CPU overheating, on idle 84 degrees.

[RhysT]

Hello.

The other day, the electric cut out. Since then, when my pc is idling, it goes all the way up to 84 degrees. I've replaced the paste, 5 times now, cleaned it up, unplugged and replugged everything but it still does this. Does this mean my pump in the watercooling has gone? Please help, thank you.

 

[clutchc]

It could very well be. The power outage may have been accompanied by a surge that the component couldn't quite handle. Or the pump might have just wore out early and failed. Try the stock cooler and see if all is normal. If so, you can at least assume the liq cooler is the culprit. If the stock cooler does the same thing, then we have to look deeper.

 

[RhysT]

I don't have the stock cooler as this PC was given to me how it is now over a year ago by a friend. I've ordered a new one and it'll be delivered/here by Saturday. I'll get back to you then and let you know if it's sorted. If it doesn't, what else could be causing this?

 

[Karadjgne]

You should be able to feel vibrations if the pump is running. You also haven't stated if any fans are not running or of you've verified the temp in bios and using other software.

 

[clutchc]

I don't have the stock cooler as this PC was given to me how it is now over a year ago by a friend. I've ordered a new one and it'll be delivered/here by Saturday. I'll get back to you then and let you know if it's sorted. If it doesn't, what else could be causing this?

Hard to say for sure if you don't know if the pump is running. I assume the pump is firmly making contact with the CPU and the mounting installation was done correctly. Try the pump on a different header. Or connect it directly to the PSU.
Btw, what liq cooler are talking about? Might be a good idea to list your system/

 

[RhysT]

Sorry, Karadjgne. I feel no vibrations, and the watercooling to touch is burning hot, on top of the CPU. All fans are running. Where I'm getting these temperature readings are from the BIOS and also CPUID HWMonitor. Both reading the same heat. I feel literally nothing in the watercooling, upon PC being booted up, you used to here like water, flushing through it as it was turned on. But now, nothing. The light for the water cooling comes on, but no signs of water flowing through.

The watercooling is Seidon 120M Cooler Master.

 

[RhysT]

Anymore answers needed, just ask.

 

[Grantmacintosh1]

Judging by the information you have provided, the Seidon's pump has failed. A way to test this, (whilst not recommended) would be to unplug the pump's cable from the header on the motherboard. After doing this turn on the PC, enter the BIOS and monitor the CPU's temperature. It should increase quickly up until the CPU hits TJMAX and either shuts down or thermal throttles.

After this, plug the watercooler back in, and repeat the aforementioned steps. If the temps follow the same pattern of increasing until TJMAX, then either the CPU FAN header on the board or the pump in the cooler has failed.

You could also try plugging the pump into another fan header on the motherboard, if it works, then you have a dead CPU FAN header.

 

[Karadjgne]

Swap the fan connector with the pump connector. If the fan doesn't work but pump does, your mobo is shot. If the fan works but pump still doesn't, the pump is shot. Either way, you'll need something plugged into the cpu_fan header or the pc won't boot at all, it's a safety device built into the mobo to protect the cpu from overheating

 

[Grantmacintosh1]

Swap the fan connector with the pump connector. If the fan doesn't work but pump does, your mobo is shot. If the fan works but pump still doesn't, the pump is shot. Either way, you'll need something plugged into the cpu_fan header or the pc won't boot at all, it's a safety device built into the mobo to protect the cpu from overheating

I have never seen a motherboard not boot because of a lack of something occupying the CPU fan header. They will throw up warnings and complain, but most motherboards will let you into the BIOS.

 

[clutchc]

Btw, normally the pump on that type of AIO shouldn't be plugged into the CPU FAN header. That header is for the cooling fan. The pump should be plugged into a fan header that is providing the full +12V at all times. If you had the 3-wire pump plugged into the cpu fan header, it probably was running at full speed (+12V) because the header is most likely PWM controlled. But some boards will also speed-control 3-pin devices on that header as well. If that is the case with your board, it may have burned itself up running too slow.

 

[Karadjgne]

Biggest bone of contention with lower end Corsair aios. That's exactly how the instructions tell you to mount them. Pump to cpu_fan and Fan to any other sys_fan header. Seriously bass-ackwards but they do that so if the pump does fail, it'll throw up the cpu_fan system warning at boot. Hopefully. Personally, I think it's a bunch of BS, pump should be on sys_fan/cpu_aux set in bios for 100% duty cycle and cpu fan on cpu_fan header

 

[Grantmacintosh1]

I couldn't agree more. The same problem occurs with the instructions on Intel's Thermal Solution AIO.

 

[Karadjgne]

I have an h55. Pump - cpu_aux, Noctua nf-f12 - cpu_fan. Works perfectly. Fan slows at idle now. As it's supposed to. Pump runs 100%. My other Aio. Is a nzxt Kraken X61. Slightly different hookup for sure.

But swapping op's fan/pump connectors is a safe bet for testing purposes.

 

[clutchc]

I think the reason the manufacturer's instructions always say to plug the pump into the CPU FAN header, is because most boards will not be able to RPM-controll the pump when a 3-wire device is plugged in. It is expecting to see a 4-wire (PWM) device. But I have had several boards that DO indeed switch to variable voltage control for 3-pin devices. Those boards would cause the pump to run at less than full RPM if the header is not set to full speed in BIOS.

So at least we all seem to be in agreement; plug the pump into an always-full-RPM header on that style AIO.

 

[Karadjgne]

Agreed, my favorite header for pump use is CPU_AUX, since its not controlled on most mid-low end boards and is only sometimes controllable on the higher end stuff, otherwise it runs 12V constant.

 

[RhysT]

Well, after my new cooler turned up today, the heat now runs at 20degrees. So the pump was faulty it seems. But, I ran into another issue... Pc would put itself in an endless boot, so I removed a RAM stick and it fixed it. So I now also have a faulty piece of RAM. Then after that there was just a black display, no picture nothing. But it works now, not sure for how long. Thanks for all your help guys.

 

[clutchc]

Well, after my new cooler turned up today, the heat now runs at 20degrees. So the pump was faulty it seems. But, I ran into another issue... Pc would put itself in an endless boot, so I removed a RAM stick and it fixed it. So I now also have a faulty piece of RAM. Then after that there was just a black display, no picture nothing. But it works now, not sure for how long. Thanks for all your help guys.

That sometimes happens when there's a power outage (depending on what causes it). The outage can be accompanied by surges or spikes. Same when the power is suddenly restored if devices are in an always-on condition. You may want to replace the surge protector that your PC system is plugged into with a better quality one.