Question Mystery Thermal Issues with AIO (Ryzen 7 3700X & Thermaltake TH120 ARGB Sync)

[LeoLion89]

So I've been combating a weird issue that only shows up sometimes on my partner's PC. There are times where while in use the temperature will spike up to where the PC thermal throttles and even enters the safety shutdown. Sometimes this doesn't happen for days on end. Things I have looked at while trying to solve this problem:

1. Re-pasting the CPU and AIO
2. Checking to make sure all CPU fans are being picked up and spinning appropriately.
3. Checking to see if the AIO pump was working. (Can feel vibrations when putting a finger on the pump head)

It's an mini ITX build so I know thermals will sit higher than what I'm used to seeing in my machine. Under her normal loads she's sitting around 65-70 C and idle its around 48-50 C. One thing I suspect potentially is that the routing of the rather stiff tubing of the AIO might be putting some torque on the mounting bracket which uses those spring tensioned screws to prevent over tightening. I can imagine that there is enough torque sometimes that maybe its preventing the CPU and AIO from sitting flush on each other. Anyone else think that is a possibility? Are there other ideas into why this might be happening? Do I just ditch the AIO and find a good compatible air cooler?

If you need anymore information, just ask!

Thanks for taking the time to read!

Relevant specifications:

CPU: Ryzen 7 3700X
AIO: Thermaltake TH120 ARGB Sync
Case: Thermaltake The Tower 100
Motherboard: Aorus X570I Pro Wifi

Photo:
Imgur link to photo of the build

 

[Aeacus]

Are there other ideas into why this might be happening? Do I just ditch the AIO and find a good compatible air cooler?

I'd replace both, PC case and CPU cooler.

Tower 100 is showcase PC case, only good for looks at venues. But for daily use, it's poor PC case (like almost all showcase PC cases).

PC case has 3 reasons:

1. Protect PC hardware from outside hazards (e.g pets)
2. Provide proper cooling for PC components
3. Provide options for additional hardware (e.g SSD mounts, HDD bay)

Looks, as such, are irrelevant for normal PC operation.
Sure, good looking PC case is nice to look at and RGB in there does provide eyecandy. But choosing PC case based on looks alone, is recipe for disaster.

Tower 100 has terrible fan placement and only supports 3x fans. One of them, behind MoBo tray, at the back of the case, IMO, has no benefit.

Now, with high-end, high static pressure fans, you MIGHT be able to create decent airflow in there, but PC will be loud. Better to replace the PC case as a whole, to the one that has far better airflow paths and better case fan support.

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If mini-ITX build is a must, then e.g Thermaltake Core X1 is one of the best mini-ITX cases,
specs: https://www.thermaltake.com/core-x1.html

Despite being small, it supports: 8x 120mm fans or 5x 140mm fans or 3x 200mm fans. <- That's some serious compatibility regarding case fans. Heck, it's even better than my full-tower ATX case (Corsair 760T V2 Black), which supports: 7x 120mm or 6x 140mm fans. No 200mm fan support for my PC case.

You can even put an AIO with 360mm rad into Core X1, if you so desire.
And if the tall tower look is required, as current Tower 100 is, then you can buy another Core X1 and stack it, since they are stackable;

Regarding your 120mm rad AIO, and what might be actually happening;

AIO takes time to heat up the liquid inside, ~30mins, during heavy production. So, if the heavy production on PC is less than 30mins, AIO won't heat up fully. But when heavy production is longer, AIO will heat up completely and will struggle to cool the CPU any further (since liquid in it is heated up and small, 120mm rad isn't enough to transfer more heat from liquid, compared to the amount of heat CPU puts into it). This leads into CPU thermal throttle and eventual shut down, since AIO can not cope with longer period cooling of CPU.

Here, either go with bigger AIO, minimum 240mm rad, or better yet, tower type air cooler.

With tower type air cooler, as soon as heat is produced, it is transferred into fin stack and also cooled by the fans. No heat soak can happen, as it happens with liquid inside the AIO. Though, air cooler relies more on the overall airflow inside the PC case, than AIO does. But air cooler is also far more reliable, since only thing that can die on it, are fans. Which are both cheap and easy to replace. While AIOs usually last 3-5 years and pump is the one that usually goes bad on those, requiring you to replace the entire AIO. Oh, AIOs also cost more than air coolers.