The same thing was happening with my GPU so I underclocked and undervolted it to hell using msi afterburner and now instead of getting 85 C during gaming sessions it’s around 70 C. my CPU fan is always loud. i think the thermal paste is gone. I’m not willing to take my computer apart because where my computer is it’s really awkward and if it bricks itself i have the money to buy a new one. rn the package temp is idling at 46-55 C, jumping every second. min temp is 45 C. the max temp is 80 C idling according to hwmonitor. i’m getting spikes in high temperature that last a second or so but when I’m playing a game it can spike to 95-100 C
UPDATE: Disabled Boost and undervolted my CPU, now temp spikes are much more reasonable. Max idle temp after 1 hour according to hwmonitor is 53 C which is a lot better than random spikes to 80 C lol. thx to everyone who commented!
Underclocking your CPU like crazy because you don’t want to replace the thermal paste is an insane thing to do, and probably still won’t help, as the thermal paste being gone means there’s nowhere for the heat to go. It’ll just build and build until you hit a spike; you’ll just reach that spike slower. You’re rapidly sacrificing your parts by not just opening it up, cleaning out the dust and replacing the thermal paste, even using some kind of heat-reduction work around.
85 degrees is high but normal for a component that is pushing it, so software solutions, like underclocking, are viable. 100 degrees is “most computers will turn off to protect the components” territory, suggesting something has gone wrong with your cooling solutions and it really needs to be opened up.
But, that’s not the question you asked, just a word of warning I felt compelled to add. Depending on the processor and motherboard, there are BIOS solutions and in-OS solutions. Check your mobo for settings in advanced. If they’re there, they’re there. If you’re using an old Ryzen, (I believe the 1000 series is 8 years old now?) there’s an app called AMD Ryzen Master that lets you tweak CPU speeds and voltages. Realistically Google “[CPU name] underclock” and you’ll find a guide that links you to software, if it is available for your processor. I’ve never heard of a catch-all third party software solution for CPU clocking, the way Afterburner does that for GPU.