Cpu throttles when radiator's mounted up top

[_Chaotic_]

Hello, I hope I'm posting in the right area. I'm using a h110i liquad cooler that was mounted at the top of my case, with the fans in a pull configuration blowing air out for my i7 4790k and for the most part, I haven't had any issues with it. Until a couple months back my cpu started to throttle (I was hitting 100c). I wasn't sure what was causing it, so I tried a couple of things and nothing worked, until I decided to move the radiator in the front of the case with my fans in a push configuration blowing in the case which it made a massive difference (down to 60c). However, after I moved my radiator my gtx 980 ti started to throttle. To me this seems really strange because from what I understand the air flow temperature going through the fins of a heatsink or radiator would make a negligible difference. Does anyone know what is going on?

[Eastman51]

7 minutes ago, _Chaotic_ said:

Hello, I hope I'm posting in the right area. I'm using a h110i liquad cooler that was mounted at the top of my case, with the fans in a pull configuration blowing air out for my i7 4790k and for the most part, I haven't had any issues with it. Until a couple months back my cpu started to throttle (I was hitting 100c). I wasn't sure what was causing it, so I tried a couple of things and nothing worked, until I decided to move the radiator in the front of the case with my fans in a push configuration blowing in the case which it made a massive difference (down to 60c). However, after I moved my radiator my gtx 980 ti started to throttle. To me this seems really strange because from what I understand the air flow temperature going through the fins of a heatsink or radiator would make a negligible difference. Does anyone know what is going on?

Your GPU throttled when your radiator was in the front because you had the fans pulling air in, which gives the GPU hot air to breathe.

I had the opposite in my case (with an H55).

 

I would make sure your rad is nice and clean, make sure its not leaking anywhere, and make sure your fan blades are clean. You could possibly try mounting the rad flipped to the other direction. 

 

Then you could try thermal paste re-application, or even a CPU re-mount. Also just dust everything, make sure its all clean. If you wanted to, you could also try a CPU delid if your temps still don't go down (and if you feel confident enough to do so). Otherwise, it may be time for a CPU upgrade.

2 minutes ago, Finwillwin said:

Maybe from the heat of the GPU is rising up into the radiator.

Its possible, but hard to say if we don't know what type of cooler is GPU has. Not to mention, if the PC was in said configuration before without issues, its probably not the GPU's fault.

[_Chaotic_]

3 minutes ago, Finwillwin said:

Maybe from the heat of the GPU is rising up into the radiator.

That's what I thought, but I had people tell me it shouldn't make that big of a difference.

 

1 minute ago, Eastman51 said:

Your GPU throttled when your radiator was in the front because you had the fans pulling air in, which gives the GPU hot air to breathe.

I had the opposite in my case (with an H55).

 

I would make sure your rad is nice and clean, make sure its not leaking anywhere, and make sure your fan blades are clean. You could possibly try mounting the rad flipped to the other direction. 

 

Then you could try thermal paste re-application, or even a CPU re-mount. Also just dust everything, make sure its all clean. If you wanted to, you could also try a CPU delid if your temps still don't go down (and if you feel confident enough to do so). Otherwise, it may be time for a CPU upgrade.

Its possible, but hard to say if we don't know what type of cooler is GPU has. Not to mention, if the PC was in said configuration before without issues, its probably not the GPU's fault.

The radiator wasn't leaking, and I did reinstall new thermal paste and it made a small difference, but not enough to stop the throttling and I made sure to clean it before I reinstalled it, with the same problem. My 980 ti uses an exhaust style system, that blows the air into the case.

[Rusted]

One possibility is that the pump on the CPU block is broken and the fluid is not moving in the loop.

[AngryBeaver]

@_Chaotic_I am wondering if enough of the liquid in your AIO has evaporated so that the pump wasn't able to move liquid in a top configuration and it is when mounted in the front. Could be wrong, but I have a feeling this is more your AIO is reaching the end of its life. If it is still under warranty I would RMA it. I am 80% sure a new AIO would solve this issue.

[Eastman51]

2 minutes ago, Rusted said:

One possibility is that the pump on the CPU block is broken and the fluid is not moving in the loop.

Considering the release date of 4th gen Intel, its possible his CPU cooler is about as old. This is a definite possibility.

[_Chaotic_]

4 minutes ago, Rusted said:

One possibility is that the pump on the CPU block is broken and the fluid is not moving in the loop.

I thought if the pump failed, the aio wouldn't function at all.

