CPU immediately overheats to the point of emergency shutdown - what to replace first?

[Rybo]

Hi everyone,

 

[TL;DR]

- Ryzen 7 3700x is thermal throttling/shutting off in my NZXT H1 case/cooler after being swapped from a different system in which it ran beautifully with no thermal problems

- Ryzen 3 30-something-or-other worked well in the case for a while, but recently exhibited similar, though not as catastrophic issues

- Temps spike fast enough to suggest poor contact, but contact looks good

- AIO fan is running

 

Question: The only logical answer I can come up with is a bad pump...but would a bad pump really let the temp spike that quickly?  Even with no flow, it should absorb idle loads for 10+ minutes with a slow increase in temp, right?  (Note: there are no puddles of coolant anywhere near the pc, so catastrophic failure is unlikely)

 

[Long version]

 

As the subject line said, there's an obvious and substantial problem -- my Ryzen 7 3700x immediately shoots to 80 degrees in BIOS and 95 degrees in the OS (and then shuts itself down shortly thereafter).  Until today I had a Ryzen 3 30-something-or-other in there as well that I noticed had very poor performance that I attributed to it being a Ryzen 3, but in hindsight it was probably the same issue (given that it had been in the case for months with no performance issues). If I were diagnosing the issue for someone else, I'd tell them they had poor contact between the cooler and the chip (the case is the NZXT H1 with the stock 120mm AIO in it).  However, unless poor contact looks WAY different than I've seen in the past, I think my contact is good: a dab of paste in the center of the IHS was smushed to every corner of it. Screws were tightened evenly, etc.  I can get a picture if y'all really think it's poor contact.  The AIO fan is also working fine.  

However, given that the Ryzen 3 that was in there was able to keep VR games (Half Life Alyx, Beat Saber, others) running fine in the recent past and is now also chugging pretty hard on Satisfactory, I don't think it's poor contact.  

 

This set of facts is leaving me kinda stumped.  Even an AIO with a dead pump should keep the thing a decent temp for a little bit, shouldn't it?  I would expect immediate catastrophe from an EMPTY AIO, but mine has definitely not failed catastrophically and I can't say I've heard the telltale sign of a dry pump at any point, either.  

 

So....what do I replace first?  I guess the AIO is really the only option unless you tell me that the Ryzen 7 is too much for a 120mm AIO, even at idle. 

 

Thank'y kindly  in advance for your words of wisdom, LTT!

[CostinNathan]

try cleaning your fans or just get a better CPU fan

[Pikatchu]

3 minutes ago, Rybo said:

Hi everyone,

 

[TL;DR]

- Ryzen 7 3700x is thermal throttling/shutting off in my NZXT H1 case/cooler

- Ryzen 3 30-something-or-other worked well in the case for a while, but recently exhibited similar, though not as catastrophic issues

- Temps spike fast enough to suggest poor contact, but contact looks good

- AIO fan is running

 

Question: The only logical answer I can come up with is a bad pump...but would a bad pump really let the temp spike that quickly?  Even with no flow, it should absorb idle loads for 10+ minutes with a slow increase in temp, right?  (Note: there are no puddles of coolant anywhere near the pc, so catastrophic failure is unlikely)

 

[Long version]

 

As the subject line said, there's an obvious and substantial problem -- my Ryzen 7 3700x immediately shoots to 80 degrees in BIOS and 95 degrees in the OS (and then shuts itself down shortly thereafter).  Until today I had a Ryzen 3 30-something-or-other in there as well that I noticed had very poor performance that I attributed to it being a Ryzen 3, but in hindsight it was probably the same issue (given that it had been in the case for months with no performance issues). If I were diagnosing the issue for someone else, I'd tell them they had poor contact between the cooler and the chip (the case is the NZXT H1 with the stock 120mm AIO in it).  However, unless poor contact looks WAY different than I've seen in the past, I think my contact is good: a dab of paste in the center of the IHS was smushed to every corner of it. Screws were tightened evenly, etc.  I can get a picture if y'all really think it's poor contact.  The AIO fan is also working fine.  

However, given that the Ryzen 3 that was in there was able to keep VR games (Half Life Alyx, Beat Saber, others) running fine in the recent past and is now also chugging pretty hard on Satisfactory, I don't think it's poor contact.  

 

This set of facts is leaving me kinda stumped.  Even an AIO with a dead pump should keep the thing a decent temp for a little bit, shouldn't it?  I would expect immediate catastrophe from an EMPTY AIO, but mine has definitely not failed catastrophically and I can't say I've heard the telltale sign of a dry pump at any point, either.  

 

So....what do I replace first?  I guess the AIO is really the only option unless you tell me that the Ryzen 7 is too much for a 120mm AIO, even at idle. 

 

Thank'y kindly  in advance for your words of wisdom, LTT!

Have you tried to boot the computer outside of the case with a stock cooler on? This will rule out the cooler at fault.

 

If you are not comfortable shorting pins to boot, you may install the stock cooler and mount your motherboard to the case with side panels open.

[Windows7ge]

Easy troubleshooting first. Is the pump plugged in? If you swapped the CPU it stands to reason you may have disconnected the AIO pump.

 

Can you feel the pump vibrating when the system is on?

 

Many of the budget style AIO's are predominately plastic/rubber which aren't great conductors of heat. If there's no flow it stands to reason that the cold plate will heat to saturation in about a minute or less.

[SimplyChunk]

Get a longish philips screwdriver, press the small end on the pump/block then put your ear on the handle.  You should hear a buzzing if the pump is running.  Careful not to scratch the block.

[Rybo]

19 hours ago, Pikatchu said:

Have you tried to boot the computer outside of the case with a stock cooler on? This will rule out the cooler at fault.

 

19 hours ago, Windows7ge said:

Easy troubleshooting first. Is the pump plugged in? If you swapped the CPU it stands to reason you may have disconnected the AIO pump.

 

Can you feel the pump vibrating when the system is on?

Looks like it's the pump.  Thanks for the nudges in the correct direction!

 

I probably should have thought to put a stock cooler in there, but the tiny case short circuited my brain.  So I put the cooler in there and used the AIO pump header to plug it in (to make sure that worked) and the pc ran fine.  

I did notice that the header was set to fan mode, though, so I switched it over to pump mode and tried it with the AIO again, but still no good.  I can feel the pump running, but the temps still steadily climb.  

 

[Windows7ge]

6 hours ago, Rybo said:

Looks like it's the pump.  Thanks for the nudges in the correct direction!

 

I probably should have thought to put a stock cooler in there, but the tiny case short circuited my brain.  So I put the cooler in there and used the AIO pump header to plug it in (to make sure that worked) and the pc ran fine.  

I did notice that the header was set to fan mode, though, so I switched it over to pump mode and tried it with the AIO again, but still no good.  I can feel the pump running, but the temps still steadily climb.  

 

Well then I'd have to put my money on either a blockage in the AIO or perhaps the pump head disconnected from the shaft and is effectively free-wheeling meaning the motor shaft is spinning but the pump head isn't.

[Rybo]

9 hours ago, Windows7ge said:

Well then I'd have to put my money on either a blockage in the AIO or perhaps the pump head disconnected from the shaft and is effectively free-wheeling meaning the motor shaft is spinning but the pump head isn't.

Yeah.  I asked NZXT about it and they gave me a few strategies to try to ensure the water is flowing and how to eliminate blockages.  Gonna try them this afternoon.  If I had to guess based on available info (pump is running, water is not flowing, pump is not going completely apecrap over it), it sounds like freewheeling may be the most likely candidate.