Question AIO not cooling

[Kenrick Fernandes]

About a year ago, I built a PC.
CPU : I7 8700 non k
AIO : coolermaster masterliquid lite 120

Recently, I was playing Witcher 3 and noticed quite a bit of vibration sounds. I alt-tabbed and noticed my CPU temps were at 100c.
I quickly shut off the pc, and booted into bios.
It still showed 80c and going up.
I remounted the cooler several times, although I am still not sure if it is mounted properly . The backplate is wobbly (when the heatsink isn't mounted) and I cannot refix it without removing the mobo out the case, but when I mount the heatsink and tighten the screws, the backplate seems to be fixed and not wobbly. I have reapplied thermal paste every time I removed the heatsink.

But nada. Temps in bios still go up and up.
When I check fan speeds in bios, it shows cpu_fan ( heatsink connected to this header) to be 2500-3000rpm.

This confuses me.

1. is my heatsink not in proper contact and this is why my CPU isn't cooling even at idle and in bios?
2. is my aio messed up, and this is why CPU isn't cooling?
3. is my CPU messed up?
4. is it my motherboard?

Any advice is welcomed.
Thank you!

 

[DavidM012]

The coolermaster 120 lite is insufficient cooling for the cpu you need a larger liquid cooler.

 

[ElectrO_90]

Ther pump has died inside the cooler.
So water is not being pushed around, it's just getting hot.
You can touch both pipes going into the cooler, one should be warm, one should be cold - if it is working.
But if you allow it to heat up - 20 minutes or so, both will become very warm/hot - Then you know the pump died.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

The pump likely died. As long as there is thermal paste on the coldplate, then it should work unless something has failed.
If the pump died you will need to buy an entire new cooler.
A 120mm AIO isnt really worth it over an air cooler since nice air coolers perform better and have little risk for failure .

 

[Kenrick Fernandes]

Thanks for the replies!
So the fan reading 2500rpm does not mean the pump is working?
Also, the cooler was quite efficient for a year. Idle temps were 35-40c with the occasional Spike and under load average mid 60c

 

[DavidM012]

Depends on the game. Maybe you weren't running anything else that pulls quite the same load.

 

[CountMike]

Thanks for the replies!
So the fan reading 2500rpm does not mean the pump is working?
Also, the cooler was quite efficient for a year. Idle temps were 35-40c with the occasional Spike and under load average mid 60c

Fan and pump are controlled from separate places. Fan(s) should be connected to CPU_Fan and pump to a steady source of 12v. What is pump connected to ?
As that cooler is marginal for that CPU, any pump slowdown would produce higher temps.

 

[Kenrick Fernandes]

Fan and pump are controlled from separate places. Fan(s) should be connected to CPU_Fan and pump to a steady source of 12v. What is pump connected to ?
As that cooler is marginal for that CPU, any pump slowdown would produce higher temps.

The fan is connected to sys_fan 1 and heatsink to cpu_fan

 

[Kenrick Fernandes]

Depends on the game. Maybe you weren't running anything else that pulls quite the same load.

The temps go that high in bios too tho

 

[Kenrick Fernandes]

The pump likely died. As long as there is thermal paste on the coldplate, then it should work unless something has failed.
If the pump died you will need to buy an entire new cooler.
A 120mm AIO isnt really worth it over an air cooler since nice air coolers perform better and have little risk for failure .

Oh okay! Which cooler would you recommend? Something that wouldn't fail and would cool well enough?

 

[Kenrick Fernandes]

Also, is there a definitive way to check if the aio is dead?
The thing definitely turns on, the fan spins, the logo lights up, and the cpu_fan readings show 2500rpm.

 

[DavidM012]

To determine that would mean disassembling the unit, emptying it into a jug and refilling it and seeing if it pulls the coolant fluid in, a very tricky process. I wouldn't say it can't be done but it's all very complex & risky to bother with.

Maybe even some corrosion happened and the flow around the loop is restricted. If that happened it would be highly difficult to detect or fix. Imagine disassembling the unit and trying to get a thin wire through the tubing like normally they use fibre optic cameras to detect problems in pipework, it would be absurd to have that for a $30 aio.

Best off looking at benchmarks and reviews for 240mm aios on 8700k should be loads. No idea what you might like.

 

[Kenrick Fernandes]

To determine that would mean disassembling the unit, emptying it into a jug and refilling it and seeing if it pulls the coolant fluid in, a very tricky process. I wouldn't say it can't be done but it's all very complex & risky to bother with.

Maybe even some corrosion happened and the flow around the loop is restricted. If that happened it would be highly difficult to detect or fix. Imagine disassembling the unit and trying to get a thin wire through the tubing like normally they use fibre optic cameras to detect problems in pipework, it would be absurd to have that for a $30 aio.

Best off looking at benchmarks and reviews for 240mm aios on 8700k should be loads. No idea what you might like.

Damn, I can't even begin to fathom doing any of that lol.
Thanks for the help, mate

 

[Kenrick Fernandes]

The cooler is still on warranty, should I pursue an RMA, or go ahead and buy a better cooler?

 

[DavidM012]

I think the cooler is simply insufficient and you should buy a better one.

 

[CountMike]

The fan is connected to sys_fan 1 and heatsink to cpu_fan

Well, that's wrong way around for that cooler. no wonder it's heating up. If there's no AiO_Pump header, connect pump ("heatsink" as you call it) to SYS_FAN and make it turn full speed all the time. Radiator fan should go to CPU_FAN header.

 

[mdd1963]

If your radiator remains at room temp, the pump is likely not pumping....; additionally, not uncommon for one line to get overly warm, and the other stay at room temp, also indicating the pump has failed...

AIOs are OK, but, they are not magically cooling fluid from 35C back down to 22C in a sub-4 sec trip thru a radiator...