[SOLVED] Is it time to replace my AIO Cooler?

[Iver Hicarte]

Greetings,

I currently have the Corsair H115i 280mm AIO liquid cooler which I have been using for 4 years. Now I did my research and based from the numerous forums I have read and studied about when to replace AIO coolers, they said to replace it if it has been used for 4-5 years. Now I don't wanna replace my cooler just yet because I have not been getting any leaks or physical damages whatsoever from the cooler (that I know of), I have no issues with it. But the problem is this, my CPU which is the i7-7700K is constantly getting temps of 95 degrees and above at full load whenever I stress test it. When I play games there's no issues, when I monitor my hardware using MSI Afterburner my CPU's max temp when gaming is just below 70 degrees, at times it does reach 95 degrees, but rarely, but if it does, it jumps back down to 70 and below, temperature jumping.......pretty sure because of throttling, CPU giving downclocking to reduce the heat that the CPU is withstanding. (I understand that most games are still not CPU bound, and even if games fully utilize the CPU the temps should not be above 95 degrees and above, heck shouldn't even be above 85 degrees since it's just gaming). I'm also happily content with my idle temps which stay around 50-60 degrees never exceeding the 60 degrees mark. But when it comes to stress testing the CPU the max temp I'm getting is 100 degrees! Which is the degree mark that Intel themselves said that the CPU will start to throttle, or worse case scenario...even die if used continuously at this temp (obviously). No matter what happens, A CPU should never even reach 95 degrees and above at full load...no matter what happens. Mind you, this is happening at my CPU's base clock which is 4.2ghz no overclocking. So then I figured maybe I just needed to replace my CPU's thermal paste which I never replaced when I first bought my system. So I replaced it with an Arctic MX-4 paste, a very reputable and good paste and after doing it I got confident and overclocked my CPU from 4.2ghz to a stable 4.8ghz, thinking that the replacement of thermal paste would surely solve the issue. I monitored my temps and to my disbelief, the temps are still the same (though my 4.8ghz overclock is stable, I have stressed test it), it still reaches the throttling mark of 100 degrees max at full load, yes overclocking brings more heat, but getting the same 100 degrees max at full load is ridiculous even after an overclock, an overclock should be done with lowest temps possible so that means no 95 and above degrees at full load. So before jumping to any conclusions, I decided to take my PC to the cleaning shop because I did not do any type of cleaning for 4 years, didn't even think of cleaning my system using a simple use of compressed air (yeah I'm that lazy). Anyhow, I asked the cleaning guy for a thorough cleaning, I ask him to remove every single part of my system just to give it a thorough cleaning. How do I know it has been thoroughly cleaned? I stayed at the shop and watched the guy clean my PC for about 4 hours. Just to make sure that my system would be safe. And so after the cleaning, I was surely confident that the temps would be back to normal, since dust can greatly affect temps. And HWALA! Temps are still the same🙁 So I'm thinking maybe it's time to replace my cooler? The reason why I'm still hesitant to replace it, is because I do not see any physical damages from the cooler, no leakages also, how do I know there are no internal damages? Because I haven't touched the cooler since I bought my PC, only thing I have done with it is replacing its thermal compound which is easy to do, no need to be a PC wizard to do it, and my idle temps are fine, the only issue is the temps I'm getting at full load. Which then again, a CPU should never ever reach 95 degrees and above at full load no matter what happens. I don't wanna waste money by just buying a new cooler straight away, because I'm not ruling out the chance that this anomaly can be caused by a small fixable problem. So what do you guys think? I wanna know your opinions on this matter, I know I should probably replace my cooler even if there are no issues (that I know of) since it is 4 years old, but I just wanna know your thoughts first. Thank you and apologies for the long thread, had to explain it very well to help you guys assess my situation.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

you don't mention the fan curve in place for the cooler.
if not blowing hard enough at peak loads temps will spike.

you also don't mention system-wide cooling setup or case.
if there's too much heat being produced elsewhere and being cycled through the radiator,
it can get much hotter than in an optimized configuration.

 

[DSzymborski]

Cooling is a matter of simple physics. If the cooling is inadequate, then by definition, one or more of the physical systems governing it are not working properly.

Presuming you've made sure there's no overclock and the intake is clean and adequate -- hard to say on the latter, we know very little about your system as a whole -- then swapping out the cooler is an obvious next step. You won't see any signs of physical damage, nor is repairing a viable option (with the obvious exceptions of people who are at the very high-end of repairing such devices, it won't be cost effective to hire someone else).

While 60 degrees at idle won't damage anything, it's also just another symptom of inadequate cooling. A heartrate of 120 bpm doesn't damage your heart, but if you're at 120 bpm while you're sitting down, there's probably an issue. This CPU is a bit older and doesn't have the complex boost behaviors of newer CPUs that will push themselves aggressively at any load so long as the temperatures are fine. A 60 degree idle 7700K with a 280mm AIO would instantly make me suspect a cooling issue without describing a single thing otherwise.

Nor does an AIO losing fluid have to have a visible leak. You can see coolant leak in dramatic failure scenarios, but you're not going to visually see permeation any more than you're going to see internal damage in a failing pump.

If you're as lazy about upkeep as you describe, I'd probably go for a high-end air cooler for the next cooling solution. Fewer points of failure.

 

[Crosslhs82x2]

Your H115i has a 5yr warranty.
Contact Corsair tech support.

I recently had to Rma my wifes H100iv2
As it was fine at idle on temps but under a Aida64 Fpu test it would shoot upto 81c in 1.5 minutes.
When I told the Corsair tech that he said lets start the Rma process.
In the meantime I installed a Arctic 34 duo on the wifes 2600x that is still on it.

Seeing how the H100iv2 has been discontinued they sent back a reman H100i Rgb which is still in the box as the 34 duo is working Great on her system.

Good Luck and
Have A Great Weekend!!!!!!!!

 

[Iver Hicarte]

EDIT: I solved it! Just discovered CPU Delidding, did it and my CPU is back at its peak condition. To any of you who might encounter this problem and thinking that your CPU is probably needing replacement, think again, just delid it and it's gonna be back at its peak condition, like you just bought the CPU again. Save yourself from money and unnecessary upgrades if you're happy with your current CPU (I even forced myself to think that I needed an upgrade because of this issue and to also justify that my processor is just at the end of its service, but I thought twice, did my research and turns out the problem is caused by a small fixable issue). Just delid it if it has this particular problem. I was close to saying "thank you for your 4 year service 7700K lol."

 

[SkyNetRising]

And what temperatures do you get now? (idle, gaming load, stress test)

I'd suspect your AIO cooler to have clogged cpu block after 4 years of operation.