Question Cooler heat sink tilted

Dec 8, 2020
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Hey all, I recently purchased a prebuilt and was noticing VERY high CPU temperatures when checking with coretemp and open hardware, as in like 110-115C and I immediately shut it off. This was the first time I ran it. Even when doing idle tasks such as opening up discord or a browser it ramps from idle 30-40C to 100 very quickly. I removed the cooler and noticed that the heat sink is actually slanted? I’m wondering if the heat sink was not actually flat across the CPU thus causing a drastic temperature increase. Thoughts on if this could be causing it the temp increase?

Picture of heat sink slanted
 
While I cant be certain that is the cause of your issues that is certainly grounds for a replacement. If the heatplate was mounted flat against the processor it technically would still cool properly, but thats not acceptable for a system you purchased.
Contact the store you bought this prebuilt from, or replace it yourself if they refuse.
 
Doesn't look good. If any of the heat pipes have popped out of their slots, even just a hairline, as a result of the tower being bent, it will prevent the heatsink from making positive contact with the CPU.

Don't use the computer until you've replaced that cooler.
 
Thanks for the responses! I ended up replacing my cooler with the Noctua U12a (very easy installation) and my max temperatures under full CPU load are around 75C. Also around 30C in Bios as opposed to 60-65C. The original heatsink must not have been flush with the CPU causing extremely high temperatures.

A theory I'm mulling around is that I purchased the packaging foam solution to help keep everything safe while in transit, I'm wondering if it expanded near the cooler and was ever so slightly pushing it to one side.

In any case, problem solved!
 
Thanks for the responses! I ended up replacing my cooler with the Noctua U12a (very easy installation) and my max temperatures under full CPU load are around 75C. Also around 30C in Bios as opposed to 60-65C. The original heatsink must not have been flush with the CPU causing extremely high temperatures.

A theory I'm mulling around is that I purchased the packaging foam solution to help keep everything safe while in transit, I'm wondering if it expanded near the cooler and was ever so slightly pushing it to one side.

In any case, problem solved!
That $$ extra foam packing is a pure money stream. It does nothing for the security of the interior components.

Things that would "move" would move on a millimeter scale. No foam packing could be tight enough to prevent that.
Likewise, it can't expand enough to actually bend parts like that.
 
Looks like it was a Cooler Master cooler...as long as it was mounted correctly, it looks like the cooler was given a large deal of force to cause that to occur, which would have me concerned about the force applied to the motherboard if this occurred after it had been installed.

If this cooler looked like this BEFORE install, I'm more concerned about the quality assurance of the prebuilt.

Actually, regardless of which of the above - I would have concerns. Where did you get the PC from?
 
That $$ extra foam packing is a pure money stream. It does nothing for the security of the interior components.

Things that would "move" would move on a millimeter scale. No foam packing could be tight enough to prevent that.
Likewise, it can't expand enough to actually bend parts like that.
Thanks for the insight, good to know for future builds.
 
Looks like it was a Cooler Master cooler...as long as it was mounted correctly, it looks like the cooler was given a large deal of force to cause that to occur, which would have me concerned about the force applied to the motherboard if this occurred after it had been installed.

If this cooler looked like this BEFORE install, I'm more concerned about the quality assurance of the prebuilt.

Actually, regardless of which of the above - I would have concerns. Where did you get the PC from?
This was a prebuilt from cyberpowerpc.
 
Right but even pre-built systems use components they purchase from other manufacturers or vendors.

You don't think that's a Cyberpower CPU, a Cyberpower motherboard, RAM, harddrive, case, cooler or graphics card, right? They purchase them in bulk from companies for lower cost (and usually lower cost at the expense of quality).
 
Right but even pre-built systems use components they purchase from other manufacturers or vendors.

You don't think that's a Cyberpower CPU, a Cyberpower motherboard, RAM, harddrive, case, cooler or graphics card, right? They purchase them in bulk from companies for lower cost (and usually lower cost at the expense of quality).

No I don't think that. I was just answering your question :) Only reason I did a prebuilt in the first place was to get my rtx 3070 card
 
If it was installed like that, I have concerns of the quality checking of the system builder. No one should ever install a cooler that looks like that.

If the damage occurred after installation, I have concerns of PCB or socket damage due to the stress required to cause a cooler to bend like that.

Either way, I'd recommend an RMA...some of this damage might not be seen right now but might become apparent in the future.

People will do some strange things because they 'need' a 3000 series card....but not going to open this can of worms...
 
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