Can CPU temperature affect performance?

hat · May 6, 2012

I recently installed a new CPU cooler that actually resulted in higher temps, and my SIM score in Supreme Commander 2 seems to have suffered relative to other people that I play with regularly. I'm wondering if CPU temperature can affect performance? I'm sure it's not throttling... I don't think AMD processors throttle. Max temp in OCCT Linpack appears to be about 54c, before it might have been 40c or so.

largon · May 6, 2012

No.
Only indirectly via throttling. And yes, AMD chips throttle, too. Though that should not happen at 54ºC. What else did you do while you installed the cooler? Did you reset the bios?

slyfox2151 · May 6, 2012

have you checked your overclocks?... same drivers?

temps wont affect performance as long as they are not causing issues such as throttling.

white phantom · May 6, 2012

hat said:
I recently installed a new CPU cooler that actually resulted in higher temps, and my SIM score in Supreme Commander 2 seems to have suffered relative to other people that I play with regularly. I'm wondering if CPU temperature can affect performance? I'm sure it's not throttling... I don't think AMD processors throttle. Max temp in OCCT Linpack appears to be about 54c, before it might have been 40c or so.

are you sure the cooler is seated upon the chip correctly and you have not applied to much thermal paste/compound on the cpu?, seems strange that a new cooler (i presume its an upgrade from stock?) would result in higher temps of almost 14*c

largon said:
No.
Only indirectly via throttling. And yes, AMD chips throttle, too. Though that should not happen at 54ºC. What else did you do while you installed the cooler? Did you reset the bios?

as largon has said the cpu will only begin to throttle and eventually shut off to prevent damage, 54*c is not a unsafe temp though so i think it may be something else, also may i ask why you would reset a bios when installing a cooler largon? :confused:

Jetster · May 6, 2012

The answer to your question is yes. Temps can effect performance, but not at 54c. Just run open hardware monitor http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/2139/Open_Hardware_Monitor_0.4.0_Beta.html and run the game again. And it doesn't sound like you knew what the temps were before

Aquinus · May 6, 2012

Physically, a circuit is less capable of allowing current to travel through it as temperatures increases. So a CPU is less efficient at higher temperatures would be a more accurate statement, unless you're talking about sub-zero temperatures where temperature has the opposite effect, as the circuit gets colder it allows current to flow better. So performance at any given clock speed isn't impacted, however what kinds of clock speeds you can achieve is impacted by temperature, as well as how much power to drive the CPU.

qubit · May 6, 2012

The other replies on throttling and temperature are spot on. Making your CPU run hotter but well within its thermal limits won't slow it down.

Just check your clock speeds with a hardware monitor program and look at the BIOS settings, as you might have changed something inadvertently.

de.das.dude · May 6, 2012

what cooler did you get?

hat · May 7, 2012

I went from a Thermaltake Big Typhoon to an Ultra Chilltec. The Chilltec seems to be a pretty lousy cooler after digging around on the web a bit...

I didn't change anything other than the cpu cooler. I did just reformat last night though, the last install was running since July 2009 and I've been through a few hardware changes since.

D007 · May 7, 2012

hat said:
I went from a Thermaltake Big Typhoon to an Ultra Chilltec. The Chilltec seems to be a pretty lousy cooler after digging around on the web a bit...

I didn't change anything other than the cpu cooler. I did just reformat last night though, the last install was running since July 2009 and I've been through a few hardware changes since.

I'd go with a good ole "load default values" and start over in bios, on any overclocks you did.
After a fresh reformat, you get worse performance? That's odd.. I hope there isn't some hardware degradation going on.

hat · May 7, 2012

No I had the issue before I reformatted, that's part of the reason why I did it.

Not sure what could have changed in the BIOS, I didn't even go in there when I changed coolers. I did check my clockspeeds, everything is set right were it was as listed in my specs.

