There's not a plastic peel on the copper part is there?
this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2025
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Good question, nah there isn't.
Check your bios for inadvertent weird cooling settings Check if theres some random gamer software suite (asus has a suite, corsair has a suite, im sure every other stupid gamer targeted company has a suite of bloatware that fucks with fan settings) that is somehow controlling your fan behavior. Check and see if the CPU fan is properly connected and powered to the motherboard header Swap out the fans to see if they are just flat out broken.
Finally, is your case properly ventilated?
I see you’re running an AIO cpu for your heatsink (if I read your parts correctly) I would suggest swapping that out for a simple air cooled metal heatsink because they are cheaper and more efficient. At the end of the day the thermal transfer point is metal and air so adding fluid to the mix doesn’t do anything. Also it might be the pump in it is broken (if those things have a pump) or it’s not getting enough power for whatever reason. Just slap some metal fins and fans the cpu to cool the fucker.
Literally could be any mix of software / hardware issues but hope some of those help.
I see a lot of talk about the AIO: Try ditching it in favor of a decent air cooler and see if the problem goes away.
How quickly after boot up does it happen? I'd almost suspect that the pump isn't running in your AIO.
Less than a minute. I've just read somewhere that I should be able to feel a small hum in the block, I'm going to check for that next.
That's definitely a sign that your CPU isn't cooling. Either your cooling block doesn't have a solid enough thermal connection to your CPU (improper paste, insufficient pressure, etc), or the fan for the block isn't coming on. Does the CPU fan spin up? Does the fan speed recover after the fan is physically stopped?
I’m inclined to suspect your AIO’s pump is intermittently not working.
Consider a high end air cooler to get comparable performance with less complexity, at the expense of cosmetics (depending on personal preference)
Sincerely sounds like your cpu fan doesn't have a good connection with the cpu.
Shut it down, unplug, remove the heatsink fan (hsf), clean top of cpu and bottom of hsf and apply new thermal compound as 5 dots (center and edges) to the cpu.
Then remount the hsf and let sit for 15 minutes before powering on again and monitor temps.
Don't do 5 dots, do one big dot in the center. About the size of a pea.
The pressure of the heatsink will spread it out.
I always just smooth it out evenly with my finger, a pea would be way too much paste.
What got you to this decision?
A pea is like 10mm in diameter. Go look at a pea and tell me you use that much thermal compound.
Yeah, I definitely didn't use more than 1/2 a gram (the volume of a gram)
It's generally better to use more than you need than it is to use too little. Unless you're buying specialty thermal paste, it will be nonconductive so any paste running off the sides won't hurt anything.
Using different patterns can trap air, which will reduce thermal conductivity.
Sounds like an air gap in your AIO.
No idea how to resolve it though.
Is the highest point of the aio loop higher than the cooling block on your cpu? This highest point should be where air in the system collects
The radiator is mounted to the front (no room up top). The hoses fed from the top of the radiator (slightly higher than the block). Should I rotate this around so the hoses come out the bottom?
The hoses on top or bottom shouldn't matter from what I understand and I saw that you changed the orientation of the radiator and it still warms up. Sorry I cant help you more
All water cooling circuits should have an air bleed off valve in one way or another available, usually most simplistically through a reservoir. Perhaps due to orientation it doesn't happen. Make sure air bubbles can flow up to the reservoir by default and since running the AIO is safe after all, rotate the cooler in all directions to make sure all air can escape.
As a side note, air coolers can also be broken by faulty heatpipes internally, when condensation and heat transport don't happen.
I've changed the orientation so that the radiator hoses are at the bottom (front mounted) and the block has the hoses on the side, with the hoses slightly pointing down. It's still heating up.
I suspect air in the block and it can't readily escape due to the systems orientation.
The easiest way to test this theory is orient things such that air can escape the block - the tubes leaving the block need to be at the top of the block and radiator above it. If there's air in the system, you want it in the radiator, and out of the path of the water flow.
