CPU not cooling well after two aftermarket coolers

GoldenBoy99

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Aug 14, 2014
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Hi again. This problem has been bothering me for a couple months and I've spent a lot of my summer break working on it or waiting for it. It all started on May 8th when I first built my PC. After solving the first problem (RAM wasn't inserted all the way) the PC has worked very well performance wise. The problem I've had since the start is abnormally high temps and annoyingly loud CPU fan speeds. With my first cooler, the h100i v2 I had fan noise louder than I was used to but waited nearly two months for my GTX 1080 to arrive because only then would it be complete. That prevented me from returning the cooler to Best Buy, however.

I did many things to try to lower temps and prevent the fans from running so fast like keeping the fans set on silent in both BIOS and Corsair link. After that I quickly bought some MX-4 thermal paste in hopes of bringing temps down and to enable me to remount the cooler. I tried many different fan configurations, fan speeds, and complete remountings of the cooler but nothing worked. After rotating the cooler it eventually quit working although everything was plugged in. This led me to believe that I had a faulty cooler all along and it had finally died now. A little excited I may have eventually figured it out, I boxed it up and brought it back to Best Buy. Their site led me to believe they would accept returns of defective products like mine but I discovered they only had a 15 day return policy. They then tried to see if they could RMA it through Best Buy but unfortunately they couldn't. I brought the box back home and still have it with me. Later that day I researched the best CPU coolers. I wanted to order another because I was honestly burnt on liquid coolers and Corsair, plus their RMA process could take weeks causing me to wait a long time for a PC that would start. I decided to go for the Cryorig R1 Universal which had great reviews, was supposed to be almost inaudible while idle, and cool nearly as well as the h100i. I thought purchasing another aftermarket CPU cooler for $90 since I didn't necessarily want to OC was overkill, but I figured after all my trouble I should pick something quality with the potential to OC later if I wanted.

The set-up process wasn't nearly as easy as others made it seem mainly because of difficulty in viewing the screw holes and getting the cooler to line up, but with the help of my dad we eventually did it. We tightened down each of the two screws a half turn at a time and they both tightened to their max at the same time for a good fit. I plugged in both fans into the CPU_FAN header and started the PC up with high hopes. Unfortunately, the similar fan speeds began and I got a sick feeling in my stomach. I haven't done much testing as I realize the problem isn't in the cooler and I've got similar results when idle and under load. When idle, I get temps in the teens according to Speedfan which is strange seeing as it's cooler than ambient. In Corsair Link I get temps around 30c and in BIOS about 35c. I tested with the case open so I could see if there was an airflow problem but that didn't help either. My motherboard may have given it an automatic OC since on start-up below the ASUS logo it always says "Overclock 15%" but I haven't seen this backed up anywhere else (I've only ever seen it listed as @4.0). Plus, with my cooler I should be able to keep that OC stable. I currently have a front bottom intake and a back exhaust which the cooler blows out through. I wouldn't obsess over these temps if there wasn't the noise that came along with them. It's not a grindy or a vibration noise, it appears to be the noise of the fans having to run very fast when doing very little. It's annoying when I'm trying to watch a show on simply browse Reddit and I have to hear the fans climb to very loud speeds when backing out of a thread. I thought maybe I need to adjust the fan curve (although others reported great noise level and temps when simply plugging everything in) but then I went into a game. I started Call of Juarez: Gunslinger and temps instantly climbed into the 70s and could potentially go higher which is very poor for an aftermarket $90 cooler. Temps like that are more suited for stock fans and others reported their CPU never got over 50c even in load. I didn't test much after that but things appear to be nearly identical to before.

My family was saying I should be okay with the noise but I know it's not normal. Most of my build is optimized for silence and my cooler is supposed to be one of the coolest and quietest on the market. If I recall correctly, it's also louder than my previous two PCs and the PCs I've used at school which would obviously have very poor coolers. It's hard to believe my expensive build could be on the low end in terms of sound and that everyone else experiences fan speeds louder than this. For a little more clarification, the CPU fans are the noisiest in my case and I can't hear the case or GPU fans over it even though the GPU is usually supposed to be the noisiest thing in the case.

