CPU water cooler not cooling

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c3rn

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#116017 15-Apr-2013 17:16

I installed a CPU cooler yesterday which for me is quite a feat.

The cooler is a Cooler Master Seidon 120xl which comes with two 120mm fans that go either side of the radiator.

After I installed it and powered up my PC I noticed the CPU temp was exactly the same as it was before the install around 40-45C when idle.

Both fans are working and the cooler itself has the blue indicator light lit up.

So somewhere along the way I've mucked up and the instructions that came with it are no help.

I had a thought that I could have the fan airflow directions wrong. The radiator is sandwiched between them and attached to the back of the case. The only other fans are the ones that came with the case at the front.

I've got the airflow so that one fan is taking air from outside the case and blowing it onto the radiator. The other is taking air from inside the case and also blowing it on to the radiator.

Have I got this right? If so, any other theories why the temp is still the same? This is most likely a n00b query but I'm sure a few of you will know where I've gone wrong.

ubergeeknz

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#799750 15-Apr-2013 17:27

No, you want one fan drawing air from outside the case into the radiator, and the other drawing air out of the radiator and into the case. Then an exhaust somewhere for the air to escape the case. Right now you have basically zero airflow as the fans are fighting eachother.

Mark

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#799753 15-Apr-2013 17:30

I assume you have a fan or too sucking air OUT of the case as well ?

Also have you made sure the CPU cooler is fully seated on the CPU with good thermal paste ?

I might pay to have a bit of a Google and find some diagrams that show the proper airflow directions for your type of motherboard, and see if you can achieve it with your case and fans.

Athlonite

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#799758 15-Apr-2013 17:35

this could happen if the base plate of the cooler is not making proper contact with the top of the CPU
or it could be that you've just simply installed the fans the wrong way round
ie: top fan blows in bottom fan blows in like so >||<

first things first check the fan orientation and make sure it is set like this in>||>out (hint the side of the fan with the small label on it is the out direction)

So first fan (the one closer to the inside of the case) goes label side against the radiator the second fan goes label side against the case giving you blow >||> (suck) exhaust

gzt

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#799852 15-Apr-2013 20:45

On the positive side that temp indicates the job is not totally bad if it is achieving same at idle as the stock cooler. What is the CPU? Did you get any loaded benchmarks before the upgrade? : ).

c3rn

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#799861 15-Apr-2013 20:58

Thanks guys for the replies.

I did have the fans blowing like this: >||||> and it's 10C cooler.

@gzt running an i7 3770. It was running at the same temp before the cooler install hence my issue.

c3rn

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#799985 16-Apr-2013 08:10

Argh... mucked that post up...

fans were >||<.

Changed them to: >||>.

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Xeon

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#800351 16-Apr-2013 17:18

I have the intel RTS2011LC cooling kit, my i5 3570k is roughly 21-27 degrees at idle.

ubergeeknz

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#800355 16-Apr-2013 17:21

Oh I just noticed you have the rad in the BACK of the case.

Normally, you exhaust hot air at the back, rather than drawing air in at the back.

So make sure there is nice cool air coming in from the front of the case (duct it if necessary) to your radiator for best results and a low CPU temp... but don't neglect the general case temps either.

Athlonite

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#800429 16-Apr-2013 19:26

c3rn: Argh... mucked that post up...

fans were >||<.

Changed them to: >||>.

So hows it going now you've changed the fans

DravidDavid

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#800603 16-Apr-2013 23:09

Athlonite:
c3rn: Argh... mucked that post up...

fans were >||<.

Changed them to: >||>.

So hows it going now you've changed the fans

Sounds to me like it is 10 deg/c cooler

I never bothered with water cooling because it is expensive and seems like a bit of a liability when it breaks, even if the water isn't actually "water". I purchased a Noctua NH-D14 and my AMD X6 six core processor sits on 21 degrees at idle or 33 degrees when playing a game/watching a movie and around 35 degrees when rendering at 100%.

The reason why I went with fans and the is Noctua because if the fans break (which they do, but it is unlikely) the huge radiator is enough to keep it cool without a problem until I finally realise temps are higher than usual.

So I guess my question is, what are you going to do when it breaks?

c3rn

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#800647 17-Apr-2013 06:53

Athlonite:

So hows it going now you've changed the fans

Going much better thanks. Was around 40C now it's early 30s. Could be a couple of degrees lower but for an i7 those temp's aren't too bad I reckon.

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c3rn

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#800648 17-Apr-2013 06:54

DravidDavid:
Sounds to me like it is 10 deg/c cooler

I never bothered with water cooling because it is expensive and seems like a bit of a liability when it breaks, even if the water isn't actually "water". I purchased a Noctua NH-D14 and my AMD X6 six core processor sits on 21 degrees at idle or 33 degrees when playing a game/watching a movie and around 35 degrees when rendering at 100%.

The reason why I went with fans and the is Noctua because if the fans break (which they do, but it is unlikely) the huge radiator is enough to keep it cool without a problem until I finally realise temps are higher than usual.

So I guess my question is, what are you going to do when it breaks?

Um it shouldn't break, it should be fit for purpose. If it does I'll seek remedy under the CGA.

DravidDavid

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#800661 17-Apr-2013 08:00

I see where you are coming from, but didn't get what I meant. Things arn't supposed to fail, but they do from time.

It may not be so much to you, but losing my 200 dollar cooler and 350 dollar processor would be a massive pain in the rear end. The warranty and CGA won't be shipping you new devices on an express courier, haha! Not even sure the company would replace the processor either and I doubt Intel would accept "It cooked because my cooler failed."

I've seen all the horror stories with leaks...ect. I chose air as per the above post. It will keep my CPU alive even if it fails.

Athlonite

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#800934 17-Apr-2013 13:11

Most horror stories about water cooling arise from home made loops not from the likes of Corsair H series water coolers and copies thereof, these types of cooler are pretty well tested for leaks before being boxed up for sale and as always you should check for leaks before installing anyways just incase