like a code update for the CPU, they can modify all kinds of parameters). Still, it's a bit of a mistery why the Wraith Prism should underperform that much. It should be able to keep this under 90°C.

So if you think the pre-applied TIM wasn't good or not enough, then cleaning it properly (i use Isopropanol) and applying better thermal paste might be worth a try. It's also possible that you need to tweak your case fan curves a bit to help the CPU cooler along, see my thread, Guide: How to set up a fan curve in the BIOS

If this doesn't help, look at an aftermarket tower cooler like a be quiet! Shadow Rock Slim 2 (review) for example.

Oh, another thing i noticed: You are running your RAM at the safe JEDEC profile of DDR4-2133, leaving lots of performance on the table and bottlenecking the CPU. You should (now or after the BIOS update you will hopefully do) enter the BIOS and enable A-XMP for the proper RAM speed.

 

[eddie_atherto151502d2]

I want to highly recommend installing the beta BIOS, because the AGESA 1.2.0.6c is a very important microcode update for the CPU, direct from AMD. The AGESA 1.2.0.5 microcode (or what MSI call "AMD ComboAm4v2PI") used in the previous BIOS vHD is problematic, see here. Don't let the "beta" tag unsettle you, it's just because they wanted to get this out as soon as possible. Other brands also released it as a beta, i think.

I am planning on it, but was waiting for just a tad more time in beta first.

Ok, going through your screenshots. Your power draw in idle and under load is ever so slightly elevated, normally i'd like to see about 10W less each for a 3900X, maybe that's something that the new AGESA can also tackle (it's like a code update for the CPU, they can modify all kinds of parameters). Still, it's a bit of a mistery why the Wraith Prism should underperform that much. It should be able to keep this under 90°C.

So if you think the pre-applied TIM wasn't good or not enough, then cleaning it properly (i use Isopropanol) and applying better thermal paste might be worth a try. It's also possible that you need to tweak your case fan curves a bit to help the CPU cooler along, see my thread, Guide: How to set up a fan curve in the BIOS

If this doesn't help, look at an aftermarket tower cooler like a be quiet! Shadow Rock Slim 2 (review) for example.

I wondered about tweaking the fan curve, but mainly on the CPU, rather than the case fans

Oh, another thing i noticed: You are running your RAM at the safe JEDEC profile of DDR4-2133, leaving lots of performance on the table and bottlenecking the CPU. You should (now or after the BIOS update you will hopefully do) enter the BIOS and enable A-XMP for the proper RAM speed.

I don't have it active, because every time I've tried to activate A-XMP, the boot always drops into "Preparing Automatic Repair". I just haven't got around to posting a question, yet.

 

[Alan J T]

Recently upgraded to a Ryzen 9 3900X processor with the supplied Wraith Prism cooler and am now seeing the following temperatures:

View attachment 158633

When I installed it, the thermal paste looked a lot less than I'm used to seeing on combination units, but went ahead anyway. It was only later, when I found out about HWiNFO that I started to monitor.

Cheers.

Yes I replaced mine as it was not up to the job with the R9 3900X it is a good cooler till you load up the CPU on all cores then it can not quite keep up and CPU is set to thermal throttle at 95c.
It was good for normal everyday use like gaming at 1440 or above but not cool enough if doing rendering or other heavy CPU tasks.
I swapped mine out for a Be Quiet Dark Rock TF Cooler

 

[Alan J T]

I don't have it active, because every time I've tried to activate A-XMP, the boot always drops into "Preparing Automatic Repair". I just haven't got around to posting a question, yet.

That would be one of the 1.2.0.5 bugs you would need to set me manuale with a boost it Voltage is just easier to use the Beta bios work quite well and not have the problems that 1.2.0.5 has with some builds.

 

[eddie_atherto151502d2]

I just went ahead and ordered a new cooler. If I've got to pull everything apart to re-seat the current one, I might as well just do the job once and replace it with something beefier.

Once I upgrade the BIOS I'll try A-XMP again, and if I still have issues, I'll start a new thread.

 

[eddie_atherto151502d2]

A late follow up possibly showing what was going on. Here's the original AMD cooler after I pulled it:

Guess the pre-applied AMD thermal paste and/or design of the mating service isn't the best. Running CineBench now, with the new cooler, only pushes the temp to about 80.

Next on the list is why I can't enable A-XMP.

Cheers.