Explaining everything to do with 9950X temperatures.
Updated: Oct 11, 2024 4:12 pm
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
AMD recently released the Ryzen 9000 series, with the primary focus seemingly on power efficiency over raw performance. Despite that sounding negative, don’t let that discourage you from getting one for yourself – as they are still very capable processors in both gaming and multitasking workflows. In fact, the 9950X is the most powerful processor featured in the lineup and ships with a PPT of 230W.
The newest flagship features 16 multi-threaded CPU cores totaling 32 threads, all running at a maximum speed of up to 5.7GHz. With so much power under the hood, heat quickly builds if improperly cooled – so, what temperature should the Ryzen 9 9950X run at?
Article summary
The safe operating temperature for a 9950X is between 60°C to 80°C, but ideally, you want it as low as possible.
The maximum temperature of the 9950X is 95°C, and is noted at the Tjmax.
The TDP of the 9950X is 170W, but you should target the PPT of 230W when looking for a cooler.
What is a safe temperature for the 9950X to run at?
AMD CPUs have gotten a little warmer overall since their move to the AM5 socket, likely because AMD makes a habit of revolutionizing generational CPU performance gains. While CPUs from Team Red and Team Blue have different maximum temperatures, the ‘safe’ temperature remains relatively the same.
Ultimately, you want your Ryzen 9 9950X to run between 60°C to 80°C when under heavy load. This is generally a safe temperature range and shouldn’t cause too many issues if this is sustained, even for longer periods. Remember, two main factors govern CPU temperature; the strain the CPU is under, and the cooler you are using to cool it.
What is the optimum 9950X temperature?
This is going to sound a little cliche, but the cooler the better. There’s a reason that ultimate overclockers use liquid nitrogen (a liquid that’s -196°C) to break CPU OC records. Given that you probably don’t have access to N2, you want to keep your 9950X to around 70°C where possible.
To give you an idea of how hot this CPU gets, the 9950X thermal throttled with PBO enabled when we tested it using a 360mm AIO cooler. That means the CPU hit its Tjmax 95°C and began to reduce to core speed to regain a sustainable internal temperature.
What is thermal throttling?
In case you didn’t know, thermal throttling is when a CPU hits a certain maximum temperature (usually referred to as the Tjmax) and intentionally hinders its performance to regain control of its temperature. CPUs become damaged from high temperatures over long periods, so the ‘thermal throttling’ mechanism was put in place to prevent this thermal damage.
What is a good idle temperature?
The 9950X should idle at roughly 25°C to 35°C, it can sit a little higher sometimes, especially if the system has just started and the CPU has strained itself loading startup apps. The better your cooler, and the higher the cooler’s RPM (fan or pump) the better the idle temps will be – just note that the cooler will be louder.
The benefit of having low idle temps comes in the form of core boosting. If your CPU is at a lower temperature when idle, it’s more likely to boost to a higher speed when spinning up into an intensive task. The result is a slightly snappier response to workloads and a brief stint of higher performance depending on sustained temperatures.
What is the maximum temperature?
The maximum temperature you can hit with the 9950X is 95°C. The CPU will not allow the temperature to rise past this unless the thermal throttling mechanism is manually disabled, and we don’t recommend you do that.
Sometimes the PC will crash
Sometimes, if met with extreme levels of heat, the PC will just shut down instead of throttling. Thermal Throttling is an OS level feature and cannot do this outside of the operating system, if you are in the BIOS and your system gets too hot, it’ll just crash and turn off.
If you’re talking about maximum operating temperature and pondering the “high-end” of usage, then we don’t recommend a temperature above 80°C, anything over that and you’re at risk of damaging your CPU’s longevity.
Does overclocking affect CPU temperatures?
Yes, overclocking negatively affects CPU temperature – anything that increases the amount of power that flows through an electrical component will increase its overall temperature. The opposite is true for underclocking because this decreases the power running through the chip.
The level of overclocking applied to a CPU does not increase the temperature in a linear fashion, which is why manual overlooking is much more difficult. If you were to overclock your 9950X right now, you would probably use PBO and let AI do the heavy lifting. PBO takes into account the temperature the CPU is already, and factors that into the level of overclock it should apply to the chip.
How TDP affects the temperature of the 9950X
The TDP of the Ryzen 9 9950X is rated at 170W, but the PPT comes in at 230W. The difference between the two is that the TDP is the base, and the PPT is the amount of power the CPU will use when it’s fully utilized. When choosing a cooler for the 9950X, you always want to try and fill the PPT requirement to ensure you have enough headroom.
This is the hardest CPU to keep cool out of the entire Ryzen 9000 series, but saying that you’ll be fine with a decent 240mm AIO cooler. Anything that matches or exceeds the 230W PPT requirement will be perfectly equipped for the job.
Final Word
Hopefully this answers any questions you may have had regarding the idle, max, and optimum temperatures of the Ryzen 9 9950X during usage. Ultimately, the most important thing to consider if you have (or plan to buy) a 9950X is the CPU cooler. A decent 240mm or 360mm AIO cooler will ensure that your CPU never gets too hot, and will allow you to push boundaries when it comes to overclocking and heavy workloads.
