CPU Ryzen 3600 vs 3700x temperatures (65W parts)

Treepata

Minimal Tinkerer
Jul 8, 2019
4
5
Thanks for all the info! I'm still a bit in doubt (also because the AMD mainboards seem a bit more featurerich), but have to put this on hold for a much needed holiday break (bicycling to Denmark). I did cancel the i5 9400f processor I ordered.

Will look again into this at the beginning of August. Looking forward to your findings, it might help me reach a decision. Enjoy the Summer!
 

jive_turkey

Efficiency Noob
Dec 5, 2018
7
8
I upgraded a 2700 (non-X) to a 3700x. I have a Gigabyte Aorus I B450 (mini-ITX) and updated the BIOS prior to getting my new chip. My cooler is a Noctua L9a-AM4 and my case is a Salvo S401: https://www.salvostudiosltd.com/store/p2/Salvo_Studios_S401.html which is essentially open-air, given how many vents it has.

My results are very similar to others in this thread. Idle in the 40s, games bump it to the 70s. Prime95 got it up close to 90. It certainly doesn't seem like a 65W TDP chip (which is what AMD advertised). I'm debating if I should get a more robust cooling solution, perhaps the ID Cooling IS-60, which is advertised as a 95W TDP cooler. My case is very height-limited though.
 

annasoh323

Master of Cramming
Apr 4, 2018
424
314
I upgraded a 2700 (non-X) to a 3700x. I have a Gigabyte Aorus I B450 (mini-ITX) and updated the BIOS prior to getting my new chip. My cooler is a Noctua L9a-AM4 and my case is a Salvo S401: https://www.salvostudiosltd.com/store/p2/Salvo_Studios_S401.html which is essentially open-air, given how many vents it has.

My results are very similar to others in this thread. Idle in the 40s, games bump it to the 70s. Prime95 got it up close to 90. It certainly doesn't seem like a 65W TDP chip (which is what AMD advertised). I'm debating if I should get a more robust cooling solution, perhaps the ID Cooling IS-60, which is advertised as a 95W TDP cooler. My case is very height-limited though.
Best practice for the S401 I've found has been to install the 60mm fans and orient the cooler fins towards them. IMO, that's the S401's true secret sauce for cooling. However, those temps seem fine to me. TDP has always been a bit of an odd-duck with respect to predicting temperatures. What is your approximate room ambient temp? If room temp is something low (i.e. cool climate or room AC in use), then 40C could be a little high for idle.

How is the Aorus B450-I holding up with the 3700X? Also, how well does it fit in the S401?
 

GerryMz

Average Stuffer
Apr 23, 2019
56
15
I upgraded a 2700 (non-X) to a 3700x. I have a Gigabyte Aorus I B450 (mini-ITX) and updated the BIOS prior to getting my new chip. My cooler is a Noctua L9a-AM4 and my case is a Salvo S401: https://www.salvostudiosltd.com/store/p2/Salvo_Studios_S401.html which is essentially open-air, given how many vents it has.

My results are very similar to others in this thread. Idle in the 40s, games bump it to the 70s. Prime95 got it up close to 90. It certainly doesn't seem like a 65W TDP chip (which is what AMD advertised). I'm debating if I should get a more robust cooling solution, perhaps the ID Cooling IS-60, which is advertised as a 95W TDP cooler. My case is very height-limited though.
hey awesome info man, really apprecaite it, which games did you use to test? if you have pubg or doom , mind posting some thermals benchmarks and wattage usage while playing 1440p?. i'm planning to get the Ghost S1 and BS3 for the 3700x
 

rfarmer

Spatial Philosopher
Jul 7, 2017
2,586
2,700
Thanks for posting that @TheHig, I have a 3600x coming and it will be my first AMD in many years, I have seen a lot of people talking about very high voltage readings and was a bit concerned.
 
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jive_turkey

Efficiency Noob
Dec 5, 2018
7
8
Saw this reddit post on [H]. @PlayfulPhoenix May want to move this somewhere more visible if there’s a better thread for Ryzen 2. VERY useful info for SFF and in general .


That's great info! I was using HWInfo64, so now I'm curious to see if my idles drop using another monitoring program. I definitely noticed at least one core constantly boosting to 4.4 GHz while monitoring, so I believe what he was saying. But I also noticed other cores dropping to < 1 V, so I'm sure with a different monitoring program things would be different.

Best practice for the S401 I've found has been to install the 60mm fans and orient the cooler fins towards them. IMO, that's the S401's true secret sauce for cooling. However, those temps seem fine to me. TDP has always been a bit of an odd-duck with respect to predicting temperatures. What is your approximate room ambient temp? If room temp is something low (i.e. cool climate or room AC in use), then 40C could be a little high for idle.

How is the Aorus B450-I holding up with the 3700X? Also, how well does it fit in the S401?

