Is Using Deepcool Gammaxx S40 With AMD Ryzen 7800x3d A Good Idea?

[murat guler]

Hello Friends

I'm currently upgrading my system and am trying to figure out whether using the Deepcool Gammaxx S40 air cooler I used in my old system in my new system is a good idea. The cooler appears to be compatible with the AM5 socket Asus Prime B850M-K motherboard and AMD Ryzen 7800x3d (120 TDP) processor I'm considering.

https://www.deepcool.com/ProductCompatibilityS_New/Default.aspx?id=undefined

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1251381-REG/deepcool_gammaxx_s40_cpu_cooler.html

https://dgxtech.com/de/about?view=article&id=148:deepcool-gammaxx-s40-review&catid=10

What I'd like to know is, will this cooler sufficiently cool a 7800x3d processor, or would I be better off buying a new one? Spending around 70-75 USD for a mid range cooler, like Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 Se, isn’t challenging for me, but if the cooler I have will work just as well in my new system, I don't want to spend unnecessary money. I would like to learn your comments...​

Thanks​

 

[RianKellyIT]

The Gammaxx S40 is technically within spec for the 7800X3D (rated ~130W vs 120W TDP), but in practice it is a budget cooler that leaves little headroom. The 7800X3D's main concern is keeping the 3D V-Cache stack under 89°C - AMD throttles the chip aggressively to protect it, but that throttling cuts into gaming performance exactly when you don't want it. In light gaming workloads the S40 would likely be fine since the 7800X3D doesn't push hard there. It's sustained multi-threaded loads and streaming/encoding on top of gaming where budget coolers like this start to hit the ceiling, especially in warm ambient temps or a case with mediocre airflow. Given the 7800X3D's price and the performance benefit of keeping it cool, the Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE is well worth the $70-75. It's one of the best value coolers available right now, with a big performance margin over budget options, stays quiet under load, and gives you proper headroom on the 7800X3D so you never worry about thermal throttling cutting in. If budget is tight, keep the S40 and monitor temps - HWiNFO64 will show you the junction temp (the one that matters for the 7800X3D). If you're seeing 85°C+ regularly in games, that's your signal to upgrade. But if you can stretch to the Phantom Spirit, it's money well spent on a chip at that price.