crazy heat issue with a brand new gaming pc

[Oogle]

Hey yall,

I bought an Empowered Gaming PC from Computer Upgrade King back in December and at the start of this month i started experiencing some overheating issues where i was reading over 100C on my CPU while playing Runescape of all things. Specs are below, i've used the intel diagnostic tool and everything came back fine, yet im again getting these overheating issues. It was strange, started on the 7th of this month and i was about to do a RMA with the company but then it stopped happening with no apparent fix so i shrugged it off. Now as of last night, i'm playing Outward definitive which again really shouldnt be doing much to my pc, but i clocked 103C last night... not even sure how my CPU isnt fried if that was an accurate reading. I tried updating all my drivers and everything but it's still happening. I'm using HWiNFO64 and watching my CPU core temps spike to 100C just from me rapidly highlighting boxes on my home screen (like clicking and dragging over and over) despite my cpu usage in TM only being at 7%... I am super confused as to why this could be happening in the first place, the CPU and motherboard are compatible. I have gotten mixed reviews on the amount of thermal paste used and frankly i'm not sure on how much should be there so i'm adding a pic too, let me know what you think. I am debating whether or not to even continue with the RMA as well, after further digging on the company they apparently take forever with these and i may be better off trying to fix it myself. I felt around the lines for the cooler and it felt like they had coolant running through them, and it feels like theres good air circulation in the case.

 

• Processor: Intel Core i9-12900KF Sixteen Core Processor (30MB Cache, 2.4GHz-5.2GHz) 125W (Liquid Cooled)
• RAM: 32GB DDR5 4800MHz | Hard Drive: 1TB NVMe Solid State Drive + 3TB 7200rpm Hard Disk Drive
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 16GB GDDR6X | Motherboard: B660
• Power Supply: 850W Gold PSU | Operating System: Windows 11 Home x64

https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/59766599

 

From when the problem initially started happening,

 

 

Apologies on this one, i couldnt even open snipping tool last night so i took the pic with my phone

 

 

Pic of the case, i'd say theres enough airflow?

 

 

 

 

The guts, everythings hooked up and what not. The hottest point is the metal point where the lines connect to the right side of the cooler circle (idk the term for it sorry lol)

 

Lastly heres a pic of the thermal paste. Multiple reviews on whether this is sufficient or not so please let me know what you think, i would frankly love for the answer to be this simple lol

 

 

 

Thanks in advance for any and all feedback on this!

[filpo]

Just now, Oogle said:

Hey yall,

I bought an Empowered Gaming PC from Computer Upgrade King back in December and at the start of this month i started experiencing some overheating issues where i was reading over 100C on my CPU while playing Runescape of all things. Specs are below, i've used the intel diagnostic tool and everything came back fine, yet im again getting these overheating issues. It was strange, started on the 7th of this month and i was about to do a RMA with the company but then it stopped happening with no apparent fix so i shrugged it off. Now as of last night, i'm playing Outward definitive which again really shouldnt be doing much to my pc, but i clocked 103C last night... not even sure how my CPU isnt fried if that was an accurate reading. I tried updating all my drivers and everything but it's still happening. I'm using HWiNFO64 and watching my CPU core temps spike to 100C just from me rapidly highlighting boxes on my home screen (like clicking and dragging over and over) despite my cpu usage in TM only being at 7%... I am super confused as to why this could be happening in the first place, the CPU and motherboard are compatible. I have gotten mixed reviews on the amount of thermal paste used and frankly i'm not sure on how much should be there so i'm adding a pic too, let me know what you think. I am debating whether or not to even continue with the RMA as well, after further digging on the company they apparently take forever with these and i may be better off trying to fix it myself. I felt around the lines for the cooler and it felt like they had coolant running through them, and it feels like theres good air circulation in the case.

 

• Processor: Intel Core i9-12900KF Sixteen Core Processor (30MB Cache, 2.4GHz-5.2GHz) 125W (Liquid Cooled)
• RAM: 32GB DDR5 4800MHz | Hard Drive: 1TB NVMe Solid State Drive + 3TB 7200rpm Hard Disk Drive
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 16GB GDDR6X | Motherboard: B660
• Power Supply: 850W Gold PSU | Operating System: Windows 11 Home x64

https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/59766599

 

From when the problem initially started happening,

 

 

Apologies on this one, i couldnt even open snipping tool last night so i took the pic with my phone

 

 

Pic of the case, i'd say theres enough airflow?

