AIO minor scare

[porina]

Yesterday the free AM4 mount kit for my Corsair H110i GTX arrived, so I went and fitted it replacing the Noctua U14S on 1700 system. I had the usual problem of the tubes being a bit too thick and not going where I want, but I wrestled the block on, connected it all up, and powered the system on. CPU fan fail? I wasn't too concerned at this point, thinking maybe I put the rpm cable on the wrong connector as there's two next to the CPU socket. I went into bios and before I could do anything else, the system shut itself off. Not good. Tried again, and it shut off even faster now.

 

Checked all the connections. I'm missing the USB cable, could that have any impact? So off I went to find it and fit it. Nope, it still turned itself off. This time however, I was fast enough to get to monitoring. CPU temps crept up and it shut off somewhere north of 80C. Ok, it is the cooling. That's a start.

 

I've had all sorts of mount problems with this specific cooler on Intel, so could it affect AMD too? I was hoping the combination of the fixed mount plate and soldered IHS meant the mechanisms I suspect of causing Intel problems wouldn't happen here. Took the block off, and had a great thermal spread. That wasn't it.

 

Rather than look it up, I swapped the pump monitor on the two CPU fan connectors, and was still getting no reading. Is the pump not working? I tried hitting it, rotating the system around (and could hear a liquid move somewhere), nothing.

 

Just as I was about to give up, I heard a cracking noise, and temps in bios dropped right down under 30C. It worked! So it seems like the pump had stuck for some reason, and in my messing around it eventually freed itself. It had been sitting unused for a while so that could be a contributing factor.

 

Been leaving it running since then without problems, but now my confidence is reduced. What if it happens again on a future boot?

 

I took before and after temp measurements, with 1700 at 3.6 GHz 1.2v, ram 2666 DOCP, Prime95 29.1 small FFT. With the U14S it topped out around 55C, and with the H110i GTX, it topped out around 54C. Hardly anything in it. With hindsight, I should have looked at fan speeds also since obviously they factor into the equation also.

 

Now I'm happy it is running, I need to tidy up the cabling and take a nice photo of the system.

[porina]

 

Still working on the cabling but here's a quick pic of the waterblock. I had the eternal problem of which way around to put the block, as best tube routing would have the logo upside down in case. In the end I settled for this rotated direction as it matches the ram.

[wzrd]

6 hours ago, porina said:

Yesterday the free AM4 mount kit for my Corsair H110i GTX arrived, so I went and fitted it replacing the Noctua U14S on 1700 system. I had the usual problem of the tubes being a bit too thick and not going where I want, but I wrestled the block on, connected it all up, and powered the system on. CPU fan fail? I wasn't too concerned at this point, thinking maybe I put the rpm cable on the wrong connector as there's two next to the CPU socket. I went into bios and before I could do anything else, the system shut itself off. Not good. Tried again, and it shut off even faster now.

 

Checked all the connections. I'm missing the USB cable, could that have any impact? So off I went to find it and fit it. Nope, it still turned itself off. This time however, I was fast enough to get to monitoring. CPU temps crept up and it shut off somewhere north of 80C. Ok, it is the cooling. That's a start.

 

I've had all sorts of mount problems with this specific cooler on Intel, so could it affect AMD too? I was hoping the combination of the fixed mount plate and soldered IHS meant the mechanisms I suspect of causing Intel problems wouldn't happen here. Took the block off, and had a great thermal spread. That wasn't it.

 

Rather than look it up, I swapped the pump monitor on the two CPU fan connectors, and was still getting no reading. Is the pump not working? I tried hitting it, rotating the system around (and could hear a liquid move somewhere), nothing.

 

Just as I was about to give up, I heard a cracking noise, and temps in bios dropped right down under 30C. It worked! So it seems like the pump had stuck for some reason, and in my messing around it eventually freed itself. It had been sitting unused for a while so that could be a contributing factor.

