H100i Trouble shooting.

[TheDigitalRealm]

Okay, so I recently switched motherboards from a Maximus V Formula to an Asus Z77 Sabertooth.(Aesthetic Reasons),

 

On the old motherboard, I had my i7 @ 4.7 GHz at 1.19V and would get 50-60 degrees Celsius at load (AIDA64) using a H100i (I know it sounds unrealistically good, but I validated it with a 6 hour stability test. 

 

Ever since I've switched to my new motherboard, no matter how many times I re-mount the H100i, using varying amounts of thermal paste, I'm getting about 75-80 degreee Celsius @ Stock, and about 90 degrees under the same over-clock. 

 

I've plugged the pump into a PWM header and it's reading 2300 RPM (roughly), I took out and cleaned the entire radiator and fans, and have even moved my other two SP120's from the bottom of my case to a push-pull configuration, and I still see the same temperatures. All the readings say the pump is fine. Should I plug it into a USB and have a look at it through Corsair Link to be sure? 

 

I've got a bad feeling that I have a faulty temperature sensor on my motherboard.

 

On a side note, when monitoring the CPU temperature in AI Suite, it never goes about about 40 degrees, (on my Maximus V Formula typically AI suite CPU temperatures are about 15-20 degrees lower than the actual core temperature, which puts in the same 50-60 degree ball-park again.

 

Here's a quick Stability test result just for a temperature comparison with the same i7 3770K, same H100i, but a different motherboard for you: 

 

Z77 Sabertooth on the Left, Maximus V Formula on the right. Same CPU, same Cooler, same Case. There are even more fans running at a higher RPM on the Sabertooth...

[creativename]

I think that your old motherboard is the one with the faulty temperature sensor.

[TheDigitalRealm]

I think that your old motherboard is the one with the faulty temperature sensor.

I did a lot of over-clocking on it, and I'm almost 100% certain it was fine. On my first i7 chip, I ran @4.8 GHz at 1.26V and got 80-85 degrees Celsius under AIDA64, so it's not like it wouldn't read high temperatures. My second and current chip seems to be a pretty great over-clocker, just not on my current board. 

 

A H100i shouldn't be getting load temperatures of 75 degrees with a stock processor surely? 

[creativename]

I did a lot of over-clocking on it, and I'm almost 100% certain it was fine. On my first i7 chip, I ran @4.8 GHz at 1.26V and got 80-85 degrees Celsius under AIDA64, so it's not like it wouldn't read high temperatures. My second and current chip seems to be a pretty great over-clocker, just not on my current board. 

 

A H100i shouldn't be getting load temperatures of 75 degrees with a stock processor surely? 

Well. SP120 aren't great fans. Especially if you undervolted them.  And a 5 hour stability test isn't enough. It should be 24 hours.

 

So you have 2 chips? Why not test both of them.

[TheDigitalRealm]

Well. SP120 aren't great fans. Especially if you undervolted them.  And a 5 hour stability test isn't enough. It should be 24 hours.

 

So you have 2 chips? Why not test both of them.

No, I have a single chip now, I sold the one with worse thermals based on testing with the old board. 

 

They're running at 1200RPM, on the old board I was running the H100i in push with fans @ 1000RPM at load and I got very decent temperatures. None of this justifies a 75 degree load temperature with a stock i7. I was looking at Linus's video's about the H100i vs other AIO's and he was getting between 50 and 60 degrees, and the variation between SP120's and Noctuas was about 5 degrees...

[creativename]

No, I have a single chip now, I sold the one with worse thermals based on testing with the old board. 

 

They're running at 1200RPM, on the old board I was running the H100i in push with fans @ 1000RPM at load and I got very decent temperatures. None of this justifies a 75 degree load temperature with a stock i7. I was looking at Linus's video's about the H100i vs other AIO's and he was getting between 50 and 60 degrees, and the variation between SP120's and Noctuas was about 5 degrees...

You have to take into consideration your ambient temperature. Linus's results were if the temperature was 20 degrees. Its getting quite hot around this time of the year. And Linus was using NF-F12s, not SP120.

[TheDigitalRealm]

You have to take into consideration your ambient temperature. Linus's results were if the temperature was 20 degrees. Its getting quite hot around this time of the year. And Linus was using NF-F12s, not SP120.

I live in the UK. It's about 14 degrees in my room...I don't think my ambient temperature hasn't got anything to do with these results being 20 degrees higher than they should be. Linus tested the different AIO's including the Swiftech H220 with a variety of different fans, including the stock fans, which still achieved the 50-60 degree load temperatures at stock. 

 

I can't think of any other variables I haven't covered, I'm not even comfortable with the temperatures at stock. I trade on eBay, and should have a new Maximus V Formula coming in stock soon, I'll rip everything out and try that I guess? I don't know...  

[Derranged]

Alright, now this is VERY interesting to me. One of my friends has one of the new ASUS TUF series boards (Which is the same as that Sabertooth), however his is an 1150 Socket (4770K). He gets temperatures worse than yours (60 Celsius while Idling - Stock Clocks running a H100i). I reckon there must be something wrong with these newer boards, it's just very strange.

[Ghost]

The motherboard temp is actually the socket temp, not the core temp, it should be corrected to a more realistic figure slightly but there should still be difference. You should be looking at the core temps when overclocking.

 

Have you correctly configured your Load Line Calibration. It may be bumping your voltage up without you knowing. It could also be due to the power delivery settings on the motherboard.

[TheDigitalRealm]

The motherboard temp is actually the socket temp, not the core temp, it should be corrected to a more realistic figure slightly but there should still be difference. You should be looking at the core temps when overclocking.

 

Have you correctly configured your Load Line Calibration. It may be bumping your voltage up without you knowing. It could also be due to the power delivery settings on the motherboard.

 

I figured out that it was the crappy backplate for 115X sockets that comes with the H100i. I added 1.5mm thickness to it, so that once installed it no longer rattled or had any room to wiggle. Now I'm currently stability testing my i7 @ 5GHz @ 1.32V:

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/141325-i7-3770k-49-ghz-safe-voltage/page-2#entry1887386

[TheDigitalRealm]

My i7 is stable at 5GHz at 1.325V

[Karumu]

sounds like what happened to me with my first h100i, the pump seems to be broken. is only one of the pipes searing hot, and is the other one ice cold? if so RMA