Question Very high temperatures with coolermaster ml240l.

[tom246]

Hi, so I currently have a coolermaster ml240l AIO cooling my 9600k which is at stock clock speed with turbo boost on. I have a 240mm radiator with two bequiet silent wing 3 fans on it. I replaced the fans in an attempt to cool the system but it did not work. I am currently idling around the mid 40s (celsius) but it spiked to 100 degrees on multiple cores on boot and during some games. Even less demanding titles push it to 80 degrees fairly easily. I have a phanteks p400s case which has a closed front panel with two small cutouts at the top and bottom. Could this be an issue due to the case restricting airflow or have I set up the cpu fan curve wrong, connected the headers incorrectly(AIO cable is in PUMP_FAN1 and the fans on the rad are connected to CPU_FAN1)? Any advice on how to fix this and optimal fan curves for this sort of setup would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Phaaze88]

1)Is the AIO actually set in the case as front intake?

2)How old is the unit? The pumps do clog/break down over time.

3)Why would you switch fans? Depending on which model of the SW3 you installed, they could actually be WEAKER than the stock fans...

4)Phanteks P400S front panel is very restrictive. Positioning an AIO behind it only makes things worse. The more obstacles for air to travel through/go around, the weaker it is once it gets to it's destination... IF it gets to it's destination.
-narrow gaps in the front panel
-air has to turn because of the location of the gaps
-air has to pass through radiator

 

[tom246]

1)Is the AIO actually set in the case as front intake?

2)How old is the unit? The pumps do clog/break down over time.

3)Why would you switch fans? Depending on which model of the SW3 you installed, they could actually be WEAKER than the stock fans...

4)Phanteks P400S front panel is very restrictive. Positioning an AIO behind it only makes things worse. The more obstacles for air to travel through/go around, the weaker it is once it gets to it's destination... IF it gets to it's destination.
-narrow gaps in the front panel
-air has to turn because of the location of the gaps
-air has to pass through radiator

1. The fans are correctly positioned.
2. The unit is about 9 months old.
3. I installed the SW3 high speed variant
4. This may just be the issue.

 

[Phaaze88]

Test with only the front panel removed and see what happens with your temps.

 

[tom246]

Tried with front panel off, temps seem largely unchanged... :/

 

[tom246]

Also, as of fairly recently my PC goes very slow after tabbing out of CS:GO to the point where I can barely load anything.

 

[Phaaze88]

The fans are running?

The pump is confirmed working: Using your hands, feel the cpu block, the tubing, and the radiator. All of them should be fairly warm, meaning the heat is being moved.

 

[tom246]

Pump feels warm, tubing doesn't but it's in direct path of the cool airflow from the front of the case, my temps are still maxing at 85~degrees (C) just playing CSGO with frame rate capped to 100. Idle temps don't want to go below 40.

 

[tom246]

Radiator feels cool to touch though, could be due to the cool air being pulled through maybe?

 

[Phaaze88]

The radiator shouldn't be cool to the touch - it should be somewhat warm, as well as some of the air being pushed through it.

The pump is running? You can actually hear it?
It sounds like your pump is either clogged, or air is trapped inside from cavitation.

 

[tom246]

Ok so, from day 1 it has always made a weird trickling, on and off crackling ish noise that I suspected to be trapped air but after some looking online apparently noises such as this are normal? I've tried tilting the PC from side to side to possibly move the air out but presuming its a closed system this shouldn't actually get rid of any trapped air. As I type this I can hear the trickling noise as if there is air trapped within the pump unit.

 

[Phaaze88]

Ok, I had to quote a several lines from elsewhere because they are related to your issue:
"AIOs, when front mounted, have to be mounted with the tubes coming out the bottom of the RAD. The air collects at the top of the RAD, so if the tubes are at the top, the pump will suck in air."

"The pump is going to push any air bubbles out and into the rad. The flow through the pump/block is a lot faster than through the radiator, it is fast enough to push trapped air out. It might not do it instantly, but in my experience after a few minutes of running the air works its way out of the pump."

"Once enough air is in the system, the pump will start sucking in air out of the RAD if the hoses are at the top. You may not have had an issue because there wasn't enough air in the system yet."

"You should take it out of the case and run it with the end of the rad without the hoses is held high - best to use a small $15 12v brick type power converter and leave system off. Disconnecting a hose voids the warranty and resealing can often be difficult."

 

[Karadjgne]

Ok. I've run top tube mounted aios, my 6 year old nzxt Kraken was top tube mounted on front. So from experience I'll say this. Side to side is ineffective to remove air.

What you do is with the pc running, very slowly pick up the front of the case, letting it rest on the back low corner. Continue an even tilt until the pump is fully below the level of the bottom of the rad, and hold that for a few minutes. Me, I rest the back top corner on a stack of books, too lazy to hold the case, just shy of hitting the table with the wiring. With variable speed pumps like the Krakens, a 50%+ load is good.

Once the gurgling stops, you can slowly lower the pc to its normal position. If you can mount the pump with the tubing facing upwards, that's a better option, allows any possible trapped air to rise in the tubing, having tubing facing lower can make the pump act like a secondary reservoir for air.

 

[Phaaze88]

@Karadjgne
So, mount the pump with the tubing above it... does it matter if the tubing runs top or bottom at the rad?

 

[tom246]

I've tried tipping my pc to let air out but I'm still getting high temperatures and my cpu package just spiked to 100 degrees whilst watching youtube with csgo open in the background. I'm really at a loss as to what to do.