 

Been leaving it running since then without problems, but now my confidence is reduced. What if it happens again on a future boot?

 

I took before and after temp measurements, with 1700 at 3.6 GHz 1.2v, ram 2666 DOCP, Prime95 29.1 small FFT. With the U14S it topped out around 55C, and with the H110i GTX, it topped out around 54C. Hardly anything in it. With hindsight, I should have looked at fan speeds also since obviously they factor into the equation also.

 

Now I'm happy it is running, I need to tidy up the cabling and take a nice photo of the system.

It sounds like there was an almighty air bubble stuck in the pump. In AIOs, this can prevent fluid from circulating properly, if at all, which contributes to the rise in temps, though they are rarely this severe.

 

You should be fine now - it's unlikely to reoccur if the PC stays stationary, but if the problem occurs again I would assume you would be entitled to an RMA.

 

EDIT: If it happens again, your CPU will trigger overtemp protection and shut down - it's unlikely to damage your PC if you are aware of it and don't force it to boot.

[porina]

4 minutes ago, wzrd said:

You should be fine now - it's unlikely to reoccur if the PC stays stationary, but if the problem occurs again I would assume you would be entitled to an RMA.

I've always wondered how full they can fill these systems, and if there could be water loss over time regardless. RMA is not an option, too old for that.

[wzrd]

3 minutes ago, porina said:

I've always wondered how full they can fill these systems, and if there could be water loss over time regardless. RMA is not an option, too old for that.

There will be water loss over time, even through EDT/norprene tubing used in AIOs. It doesn't make a huge difference, as the air will usually settle in the radiator rather than the pump. Even in that case, if it happens again it should still be fine. Just don't run the pump with an air bubble in it as that may damage it. Simply tip the case around until you hear the air bubble release, then it should work fine again. I can't see it happening on a regular basis though!

 

How much the manage to fill them is anyone's guess, but any of the expandable AIOs I've seen seem to be filled very well in all fairness, but it's impossible to tell with the closed off AIOs.

[porina]

Just now, wzrd said:

There will be water loss over time, even through EDT/norprene tubing used in AIOs. It doesn't make a huge difference, as the air will usually settle in the radiator rather than the pump.

That's always been a concern for me... at some point, if there is enough air, the water wont be able to circulate. In my original Corsair Air 540, the rad was above block so gravity should endure air wouldn't be a problem. Now, I have it front mounted in a different case, with hoses on top, so air may more easily go to the pump.

 

I've not researched it recently, but I have debated if it is possible to replace the tubing on the AIO as I hate it. It is never the right length for any case and it is very thick and stiff. Some might say it isn't worth the effort, and they might be right. For now, it is working and I'll leave it. That might be a future job.

[wzrd]

Just now, porina said:

That's always been a concern for me... at some point, if there is enough air, the water wont be able to circulate. In my original Corsair Air 540, the rad was above block so gravity should endure air wouldn't be a problem. Now, I have it front mounted in a different case, with hoses on top, so air may more easily go to the pump.

 

I've not researched it recently, but I have debated if it is possible to replace the tubing on the AIO as I hate it. It is never the right length for any case and it is very thick and stiff. Some might say it isn't worth the effort, and they might be right. For now, it is working and I'll leave it. That might be a future job.

Whether or not that is possible depends on the AIO. Some AIO use standard fittings that can be removed, and therefore it could be replaced theoretically, but as far as I know Corsair AIOs do not, so cracking it open and replacing the tubing would be almost impossible, I would assume.

 

The tubing is always going to be thick in high end AIOs, as it is designed to minimise evaporation. The thinner tubing used in open loop cooling allows for a significant amount of evaporation.

 

It should last for a while yet - I have seen some 5+ year old Corsair AIOs recently that still work fine, but I would agree that replacing the tubing might be pointless. Honestly, it is likely that the pump will fail before evaporation ever becomes a significant issue.