Question Arctic Liquid Freezer II Seemingly Doing Nothing to Cool the CPU

[RikkiTikkiTembo83]

Hey, I boot up, and go into the bios, and temps just soar 3 degrees C per second until it shuts down or I shut it down.
The fans are spinning on the radiator. I'm not sure what the issue is, but it seems to have gotten worse after I installed an m2 nvme ssd.
When I first booted it up with on drive, it was idling at 33 C which is still hot and 12 degrees over the ambient room temperature,
but I didn't notice it ramping up, then again I didn't have it on like that for too long before shutting it down to install SSD.

How do I go about trouble shooting this? The liquid freezer II is connected to cpu_fan on the motherboard, and radiator fans spin,
but I see no activity in the hardware monitor in the bios (reports cpu fan / pump as 0).

 

[LinuxDevice]

Two basics I'd check:

1. Sometimes people leave a thin film protective plastic wrapper on, and it needs to be removed (protective shipping plastic).
2. Even a small bubble in heat sink compound can cause an extreme heat transfer problem. Make sure that there is a thin layer of "bubble free" heat sink compound between cooling block and CPU.

Less likely, but sometimes still occurring, is that the mount of the cooler block is not quite correct. It can be "tilted" slightly and have no contact at all other than at one edge. Make sure it is actually mounted correctly.

 

[CountMike]

Hey, I boot up, and go into the bios, and temps just soar 3 degrees C per second until it shuts down or I shut it down.
The fans are spinning on the radiator. I'm not sure what the issue is, but it seems to have gotten worse after I installed an m2 nvme ssd.
When I first booted it up with on drive, it was idling at 33 C which is still hot and 12 degrees over the ambient room temperature,
but I didn't notice it ramping up, then again I didn't have it on like that for too long before shutting it down to install SSD.

How do I go about trouble shooting this? The liquid freezer II is connected to cpu_fan on the motherboard, and radiator fans spin,
but I see no activity in the hardware monitor in the bios (reports cpu fan / pump as 0).

Pump motor on those coolers sends no signal for RPM. Pump and fans are supposed to be connected to same cable in chain and fan to CPU_FAN header, Pump always runs full speed,only fan speed is adjustable..Fansare PWM so you should make sure that fan header is also set to PWM control. Pump cable runs thru one of the hoses and it's end is to be connected to closest fan.

 

[RikkiTikkiTembo83]

Two basics I'd check:

1. Sometimes people leave a thin film protective plastic wrapper on, and it needs to be removed (protective shipping plastic).
2. Even a small bubble in heat sink compound can cause an extreme heat transfer problem. Make sure that there is a thin layer of "bubble free" heat sink compound between cooling block and CPU.

Less likely, but sometimes still occurring, is that the mount of the cooler block is not quite correct. It can be "tilted" slightly and have no contact at all other than at one edge. Make sure it is actually mounted correctly.

Yeah, the plastic was definitely removed.
Also, I'm certain I cleaned both the cpu and the heatsink with alcohol and a paper towel before applying fresh paste.
I'm less certain that the cooler block is exactly correct, but it seems to only go on one way and it seems to fits snug (I can't wiggle it).

I also installed the connector from the pump to CPU_FAN.
I read in an amazon review that someone had their pump stop working and had to unplug it and plug it back in to get it to work again. I could only dream my solution would be as simple as that.

 

[Paperdoc]

On most mobos these days in the screen to configure the CPU_FAN header that you are using, there are options to set for the MODE - that is, the electrical signal technique used to achieve the speed it has decided on for the "fan" connected there. Options often are Voltage (or DC), PWM, or AUTO. You REALLY should set that to PWM. and not to Voltage, DC, or AUTO. This will ensure that the pump and rad fans get exactly the correct signals to operate properly. Also check the setting for PROFILE - that is, how it uses a measured temperature to decide what speed to set for the fan. The default Standard or Normal one is good to start, You might try the "Turbo" or Max speed setting as a test to see if that makes it any different, although this is NOT the normal way to run.

