[SOLVED] CPU pump seems to be barely running

Oct 2, 2022
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So I recently ordered and received a computer from Ibuypower which I regret due to all the problems it has had but I will go over this one problem for now.

system:
CPU i9 13900KF
Cooler iBUYPOWER 360mm Addressable RGB Liquid Cooling System
Motherboard MSI Z790-P WiFi
RAM 32GB DDR5-6000 GSKILL Trident Z5 RGB
Video card rtx4090 PNY
SSD 2TB WD Black SN850X
Secondary (RMA due to arriving broken but is a 4TB hard drive)
PSU 1200 Watt - Thermaltake Toughpower Grand RGB - 80 PLUS Platinum, Fully Modular

Last few days I noticed even the slightest CPU usage and the temp will jump up to 60C so I put it through a stress test and instantly the CPU temp jumped to 100C+ and kept that temp until I ended the stress test so obviously the liquid cooler is not doing it's job.

The pump and tubes have no vibration at all however if I turn the pump off the cpu temp climes so if it is circulating it must be doing it so slow that it only works at idle 0-1% cpu usage.

Pump says it is running at the max 4000RPMs+ in the bios and the system monitors, the fans are running fine and ramp up or go down based on temp however the temp does not seem to reflect the fans since even if I turn fans to 100% the overall temp of the cpu does not change and I still see the same spikes and the stress test still goes 100C+

I have tried changing the CPU pump cable connection to a sys fan port and the CPU pump runs the same either way.

I noticed turning the pump up and down there is a slight ringing hum coming from the pump that I understand I should not be hearing anything from the pump itself from what I have read.
 
Solution
Keep in mind this is a custom build built by Ibuypower so I am fixing the minefield of problems they left.

Radiator is sucking in air from the top, not sure why you thought it was sucking air out of the case. The pump is set to a constant 100%, the pump has three settings, 0%, 50%, or 100%

The case was supposed to have 140mm fans, in fact it was supposed to have 3 on the front but it looks like Ibuypower took them off and replaced them for 120mm fans so that they could charge extra for them but because I thought default case fans meant the default that comes with the case it seems I was conned.

I just finished trying to put the radiator on the front but sadly the hoses will not reach from the bottom to the cpu and I cannot flip...
Oct 2, 2022
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Can you link to the specific one you purchased, if listed that way or list the specific case this build is inside?
Alongside that, what is the fan and cooler configuration?
Cooler iBUYPOWER 360mm Addressable RGB Liquid Cooling System is all I know which is either their own brand or a rebrand, it has their logos all over it.
the case is a NZXT H7
CPU socket support:
Intel 1200, 1150, 1151, 1155, 1156, 1366, 2011, 2066 AMD AM4, AM3, AM2
cold plate: copper
radiator materials: aluminum
fan speed: 2000rpm

The radiator is at the top of the case with the tubes/hoses going to the end of the radiator then down to the CPU pump over the top of the CPU

sam_1716_by_luneder_dfluqy2-pre.jpg
 
Cooler iBUYPOWER 360mm Addressable RGB Liquid Cooling System
The radiator is at the top of the case with the tubes/hoses going to the end of the radiator then down to the CPU pump over the top of the CPU
Is pump located in cpu block or in radiator?
If it is located in radiator, then radiator can not be placed in top of the pc case (you get air bubbles collecting in pump, that kills liquid flow effectiveness and eventually kills the pump).
You have to relocate it to front of the case (hoses connected at bottom and flip fans to opposite orientation).

With pump in radiator, it would have square block in radiator.
Like here:
s-l1600.jpg
 
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Oct 2, 2022
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Is pump located in cpu block or in radiator?
If it is located in radiator, then radiator can not be placed in top of the pc case (you get air bubbles collecting in pump, that kills liquid flow effectiveness and eventually kills the pump).
You have to relocate it to front of the case (and flip fans to opposite orientation).

With pump in radiator, it would have square block in radiator.
Like here:
s-l1600.jpg
I actually noticed that square block in the middle of my radiator so I assume that is the pump block your are talking about, in that case should I move the radiator to the front of the case, hoses at the top or bottom?
 

Karadjgne

Titan
Ambassador
Ibuypower uses an apeltek pump, same as the MSI and nzxt m22. It's in the radiator.

