- Dec 28, 2012
- 26
- 0
- 10,530
Hi all - Looking for help on my abnormally high CPU temps! In short, I want to know if my CPU is simply on it's last legs... or if something is wrong with/my H100i Water Cooler is dead...
First things first, PC Details:
-CASE: CM Storm Stryker, push pull for fans
-MOBO: AsRock Z77 Extreme6
-CPU: Intel Core i7 3770K
-Cooler: Corsair H100i All-in-one Water Cooler
-SSD: Samsung SSD 840 EVO
-GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti
-PSU: Seasonic 1050W ATX12V/EPS12V 80 PLUS Platinum Certified Full Modular Active PFC SNOW SILENT-1050
-SW: Win10
Discovery of Issue
Now then, I first noticed the issue because CPU fans became noticeably audible for the first time over the past week and a half while doing nothing (You know something is off when your wife notices something before you). I ignored the issue for the first few days and then this Monday I went to check in MSI Afterburner and was able to see the high temps of 80c with under 3% CPU usage on each core. I double and triple checked thru Corsair Link program and HWMonitor... which all showed around the same #'s (80c during Idle - barely any CPU usage).
As I speak now, HWMonitor shows my package temp at 90c!
Wasn't Thermal Paste
I suspected thermal paste might be bad, so yesterday my new Artic Silver 5 came in... and I went thru the process NCIX linus tech tips style... Removed old thermal paste from BOTH h100i plate & CPU with 99% IsoPropyl Alcohol + microfiber cloth, applied a pea-sized dot of Arctic Silver 5 on the center of CPU, Gently placed the h100i back on the CPU and re-screwed everything back on.
It's been one day since and temps haven't changed a bit.
Other Details/Thoughts
1. I've had both the h100i and i7 3770k since early 2003. So it's been about 3 full years of use.
2. I game... A LOT. If 10/10 is the person who games the most in the world, I'm somewhere in the 8.5/10 category (4+ hours a day probably, averaging out the days I don't play at all compared to the days I completely binge).
3. The i7 3770k is 3.5 GHz stock. Confirmed by my HWMonitor, I'm running at 3.9 GHz via ASRock Bios O/C options. For half a year I remember using a turbo preset of 4.2 GHz, and then going down a bit because CPU O/C wasn't really giving me frames in my games at that time. Kept it at 3.9 for likely the majority of it's life otherwise.
4. Corsair Link shows my H100i Fans at 2400+RPM, and the pump at 2200RPM. I have my case open since the issue, and I'm not really sure how to know if the pump is on? One tube when I touch feels cold, one feels pretty damn warm. I can see the fans spinning super fast in accordance with the corsair readouts of 2400RPM. I will note, the LED LIGHT is NOT ON anymore on my h100i.. not sure if this is indicative of an issue?
Summary/TLDR
I re-applied thermal paste but issue has persisted, not sure if
A. 3 years of heavy gaming with a persistent 3.9 GHz overclock (with .5 years of that time being at 4.2 GHz) to my CPU means that it's finally dying and it's time for upgrade)
-=OR=-
B. 3 years of h100i cooling my gaming habits have meant the cooler liquid has evaporated or gone bad or the unit itself it somehow otherwise defective? (No LED Light, but Fans show 2400 RPM and Pump at 2200 RPM in Corsair Link Monitor... One tube is hot and one is cold.)
Any other diagnostics I can run to pinpoint the issue?
Thanks all in advance,
First things first, PC Details:
-CASE: CM Storm Stryker, push pull for fans
-MOBO: AsRock Z77 Extreme6
-CPU: Intel Core i7 3770K
-Cooler: Corsair H100i All-in-one Water Cooler
-SSD: Samsung SSD 840 EVO
-GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti
-PSU: Seasonic 1050W ATX12V/EPS12V 80 PLUS Platinum Certified Full Modular Active PFC SNOW SILENT-1050
-SW: Win10
Discovery of Issue
Now then, I first noticed the issue because CPU fans became noticeably audible for the first time over the past week and a half while doing nothing (You know something is off when your wife notices something before you). I ignored the issue for the first few days and then this Monday I went to check in MSI Afterburner and was able to see the high temps of 80c with under 3% CPU usage on each core. I double and triple checked thru Corsair Link program and HWMonitor... which all showed around the same #'s (80c during Idle - barely any CPU usage).
As I speak now, HWMonitor shows my package temp at 90c!
Wasn't Thermal Paste
I suspected thermal paste might be bad, so yesterday my new Artic Silver 5 came in... and I went thru the process NCIX linus tech tips style... Removed old thermal paste from BOTH h100i plate & CPU with 99% IsoPropyl Alcohol + microfiber cloth, applied a pea-sized dot of Arctic Silver 5 on the center of CPU, Gently placed the h100i back on the CPU and re-screwed everything back on.
It's been one day since and temps haven't changed a bit.
Other Details/Thoughts
1. I've had both the h100i and i7 3770k since early 2003. So it's been about 3 full years of use.
2. I game... A LOT. If 10/10 is the person who games the most in the world, I'm somewhere in the 8.5/10 category (4+ hours a day probably, averaging out the days I don't play at all compared to the days I completely binge).
3. The i7 3770k is 3.5 GHz stock. Confirmed by my HWMonitor, I'm running at 3.9 GHz via ASRock Bios O/C options. For half a year I remember using a turbo preset of 4.2 GHz, and then going down a bit because CPU O/C wasn't really giving me frames in my games at that time. Kept it at 3.9 for likely the majority of it's life otherwise.
4. Corsair Link shows my H100i Fans at 2400+RPM, and the pump at 2200RPM. I have my case open since the issue, and I'm not really sure how to know if the pump is on? One tube when I touch feels cold, one feels pretty damn warm. I can see the fans spinning super fast in accordance with the corsair readouts of 2400RPM. I will note, the LED LIGHT is NOT ON anymore on my h100i.. not sure if this is indicative of an issue?
Summary/TLDR
I re-applied thermal paste but issue has persisted, not sure if
A. 3 years of heavy gaming with a persistent 3.9 GHz overclock (with .5 years of that time being at 4.2 GHz) to my CPU means that it's finally dying and it's time for upgrade)
-=OR=-
B. 3 years of h100i cooling my gaming habits have meant the cooler liquid has evaporated or gone bad or the unit itself it somehow otherwise defective? (No LED Light, but Fans show 2400 RPM and Pump at 2200 RPM in Corsair Link Monitor... One tube is hot and one is cold.)
Any other diagnostics I can run to pinpoint the issue?
Thanks all in advance,
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram