It has been almost two weeks since the release of the new AMD Ryzen processors. Since then, there have been a number of third-party benchmarks done on the likes of the AMD Ryzen 7 1700X and 1800X. However, of those who were a bit eagle-eyed about their own rigs, complained that their Ryzen motherboards and processors are reporting wrong figures when it comes to core temperature.
According to Tweaktown, AMD just released a statement regarding the temperature disparity issue on the AMD Ryzen 7 1700X and 1800X. In the said statement, AMD explained the nature of the temperature sensor that is built into the processor. As it turns out, the main temperature sensor of the AMD Ryzen processor is called the “T Control” of “tCTL”. This sensor measures the temperature between the actual processor die and the metallic heat spreader. However, there is an offset between the actual die temperature and the reported temperature of the chip.
More specifically, the AMD Ryzen 7 1700X and 1800X both have an offset of +20 degrees Centigrade between the reported tCTL and the actual junction temperature. AMD has advised users to subtract the offset from the measured temperature to obtain the true junction temperature of the processor.
Unfortunately, AMD did not specify if it will be forcing its motherboard manufacturers to issue a firmware update in the coming days. However, there is a big chance that it may happen since the Ryzen is still relatively new. Furthermore, a lot of things are still being settled on the inner workings of the new processor.
It would seem that what AMD has done is to be on the safe side. Perhaps, through its long history of overheating processors, AMD has set the bar a bit too high so that motherboard manufacturers may flag the temperature of the core before getting severely burned. Nevertheless, AMD should issue a corrective update on this issue so users can operate their machines in peace.