In bios, check the fan header settings, or if running the fans via software then check that, the aio should be on a flatline not a curve, or at least a sharp curve to 100% at anything above 40ish °C
 

candymancan

Reputable
Nov 28, 2019
63
6
4,545
First of all change the fan orientation. Blowing hot case air over the radiator out the top will just let the cpu get warmer and warmer and warmer.. You want the coldests air to flow over the radiator so have the radiator sucking air from the top blowing down... Right now, your just blowing that 4090s heat all over your radiator by sucking air out..,.. Been doing this 22 years for watercooling, its never smart to blow hot air on the radiator lol. That or honestly.. put the radiator in the front of the case where that white fan is and have the fans pulling air from outside the front inside the case, and put that white fan on the top blowing out. The way you have this mounted is really really in efficient

Also todays cpu's get very hot, even with my duel 360mm radiators on my custom setup... stress testing my 5800x 3d it gets to 90c instantly using prime 95.. Cinebench it gets to around 80c... The problem is these cpu's the dies are so small today that heat transfer is impossible to control fully.

You should go into your bios and find your PC health or fan settings, and adjust the curve for the pump to turn on.. Meaning my pump is at 40% at 40c, and at 70c its at 100%, and curves as the temps go up.. I also suggest you buy a 140mm fan and mount that in the back and put both white fans on the bottom blowing air up inside the case right under your 4090.. No idea why they have a small fan in the back when it should be a 140mm
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Oct 2, 2022
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First of all change the fan orientation. Blowing hot case air over the radiator out the top will just let the cpu get warmer and warmer and warmer.. You want the coldests air to flow over the radiator so have the radiator sucking air from the top blowing down... Right now, your just blowing that 4090s heat all over your radiator by sucking air out..,.. Been doing this 22 years for watercooling, its never smart to blow hot air on the radiator lol. That or honestly.. put the radiator in the front of the case where that white fan is and have the fans pulling air from outside the front inside the case, and put that white fan on the top blowing out. The way you have this mounted is really really in efficient

Also todays cpu's get very hot, even with my duel 360mm radiators on my custom setup... stress testing my 5800x 3d it gets to 90c instantly using prime 95.. Cinebench it gets to around 80c... The problem is these cpu's the dies are so small today that heat transfer is impossible to control fully.

You should go into your bios and find your PC health or fan settings, and adjust the curve for the pump to turn on.. Meaning my pump is at 40% at 40c, and at 70c its at 100%, and curves as the temps go up.. I also suggest you buy a 140mm fan and mount that in the back and put both white fans on the bottom blowing air up inside the case right under your 4090.. No idea why they have a small fan in the back when it should be a 140mm

Keep in mind this is a custom build built by Ibuypower so I am fixing the minefield of problems they left.

Radiator is sucking in air from the top, not sure why you thought it was sucking air out of the case. The pump is set to a constant 100%, the pump has three settings, 0%, 50%, or 100%

The case was supposed to have 140mm fans, in fact it was supposed to have 3 on the front but it looks like Ibuypower took them off and replaced them for 120mm fans so that they could charge extra for them but because I thought default case fans meant the default that comes with the case it seems I was conned.

I just finished trying to put the radiator on the front but sadly the hoses will not reach from the bottom to the cpu and I cannot flip the radiator to have the hoses at the top because the stupid pump is near the end where the hoses connect instead of the center so I would have the same problem.

For now I put a thick book under the back end of the computer so the back end of the radiator is now higher than the end where the pump is located so any air bubbles theoretically should go to end away from the pump.
 

Phaaze88

Titan
Ambassador
CPU i9 13900KF
I put it through a stress test and instantly the CPU temp jumped to 100C+ and kept that temp until I ended the stress test so obviously the liquid cooler is not doing it's job.
I'm surprised the other posts didn't bring up this cpu's behavior, because that's totally EXPECTED for this cpu when you run all core loads.
When Power Limit 1 = Power Limit 2 by default, plus the increasing thermal density coming with new process shrinks, plus the extra layers(solder-IHS-paste) between the die and cooler cold plate reduce cooling efficiency... you get this.
You'd see the same results on all core loads even if you replaced that cooler with a 360mm that wasn't pump-in-radiator.
The solution is that you need to put a leash on the cpu. Limit the turbo boost power draw. That's the only way without spending extra cash.

The user needs to be able to easily service(i.e., refill) the cooler themselves for a top mounted pump-in-rad unit to last, as air volume increases over time. Otherwise, front mount is really the only way to install them.

Radiator is sucking in air from the top, not sure why you thought it was sucking air out of the case.
Because this:
 
Oct 2, 2022
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sticking a book under the back end no joke lowered the temps under low load from 60-66C at 2-6% cpu load down to 44C, idle temp floats around 33-37C but is now hanging closer to the 33C than 37C now.