Are all 4 screws tightened down properly? That one doesn't look like it's pushing down on the bracket and the thermal paste looked uneven on the other photos. Just because it feels tight doesn't mean it's all the way down. It could be cross threaded.
It also looks like you're missing a screw on the bottom.
I don't disagree that you're finding issues. But I'm not convinced these would cause a CPU to overheat at idle.
They might cause issues with temps under full load, but I think his main issue is the watercooler isn't moving heat from the CPU block to the radiator.
It's not going to dissipate any heat if it's not touching the CPU. It looks like it's making good thermal paste spread because he's pushing the block down, but then tightening down it's probably lifting up one of the corners or entire side.
I totally agree with this. If the CPU lifts even a tiny bit, it doesn't mater what thermal compound you use, the conductivity of it is total shit compared to even tin can solid metal. So any lift will cause overheating.
The pump is inside the CPU water block. Please install the radiator on top. That way the pump will be always under water and air will float to the top. Currently you trap the air inside the CPU/pump block.
I have tried putting it on the top when I built it but there isn't enough clearance. The only thing I can do is rotate the radiator and block :(
At least have it for a few minutes running the way the pump is at the bottom with some acrobatics.
The pump for your water cooler is likely built into the CPU block. When you turn it on, do you feel any vibrations like the pump is running?
Can you hear any gurgling?
My bet is the pump isn't pumping. Check the power connections and make sure they're fully seated. If you have a fully modular psu, make sure the cable is plugged firmly into the psu.
I can't hear any gurgling. I'm going to try and feel out a small hum in the block. I am quite deaf though so I'll get a friend to help me with that. Then I'll check all the connections.
Is there a way to verify that the AIO still has water in it? A leak doesn't seem likely, but maybe a small enough leak to allow evaporation over years of use?
Also, is it possible that it clogged? If the fluid was contaminated at the factory, it could grow fungus. If there's a defect in the pump, parts can break off internally and cause a restriction in the system somewhere.
For what it's worth, this is why I hate water cooling. Even if a fan fails, an air cooler will ambiently dissipate heat.
I ran a computer repair store from 2015-2022. Only left because I became a single dad and needed a more reliable source of income. We had a pile of dead AIO watercoolers that fried processors from silently failing.
I'll forever use air coolers.
What's your cooling paste situation like? Too much? Too little? Bubbles? I'm sure a picture would reveal an issue.
This is what when cooling paste looks like after I've taken it off. This first PC I've built, so still learning.
What's going on here: 
If your CPU isn't under load and it's heating up I'm guessing something may be shorted out. Maybe remove the CPU and carefully inspect the socket and chip??? Be extra careful with the CPU socket I think it's one that is really easy to damage.
If there was a short on something, the CPU wouldn't work.
Even at idle, CPUs generate heat because there's electricity flowing across them. That heat needs to be dissipated and for some reason, it isn't.
My bet is either a pump failure, or power loss to the pump. Looking at the thermas paste marks on both the water block and the CPU, it looks like it's making at least decent contact. If the water was flowing through it, it shouldn't be overheating at idle. It might not be performing at peak efficiency, but it shouldn't be overheating.
Most thermal paste isn't electrically conductive, so that blob inbetween the capacitors shouldn't be an issue, but it would be good to know what thermal paste it is to be sure.
Amount looks fine. Maybe a bit in the "much" side, but not to the point where it'd cause this issue.
After the PC shuts off due to temp, does the cooling block feel hot to touch? If so, that means that the heat is transferred away from the CPU (good), but not away from the cooler (not good).
I'm not very good at liquid cooling systems, so I'll defer to others for help with troubleshooting that.
Did you remove the heatsink and replace it again without changing the paste? I don’t think its a good idea - try reapplying thermal paste whenever you remove the heatsink. Clean the old paste off first
Nah I reapplied it again. Every time I take it off I clean it and do it again.
The other side 