Liquid Cooler Not Working Properly

famillybaror

Prominent
Sep 21, 2017
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510
I am building a PC for a friend, I am using a ASUS Maximus VI Gene, an i5 4670k and a ML 120 RGB for my build.
The issue is that every time the PC starts, the motherboard keeps giving the CPU overheat warning. At first, I thought the cooler was faulty but after some more investigating, I found out that just by pressing hard enough on the water block the CPU starts cooling normally and reaches idle temps quickly.
I have tried many times to reinstall the water block, replacing the thermal paste each time, I have also tried zip-tying the water block 'frame' to the case to help it push down on the CPU (I know this is not the best idea but it would be a temporary solution). I have made sure to check that the socket is compatible (it is an LGA 1151 socket) so everything should work fine.
I have contacted Cooler Master about this and they just told me to reinstall it and everything should be fine but that did not work.
Thanks for any help :D

Oh and BTW, I used the same cooler with my overclocked i7 8700k and it worked fine the first time.
 

ameyer75

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May 17, 2017
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Like Mike said, It's probably the standoffs. BUT... if you put it on your motherboard that has the 8700k and it worked fine, I would suggest that maybe your motherboard is the issue. It's obviously not making a good connection with the CPU, but that could be for a variety of reasons.

Which Cooler Master cooler are you using? Is the 8700k on a different motherboard (I just want to make sure I'm understanding the troubleshooting you've done)? Are you 100% that you're using the correct standoffs (I used the wrong standoffs on my Kraken X62 by mistake and it makes all the difference)?
 

famillybaror

Prominent
Sep 21, 2017
24
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510
I am using, like said before, the Master Liquid ML 120 RGB. Yes, the 8700k was on a different motherboard with a different socket type, but the cooler also supports the socket I am using for this build, the LGA 1151. I do believe I am using the correct standoffs as I went through the instructions several times and tried to see if I made any mistakes.
 

ameyer75

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May 17, 2017
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I was going to suggest pulling the standoffs from the 8700K and putting them on the other motherboard and testing. If those work, then its the standoffs. If that doesn't, then the motherboard might be a little too thin to use that cooler.