Question CPU heating with low usage, more than before

[Perroelo]

Hello I built my pc almost a year and a half ago, all pieces new. I have an i512400f cooled by a NZXT kraken 120mm AIO. The case has 2 exhaust and 3 inlet fans (one of which is the radiator one). I've been experiencing higher than usual temps in the last weeks, reaching around 55°C idle and 85°C while playing low consuming games like LoL and Age of empires 2 DE, to the point of not being able to reboot after a while due to high temperature. I know these are not dangerous temperatures but before my temps didn't go higher than 40 idle and 60°C while gaming. My AIO is above the pump level so bubbles shouldn't be an issue. I've tried moving it around, reinstalling it, changing the thermal paste, updating every driver and the BIOS, and adding more case fans (previously I had just one in and one out). My CPU and GPU usage do not go above 40% while playing the majority of games. I really do not know what to do. I suspect the problem is the AIO, but when I touch the tubes I can feel one is hot and the other way cooler (the way it should be, right?) and I can feel the liquid moving.
I've noticed that the air coming out from the case is just a little warm, so not sure what's the issue.
I used Afterburner, armoury crate, and HWmonitor and all of them give the same results.
Also, I Know a 120mm AIO is not the best but shouldn't be like this, and it worked perfectly some weeks ago.

My specs:
CPU: i5-12400f
Cooling: NZXT kraken 120mm AIO
MOBO: Asus Prime Z690M-PLUS D4
GPU: Nvidia Geforce RTX 2060 12 GB
RAM: Kingstone 16 GB DDR4
Case: Deepcool Macube 310 ATX

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

Cooling: NZXT kraken 120mm AIO
The AIO in that build is inadequate to cool a processor like that, I'd have opted for a 240mm AIO. Where and how is the AIO mounted in the case? Please include an image of the AIO with regards to your case, after hosting image on Imgur then parsing a link to this thread for us to see.

 

[Phaaze88]

when I touch the tubes I can feel one is hot and the other way cooler (the way it should be, right?)

No, the exact opposite. They should be about the same.

My AIO is above the pump level so bubbles shouldn't be an issue.

The pump is embedded in the radiator.
The 120mm Kraken models were specifically pump in radiator ones. The Kraken M22s often failed early. IDK about the Kraken 120, but 1.5 years is short.
Get a Thermalright Peerless Assassin or Phantom Spirit and you're good to go.

 

[thestryker]

You're going to have higher than expected temperatures in that case no matter what you do because it has very little ventilation.

As was mentioned above however it sounds like the AIO is not functioning correctly.

 

[Perroelo]

You're going to have higher than expected temperatures in that case no matter what you do because it has very little ventilation.

As was mentioned above however it sounds like the AIO is not functioning correctly.

If the case was the problem, wouldn't the air coming out from it be warm? Even if I open the case I still have the same temperatures, though. And temperatures were perfect some weeks ago.
I've bought a new Thermalright PS and it should arrive in 2 weeks, but If I can fix this AIO issue it would be great. I hope it gets better with the new air cololing.

 

[Perroelo]

No, the exact opposite. They should be about the same.


The pump is embedded in the radiator.
The 120mm Kraken models were specifically pump in radiator ones. The Kraken M22s often failed early. IDK about the Kraken 120, but 1.5 years is short.
Get a Thermalright Peerless Assassin or Phantom Spirit and you're good to go.

Oh, I thought one tube was feeding the radiator with hot liquid and the other one returning it cold. I've read that in plenty of other forums. I too agree that the 1.5 year lifespan is too short even for this AIO. I've bought the Phantom spirit and I hope this gets fixed when it arrives.

 

[Perroelo]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

Cooling: NZXT kraken 120mm AIO
The AIO in that build is inadequate to cool a processor like that, I'd have opted for a 240mm AIO. Where and how is the AIO mounted in the case? Please include an image of the AIO with regards to your case, after hosting image on Imgur then parsing a link to this thread for us to see.

Thanks for your response. The AIO worked perfectly some weeks ago, so I'm not sure it is inadequate.

This is my setup.

 

[thestryker]

If the case was the problem, wouldn't the air coming out from it be warm? Even if I open the case I still have the same temperatures, though. And temperatures were perfect some weeks ago.

This is one of those two things are true circumstances. The case you have is bad for airflow and will have higher temps than one with good airflow. The cooler not working right is a much bigger problem which appears to be the situation.

I've bought a new Thermalright PS and it should arrive in 2 weeks, but If I can fix this AIO issue it would be great. I hope it gets better with the new air cololing.

This is a better cooler than the AIO and the temps should be right where they were before at worst, but should be better.

 

[Perroelo]

This is one of those two things are true circumstances. The case you have is bad for airflow and will have higher temps than one with good airflow. The cooler not working right is a much bigger problem which appears to be the situation.

This is a better cooler than the AIO and the temps should be right where they were before at worst, but should be better.

Thanks. The reviews I saw for this case were pretty good tbh. Is there a case you'd recommend? better if below 100 USD I'll try to upgrade when I have the money

 

[thestryker]

Thanks. The reviews I saw for this case were pretty good tbh. Is there a case you'd recommend? better if below 100 USD I'll try to upgrade when I have the money

Your current hardware doesn't really need optimal airflow so long as your temperatures are acceptable now I'd say keep it until/unless you upgrade to higher power consuming parts. If you need an example of what I mean: your entire system should consume well under 300W most of the time, and my video card power limited to 75% uses 300W.

There's a good chance things will change as time goes along with case design, but here's a list of decent $100 or less airflow oriented cases:
Fractal Design Pop Air
SilverStone FARA R1
Silverstone FARA R1 V2
Cooler Master MasterBox Q500L (if you need mATX sized case that can fit ATX, but it needs a proper plan for cooling)
Antec DF700 Flux
Cooler Master MasterBox 600 Lite
Montech AIR 903 Base (any of the AIR models are decent except the "Silent")
Corsair 4000D Airflow
Lian Li LANCOOL 216