Yeah I have the 60mm fans but never got around to installing them. Maybe I should. The board is holding up fine. I haven't overclocked obviously, just enabled XMP which didn't seem to make an difference in temps. Since the BIOS update, the motherboard has an annoying pause before it loads the logo screen, but then it loads the BIOS faster then before the update so who knows.

Absolutely no problems with fit in the S401. The only issue was the backplate cutout kind of half-covered the screws for the cooler. I could still unscrew it, but it was tight.

hey awesome info man, really apprecaite it, which games did you use to test? if you have pubg or doom , mind posting some thermals benchmarks and wattage usage while playing 1440p?. i'm planning to get the Ghost S1 and BS3 for the 3700x

I was playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 4k, HDR, DLSS and Ray Tracing on "high." That gets me frame rates in the 50s with a 2080. I'm not a huge fan of running on-screen benchmarks-- usually I just leave HWiInfo open in the background and then see what the max values for everything. However, given that reddit post above, I might not do that anymore.
 

TheHig

King of Cable Management
Oct 13, 2016
951
1,171
@jive_turkey

I like GPUz running in the background while gaming for a while as it can monitor and log temps/power etc with minimal system impact. Helped me a great deal finding a power/thermal sweet spot on Vega.
 

jive_turkey

Efficiency Noob
Dec 5, 2018
7
8
Ok just as an update: I reapplied my noctua cooler to the CPU. When I pulled it off, I noticed there was an area along the edge that had no thermal paste at all. I ended up using a card to make sure it was evenly (and thinly) applied across the whole die. The first time I had only done a dollop in the middle. After that, I noticed that my idle temps were consistently dropping to the mid 30s (as a true idle-- just leaving the computer alone and watching HWInfo. When I'm actually using it for light tasks, it will get into the 40s. Haven't yet put a load on it to test. This is with the latest BIOS update from Gigabyte, AGESA 1.0.0.3AB.
 

GerryMz

Average Stuffer
Apr 23, 2019
56
15
Ok just as an update: I reapplied my noctua cooler to the CPU. When I pulled it off, I noticed there was an area along the edge that had no thermal paste at all. I ended up using a card to make sure it was evenly (and thinly) applied across the whole die. The first time I had only done a dollop in the middle. After that, I noticed that my idle temps were consistently dropping to the mid 30s (as a true idle-- just leaving the computer alone and watching HWInfo. When I'm actually using it for light tasks, it will get into the 40s. Haven't yet put a load on it to test. This is with the latest BIOS update from Gigabyte, AGESA 1.0.0.3AB.
any updates on temps with the Noctua L9a-AM4 while on load/gaming?
 

bash

Efficiency Noob
Aug 18, 2019
7
1
Ok just as an update: I reapplied my noctua cooler to the CPU. When I pulled it off, I noticed there was an area along the edge that had no thermal paste at all. I ended up using a card to make sure it was evenly (and thinly) applied across the whole die. The first time I had only done a dollop in the middle. After that, I noticed that my idle temps were consistently dropping to the mid 30s (as a true idle-- just leaving the computer alone and watching HWInfo. When I'm actually using it for light tasks, it will get into the 40s. Haven't yet put a load on it to test. This is with the latest BIOS update from Gigabyte, AGESA 1.0.0.3AB.

Curious if you have load temps and data. Looking at the same case you have and would love to know if that cooler will be sufficient in the long run.
 

jive_turkey

Efficiency Noob
Dec 5, 2018
7
8
TLDR: I have everything up and running with a different cooler (IS-60) and will start putting it through its paces soon

So I have had quite an interesting series of events. At some point about a month ago I decided I wanted to upgrade my cooling solution. I had previously ordered acrylic spacers (link) for my S401 in anticipation of getting the ID-Cooling IS-60 (link). This was way back when Ryzen 2 leaks were coming out and I figured I would upgrade to a 95W chip. Well, I still feel like the 3700x acts more like a 65W+ chip so I decided to pull the trigger.

Swapping out the cooler was a little hair-raising as my Noctua was essentially glued to the CPU, and in the process of getting it off I managed to smear thermal paste all over the pins. Once I figured out how to clean that off (hint: a soft-bristle toothbrush dipped in 91% isopropyl alcohol did the trick), I realized that I had also bent two pins when it wouldn't reseat in the socket . Once I fixed that, I decided to update the BIOS, and in the process bricked my motherboard.