System Name	Starlifter :: Dragonfly
Processor	i7 2600k 4.4GHz :: i5 10400
Motherboard	ASUS P8P67 Pro :: ASUS Prime H570-Plus
Cooling	Cryorig M9 :: Stock
Memory	4x4GB DDR3 2133 :: 2x8GB DDR4 2400
Video Card(s)	PNY GTX1070 :: Integrated UHD 630
Storage	Crucial MX500 1TB, 2x1TB Seagate RAID 0 :: Mushkin Enhanced 60GB SSD, 3x4TB Seagate HDD RAID5
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Power Supply	FSP Hydro GE 550w :: EVGA Supernova 550
Software	Windows 10 Pro - Plex Server on Dragonfly
Benchmark Scores	>9000

System Name	Ladpot ◦◦◦ Desktop
Processor	R7 5800H ◦◦◦ i7 4770K, watercooled
Motherboard	HP 88D2 ◦◦◦ Asus Z87-C2 Maximus VI Formula
Cooling	Mixed gases ◦◦◦ Fuzion V1, MCW60/R2, DDC1/DDCT-01s top, PA120.3, EK200, D12SL-12, liq.metal TIM
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Keyboard	Logitech Elite Keyboard from 2006 / Contour Balance Keyboard / Logitech diNovo Edge
Software	W11 x64 ◦◦◦ W10 x64
Benchmark Scores	It does boot up? I think.

System Name	MRCOMP!
Processor	5800X3D
Motherboard	MSI Gaming Plus
Cooling	Corsair 280 AIO
Memory	64GB 3600mhz
Video Card(s)	GTX3060
Storage	1TB SSD
Display(s)	Samsung Neo
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Power Supply	Antec 650w

System Name	White Phantom
Processor	i5 2500K @ 4.4ghz = 1.360-1.368 vcore
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Cooling	prolimatech megahalem with 2x nocuta in push pull (thanks to the 54thvoid) ;) , stock phantom fans
Memory	16gb Kingston hyper x ddr3 1600mhz
Video Card(s)	Asus strix 970 ocd 1.5ghz core
Storage	240gb ssd , 1tb Western digital Black, western digital 320gb
Display(s)	samsung syncmaster p2450 via DVI @1080p 60hz
Case	White and blue NZXT Phantom (carbon fibred sides/door)
Audio Device(s)	onboard , philips AMBX pro speakers 80watts rms
Power Supply	Xfx750
Mouse	Rat 3
Keyboard	Act cheapo "gaming"
Software	windows 10
Benchmark Scores	world record for most amount of times machine has pissed me off ....

System Name	Juliette // HTPC
Processor	Intel i7 9700K // AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
Motherboard	ASUS Prime Z390X-A // ASRock B550 ITX-AC
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12 Black // Stock
Memory	Corsair DDR4 3600 32gb //G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 3600
Video Card(s)	ASUS RTX4070 OC// GTX 1650
Storage	Samsung 970 EVO NVMe 1Tb, Intel 665p Series M.2 2280 1TB // Samsung 1Tb SSD
Display(s)	ASUS VP348QGL 34" Quad HD 3440 x 1440 // 55" LG 4K SK8000 Series
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Power Supply	Seasonic SYNCRO 750 W // CORSAIR Vengeance 650M
Mouse	Cooler Master MM710 53G
Keyboard	Logitech 920-009300 G512 SE
Software	Windows 10 Pro // Windows 10 Pro

Can CPU temperature affect performance?

hat

Enthusiast

largon

slyfox2151

white phantom

Jetster

Aquinus

Resident Wat-man

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit

de.das.dude

Pro Indian Modder

hat

Enthusiast

D007

hat

Enthusiast

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Software	MacOS 12.1

System Name	Quantumville™
Processor	Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
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Cooling	Noctua NH-D14
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System Name	Monke \| Work Thinkpad\| Old Monke
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Benchmark Scores	There are no marks on my bench

System Name	HAL
Processor	Core i9 13900k @5.8-6.1
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