H100i GTX Potential Pump / Flow Issues

Good Morning,

 

I appear to be encountering some inconsistencies with my cpu cooling, leading me to believe that the H100i could be the main culprit.

 

Bit of background-

I purchased the system pre-build through 3xs (scan) just a tad over 12 months ago. Initially the system was pre-overclocked (i7 6700k) at 4.4 ghz on 1.35 volts by the builder. I was never happy with the temps as I expected to be maxing on stress around high 50s to mid 60s. I would easily hit low to mid 80s . For gaming this wasn't really an issue so I just put up with it but was curious why corsair link always appeared to be bugging.

 

I discovered maybe 6 months later that the build was incorrect, they had plugged the H100i into a case fan header but not set the BIOs setting to full power, once I made this change - link would now correctly detect the unit and set the pump / fan speeds correctly.

 

System was running fine since, though I always considered my temps higher than expected with my clocks and cooling.

 

 

The issue -

 

More recently I began to notice playing games (wow , total war) that the H100i coolent temp would easily hit 40c , under what I would consider light usage. This was noticeable through the fans ramping up unexpectedly. I did not consider the amount of use to be sufficient to incur these temps in the coolant, temps would max around 58c under this use.

 

Even more recently - past few days the issue has become more pronounced, I returned the cpu to stock but set core voltage at a low 1.2. Now under stress test with cooler on full performance , pump & fans, the cpu hits 78c and continues to climb. H100i coolent jumps from 29c idle to 35/36 and continues to climb within a minute. Once the stress test is cancelled, the coolent temp continues to rise for a few degrees before eventually stabilizing - I would expect the temps to drop quickly post stress test but this is not the case. I need to turn the pc off for a bit to get coolent temps back to what I consider normal idle temp. (28/29 c).

 

I have tried setting the case on its side to remove potential air pockets, lowering voltages as much as possible and wiggling the pipes a bit. I have also noticed that max pump speed is now oscilating between 2970 and 3090 when before this used to max at around 2850. This suggests to me there may be an issue with the pump however I do not hear any loud grinding noises to indicate any issue.

 

I have ruled out contact being an issue as the coolent temp is rising quickly, the issue appears to come and go as well, temps are not consistent over time. A month ago once the system would max at 58 c under 1.235 volts.

 

I feel its either 1) the pump / flow or 2) cpu putting out far too much heat for no clear apparent reason - im not sure if this is an actual thing? Its not consistent so I think it must be more a pump issue.

 

Any advice would be much appreciated, I am considering ordering a h115i to see if that does the trick , sometimes I miss the consistency and reliability of air cooling ....

did u try reseat cpu block & clean up your rig ?

 

when you mention cpu hit 78c but h100i block still at 35~36c

to me seems the contact between cpu and cooling block not right

 

for h100i if your cpu reaching 78c thats seems little hot

but that also depends on your ambient temp

yes rig is clean, basically spotless, use compressed air regularly to clear out the dust filters, checked radiator all looks good.

 

If it was a contact issue it wouldn't explain coolent temps increasing at a high rate, a failing pump however or flow restriction might cause the block temps to be high. Id imagine the 78 temp can be caused if the coolent isnt moving fast enough away from the block?

 

Don't understand how a contact issue could arise inconsistently every so often - is this a possibility?

 

Is there a chance my cpu chip could be going bad? Note apart from the temps, i never bluescreen or crash.

It sounds like the beginning of some type of flow restriction. It doesn't have to be a pump failure and sometimes the adhesives and anti-corrosives in the water combine in a way they shouldn't and partially block the flow. That leads to higher water and CPU temps than expected, but not crippling (yet).

 

You don't have to run load to test it and skipping that part may help eliminate any CPU specific voltage settings from the equation. If there is a flow problem, it will show itself at idle as well. Cold boot the PC up. Open Link right away and take note of the H100i Temp (water temperature). It should more or less be at room temperature in those first minutes. Over the next 5-10 minutes it will warm up. For most people your water temp usually runs 4-6C over room temp, although this is very case and hardware specific. For a 780T in the roof as exhaust, I would think about +4-5C over ambient room temp at idle. Turning off C-states/EIST may increase that delta. Open a browser, read this, post whatever. Keep an eye on the H100i Temp. If there is a restriction, the temp will continue to climb past the +4-5C mark and continue going. Increasing fan speed might normally reduce water temps, but will be ineffective in this condition. The H100i Temp will continue to climb well above the room temp. Any sort of moderate load (quick CPU benchmark) will cause a large rise in water temp that does not come down (as you have described). It would be better not to test with gaming or with a mixed GPU/CPU load because the 980Ti can certainly color the results by increasing the case ambient temp.

