Corsair H100 issue

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Anihel

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Mar 7, 2012
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Hello,

I have an ASUS P9X79 Deluxe Mobo in a Corsair 500D case with 3930K CPU installed. I opted for the liquid cooling of Corsair H100 and I was quite satisfied with it until now. The thing is I noticed a while ago that ambient temps were sitting around lower 40°C and when the CPU was loaded I almost fell of my chair as it reached lower 90°C while 95-99% load! I know that is too damn hot for the CPU, the system wasn't stable and I even got a bluescreen once.

I have had the CPU set on default settings with XMP & Turbo-Boost enabled. Until now, ambient temps were around 30°C and at loads around 65-70°C. I am considering re-applying thermal paste, although the unit is only 1-year old and I haven´t had any problems until very recently. I also read, that there might be bubbles/air in the system so I tried wiggling/moving the radiator a bit and it helped sort of - The temps stabilized at 35°C and 78°C when loaded. I still feel that is more than it was/should be and changing fan rpm does nothing (except noise increase).

I tried touching the radiator when the CPU was stressed and noticed that it was hot only around the tubes, while the rest of it was pretty cold. Could there be a possible problem with heat spreading? Should I try RMA, or could there be another easier solution? I also noticed that the pump is getting noisy from time to time.
Moreover if I decide to go for another cooling solution in the future, which one should I look at? I have already seen (reviews) that H100 isn't as efficient as it should be for a liguid cooler.

Thank you in advance!
 
Solution
alyoshka
I really couldn't say what would be better, other than a self made liquid cooling loop, but a lot of systems builders swear by a noctua product . Although it's Air-Cooled, but it delivers better if not the same cooling as the H100. I basically have 2 x H5O and 1x H100, they've not given me any probs untill now, though I bought Noctua fans for my H100 just a week ago, still have to set them up.
But I hear even the H100i is a good cooler.....
But , where ever you seem to be buying your Corsair Products , just doesn't seem right.... to many RMAs and still no use.
Try a better retailer if possible.
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Hjgrove

Hjgrove

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Dec 8, 2013
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Hi there,
No damage should be caused to your CPU from the heat because the TDP for your CPU is 130W.
I Doubt that the thermal paste would be the culprit, after a year it shouldn't weaken.
Seems to me like the H100 May not be pumping water sufficiently or not spreading heat to its maximum.
If its in warranty I would RMA it for another one.
But the H100 should be pretty stable once working correctly.
 
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alyoshka

alyoshka

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Oct 2, 2009
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Have you checked with Corsair for the batch of faulty H100 which had pump failures???
Check with them, you most probably received on from that batch.
Heating up only at the tubes shows that no liquid is being pumped, the pump might be making sounds but that doesn't mean it's pushing coolant through the loop.
 
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A

Anihel

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Mar 7, 2012
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Just looked up the receipt and the warranty is off by half a month, damn. :) I checked the code and I don't have one from the faulty batch. Also this would have been my second RMA of the h100 (the previous pump was making rapid clicking noise which it should not have).
Also I have to correct my earlier statement. After an extended time of stressing the CPU (making/convertng videos) I noticed, that the radiator is slowly heating up from one of the tubes, so there probably is circulation in there. However I have the feeling that the temps, albeit better now (up to 78°C as of late) are still not as they use to be. From other posts I have seen the H100 should not let the 3930K heat up that much at default settings, so is it possible for the pump to lose som efficiency over the time?
I know that having a 3930k isn't exactly the coolest of CPU's and the temps might be OK now, but if I were to OC, I don't think it would cut it. I have seen people posting some pretty good temps with the H100 on an overclocked 3930K or other CPU's. If I'd OC in the future i would want to have a stable and possibly cool (to a degree) hardware, and not just for showing off for a few minutes until system crash. :(
If it comes to the worst, I guess I would invest in a very good cooler - just not custom built liquid cooling (as I'm not that curageous). If it comes to that what would be your recommendation?
 
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alyoshka

alyoshka

Splendid
Oct 2, 2009
6,166
9
27,915
I really couldn't say what would be better, other than a self made liquid cooling loop, but a lot of systems builders swear by a noctua product . Although it's Air-Cooled, but it delivers better if not the same cooling as the H100. I basically have 2 x H5O and 1x H100, they've not given me any probs untill now, though I bought Noctua fans for my H100 just a week ago, still have to set them up.
But I hear even the H100i is a good cooler.....
But , where ever you seem to be buying your Corsair Products , just doesn't seem right.... to many RMAs and still no use.
Try a better retailer if possible.
 
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Solution
A

Anihel

Distinguished
Mar 7, 2012
26
1
18,560
I had the previous cooler RMA directly to Corsair, not to the distributor, so this unit "should" be good. To update my situation, I tried to reset the pump to see if it helps. It did not. Temps were still the same.
I didn't check if the thermal paste is Ok or not, becasue that would mean re-applying it and I read that the one pre-applied by Corsair is pretty good. I have some Artic MX-2 compund left and I have very good experience with it, so if the temps go any higher again I will definately check it & re-apply with the MX-2.
I don´t mind temps that are around 60°C when playing games and I don't have my PC to stress it with Prime95 all day long. However I do mind when/if the temps go too high on everyday usage. I started doing some vids lately and I feel that reaching 90°C+ more often is not the way to go, so I am concerned of high temperatures if I were to load the CPU to its maximum in the near future, or even OC (godforbid).
Also I know most products have a 2-year warranty (and I though my cooler has as well). I stumbled on the Corsair site that the closed-loop liquid coolers have a 5-year warranty? So I will probably try contacting Corsair support if what is happening is normal or not and if anything interesting comes up, I'll post an update.

SUMMARY: I recently have up to 80°C at max loads & up to 40°C on standby on the 3930K. I reset the pump which did nothing, nor does increasing the pump to level 3 (only rises fan rpm). I don't plan on checking/re-applying the thermal paste just now as the one from Corsair should be good. However if the temps get worse again, that is going to be the first thing I'll do (and also shake the radiotor since it helped a bit last time :) ). What I plan to do is contact Corsair support and once I figure out if the cooler is at fault somehow or I am just a stupid donkey and everything is fine I'll let you guys know. :)

Thanks once again for your help! I appreciate it very much! :)
 
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