 

 

 

 

The guts, everythings hooked up and what not. The hottest point is the metal point where the lines connect to the right side of the cooler circle (idk the term for it sorry lol)

 

Lastly heres a pic of the thermal paste. Multiple reviews on whether this is sufficient or not so please let me know what you think, i would frankly love for the answer to be this simple lol

 

 

 

Thanks in advance for any and all feedback on this!

two problems, you could repaste the cpu but that wouldn't make too much of a difference because a cpu like the 12900k DEFINETLY can't be tamed by a 240 rad, heck maybe a 360 rad. if you get a 360 rad like the arctic liquid freezer II 360 then you'll probably see some better temps but the 12900k is a pretty hard cpu to tame 

[Ottoman420]

Its a hot CPU and even the the AIO is front mounted that case has very little airflow. Is there a way to remove front panel so the aio can breathe?

 

Long term option is a new case or some diy mods

[emosun]

did you check if that aio actually is running?

[Oogle]

1 minute ago, emosun said:

did you check if that aio actually is running?

I checked by touch and it does feel like theres circulation yep, and i can feel airflow through the heat sink, feels cool to the touch

[Oogle]

4 minutes ago, Ottoman420 said:

Its a hot CPU and even the the AIO is front mounted that case has very little airflow. Is there a way to remove front panel so the aio can breathe?

 

Long term option is a new case or some diy mods

I'm not sure, i'll have to check. There are grates on either side of the front of the case and i feel cool air circulating through them

[Oogle]

7 minutes ago, filpo said:

two problems, you could repaste the cpu but that wouldn't make too much of a difference because a cpu like the 12900k DEFINETLY can't be tamed by a 240 rad, heck maybe a 360 rad. if you get a 360 rad like the arctic liquid freezer II 360 then you'll probably see some better temps but the 12900k is a pretty hard cpu to tame 

Dang alright well i guess i'll look into a new cooler. What is it that makes the 12900KF so difficult?

[emosun]

2 minutes ago, Oogle said:

airflow through the heat sink, feels cool to the touch

you mean liquid flow? it should have coolant in it not air. or do you mean the radiator?

check if the pump is actually running

[Ottoman420]

1 minute ago, Oogle said:

Dang alright well i guess i'll look into a new cooler. What is it that makes the 12900KF so difficult?

Intel been beating the crap out of the 10nm node for a long time by simply upping the voltage to boost clocks which makes heat. alot of it.

[BiotechBen]

1 minute ago, Oogle said:

What is it that makes the 12900KF so difficult?

Thermodynamics. And the physical limitations of general consumer coolers(direct die cooling does exist, but the majority of end users are not going to delid their cpu)

[Oogle]

3 minutes ago, emosun said:

you mean liquid flow? it should have coolant in it not air. or do you mean the radiator?

check if the pump is actually running

Radiator yes apologies, the pump feels like it's running. 

[KnoT]

Case is for sure one of your problems but still at 19wats it should not be hitting 100C that would point to something with the AIO.

Make sure that AIO fans are spining.

 

2 things you could try:

1. Rotate the AIO radiator so pipes are on the bottom.

2. Mount AIO radiator on the top.

 

( You want to put CPU as low in the loop as possible )

 

PS. What exactly AIO is that ?
 

[emosun]

16 minutes ago, Oogle said:

watching my CPU core temps spike to 100C just from me rapidly highlighting boxes on my home screen (like clicking and dragging over and over) despite my cpu usage in TM only being at 7%

this heres is why i'm questioning if the pump is actually running. the cpu shouldnt be hitting 100c while essentially idle

[KnoT]

Just now, emosun said:

this heres is why i'm questioning if the pump is actually running. the cpu shouldnt be hitting 100c while essentially idle

 

I have suspicion that air pocket is 2 big.