Took the time to check the liquid levels, no air from what I can see, and added a little more liquid to it so that when I put the pump back in it had a little over flow to put any air out and then let it set to dry for an hour in case I missed any when mopping up the overflow.

Not really sure how effective that is being so far down to the end next to the hoses.

sam_1717_by_luneder_dflvkco-pre.jpg
 
Oct 2, 2022
14
4
15
I'm surprised the other posts didn't bring up this cpu's behavior, because that's totally EXPECTED for this cpu when you run all core loads.
When Power Limit 1 = Power Limit 2 by default, plus the increasing thermal density coming with new process shrinks, plus the extra layers(solder-IHS-paste) between the die and cooler cold plate reduce cooling efficiency... you get this.
You'd see the same results on all core loads even if you replaced that cooler with a 360mm that wasn't pump-in-radiator.
The solution is that you need to put a leash on the cpu. Limit the turbo boost power draw. That's the only way without spending extra cash.

The user needs to be able to easily service(i.e., refill) the cooler themselves for a top mounted pump-in-rad unit to last, as air volume increases over time. Otherwise, front mount is really the only way to install them.


Because this:
I am looking at undervolting right now, most of the info is on the i9 12900k so I will have to do a lot of research to make sure I do not bork the thing.
 

candymancan

Reputable
Nov 28, 2019
63
6
4,545
Keep in mind this is a custom build built by Ibuypower so I am fixing the minefield of problems they left.

Radiator is sucking in air from the top, not sure why you thought it was sucking air out of the case. The pump is set to a constant 100%, the pump has three settings, 0%, 50%, or 100%

The case was supposed to have 140mm fans, in fact it was supposed to have 3 on the front but it looks like Ibuypower took them off and replaced them for 120mm fans so that they could charge extra for them but because I thought default case fans meant the default that comes with the case it seems I was conned.

I just finished trying to put the radiator on the front but sadly the hoses will not reach from the bottom to the cpu and I cannot flip the radiator to have the hoses at the top because the stupid pump is near the end where the hoses connect instead of the center so I would have the same problem.

For now I put a thick book under the back end of the computer so the back end of the radiator is now higher than the end where the pump is located so any air bubbles theoretically should go to end away from the pump.


actually no those three fans are blowing out air up.. your sucking hot case air through the radiator out the case kinda negates the effect of a radiator for the cpu dont you think ?.. remount the radiator to the front and change the orientation of the fans to blow air from the front of the case to inside.. Mount the fans INSIDE that little space where the white fan is and screw the radiator on the outside of that spot.... This way it pushes air through the radiator, then take the white fan and mount it on the top BLOWING OUT.. Then buy yourself a 140mm fan, put that in the back blowing OUT to replace that tiny exhaust fan.. then remount the two white fans on the bottom of the case blowing IN. Look at the fans they are mounted the oposite way they should be. This will the best way to cool everything down.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Solution
Oct 2, 2022
14
4
15
Try mounting fans at the other side of the radiator, when installing radiator at front position.
This would shorten distance between front mount position and cpu, for hoses to reach.
when I was trying to put the radiator in front I was a good 3-4" short due to the giant graphics card in the way, plus the hoses have to bend around a plate located at the bottom of the case that separates the hard drive bay and the PSU from the rest of the computer.
 
Oct 2, 2022
14
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actually no those three fans are blowing out air up.. your sucking hot case air through the radiator out the case kinda negates the effect of a radiator for the cpu dont you think ?.. remount the radiator to the front and change the orientation of the fans to blow air from the front of the case to inside.. Mount the fans INSIDE that little space where the white fan is and screw the radiator on the outside of that spot.... This way it pushes air through the radiator, then take the white fan and mount it on the top BLOWING OUT.. Then buy yourself a 140mm fan, put that in the back blowing OUT to replace that tiny exhaust fan.. then remount the two white fans on the bottom of the case blowing IN. Look at the fans they are mounted the oposite way they should be. This will the best way to cool everything down.

I am going to apologize to you, the things were on backwards, they were displacing so much air that it felt like they were blowing down air and I have worked with fans that the direction of flow can be changed so I assumed it was the same thing. It took turning the fan off and watching for the direction they were spinning to actually tell they were going the wrong direction.

The cpu temp is now a rock solid 32-33C with almost no temp spikes at idle or low load and I have some ARCTIC MX-6 thermal paste to replace the cheap crap they used on the cpu, when I was messing with everything I checked and it was some cheap standard crap that wasn't even distributed correctly.