 

5 minutes ago, AngryBeaver said:

@_Chaotic_I am wondering if enough of the liquid in your AIO has evaporated so that the pump wasn't able to move liquid in a top configuration and it is when mounted in the front. Could be wrong, but I have a feeling this is more your AIO is reaching the end of its life. If it is still under warranty I would RMA it. I am 80% sure a new AIO would solve this issue.

I feel like this could be possible, my aio is 4 years old at this point.

 

3 minutes ago, Eastman51 said:

Considering the release date of 4th gen Intel, its possible his CPU cooler is about as old. This is a definite possibility.

Could a liquid aio still function if the pump is broken?

[Eastman51]

2 minutes ago, _Chaotic_ said:

I thought if the pump failed, the aio wouldn't function at all.

 

I feel like this could be possible, my aio is 4 years old at this point.

 

Could a liquid aio still function if the pump is broken?

"broken" would most likely indicate total failure. "Failing" would probably be a better description, where the pump has difficulty pumping liquid through the loop. Evaporation could also be another symptom, considering the age.

[Rusted]

Just now, _Chaotic_ said:

Could a liquid aio still function if the pump is broken? 

No, it needs the pump to move the fluid. Fluid needs to flow for the heat from the cpu to be moved away.

[_Chaotic_]

4 minutes ago, Finwillwin said:

What case do you have? 

Fractal design r5

 

1 minute ago, Eastman51 said:

"broken" would most likely indicate total failure. "Failing" would probably be a better description, where the pump has difficulty pumping liquid through the loop. Evaporation could also be another symptom, considering the age.

This makes sense considering my temps fixed when I moved the radiator into the front of the case, probably easier for the pump to move the water through the radiator. Considering the age of the unit.

[_Chaotic_]

2 minutes ago, Rusted said:

No, it needs the pump to move the fluid. Fluid needs to flow for the heat from the cpu to be moved away.

So, from what it sounds like, the pump is probably failing.

[Tristerin]

1 hour ago, _Chaotic_ said:

 with the fans in a pull configuration blowing air out for my i7 4790k and for the most part

Mounted top, with the fans in PULL config?  So you have Radiator, Fans, Top of case?  Should be Fans, Radiator, Top of Case in a Push config.  You don't want hot air sitting around near the radiator or having the radiator absorb any of that heat waiting to be "pulled" through by fans restricted by "pulling" through a radiator.  EDIT - if your pump isn't failing.  That would be my guess. 

[AngryBeaver]

2 hours ago, _Chaotic_ said:

I thought if the pump failed, the aio wouldn't function at all.

 

I feel like this could be possible, my aio is 4 years old at this point.

 

Could a liquid aio still function if the pump is broken?

If it is 4 years old then I am now 95% sure the problem is evaporation. When the loop is up top and level the liquid isn't as easily able to keep the pump supplied with water so your loop ends up with a constant flow of air in it (bad) and means it can not remove the head from the cpu as easily.

 

When you have it mounted up and down you were probably lucky on having the the in on top and out on bottom... So having gravity keep water pooling on the out side keeps your pump fed with water and the air on top isn't as much of an issue.

[_Chaotic_]

2 hours ago, Tristerin said:

Mounted top, with the fans in PULL config?  So you have Radiator, Fans, Top of case?  Should be Fans, Radiator, Top of Case in a Push config.  You don't want hot air sitting around near the radiator or having the radiator absorb any of that heat waiting to be "pulled" through by fans restricted by "pulling" through a radiator.  EDIT - if your pump isn't failing.  That would be my guess. 

I had it in a pull configuration to make it easier to clean, my overclock wasn't major, so it worked good up until that point.

1 hour ago, AngryBeaver said:

If it is 4 years old then I am now 95% sure the problem is evaporation. When the loop is up top and level the liquid isn't as easily able to keep the pump supplied with water so your loop ends up with a constant flow of air in it (bad) and means it can not remove the head from the cpu as easily.

 

When you have it mounted up and down you were probably lucky on having the the in on top and out on bottom... So having gravity keep water pooling on the out side keeps your pump fed with water and the air on top isn't as much of an issue.

Makes sense, I appreciate the information.

[Kc7vwc]

Others have hinted at it but try this: Orient the rad so the tubing is at the bottom. Listen for water sounds & check temps. It's possible you have air in the loop, and by putting the tubes at the bottom, air will get trapped in the "top" end-cap of the rad & stay there. 

It's a good idea with any AiO cooler to give it a jiggle every so often so any air that has made it in will get trapped this way. 

This is the downside of AiO's vs custom loops which can be topped off. 

[Benjeh]

I second the pump sounds like its failing.