 

If this is the case, you will need to replace/RMA the cooler. It should be under warranty and Corsair has an RMA center in the UK. Go ahead and start the support ticket to get the process going. It's not binding, so if the problem somehow corrects itself or you decide to go another direction, you still can.

Thanks for your reply, yes cooler temps go up very quickly under load, even doing simple tasks such as browsing the web or watching videos (tasks using less than 10% of cpu) from 27/28 idle (room is cold at 23) to 33/34 and will stay there. Similarly when gaming they will rocket up to high 30s within minutes forcing fans to spool up. Again, once game is quit the temps will slowly continue to climb and hover around that temp, no immediate fall in temps and takes a long time for them to return to idle.

 

Issue has been noticeably getting worse over time as I have had to progressively reduce cpu voltage, so yes I imagine a blockage could be a good candidate for such an issue.

 

I will certainly proceed with the support ticket to get the ball rolling.

 

There appear to be a large number of similar issues reported with these units - while newer models apparently continue to use the same pump / block design. Surely the manufacturers of these products would consider making product improvements when there are apparently design flaws or manufacturing issues. At the price these units are sold, I would expect these to be considered a premium cooling solution, as such I would hope they would last longer than a year under normal usage.

 

Are newer units / revisions such as the H115i improved on this part?

There do seem to be quite a few of these "partial blockages" without pump failure on the current units. It's not fair for me to speculate and I don't get to see inside the failing units. However, there is a pretty short list of things that can cause this and it is likely to be the one mentioned above. Whether this is manufacturing problem or a materials problem is another question, although with a 5 year warranty you can pretty sure Corsair takes an interest in this. But again, without having actual data for the number of units affected and total number of production units, there is no way to assess probability. The large majority of users likely do not experience this or there would be an army of people chiming in with "me too" on every one of these posts. The change from GT/GTX to v2/"i" was mostly name only. There was a slight reshape of the plastic block cover to fit mini-ITX Z170 boards and a minor firmware tweak on a few models, but nothing that would necessitate changes to manufacturing or practices. Also, there does not appear to be a correlation between GTX or v2 units and this problem. It occurs with both. The H115i would be pressed and assembled in the same way as 100iv2, which is what you are likely to receive via RMA.

 

As you have deduced, this is likely to get worse as time goes by and I would proceed with replacement. I think you've done your due diligence and the only thing left to do is to open it up, but of course that would void the warranty and is a dead end for most people.

Also not sure if this is normal, but one tube of the cooler, and the side it connects with the rad feels warm to the touch during load, whilst the other feels very cold - no warmth.

 

Is this normal with such cooler? id imagine once the coolent flows through the rad it is cooled and thus exists the rad cooler hence why the other tube may be colder. So should both be roughly the same?

Yes, theoretically the outflow tube from the cold plate will always be a bit warmer than the return tube from the radiator, after the water has shed a portion of its heat. However, the temperature difference between the two on a normally functioning cooler is going to be pretty close to edge of perception for "touch differentiation" between the tubes. If you can clearly tell the difference, that is yet another piece of evidence there is a flow problem. Make to sure to include that bit of information in your RMA report. It's one of the hallmarks of this issue.

update - well i upgraded to a h115i .... idle temps are now 19 degrees, fluid at 23.5 - def was something wrong with that cooler... gonna rma it and reuse it for a friend. thanks for your advice.

Good, I am glad the new cooler is working well. I really like 280mm coolers. You can keep very low fans speed almost all the time, even when under moderate loads.

I am almost certain I have minor blockage issues on mine as well. Mine is idling 10+ C in my room and shoots up to 80C on 100% CPU.

 

I have been playing around for so long with this issue... its been really bothering me. Before I just had to put the pump on performance mode but it hasnt fully solved the problem just helped with the flow a bit. I need to RMA mine. C-Attack, we had some post history a while back as well.

Still having trouble? I agree, if there is a dramatic difference between the low and high pump speed settings, something isn't quite right. Watch for coolant temps that go up easily and then hover at those elevated levels. After a short load, the coolant should return to within 1-3C of the start temp within a couple minutes. Also compare the coolant temp to case ambient temperature (the best you can) using motherboard, drive temps, or whatever else is available.

 

Set up the RMA through Tech Support.

Def does not return to 1-3C start temp in a couple min, more like a couple hours haha.

 

Put in a RMA request.

 

Thx