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3700x hot and boosting

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Brand new build, everything working fine apart from my 3700x is constantly boosted to 4.3ghz, causing light use temps to sit at 50c+ and the associated fan noise that comes with it.

If I disable all background processes and touch nothing, clock speed and temps drop, and voltage drops under 1v so it appears the chip is working correctly in that regard. I'd just prefer if it didn't boost so hard all the time when I'm only light tasks. Even if CPU usage is at 3% it's still boosted.

So far I have -

Tried both the latest chipset drivers from MSI and direct from AMD.
Enabled Cool 'n' Quiet mode in the BIOS.
Enabled C-State control in the BIOS.
Changed the 'Minimum Processor State' in power options to various google suggested levels, in both the Ryzen Balanced plan and the regular Windows plan.

Haven't flashed my BIOS yet because i'm a scaredycat.

Anything else I can try?

Specs -

3700x
MSI Tomahawk Max
Vengeance 3600 32gb
RTX2080s
 
Soldato
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Nothing scary about flashing a bios. I do it every time there is a new one.

You could try resetting the BIOS to defaults.

But also check your task manager to see if there's a process running hogging up the CPU cycles.
 
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I know you would prefer it didn't boost but that's exactly how the chip was designed. Only reason I can think to want it not boosting is noise in which case I recommend an aftermarket cooler.

Boosting to 4.3ghz at 50 degrees is exactly what you want to happen. Mine using an aio will typically sit at 34 degrees but will boost all the time to high 40s sometimes 50+ when simply opening chrome etc. Gaming is around 60 to 65.

The boosting is what gives the chip the lovely responsiveness you feel in windows etc, or at least I do.

Best Cpu I have owned :)
 
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I know you would prefer it didn't boost but that's exactly how the chip was designed. Only reason I can think to want it not boosting is noise in which case I recommend an aftermarket cooler.

Boosting to 4.3ghz at 50 degrees is exactly what you want to happen. Mine using an aio will typically sit at 34 degrees but will boost all the time to high 40s sometimes 50+ when simply opening chrome etc. Gaming is around 60 to 65.

The boosting is what gives the chip the lovely responsiveness you feel in windows etc, or at least I do.

Best Cpu I have owned :)

Probably should have said this in the OP but i'm using an H100i in an O11D with 6 intake/3 exhaust. If everything is completely idle (No background tasks at all) then the chip sits about 40c. 50-60 for web browsing and 70 in games.

I know the H100i isn't the best AIO ever (Chose it for aesthetics) but I kinda expected a little better thermals (My previous machine has an old H100i on top of a 4790k and barely scratches mid-30s when web browsing)
 
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You're expecting it to behave like older Intel chips. As other posters have mentioned, Ryzen works rather differently to older Intel chips - you will see transient temperature and voltage spikes under light loads, that is normal. You just need to adjust your fan settings so that its not ramping up every time the processor hits 50C for 2 seconds.
 
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Probably should have said this in the OP but i'm using an H100i in an O11D with 6 intake/3 exhaust. If everything is completely idle (No background tasks at all) then the chip sits about 40c. 50-60 for web browsing and 70 in games.

I know the H100i isn't the best AIO ever (Chose it for aesthetics) but I kinda expected a little better thermals (My previous machine has an old H100i on top of a 4790k and barely scratches mid-30s when web browsing)

Ryzen senses the higher thermal headroom and uses it to boost as high as possible , temps diddnt change dramaticcly for me changing from stock cooler to a cooler master 240LRGB CLC but my clocks did , from 4175 all core boost to near 4450 all core and 4550 single core , it comes with higher voltage which in turn promotes higher clocks which in turn produces higher temps , my temps on a 3800x are pretty much in line with yours , turn XFR and PBO off if indeed worried but shouldnt be at all
 
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Also, what are you using to monitor temperatures and clock speed? Many 3rd party tools will cause Ryzen to lock into boost clocks, so the very act of monitoring can cause this. Ryzen Master and CPU-Z do not affect it. I don't know about other tools.

From AMD_Robert on Reddit several months ago (I assume this is still accurate):

Understanding What's Going On
We have determined that many popular monitoring tools are quite aggressive in how they monitor the behavior of a core. Some of them wake every core in the system for 20ms, and do this as often as every 200ms. From the perspective of the processor firmware, this is interpreted as a workload that's asking for sustained performance from the core(s). The firmware is designed to respond to such a pattern by boosting: higher clocks, higher voltages.

The Effect of This Pattern
So, if you're sitting there staring at your monitoring tool, the tool is constantly instructing all the cores to wake up and boost. This will keep the clockspeeds high, and the corresponding voltages will be elevated to support that boost. This is a classic case of observer effect: you're expecting the tool to give valid data, but it's actually producing invalid data by virtue of how it's measuring.