I wish my CPU came with a stock cooler so I could compare noise and temps, but most importantly so I would've had an intermediate cooler. If I did, I wouldn't have had to spend $90 on this one. At this point I'm all out of guesses and would just really like to solve this problem. I don't know what will happen with my old $110 cooler but I'm hoping I can RMA it and sell the replacement as new and reclaim some money but that will take a while and I'll still be losing. If I could just get this one to work optimally it'd be the greatest.

I've researched this problem a lot but no one seems to quite have the same problem as me so I've made these threads. Nearly every CPU overheating thread I've encountered ends up being because the person uses a subpar stock cooler, but I've been using expensive aftermarket coolers from the beginning. It's also not a dust issue which many people have since this happened since I put it together and I cleaned it since I built it. Similarly, this isn't a problem that has occurred halfway through the PC's lifespan where it could be some electrical failure due to a storm, anything degrading due to heavy use and age, or a PSU or other part they skimped on. I think all of my components have a pretty good quality. I've also tried using aftermarket thermal paste, my MX-4 to lower temps and remounted the previous cooler to ensure good contact. When looking at this cooler it appeared to make good contact and we screwed down each side in increments.

I've been using pretty commonplace parts and settings so I would've expected it to just work now like it has for others, but no such luck. I haven't changed much in settings I think but feel free to leave suggestions on the software side too since it seems I did what I could on the hardware side, but I'm not sure. I did try disabling Intel Turbo Boost which didn't help and I changed the CPU Fan setting to PWM instead of DC which gave it a better fan curve and runs a tad quieter on idle although I can always clearly hear it spinning even with background noise, but it's more bearable for now. However, it still spikes up to higher temps easily when browsing which causes the fans to spin very loudly for a moment. And remember, this is all on quiet settings in BIOS. The next two higher settings should logically bring better temps but they're much too loud to be bearable.

After exhausting the other possibilities the only the thing I could think is that it's something on the CPU side but I don't know. I thought that it could be a voltage problem but I checked the reading in BIOS and looked up the default setting for my CPU and they were the same. I also haven't changed it. My other thought was that my CPU could be faulty and run too warm but I'm hesitant to go out and RMA it in fear of what happened last time. However, I do have two back-up computers I could use if the CPU is the problem and needs a replacement.

I realize this is a tough problem and no one seems to know the solution yet but surely some of the very knowledgeable members here will know what to do. I'd be very thankful for a final fix to this. If you need more information just let me know and I'll be happy to help. To possibly gain more insight into my problem you can view my previous thread here which links to my first thread about this problem: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3123860/corsair-h100i-cooling.html I've also cross-posted this to here: https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/4upvy9/pu_not_cooling_well_after_two_aftermarket_coolers/

Specs:

Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
CRYORIG R1 Universal 76.0 CFM CPU Cooler
Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory
Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB FTW
Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case
EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer

 
Solution
well , did you or do you have one of the latest bios update for that '' improve system stability '' ? asus don't like to explain what the update does but maybe that was a issue [why I posted like board and builds] seems asus does come up a lot as well on that ??

maybe rma is best that way if it replacement works as you expect it to then your good if not then I guess back to the old drawing board ..

Seems a bit warm, but I wouldn't be concerned with 70c temps - you've still 30c before it will throttle. Most likely the IHS isn't seated as well as on some other CPUs, and you would benefit from delidding, but I probably wouldn't bother. Temperature is really just a number until it causes throttling.
 
2 possibilities.
1. Maybe your CPU voltage is too high. Run CPU-Z to check. Vcore should be under 1.2V at 4 GHz when running a stress test like cinebench or prime.
2. If vcore is OK, you have a defective CPU. If there is poor thermal contact INSIDE the CPU case, then you will get overheating of the cores even with an expensive cooler.
 


While I agree with your possibilities, I think calling the CPU "defective" might be going a bit too far. If the CPU can run at stock speeds without instability, it's within the range of normal.
 


I do see where you are coming from, but I still stand by my statement
If you look at my signature you can see what is possible with the STOCK Intel cooler. I run at 80°C when running cinebench. My sons Xeon (effectively an i7) runs 75°C at 3.8GHz, again on the stock cooler.
If we were to spend $$ on a big cooler, I would expect much much lower temperatures, probably 60°C maximum.

