In the world of computing, where cooler heads usually prevail, AMD’s Ryzen 7000 series CPUs have been turning up the heat, quite literally.
Picture this: AMD, the David to Intel’s Goliath in the CPU world, launches its much-anticipated Ryzen 7000 series. Enthusiasts and tech gurus alike gather around, expecting a chill performance, only to find out that AMD might have taken their “hot” new release a tad too literally.
The Shape of Heat: A Geometry Issue?
The Integrated Heat Spreader (IHS) of the Ryzen 7000, in a move that defies conventional wisdom, decided to rebel against the standard flat shape. Instead, it opted for a design that can be best described as “mildly mountainous.” This geometric creativity, while perhaps a fascinating case study for a high school math class, turned out to be less than ideal for heat distribution.
The “spider-leg” IHS shape also causes problems with cleaning the thermal paste when replacing CPU coolers (if you are using a conductive thermal paste, this can cause short-circuits), and is known to scratch the thermal plates of coolers.
“Thicker Than a Bowl of Oatmeal”
And then, there’s the thickness. The Ryzen 7000’s IHS has been on a bulking diet, coming in thicker than its predecessors. While this might sound like a good thing (thick is in, right?), in the world of CPU heat management, being thick isn’t quite the compliment. This extra thickness means that heat has more material to wade through before it can escape into the cooler climes of your CPU cooler.
The 7000 series chips are thinner, but AMD’s marketing team decided to “save us a few dollas” by making the new AM5 CPUs compatible with the old AM4 coolers – compensating for the lower height by making the IHS needlessly thick.
When Cooking Eggs on Your CPU Isn’t a Metaphor
What does all this mean for the average user? Well, if you fancied cooking breakfast on your PC, AMD might have unintentionally moved one step closer to making that dream a reality. For everyone else who prefers their CPUs cool and their eggs in a pan, it’s a bit of a letdown.
The extra heat makes the CPUs clock (speed) throttle down (to prevent them from overheating), so they can’t keep their peak performance for long, before slowing down to the previous gen speeds, basically.
The Upside: A Boon for Aftermarket Coolers
There’s always a silver lining, though. Aftermarket cooler manufacturers are having a field day, designing coolers that can tackle the Ryzen 7000’s unique “features.” It’s almost as if AMD decided to give these cooler companies a boost in sales, out of the goodness of their hearts.
The Verdict:
AMD’s Ryzen 7000 series CPUs bring the heat in more ways than one. While their performance might be blazing fast, their temperature can be just plain blazing. As the community eagerly waits for a fix or a workaround, one thing’s for sure: this issue has made the Ryzen 7000 a hot topic in tech forums, and not entirely for reasons AMD might have hoped for.
So, if you’re in the market for a new CPU, you might want to consider saving a few bucks and going with the old, AM4 series (along with the cheaper DDR4 RAM).