What about Ryzen Balanced vs. Windows Balanced Plan?
By now, you may know that 3rd Gen Ryzen heralds the return of the Ryzen Balanced power plan (only for 3rd Gen CPUs; everyone else can use the regular ol' Windows plan). This plan specifically enables the 1ms clock selection we've been promoting as a result of CPPC2. This allows the CPU to respond more quickly to workloads, especially bursty workloads, which improves performance for you. In contrast, the default "Balanced" plan that comes with Windows is configured to a 15ms clock selection interval.

Some have noticed that switching to the Windows Balanced plan, instead of the Ryzen Balanced Plan, causes idle voltages to settle. This is because the default Balanced Plan, with 15ms intervals, comparatively instructs the processor to ignore 14 of 15 clock requests relative to the AMD plan.

So, if the monitoring tool is sitting there hammering the cores with boost requests, the default plan is just going to discard most of them. The core frequency and clock will settle to true idle values now and then. But if you run our performance-enhancing plan, the CPU is going to act on every single boost request interpreted from the monitoring tool. Voltages and clock, therefore, will go up. Observer effect in action!

Okay, Rob. Shhhhh. Just Tell Me How I See Voltages? I Just Wanna Check!
CPU-Z does an excellent job of showing you the current/true idle core voltage without observer effect. In my example image, I've configured a Ryzen 9 3900X with all the same things we would advise the public to use: Windows 10 May 2019 Update, the latest BIOS for the Crosshair VIII, and chipset driver 1.07.07 (incl. the AMD power plan). Yes, we're monitoring the behavior of the core, but we can see that idle voltage looks great. The tool is not compelling the firmware to boost when it's not needed.

Is There Anything Else I Need To Know?
Yes, actually. The Ryzen CPU depends heavily on a low-power state called cc6 sleep. In this sleep state, core clockspeeds and voltages are basically nil as the core is sleeping and gated. It is not possible to report out the state of the core in this sleep state without waking the core, probing the status, and killing the power savings of cc6. Therefore, MOST tools can only show you the last clock and voltage of the core before the core went to cc6. So if you were at full 4.5GHz+ boost @ 1.48V, then the core went to sleep, many tools might show the core(s) stuck at that value. The tool just doesn't know any better.

However, the latest version of AMD Ryzen Master can uniquely show you clocks and voltages in a cc6 state. No other tool can do it. Neat piece of info for the people looking to understand how their core behaves!

tl;dr: Observer effect bad. You can't always trust your tools. CPU-Z gives you the right idle voltage. We'll look at the rest. Thank you everyone for your reports and insight, which helped us get to the bottom of this once and for all.
 
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Also, what are you using to monitor temperatures and clock speed? Many 3rd party tools will cause Ryzen to lock into boost clocks, so the very act of monitoring can cause this. Ryzen Master and CPU-Z do not affect it. I don't know about other tools.

From AMD_Robert on Reddit several months ago (I assume this is still accurate):

...

I read that previously but mostly just saw the references to voltages (which i'm not concerned about) and basically assumed it was for overclocking, not stock use.

I'm using iCue typically but I did try stopping everything and only using Ryzen Master just to check - when the system is completely idle then frequency, volts, and temps drop as expected. It's just the boosting during light use that was concerning me.

Additionally I'm not convinced my AIO is performing correctly as there is a serious clicking/crackling sound on any speed other than max RPM. It's probably bubbles as it mostly goes away if I tip the case on its side, but I've tried shaking the rad and running full-blast for extended periods to clear the bubbles out and no go so i'm considering RMA'ing it.
 
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I read that previously but mostly just saw the references to voltages (which i'm not concerned about) and basically assumed it was for overclocking, not stock use.

I'm using iCue typically but I did try stopping everything and only using Ryzen Master just to check - when the system is completely idle then frequency, volts, and temps drop as expected. It's just the boosting during light use that was concerning me.

Additionally I'm not convinced my AIO is performing correctly as there is a serious clicking/crackling sound on any speed other than max RPM. It's probably bubbles as it mostly goes away if I tip the case on its side, but I've tried shaking the rad and running full-blast for extended periods to clear the bubbles out and no go so i'm considering RMA'ing it.

if running the AIO front mounted with pipes to the top it can cause air to run through the pump which will cause these issues/sounds , Gamers nexus explained this in reacent AIO tear down as aging AIO's do loose coolent over time.
 
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I read that previously but mostly just saw the references to voltages (which i'm not concerned about) and basically assumed it was for overclocking, not stock use.

I'm using iCue typically but I did try stopping everything and only using Ryzen Master just to check - when the system is completely idle then frequency, volts, and temps drop as expected. It's just the boosting during light use that was concerning me.

Additionally I'm not convinced my AIO is performing correctly as there is a serious clicking/crackling sound on any speed other than max RPM. It's probably bubbles as it mostly goes away if I tip the case on its side, but I've tried shaking the rad and running full-blast for extended periods to clear the bubbles out and no go so i'm considering RMA'ing it.