Another big warning sign is that the op sees rapid temperature rises when browsing the internet.... Gotta be something wrong there, it should take a while for a big expensive cooler to heat up.....
 
ya, but mounting pratcies and experance in doing so go a long way as well - look how many just here at toms got the best highend cooler and here with the old '' my cpu is running hot'' threads ?

too tight too loose too much paste too little uneven mounting warped cpu lid warped cooler face and so on any one of them things can be a 5-10c mistake and affect overall cooling performance

lot more then getting the best cooler and just slapping it on any old way to me its now the hardest part of a build to get the cooler on right and effective and don't think I never had to do a redo to correct something if cooling is not as expected

like shown in the link I gave above just that little hump in the cpu lid can be 10+c mistake to the hotter

good luck
 


The CPU lid did not look bent and you can see it in my previous thread but I suppose I can check it with a straight edge if I run out of options. These remounts have never changed anything though and only deplete some of my thermal paste and time each occasion.

 


It's always been a number to me as well until this. I'd sit (fairly considering this is a $90 cooler) happy with the temps I'm getting as I'm not wanted to OC at the moment but it's the noise that's prompted me to investigate. I never checked CPU temps on my past two PCs because I never got a warning and they were pretty silent aside from the disk drive and other stuff like that, not fans certainly. With this one I sorta get anxiety just browsing on the internet from the fans since it whirs up so often and loudly. I mention the temps and overheating since logically that would be attributed to higher temps.

I'm not really interested in taking the IHS off and risking harming it. Couldn't I just get a replacement if that was the issue anyway?
 


I realize this is a tricky part of the process of building a PC since it's not as simple as just plugging things in where they go. I wish CPUs had integrated coolers like GPUs so there wouldn't be so many problems like this. 😀 I've encountered and learned about a lot of the different variables that can effect cooling and have tried my best to account for them with these coolers. With this most recent cooler I've only mounted it once and am not too excited to try it again since it's a chore and seemed to be a two person job. I also put what appeared to be a good amount of thermal paste and an even and good tightening on all the screws. People continuing to have the same old problems is frustrating for me as well but bear with me here as I'm trying my best to solve this problem that means a good deal to me.

And to be clear, I'm not trying to squeeze out every extra degree of cooling I can get or maximize some OC potential. I just wanted a working PC worth the money put into it and it seems to not handle basic things like Chrome very well. Too much or too little thermal paste could rob your of a few degrees but this doesn't seem like that. This has been a steady problem for nearly 3 months that hasn't wavered (at all really) past many remountings and adjustments and two great and separate coolers. I don't see how I could screw something up that many times which leads me to think it's something to do with the CPU like you said, either internally or externally.

Sand papering the top off the CPU doesn't sound too fun or that it could really be causing such a drastic difference, seeing as a lot of people got the same CPU as me but idk.
 
''I also put what appeared to be a good amount of thermal paste and an even and good tightening on all the screws. ''

what does that really mean ?? overtightened ?? too much paste ?? its a fine line between right maybe right or wrong even how you tighten it down like tightened moer on one side then the outher and have un equal presser on the chip face ?

'' I'm not trying to squeeze out every extra degree of cooling '' with any cooler used overclocking or not to me that's the end goal

'' I don't see how I could screw something up that many times which leads me to think it's something to do with the CPU like you said, either internally or externally''

well like I said don't think I never had to pull on back off more then once if I felt it was not what I feel it should be then with the more experance I get the less I find myself having to do so ...

'', seeing as a lot of people got the same CPU as me but idk '' well that can still come down to you getting the 1 in 10,000 lemon as well ?? happens to us all once in a wile ??

I had a good site on this to be reviewed but funny I cant find it for you to look at let me try once more to find it and pull it up

so many trys with 2 different coolers kinda points to the chip or the lid surface ? all I can do is guess on that from here .. seems like you should of lucked out and got something better in them trys


like from here

''These images are reproduced because they show how and why the profile of the heatsink base can have a dramatic effect on CPU cooling performance.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/Our_Lapped_CPU_Heatsink_Test_Platform

so even with that could be due to the coolers base or the cpu's you got to check both out

''Most of the thermal compound was pushed out to the edges leaving only a faint imprint at the center. This is a sign of excellent contact.''