Normally the PUMP unit runs very smoothly and quietly so you do not hear or feel its action. But you can try this. Open the case. With your system cold, put your fingers on the pump unit and hoses coming from it. Note how that feels. Now turn on the system and see if you can feel ANY vibration. ALSO note whether you can feel any small heating up of either hose from the pump. If there is no vibration and no rise in hose temps, the pump is likely not running, OR has an air bubble preventing liquid flow. IF you feel BOTH hoses warn up equally, that also is a strong indication that fluid is NOT flowing.

 

[RikkiTikkiTembo83]

As a matter of fact, I was able to solve the problem simply by plugging the AIO into CPU_PUMP instead of CPU_FAN!
I'm not sure why it works, but it did. I'll follow your advice and set it to PWM manually. Now, temps are a stable 30c.

 

[Paperdoc]

You may not have "solved" this completely by using the CPU_PUMP header. The why? part of that needs an explanation.

3-pin and 4-pin fans require different types of electrical signals to control their fan speeds, and if you mix them up and use the "wrong" signal that has certain effects. One of these is that, if you plug a 3-pin fan into a mobo header using the new PWM Mode of control signals, that fan will always run full speed. In most AIO systems the FANS supplied for the rad are of the PWM type and their speeds are controlled properly by such a signal system. But the PUMP is designed just like a 3-pin fans, so if it is connected to that same header and signal system, it will always run full speed. As it happens, in most AIO systems that is exactly what we WANT that pump to do! So the CPU_FAN header used to connect the system NEEDS to operate in the new PWM Mode.

HOWEVER, many mobos now allow you to set that MODE option AND often have a default setting for the CPU_FAN header to automatically set itself according to what fan is plugged into it. It does that based on a test it runs at every start-up. It uses the newer PWM Mode to send out signals to start the "fan" it believes is there at full speed, then slow it down. It watches the fan speed signal coming back. If the fan slows down, things are OK. If the fan fails to slow down, then it must be an older 3-pin fan, so the header changes itself to use that older Voltage Control Mode so that it CAN force the fan to change its speed. With an AIO system, the normal connections feed the PUMP speed back to the header. So when this test is done, it always causes that header to change to Voltage Control Mode and reduce PUMP speed because the CPU temperature is low, and this also causes the FANS on the rad to run slow. For an AIO, this is what we do NOT want! We want that pump at full speed always! So the solution is you go into BIOS Setup for the CPU_FAN header and SET that option to PWM Mode, not to Auto or Voltage or DC. Then the header WILL use PWM Mode, the PUMP will always run full speed, and the rad FANS as PWM fans WILL have their speed controlled to control cooling of the CPU.

The CPU_PUMP header is set up differently. It knows that the PUMP should be running full speed all the time for most AIO systems, so it is set NOT to try to slow down whatever is plugged in there. Thus you do get constant full speed on the pump as needed, BUT you also get constant FULL speed of the rad FANS connected to the same header! There is NO automatic control of CPU cooling according to its temperature.

Now, a few mobos have an option on some headers to select whether they behave as PUMP headers that always run their device at full speed, or as FAN headers that change their device's speeds. OP, unless your CPU_PUMP header has such an option I suggest you connect your AIO system back to the CPU_FAN header and ensure it is set to use only PWM Mode.

 

[RikkiTikkiTembo83]

Thanks for the detailed explanation. Still, I'm not sure I understand the problem.
Sure, it's running full blast 24/7, but the noise even at 100% is not bad too me,
Is it an issue of needlessly wearing out the fans from overworking them? I could switch it back, but it wasn't working before, and now that it's working beautifully (aside from 100% fans all the time), I'm a little scared to switch it back.

 

[Paperdoc]

Running the fans full speed all the time has three effects, compared to allowing them to be run slower according to actual cooling needs. These may or may not be important to you.

1. It's noisier.
2. It will shorten the lifetime of your fans.
3. It will use MARGINALLY more electricity maybe 2 W per fan instead of 1 W.