If you're concerned about heat, you are concerned about voltage. Does it drop to idle / core sleep when iCue is running? Transient higher temps during light usage is normal, Ryzen will aggressively boost a core with relatively high voltage to increase responsiveness. If its dropping to idle when you're not doing anything, and heavy load temperatures are under control, your system is operating as expected.

You typically keep the AIO pump running at full speed anyway, you don't want the pump ramping up and down like a fan.
 
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Probably should have said this in the OP but i'm using an H100i in an O11D with 6 intake/3 exhaust. If everything is completely idle (No background tasks at all) then the chip sits about 40c. 50-60 for web browsing and 70 in games.

Using an H100i RGB Platinum here, and mine idles around 32, and gaming, its only around 43/44, and thats with the fans on quiet, and the pump balanced.

Case is a Phanteks Evolv X, with the standard 2x fans at the front, one at the back, the H100s mounted at the top.

Id say somethings up, if you're getting temps of 70 while gaming, as id have expected temps like that on the stock cooler, not an AIO.
 
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Soldato
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Additionally I'm not convinced my AIO is performing correctly as there is a serious clicking/crackling sound on any speed other than max RPM. It's probably bubbles as it mostly goes away if I tip the case on its side, but I've tried shaking the rad and running full-blast for extended periods to clear the bubbles out and no go so i'm considering RMA'ing it.

Liquid turned to thick puss. Is normal when an AIO is passed it's death date, after all AIOs are mixed metal, so expect them to be replaced after few years.

Hence I am always supporter of either aircooling if open loop isn't an option.
I do not advice anyone any more to buy something like the EK Predator/MLC or the equivelent from other companies, let alone AIOs.
 
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Probably should have said this in the OP but i'm using an H100i in an O11D with 6 intake/3 exhaust. If everything is completely idle (No background tasks at all) then the chip sits about 40c. 50-60 for web browsing and 70 in games.

I know the H100i isn't the best AIO ever (Chose it for aesthetics) but I kinda expected a little better thermals (My previous machine has an old H100i on top of a 4790k and barely scratches mid-30s when web browsing)

Ah ok, that is the same AIO that I have and currently my temp is sitting at 41 degrees, I have about 20 tabs in chrome, spotify playing, android studio, visual code, a few terminal windows, filezilla, pgadmin, firefox and a few other apps open so it does appear as though your temps are a lot higher than they should be. I did reseat my cooler a few times as I wasn't happy originally and used thermal grizzly kryonaut, I spread the paste out as the chiplet design means you want an even amount across the board (Not suggesting this is the only way but its what worked for me)
 
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Liquid turned to thick puss. Is normal when an AIO is passed it's death date, after all AIOs are mixed metal, so expect them to be replaced after few years.

Not always the case. The coolant in my old Fractal S24 was perfect when I drained and refilled after a few years of use. I'm sure if I drained it now it would still be fine.
 
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Not always the case. The coolant in my old Fractal S24 was perfect when I drained and refilled after a few years of use. I'm sure if I drained it now it would still be fine.

We aren't talking about your AIO but his. Thats what the sympton is when it starts clicking, the liquid is turned to thick mud.

Also the S24 is just 2y old so brand new more or less. Corsair etc on the other hand cannot say the same. Even the Predator 360 which is open loop still ground the filter making it the liquid mud.
 
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We aren't talking about your AIO but his. Thats what the sympton is when it starts clicking, the liquid is turned to thick mud.
You stated all AIO's are expected to be replaced after a few years because of it, so my example is relevant.

Also the S24 is just 2y old so brand new more or less.

The Kelvin S24 is over 5 years old, which is what I have in my old PC.
 
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You stated all AIO's are expected to be replaced after a few years because of it, so my example is relevant.



The Kelvin S24 is over 5 years old, which is what I have in my old PC.

You wrote Fractal S24 (there are other newer models like Celcius) not Kelvin S24. And again do not extrapolate from your own AIO.

The clicking noise is result of the liquid turned to thick mud. Is well documented issue of mixed metal AIOs like the Corsair ones.
 
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You wrote Fractal S24 (there are other newer models like Celcius) not Kelvin S24. And again do not extrapolate from your own AIO.

The clicking noise is result of the liquid turned to thick mud. Is well documented issue of mixed metal AIOs like the Corsair ones.

The fact I said I drained it after a few years of use should have been a big clue that I was referring to the old Fractal Kelvin S24, you assumed I had a Celsius S24 which is not the case. I am not "extrapolating" from my own AIO - you stated all AIO's suffer from this after a few years, I am simply providing you with an example where this is not the case.

Clicking noises from AIO's are not always because of contaminated coolant. Air pockets and cavitation can also cause clicking type noises. You cannot say that this is what the problem is without opening it and inspecting.
 
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