Strange temperature issue

[stormbringer]

Hey guys,

So I got myself an EK watercooling set about 3 weeks ago. It was easy to set up and temps were great. 28ish at idle and never exceeding 51 at load with 1.325V and a 4.8Ghz overclock. However, 3 days ago I was running prime95 torture test (26.6) and started getting temps approaching 90 degrees, obviously stopped the test and gave everything a quick lookover. All was well. I then tried AIDA64 but was still hitting high 70s.

I took of my side panel and gave it a quick look, jiggled everything to make sure everything was secure, no kinks, no air, no leaks. Put the side panel back on booted up and temps were back to a cool 51 at load, even though I didnt do anything.

Today I started getting crazy temps again and after the same process of doing nearly nothing the temps dropped down to about 64.

Ive downed the overclock til I've sussed this out but what could cause this bearing in mind it was fine for about 3 weeks and I havent changed anything. At all.

i5 4690k usually @4.8Ghz 1.325V

Asus hero vii

Palit GTX970

8GB 2666mhz ddr3

EVGA 650w supernova

[gamerking]

first did you buy a ek kit or parts ?

check to see if the pump is running if so is it set at one speed or is it pwm

[stormbringer]

Its the kit. Ek 240LT i believe. Pump is definitely working and is just running at one speed

[gamerking]

well i have that one i ended up replacing the pump was too weak with a d5 with a bitspower top . when i was testing just the cpu block flow was fine add 1-2 other parts rads/blocks flow half'd every time .  how many rads do you have since you may just be above what your rads can handle  removing heat i mean  .
if you only have the one in the kit pick up a 240/360 rad along with a different pump . with a 240 and a 360 my cpu only peaks to about 47c under load and my gpu under load 34-38c. 

 

the reason why the temps drop while doing nothing you probably had shut down nearly everything while checking inside the fans pulled the heat out of your system since you went making much then . this nearly means your short on rad . for each block 1 120  if your overclocking decent you want 2 120's for each part . thats why i went with 5 120 with very good fans ekwb vardars so i could get away with adding a second gpu in the future since i have the overhead .

[stormbringer]

Just the one 240 rad. The temps were fine for 3 weeks. When the temps dropped again after having not really done anything the computer was back together and running prime95 for about an hour. 2 days later i was running it just out of curiousity and it had rocketed again. Its just a cpu block the pump and res and rad with pretty short tube runs. Im going to try reseating the cpu block with new thermal paste when i get a chance to buy some more but if it were a bad mount i would have expected bad temperatures from the start seeing as ive made no changes and havent really touched it since i installed

[gamerking]

when you run prime 95 are you also stressing out the gpu ? if not then reset the cpu block get some good TIM . did you use the one that came with the kit  or bought your own ?  some need to cure before they work fully cant run them 100% for the time need to heat it then let it cool over and over .  if you can put a picture of your system maybe ill see something that causing it .

[stormbringer]

Used the paste that came with it (ek's own stuff) and was stress testing the cpu only. http://imgur.com/QcZcGPn

http://imgur.com/sn5tmjK

http://imgur.com/5a35zd0

http://imgur.com/2YYSTl8

There are a few photos, ignore the massive white glare, my phones camera doesnt like the led strips

Gonna grab some arctic silver on my lunch tomorrow and I'll report back but if you see any glaring issues let me know. I know some people are against dyed liquid (mayhems pastel red) but i cant imagine its gunked up that quickly

[gamerking]

it shouldnt im useing cooled fluid also ek uv blue with the same block

[Whaler_99]

Might want to check your fans? Are they ramping up as heat ramps up? Maybe swap in some better quality fans? Also make sure you have some decent fresh air coming into the case.

[stormbringer]

There are 3 intake at the front. I had some spare fans lying arond so i took the top off the case and put them in push pull to test that and it made maybe a 2 degree difference. Granted those in pull were just case fans but i imagine if the fans were he problem that would have made more of a difference. I will be putting some corsair sp120s in soonish but I cant see it making the 20-30 degree difference. Home in about 12hours with some new thermal paste so fingers crossed

[gamerking]

the fans that come with the kit are not insanely great  but there more then enough for the kit . change the paste i hope its that

[Leonard]

It had to be air. Sometimes air is trapped in the parts we can't see.

[FluffyNuggets]

Probably have an air bubble in the pump. 

[stormbringer]

Well the thermal paste did next to nothing sadly. I have tipped the case every which way I can and cant see any bubbles. Any tips on getting hidden air bubbles? I vaguely recall reading that a small drop of dish soap helps by changing the water tension but I'll hold off on that until one of you more knowledgeable folks can confirm or deny that!

[gamerking]

soap works but if all you can see is micro bubble the really tiny ones that stick to the inside of  res  hey dont do anything for the most part they work there way out over time.

do you feel a temp different on the air coming into the rad then leaving if not then something is broke

if your temps are still shit drain the loop and check the pump again . the only other thing would be to swap the tubes around on the cpu block but it has no input/output unless they changed the block with kit when you have it on. do you feel a temp different on the air comming into the rad then leaving if not then something is broke . one other thing is the back plate on correctly i think it has a top and bottom ? when its running hot does the tubeing get warm/hot same with tthe pump/res the pump housing probably will be warm always.

edit if everything is working fine then im ot of ideas on why your temps are so high

[stormbringer]

Im going to redo the whole thing at the weekend when i have time. The tubing and res do get a little warm but the air coming through the radiator feels relatively cool. Im confident the cpu block and backplate are mounted correctly but ill take everything off and follow the instructions to the letter again. So frustrating! I overclocked it again and it runs around 60 when gaming so it's safe atleast but definitely higher than they should be

[gamerking]

ok when you redo it if you got a heat gun before you install the cpu block heat it up with the pump and fans going if you get no heat removal from the block then that's your problem . dont heat it up too much just enough to see if it works . but install everything else if you want im out of ideas of what can be broke or not working correctly

[stormbringer]

Well I've redone everything, idling at high 20s low 30s load at high 60s and gaming around 50 but this should improve as the paste cures a little which whill hopefully bring me back to where i was before all of this. Still dont really know what the issue was, but it seems to be somewhat sorted for now. Thanks for your help guys, especially gamerking!