Why is my Thermalright PA120 SE causing stutters in Valorant?
Right in the middle of a clutch headshot, the screen just hitches, and in a fast-paced shooter, that's basically a death sentence. After digging into the logs, I noticed the Thermalright PA120 SE ARGB couldn't keep up when the CPU boosted to 5.1GHz, causing temps to swing wildly between 88°C - 94°C and triggering aggressive thermal throttling. I tried switching the power plan to 'Balanced', which dropped temps by 4°C but tanked my minimums from 240 FPS down to 180 FPS—a total nightmare. I eventually went into the BIOS and tweaked the fan response, moving the trigger point from 60°C down to 50°C with a stepped acceleration curve. During stress tests, temps stayed locked between 76°C - 81°C, and frame times tightened from a messy 16-30ms to a smooth 11-14ms. I also realized my initial mounting pressure was uneven, with a core delta of 11°C, which I only fixed after re-seating the cooler using a cross-pattern tightening method. Now the fans hum along at 1600-1900 RPM and the clock speeds are rock steady.
