Question CPU not cooling properly ?

Aug 10, 2022
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1
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My I5 10600 is not cooling down properly. Upon boot it skyrockets up to the high 80s and takes a minute or two to drop down to 50, then it idles at around 45 to 55. The problem started this morning after I rebooted my pc. Last night I updated my Nvidia drivers and my razer synapse. The pc is about 8 months old by now, prebuild with the following specs

CPU: Intel Core I5 10600
GPU: Nvidia RTX 3060 12Gb
AIO: Cougar AQUA 240 ARGB
Thermal paste: Kingpin Cooling KPx High Performance Thermal Compound
Motherboard: MSI MAG B460 torpedo
PSU: Cougar VTE 600W Bronze
Case: In Win 103 White

I've got 4 intake fans and 1 exhaust. Prior to last night the cpu never got above 70 ish degrees even under heavy load, now even opening any app spikes the temps quickly and then it cools down.
In comparison my gpu is still keeping cool at idle and hasn't gone past 50, currently sitting at 37.
Ambient room temperature is about 32 degrees C.
Oh and, I've got a fan in my room that is blowing in towards the 2 fans of my cpu radiator if that is of any problem.
 

Phaaze88

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"Upon boot it skyrockets up to the high 80s..."
Temperature gets high initially, but is at least 10C short of throttle limit... cooler is clogged :unsure:

"takes a minute or two to drop down to 50C"
Temperature does go down, but it takes some time to go down... ok, sounds like case airflow isn't good if it takes that long, or the fans aren't blowing in the claimed directions[Some do get this wrong]. For reference:
iu

"Prior to last night the cpu never got above 70 ish degrees even under heavy load, now even opening any app spikes the temps quickly and then it cools down."
The problem started with the Razer Synapse update, or that cooler is starting to amass organics inside the loop. It doesn't help that Cougar hasn't disclosed the OEM of this model and it has a short warranty.

Try completely uninstalling Synapse and see if this behavior changes. If nothing changes, run Cinebench R23 and feel both of the tubes:
Good flow: I can't tell a difference, or I think one is a little warmer.
Poor flow: There's a clear hot and cold difference in how the 2 feel.
 
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Karadjgne

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Aios and liquid cooling in general, doesn't respond to instant loads the way aircooling does, so spikes in temps from a hard, fast load can and will temporarily be visible on cpu temp readers.

As is, all of the temps are higher that should be considered normal. Idle should be at or just below gpu idle, bios should only reach 50ish.

The Cougar Aqua OEM is CoolIt, same pump as on multiple older Corsair units like the H115i.

I'd guess there's a software conflict or no software being run and bios is in charge of the pump/fan curves.
 
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Aug 10, 2022
16
1
15
Thank you both for the tips and advice. Weirdly enough, the problem got fixed a lot easier than you'd expect. All it took was a couple of hours of being turned off and then flicking the switch of the psu off and on. I still have absolutely no idea what could have actually caused the poor cooling other than the pump not functioning properly upon boot. The AIO absolutely could not cool down the pc under load, I ran gta 5 for less than 5 minutes and the temps rose to 95C before I shut everything off, I even looked at BIOS and all the fans were running as intended at their supposed rpms. The radiator wasn't warming up with the hot water from the pump, yet one of the tubes was burning to the touch and the other one was only slowly warming up.
Ever since it went back to normal I haven't exceeded 45 ish upon boot and 66 under load.
As per the airflow, it is 1 out 4 in, and that in my mind is a problem, but I still haven't gotten around to getting a new fan to equal out the flow.
But regardless, I thank you both, again.
 

Eximo

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Trapped air bubbles was the likely cause. Several restarts would force the bubbles up to the highest point.

For best results your radiator or the tubes to the radiator should be mounted higher than the pump body. Some part of the radiator should be higher than the pump to allow bubbles to accumulate there.
 
Aug 10, 2022
16
1
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That is exactly how my radiator is mounted. However now I want to ask something. is it better if the tubing comes in the top or the bottom of the radiator. What I mean is, should my radiator be mounted tube holes up or tube holes down.
 

Eximo

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That is a good way to clear out bubbles. Moving the cooler around or restarting it from a stop.

But for the bubbles to collect themselves naturally, whenever the system is turned off, you want the path for the bubbles to be uphill. They won't travel down the tubes unless the pump is running. And if the pump is running there is a chance the bubbles will stick around the impeller.
 
Aug 10, 2022
16
1
15
"Upon boot it skyrockets up to the high 80s..."
Temperature gets high initially, but is at least 10C short of throttle limit... cooler is clogged :unsure:

"takes a minute or two to drop down to 50C"
Temperature does go down, but it takes some time to go down... ok, sounds like case airflow isn't good if it takes that long, or the fans aren't blowing in the claimed directions[Some do get this wrong]. For reference:
iu

"Prior to last night the cpu never got above 70 ish degrees even under heavy load, now even opening any app spikes the temps quickly and then it cools down."
The problem started with the Razer Synapse update, or that cooler is starting to amass organics inside the loop. It doesn't help that Cougar hasn't disclosed the OEM of this model and it has a short warranty.

Try completely uninstalling Synapse and see if this behavior changes. If nothing changes, run Cinebench R23 and feel both of the tubes:
Good flow: I can't tell a difference, or I think one is a little warmer.
Poor flow: There's a clear hot and cold difference in how the 2 feel.
The problem has come back, apparently I hadn't fixed it. And, I think that it is indeed poor flow because the 2 tubes are worlds apart in temperature, even after like 15 minutes of sitting around. So do you have any idea how I can fix it?

A couple of extra notes:
I have no option to regulate the pump when in BIOS, I do however see all the other 5 fans I have in my pc.
I've tried to move the radiator around to make all of the air go away from the pump, I've also mounted the radiator upside down. And upon starting the system I heard the pump move a ton of air around. But after running gta 5 to check temps it was almost as if the pump had stopped pushing water.
On top of this I have put my hand around the rad and it's cool to the touch, even at the intake tube which was hot.
 

Phaaze88

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The problem has come back, apparently I hadn't fixed it. And, I think that it is indeed poor flow because the 2 tubes are worlds apart in temperature, even after like 15 minutes of sitting around. So do you have any idea how I can fix it?
It's intended to be maintenance free(excluding dusting).
It's a Closed Loop Cooler - when they give you trouble, you keep the fans that work, toss out the rest, and get a new one. They'll break if you try to fix them.
 
Aug 10, 2022
16
1
15
It's intended to be maintenance free(excluding dusting).
It's a Closed Loop Cooler - when they give you trouble, you keep the fans that work, toss out the rest, and get a new one. They'll break if you try to fix them.
Alrighty. One last thing before I give into sending it away for repairs, would reseating the block help/possibly fix the problem or is it completely unnecessary ?