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1356-page3.html

just little things as that can be 5 or 10c overall in the end
 
Good meaning correct. I realize it's a fine line but looked up a lot of videos on the right amount of thermal paste and how much you should tighten screws and certain parts. It all seemed fine from my experience with it. And with '' I'm not trying to squeeze out every extra degree of cooling '' I mean that it's an issue bigger than that. I just want something "workable." A little error in thermal paste or mounting I imagine could make you lose a few degrees but not like this.

Okay, back from the prime95 test. Just downloaded it for the first time and did blend with everything default. It stayed at around 4000mhz the whole time. Voltage for the CPU seemed to be like 1.31 to 1.29 with a jump sometimes up to 1.39. The temps however were the most concerning. At the start Speedfan gave me an average of about 75c and Corsair Link gave me 85-88c. Not knowing which was correct, I continued. A minute or two later they had both climbed about 10c. A core in Corsair Link stayed at 100c with the lowest jumping around 95c. Speedfan, the one with the lower readings of the two gave me 85c as an average across all cores. I quickly looked up how look the test took and learned you leave it on indefinitely, sometimes for hours. Temps like these also didn't seem to be very stable for the test and fearing for the life of my CPU I turned it off after testing for a few minutes total. The fans were spinning very fast during the test but I suppose that's obvious. Maybe this will clear some things up.
 
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/core-i7-coolers-roundup_16.html

well maybe your chip ? theres been a few 'buggy'' skylakes around I seen guys just rma there skylake cpus and got one that was right ?

theres only so much to do before you got to draw a conclusion ? you may just have a lemon cpu?? and don't matter how many of kinds of coolers you put on it


don't know on skylake voltages but this guy claims here '' Specs say operating voltage of Skylake S is 0.55 minimum to 1.52 maximum. ''???

http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/1900928-Stock-Skylake-voltages-too-high

if true your in the norm.. ??

then I found this

'Idle temps around 25 C with 58 - 60 C during heavy load. The stock setting was over 1.35 for the board and just way off. Temps were off the charts as it would push over 1.45 V during heavy load. Lower the settings and you will be fine.''

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3002802/stock-voltage-6700k-cpu.html



 
I would think the same ? maybe a bios thing ? I guess you tried or got anyn of the latest bios for your board asus likes to pile up on ones for system stability ? [makes me wonder how unstable the board is to start with ??] my ''last'' asus was up to 18 of them

theres a few posts around kinda like yours ?

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2835794/6700k-running-hot-idea.html

http://www.overclock.net/t/1598925/6700k-running-insanely-hot-out-of-the-box

''Well it looks like its the chip no mater what cooler i put on there it runs into the 90 Dc the second i hit the run button ''

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2829673/intel-6700k-hot.html

maybe the nature of some of them chips ?? like from there seems a cooler did not matter much ? maybe rma the cpu and see if the replacement dose a better job if nothing else seems to work out ?
 
Thanks so much for your help, it's been great. Took a break but I'm going to try the voltage thing now since some people mention that. These threads you've found with your research have been very helpful and a lot of them have similar builds to mine. If it's not voltage I'll probably look into RMAing it since that seems to get thrown around a lot and is one of the last options.

Update: Went into BIOS and changed the offset + auto to a offset - 0.05. It seemed like it could've changed something at first but it soon climbed up to the same temps. Fan speeds and temp spikes when idle haven't changed either. I'll go about the RMA process now and take out the CPU and ship it back now, as it seems to be the most likely culprit. I wanna finish up some things here but then I'll switch to my back-up computer. Will report back sometime later with the results I suppose.
 
well , did you or do you have one of the latest bios update for that '' improve system stability '' ? asus don't like to explain what the update does but maybe that was a issue [why I posted like board and builds] seems asus does come up a lot as well on that ??

maybe rma is best that way if it replacement works as you expect it to then your good if not then I guess back to the old drawing board ..

 
Solution