How to stop ASRock A320M-HDV R4.0 from thermal throttling?
Once I hit the battlefields of Normandy, the action suddenly turns into a slideshow, and the input lag is unbearable even at 1080p. The ASRock A320M-HDV R4.0 has zero heatsinks on the VRM, causing temps to spike to 102-108℃ under load, which triggers the CPU's emergency thermal throttling. My first instinct was to set the processor power state to 'Power Saver' in the BIOS; while it dropped temps by 8℃, my 1% lows plummeted to 20 FPS, making the game unplayable. I ended up buying a cheap 40mm fan and zip-tying it directly onto the power inductors, then manually locked the Vcore at 1.15V to keep the heat in check. According to HWMonitor, the VRM is now clamped between 78-84℃, and the clock speeds no longer dive off a cliff. I had a frustrating start where the fan caused a loud vibration at low speeds, but switching to a PWM header fixed the noise. CPU temps are now a healthy 65-72℃. After a 4-hour marathon session, the frequency is stable and RAM stays between 58-63℃.
