Last night while I was gaming on FiveM, my PC suddenly shut down. When I tried to restart it, I got a warning that said 'CPU overheating. Ensure CPU cooler is installed properly' or something like that. I thought it might just be because I was playing for a while and the CPU was still hot. I turned it off and left it alone. However, when I turned it on today, I got the same message again. My CPU temperatures are spiking to around 85-90°C, and even the BIOS shows it at 65°C. I'm worried about what's causing this issue, especially since I updated to Windows 11 the same day it started happening. Here's what I have: Ryzen 5 5600x, a 240mm AIO cooler, and it's around 75°F in my room here in Arizona. I thought maybe I should replace the thermal paste since it's been 2-3 years since the AIO was installed, but I'm not sure if the paste I have is still good. Any advice would be really appreciated!
3 Answers
There are several possibilities for your overheating issue: dust buildup, the AIO pump might not be working, or air could be trapped in the AIO. It's also worth checking if the mounting hardware for your CPU cooler has come loose over time. Start by feeling if the AIO pump is actually running by touching it, and look out for the AIO fans to see if they're spinning. You should notice one AIO hose feeling warmer than the other too.
Make sure to check with some monitoring software to see if your pump is showing any RPMs. Also, it's pretty likely that the thermal paste, being 2-3 years old, needs to be replaced. Dust buildup could also be obstructing airflow, so don't overlook that part.
The pump is showing around 3600 RPM, but I think it might be failing after all these years. I’ll try to listen for it, but it seems like it's cooked. Here's a HWMonitor snapshot I took; things aren't looking great! 😱
Looks like your temps are pretty high! Make sure to check your cooler and consider reapplying thermal paste.
I have a feeling your AIO might be on its last legs. Why not grab an Air Cooler instead? They’re usually more reliable, and AMD CPUs manage heat well without AIO.