Anyway, I RMA'd it and just got it back. Luckily they were able to revert to the previous (working) BIOS and everything is up and running again. Well, it's working as long as I don't want to play Destiny 2. So I think I'll be doing some gaming this weekend and can report back on what sort of temps I'm getting. I think this chip just runs hot compared to the 2700. I'm not expecting a huge difference but at least I feel like I've done what I can to maximize cooling in this case.
 

jive_turkey

Efficiency Noob
Dec 5, 2018
7
8
Ok a final update. At some point I realized that a big part of my problem was where I was keeping the case. I had it horizontal in a TV cabinet that was enclosed on 3 sides, with the front wide open. There was about 18 inches of clearance above the case and a couple inches on each side. Anyway, after taking it out of the cabinet and just standing it vertically on the floor with nothing obstructing the vent side of the case, my temps improved. A lot. Prime95 on small maxed out at 88 degrees with no sign of throttling. Shadow of the Tomb Raider saw my GPU at around 75 degrees and my CPU at barely 50. The GPU is auto-overclocked using EVGA software and the CPU is stock with XMP enabled.
 

Valantar

Shrink Ray Wielder
Jan 20, 2018
2,201
2,225
Ok a final update. At some point I realized that a big part of my problem was where I was keeping the case. I had it horizontal in a TV cabinet that was enclosed on 3 sides, with the front wide open. There was about 18 inches of clearance above the case and a couple inches on each side. Anyway, after taking it out of the cabinet and just standing it vertically on the floor with nothing obstructing the vent side of the case, my temps improved. A lot. Prime95 on small maxed out at 88 degrees with no sign of throttling. Shadow of the Tomb Raider saw my GPU at around 75 degrees and my CPU at barely 50. The GPU is auto-overclocked using EVGA software and the CPU is stock with XMP enabled.
It's always a good idea to cut out an opening for a fan in the back of cabinets like these. Normally it won't be visible, and with relatively minimal work you can fit something like a USB-powered 120mm or 140mm fan for both low noise and much improved airflow. Just remember to fit a fan grille to it to avoid cables obstructing the fan :)
 
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jive_turkey

Efficiency Noob
Dec 5, 2018
7
8
It's always a good idea to cut out an opening for a fan in the back of cabinets like these. Normally it won't be visible, and with relatively minimal work you can fit something like a USB-powered 120mm or 140mm fan for both low noise and much improved airflow. Just remember to fit a fan grille to it to avoid cables obstructing the fan :)

Yeah I agree. There actually is a small cutout at the back for cables and such but it was low in the cabinet and I don't think much hot air was escaping. The real issue I think was that hot air was getting vented out the side and would hit the side of the cabinet and just create a reservoir of hot air directly above the case, which is where the intake for the CPU fan is.
 

Dawelio

Awesomeness
SFFn Staff
Dec 17, 2017
524
439
Bumping this thread again, since it has now gone some time since 3rd gen Ryzen launched.

What does people think today of 3600 vs 3700X, now that it has been out and many have done reviews, extensive tests etc on them. Is 3700X a good choice or would a 3600 be better off to go for in terms of just gaming and light browsing and photoshop editing? Or is there not a huge difference in terms of temperatures between these 2?

Obviously voltages is a huge subject on these processors, but aside from that (as that is too much of a variable when it comes to different motherboards and different vendors).
 

The_Mad_Madman

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Aug 5, 2019
108
18
Bumping this thread again, since it has now gone some time since 3rd gen Ryzen launched.

What does people think today of 3600 vs 3700X, now that it has been out and many have done reviews, extensive tests etc on them. Is 3700X a good choice or would a 3600 be better off to go for in terms of just gaming and light browsing and photoshop editing? Or is there not a huge difference in terms of temperatures between these 2?

Obviously voltages is a huge subject on these processors, but aside from that (as that is too much of a variable when it comes to different motherboards and different vendors).
Just for gaming go 3600 or 3600X if the price difference is minimal, the extra you pay for the 3700X or 3800X would be better invested for another component.
 
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Dawelio

Awesomeness
SFFn Staff
Dec 17, 2017
524
439
Just for gaming go 3600 or 3600X if the price difference is minimal, the extra you pay for the 3700X or 3800X would be better invested for another component.

Well I'm thinking more in a way of which one is more efficient in terms of raw temperatures, if there are any, how much difference is there in raw terms?... Are we talking 5C or more like 15C average?. I personally already have an 3700X, but if an 3600 is better in terms of temps, especially inside the Dan A4 SFX, I might opt for that one inside, since it's roughly $200.
 

The_Mad_Madman

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Aug 5, 2019
108
18
Well I'm thinking more in a way of which one is more efficient in terms of raw temperatures, if there are any, how much difference is there in raw terms?... Are we talking 5C or more like 15C average?. I personally already have an 3700X, but if an 3600 is better in terms of temps, especially inside the Dan A4 SFX, I might opt for that one inside, since it's roughly $200.
From what I've read in the DAN thread you will have better temps with the 3600 than the 3700X.

If you already have the 3700X I think you should keep it unless temps are too high, you'd have to sell it and then buy a new 3600; it'd probably end up being like what a $50 difference? Or just wait for 4600? lol
 
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