Question Facing cooling issues - unable to determine cause

[rocknsou1]

In the last week or so, I've begun facing some issues with my CPU temp that has led to 3 freeze/shutdowns. I have a Noctua - NH-D9L and Intel i7. Mobo is Asus - Z170M-PLUS.

Twice, I've gotten an overclocking error (can't remember the exact verbiage).
Today, I got a temp warning post-freeze.

Both cases led to a hard restart with a BIOS-esque start message containing the error.

This is my build: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/D3LqnH

Up until recently, I hadn't done anything differently to my build, but I have made some minor changes in the past weeks that I'll point out just in case they could be having a negative impact.

• Added Corsair RGB light strips along with the Lightning node pro (about 6ish weeks ago, with no issues)
• Swapped from HDMI to Displayport exclusively Notes here: This is when more issues started happening, and, I had a frustrating time getting my monitor to register the DP connection for reasons still unknown. A lot of turning the PC off and back on again and replugging the cable seemed to fix the issue, although I do still get some occasional flicker.
• Installed a Corsair LL120 exhaust fan (today) with no issue

Since I was already in the case today installing the new fan, I casually checked to make sure no connections were loose - I didn't find anything obviously amiss.

Now that I am using the displayport, I've gone and upped my refresh rate, resolution, etc where needed and this is what caused at least one of the crashes (mid-game in Battlefield V) I'm assuming. I had played BFV before via HDMI without the higher refresh rates with no issues.

Things I've tried:

• Scanning for loose connections in the case (all checks out, at first glance)
• Going into BIOS and auto-optimizing my fan speeds
• Disabling the "optimal" Asus performance settings (which seems to imply that could be the cause for some of the overclocking, but I have no idea) and setting them back to normal

I haven't done anything to consciously overclock, so I was quite surprised when I got that warning (2x) and the temp warning (1x).

I've run a temp check for the last 7 hours or so, and the max temp is higher than what I'd expect, especially since the majority of time my computer was idling. See below.

https://www.screencast.com/t/7fTRHH...EIXQFIMSdPnxspzMTtEH3i3_LWgYWRTuRZViujX11XW-4

Ambient temp is quite cool in the room where I store my computer, so I would doubt that is having any massive impact on the temp overall.

Any thoughts/advice/troubleshooting tips would be appreciated.

My next step was going to be to dismount the cooler and check/reapply thermal paste if needed, but I'd prefer to try less invasive options first before I have to "operate". I'd consider myself a confident dabbler, but certainly not an expert when it comes to custom PC maintenance and upgrades, so I want to make sure I've done all I can before taking things apart and putting them back together again.

Thanks for any help!

PS: I have 2 case fans only - Corsair in the back that I installed today and standard intake in the front.

EVGA 1080 fan only runs when I'm playing games - not sure if that is expected behavior. Noctua fan seems to be running consistently from the spot checks I've done.

Tower is sitting on a desk with good airflow, not on the floor.

Here is a picture of what it looks like on the inside if that helps.

 

[The prime mediocre]

The first thing I'd try is resetting the BIOS to factory settings. At the very least, that eliminates it from the list of potential problems.

Did you use a stress test (e.g. Prime95) to check the temps? Or were those recorded with the PC left idle? Have you checked the heat sink for dust buildup? If you haven't dusted since building the system, that could be it.

One intake + one exhaust fan is adequate. It's normal for dual-fan GPU coolers to rely on passive cooling until hitting a certain temp (usually 50-60ºC).

Hope this helps!

 

[rocknsou1]

The first thing I'd try is resetting the BIOS to factory settings. At the very least, that eliminates it from the list of potential problems.

Did you use a stress test (e.g. Prime95) to check the temps? Or were those recorded with the PC left idle? Have you checked the heat sink for dust buildup? If you haven't dusted since building the system, that could be it.

One intake + one exhaust fan is adequate. It's normal for dual-fan GPU coolers to rely on passive cooling until hitting a certain temp (usually 50-60ºC).

Hope this helps!

Appreciate the tips! I haven’t reset the BIOS, but I’ll give that a shot.

I haven’t tried a stress test - those temps I posted were with the PC left idle. And yes, I dusted a few weeks ago pretty thoroughly so I don’t think that’s contributing to the issue.

Thanks for confirming about the GPU coolers! I wanted to be 100% sure.

I’ve got some brand spanking new thermal paste coming in today, so I’m thinking ultimately a reapplication might be inevitable in the event the BIOS reset makes no difference.

For reference, this computer was build in Nov of 2016 so perhaps IFU on my initial application if that ends up being the issue.