[emosun]

2 minutes ago, KnoT said:

Rotate the AIO radiator so pipes are on the bottom.

thats , actually a good idea.... their tubes are up top instead of pointing down so they may have air bubbles

[emosun]

you can test the theory by just laying the computer flat with the glass side up to see if temps improve

[Oogle]

6 minutes ago, KnoT said:

Case is for sure one of your problems but still at 19wats it should not be hitting 100C that would point to something with the AIO.

Make sure that AIO fans are spining.

 

2 things you could try:

1. Rotate the AIO radiator so pipes are on the bottom.

2. Mount AIO radiator on the top.

 

( You want to put CPU as low in the loop as possible )

 

PS. What exactly AIO is that ?
 

I'm unfortunately not sure what AIO it is, it doesnt say anywhere on the store page nor does it have any kind of marking on it what so ever. I'm gonna have to do some digging. All it says is 360mm liquid cooler. I did just look into the grates on the front and i can see the two fans that sit behind the radiator spinning

2 minutes ago, emosun said:

thats , actually a good idea.... their tubes are up top instead of pointing down so they may have air bubbles

I'll give this a shot and see if it helps

[Oogle]

27 minutes ago, filpo said:

two problems, you could repaste the cpu but that wouldn't make too much of a difference because a cpu like the 12900k DEFINETLY can't be tamed by a 240 rad, heck maybe a 360 rad. if you get a 360 rad like the arctic liquid freezer II 360 then you'll probably see some better temps but the 12900k is a pretty hard cpu to tame 

Sorry i honestly didnt know what you meant by 240/360rad but now i see you meant 240mm or 360mm, this is a 360

[Zando_]

3 minutes ago, Oogle said:

I'm unfortunately not sure what AIO it is, it doesnt say anywhere on the store page nor does it have any kind of marking on it what so ever. I'm gonna have to do some digging. All it says is 360mm liquid cooler. I did just look into the grates on the front and i can see the two fans that sit behind the radiator spinning

Likely just a generic asetek one. Sounds like a dead pump, see if you can get a replacement. 

Just now, Oogle said:

Sorry i honestly didnt know what you meant by 240/360rad but now i see you meant 240mm or 360mm, this is a 360

It's a 240mm AIO, you can clearly see the radiator only uses 2 fans, and it's not wide enough to be a 280mm. 

[Oogle]

Update: I have now reformatted and am reinstalling outward to test, but im watching now as my temps are up near 100C while simply doing a steam download and have 6 brave tabs open

 

[Oogle]

1 minute ago, Zando_ said:

Likely just a generic asetek one. Sounds like a dead pump, see if you can get a replacement. 

It's a 240mm AIO, you can clearly see the radiator only uses 2 fans, and it's not wide enough to be a 280mm. 

Interesting, the site says 360mm so basically they gave me the wrong pump lol

[KnoT]

5 minutes ago, Oogle said:

I'm unfortunately not sure what AIO it is, it doesnt say anywhere on the store page nor does it have any kind of marking on it what so ever. I'm gonna have to do some digging. All it says is 360mm liquid cooler. I did just look into the grates on the front and i can see the two fans that sit behind the radiator spinning

 

 

Well for sure its not 360 rad more like 240/280 in your 1st post you stated its 125wat AIO and thats for sure not enough for 12900KF.

 

120/240/280/360 is the size of the radiator

[Oogle]

1 minute ago, KnoT said:

 

Well for sure its not 360 rad more like 240/280 in your 1st post you stated its 125wat AIO and thats for sure not enough for 12900KF.

 

120/240/280/360 is the size of the radiator

Gotcha, yeah im going based off the company's website. The only package that i see on their page with my CPU is with a 360 but when im actually looking on amazon where i bought it and originally copy+pasted from it doesnt say anything but 125W cooler

[Zando_]

2 minutes ago, Oogle said:

Interesting, the site says 360mm so basically they gave me the wrong pump lol

If it's configurable then it's likely up to 360, not guaranteed to be one unless you selected that. If it's a set spec then yeah they gave you the wrong AIO and need to send you the correct one. 

[emosun]

So rather than testing the aio you have now you are moving straight to replacement parts with no diagnostics