Hey everyone, I've been assembling PCs and completed a build a few months back with these specs: Ryzen 5600X, Asus Tuf RTX 3070, Asus Prime B550m-A, and a Thermalright 360 AIO. I setup the system, installed Windows and some software, and everything was running smoothly. However, I didn't touch the PC again until today since a potential buyer reached out. Upon powering it on, the fans went wild, and I noticed my CPU temps soaring over 80 degrees. When idle, it drops to 40, but as soon as I do anything, the temps climb rapidly to 80, 90, even hitting 100 degrees. I checked the BIOS but couldn't control the CPU OPT header speed where the pump is connected, and Armoury Crate shows it's running between 4000-9000 RPM. Is this normal? I understand AIOs are usually set to run at full speed, but my BIOS settings aren't letting me do this. Could the problem be the pump failing since it sat unused for months? Or maybe the thermal paste has dried up? Should I try switching the AIO fans to the CPU OPT header and the pump to the CPU FAN header to force them to 100%? Any advice would be appreciated!
1 Answer
It sounds like the coolant in your AIO might have evaporated over time, especially if it was unused for a while. If that were the case, your CPU wouldn't cool down at all, so I don't think the pump is completely dead yet. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do besides getting a new AIO if the coolant has indeed leaked out.
That's a solid point. I hadn't even considered the coolant issue. Is there any practical way to check the levels, or is that just a guess? Maybe shaking it a bit could help?