[SOLVED] Do AIO coolers wear out?

Aug 8, 2020
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Hi yall so i have this masterlite 120 for about 2,5-3 years and my temps never went above 50c (i just play games on full hd low settings) and a month ago my temps started to get 60-65c on those same games.
So im just curious if coolers like this wear out and mine is like "dying"
or maybe i have a problem with cpu/mobo.

*I had a h50 and one day i turned on my pc and the temps were just 80-90c it died overnight, it didnt showed any signs of overheating throught his usage.

My specs (from 2015 till today i only added 8gb's and changed my cpu cooler)
I7 4790 (non k)
Gtx 970 windforce
12gb of ram
h81m-c
550w corsair
240ssd
1tb hdd
 
Solution
gotcha so i MIGHT see a cpu cooler failing any time soon right?
thanks for the answer aswell
It might not fail and I doubt it would fail in warranty period but few things will inevitably happen sooner or later. No matter how clean and good liquid is, after some time additives may deteriorate and leave some residue partially blocking some finely spaced ribs in cold plate. Happens even to custom cooling but it can be drained and flushed and because they are open systems it has to be done often.
gotcha so i MIGHT see a cpu cooler failing any time soon right?
thanks for the answer aswell
It might not fail and I doubt it would fail in warranty period but few things will inevitably happen sooner or later. No matter how clean and good liquid is, after some time additives may deteriorate and leave some residue partially blocking some finely spaced ribs in cold plate. Happens even to custom cooling but it can be drained and flushed and because they are open systems it has to be done often.
 
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Solution
There are other indicators of worn out fans and pumps, other than just looking at them.

I know that and you know that, but Im not sure the OP did originally.

Ive dumbed it down probably too much, the fact is though that there's so much more that can go wrong with an aio.
Be it kinked tubes, blockages, failing pump, failing fan.

I know people that have run a cpu with a dead pump for close to a year and never even known because temps stayed just under shutdown or throttling temps.

When I pulled the side off (a prebuilt cyberpower) a system a friend had, which hed never done himself, the tubes were kinked and twisted to such an extent that I bet the flow was reduced to 50% and the pump would have been working its ass off to try and compensate)

I bet that pump was dead within 3 months from new without him never even knowing there was an issue.
 
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rubix_1011

Contributing Writer
Moderator
There are a lot of incorrect assumptions about AIO liquid cooling and general [custom] watercooling overall.

In fact, I would almost imagine that large % of cooler returns or RMA is due to AIO airlock or improper cooler installation and not anything wrong with the AIO itself.

I've also seen people just buy CPU or GPU blocks and not connect anything to them....assuming its all working on magic, or that a single 120mm or 240mm rad can cool a CPU and 4 GPUs under full load.
 
There are a lot of incorrect assumptions about AIO liquid cooling and general [custom] watercooling overall.

In fact, I would almost imagine that large % of cooler returns or RMA is due to AIO airlock or improper cooler installation and not anything wrong with the AIO itself.

I've also seen people just buy CPU or GPU blocks and not connect anything to them....assuming its all working on magic, or that a single 120mm or 240mm rad can cool a CPU and 4 GPUs under full load.
Lol, a bit extreme but I do believe you, people do strangest things. Main point with liquid cooling is that it transfers heat remotely using liquid (mostly water) as medium. Advantage is that greater mass is achieved slowing heat up process and allowing for greater final (to air) heat exchange. Also provide more flexibility when a lot of cooling is needed. All by itself it's less efficient than direct (air) cooling.