how to open wraith cooler for cleaning

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Wraith cooler - use the supplied thermal paste or replace with my own?

Thread starter x509
Start date Mar 21, 2020

Joined: Sep 20, 2009

Messages: 2,630

I just got ASUS ROG Strix-E and 3900x I ordered for my new build. For now, I'm planning to use the Wraith cooler that came with the 3900X. Should I just use the thermal paste already on the cooler, or replace it with something better? What paste would you guys recommend as better?

Joined: Mar 4, 2007

Messages: 8,718

If you have a premium paste on hand, I'd say use it and count on a couple degree temp drop. That being said, if you don't have a premium paste on hand, I wouldn't order it just for this. The stock stuff is actually fairly decent in my experience with it.

Joined: Sep 20, 2009

Messages: 2,630

Joined: Feb 1, 2005

Messages: 29,141

I would use the stock paste. It's already perfectly applied and the chances of F'ing it up are greatly diminished. All the minor temp gains you might have gained by better paste are gone or actually losses if you don't get a good mount and have the paste spread properly. It's generally not bad stuff. It's not like the old days where they gave you a tube of questionable white goop and had you apply it yourself.

Joined: Sep 20, 2009

Messages: 2,630

If you have a premium paste on hand, I'd say use it and count on a couple degree temp drop. That being said, if you don't have a premium paste on hand, I wouldn't order it just for this. The stock stuff is actually fairly decent in my experience with it.

I have read (and I do read a lot! :coffee:

) that Ryzen CPUs tend to run hot, even at idle, so I like the idea of getting a few degrees of temp drop.

Joined: Apr 27, 2013

Messages: 790

Unless you actually went out of your way to buy high end paste like Grizzly Kryonaut, chances are that you don't have better stuff than what they've already applied on there, so just stick with it, and if you didn't have any spare paste to begin with, then it makes no sense to spend any extra on it at all. It's just a poor value proposition compared to, say, spending ~$40 for a tower cooler that'll outperform the Wraith with any paste and with less noise to boot.

Joined: Jan 16, 2013

Messages: 2,762

Why bother asking if you've already seemed to decide on what you're going to do? And I don't know that Ryzen cpus "run hot" or what that even means.

Joined: Sep 20, 2009

Messages: 2,630

Sorry for any confusion, but my reply (message #5) was actually posted hours after I thought I replied. And honestly, I'm in learn mode here. I haven't decided and I don't need to until I actually install the cooler to the CPU. I can't do that for a few days, because my original order for Ballistix RAM was backordered, so I had to cancel that order and order from someplace else. And based on post #6, I'm now inclined to stay with the original paste. Also, it's on my "possible" list to get a Noctua cooler. But first I want to see how my system performs, compared with the temps other people are reporting.

Last edited: Mar 22, 2020

Joined: Sep 29, 2001

Messages: 18,972

Not sure why the include that cooler with a 3900X, CPU gets really hot when using all the cores with that cooler.
I stuck a Corsair H100i on my friends 3900X I built him after stress testing the with the stock Wraith Prism cooler.

Oh, I did swap the paste on the Wraith cooler during testing and it dropped the temps a few degrees but still was running hot with that cooler.

Last edited: Mar 21, 2020

Joined: Feb 1, 2005

Messages: 29,141

Not sure why the include that cooler with a 3900X, CPU gets really hot when using all the cores with that cooler.
I stuck a Corsair H100i on my friends 3900X I built him after stress testing the with the stock Wraith Prism cooler.
View attachment 231971
Oh, I did swap the paste on the Wraith cooler during testing and it dropped the temps a few degrees but still was running hot with that cooler.

https://www.techspot.com/review/1875-ryzen-3900x-wraith-prism-rgb-vs-liquid-cooler/

The difference is like 2-3% of boosting ability in productivity apps, and virtually 0% difference in gaming. It works in a pinch.

Joined: Sep 20, 2009

Messages: 2,630

https://www.techspot.com/review/1875-ryzen-3900x-wraith-prism-rgb-vs-liquid-cooler/
The difference is like 2-3% of boosting ability in productivity apps, and virtually 0% difference in gaming. It works in a pinch.

kirbyrj That's a really useful article. Now it's clear to me that I should just use my new rig with the apps that will put the most stress on the CPU: Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. (I'm not a gamer.) If temps get too high or the fans get too noisy, then I should go for an aftermarket cooler.

Joined: Feb 1, 2005

Messages: 29,141

kirbyrj That's a really useful article. Now it's clear to me that I should just use my new rig with the apps that will put the most stress on the CPU: Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. (I'm not a gamer.) If temps get too high or the fans get too noisy, then I should go for an aftermarket cooler.

I actually read that expecting something totally different and was surprised. Yes, it will run hotter but you are not missing out on a lot by running it.

Joined: Dec 16, 2018

Messages: 1,240

Joined: Feb 19, 2008

Messages: 18,446

Any cooler manufacturer worth a damn is going to ship coolers with good paste on it. It would be self defeating to put money into R&D on the cooler then ship with junk TIM.

Joined: Mar 3, 2017

Messages: 1,085

I just got ASUS ROG Strix-E and 3900x I ordered for my new build. For now, I'm planning to use the Wraith cooler that came with the 3900X. Should I just use the thermal paste already on the cooler, or replace it with something better? What paste would you guys recommend as better?

A little bit of a necro, but with non stock paste you probably won't ever pull the cpu out of the socket getting the hsf off

Joined: Sep 20, 2009

Messages: 2,630

A little bit of a necro, but with non stock paste you probably won't ever pull the cpu out of the socket getting the hsf off

Necro or not, I'm glad to read this post, since I removed the stock paste and used AS-5.

Joined: Feb 26, 2005

Messages: 342

Joined: Sep 20, 2009

Messages: 2,630

It IS cool. So lemme ask you. What video card are you going to use? I was going to get a Radeon 5600-XT, until, until, until I read all the negative comments are drivers. Now, I'm not a gamer, and most of those comments were game-related, but still I'm now thinking nVidia, but I can't decide between a 1650, 1660 or 2060.

Joined: Feb 26, 2005

Messages: 342

It IS cool. So lemme ask you. What video card are you going to use? I was going to get a Radeon 5600-XT, until, until, until I read all the negative comments are drivers. Now, I'm not a gamer, and most of those comments were game-related, but still I'm now thinking nVidia, but I can't decide between a 1650, 1660 or 2060.

I am running a 1080ti because I do game with friends once in a while and play some single player games. When I ungraded to the 1080ti from a 1060 I saw next to no difference in LR or PS. If I was going to buy new it would be a 2060 or 2070, even a 1060 if you were on a tight budget. I am an AMD lover and have been for more then 20 years but I tend to run the Nvidias in the workstation for the driver reason alone. There are times I simply cant wait weeks for a driver issue to be resolved or I would run a vega 64 or the likes.

Joined: Sep 20, 2009

Messages: 2,630

Thanks. I want to buy a "solution," not a "hobby" when I get a new video card, so I guess it's nVidia.

Joined: Sep 20, 2009

Messages: 2,630

Thanks. I want to buy a "solution," not a "hobby" when I get a new video card, so I guess it's nVidia.

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