Sudden Water Cooling Ineffective...

[Elzy]

I have a Kingwin watercooling system with just a CPU block and a VGA block. Ive had it for a little over a year now and it used to sit idle at about 40C-45C and between 50c-60c on a full load. Previously I had my P4 3.4Ghz overclocked to 3.73Ghz. Now the CPU and GPU sit at like 60C idle and even simple programs like Nero raise it up to 65C and upwards to the point that the PC overheats and restarts. I am unsure as to the sudden drop off in cooling efficiency, but I un-overclocked the CPU, added some anti-freeze to the coolant water, and added water to completely fill the tank. I'm not sure what else to try, any advice?

[gangaskan]

have you cleaned the radiator lately? or flushed the system? it may need to be maintained a little.

[nikhsub1]

Clean the radiator of dust, reseat the water block.

[Elzy]

Hmmm, I will try cleaning the radiator. How do I flush the system exactly?

[downer]

Drain the system, and then refill it with just distilled water. Let it run for half an hour or so, then drain it again.

[Elzy]

Ok, I can do that, so no antifreeze while flushing it?

[zexmarquies01]

Ok, I can do that, so no antifreeze while flushing it?


Correct-o-mondo.

Just run it with distilled water for about an hour, like downer said, then re-fill it with your normal mixture.

[Elzy]

No dice, radiator is clean and flushed the system but still high temps. Perhaps the pump or the radiator is going bad, how could I check that?

[aaronjb]

Are your ambient air temperatures higher than normal? 'Tis the season for hot weather. :)

If the rad is clean and you flushed the system, it certainly could be the pump. Is it louder than normal? Making strange noises?

I'm unfamiliar with this water cooling setup so I can't give specific advice.

[darkcow]

the CPU block could have become clogged over time.


but you have to realize a few degree's of temp increase in your room can affect your computer a lot more than you think. mines jumped like 4 degrees Celsius and my room is only like 5 degrees Ferignheight hotter.

[Elzy]

The air temps in my room are hotter, but my room has always been warm and the water cooling system has never had a problem keeping the CPU cool enough to run without overheating (even OCed). The idle temp for both the CPU block and VGA block are both 55ish now that I flushed the system.

The pump is no louder and is making no strange noises, but I dont feel heat pumping out real strong in the back where the radiator is located, but I cant remember if that fan ever blew more than it is now.

[gangaskan]

did you use some cheap thermal paste? or artic silver?


also, with hotter air in the room the same hot air is going into the computer case (or in the external cooling solution) is not going to keep the radiator cool. either that or there is some gunk in the line, or your pump isnt pumping as quick anymore


are you using the auqastar kit?

[Elzy]

I guess the thermal paste is cheap stuff yes, I have a nice fan blowing on the case and its quite cool right now, I dont know what the "aquastar kit" is, so no. Also, Ive just been using ordinary distilled water and common anti-freeze, is it really necessary to buy the "coolant" online?

[gangaskan]

IMO the online stuff like hydrx is just bling, ive been running distlled water iodine, and some antifreeze and i've been good.

[Elzy]

The coolant has always seemed ok... Im really unsure of what to do now.

[Elzy]

Well if I must replace the cooling system it will be another water cooler... any recomendations of systems that are efficient, but maybe 75-125$.

[voigts]

Sounds to me like your pump is probably dying.

You need to realize that the Kingwin setup is a really lousy watercooling setup. 50-60c under load testifies to that fact.

If you are willing to do some work, buy parts used, and build your own solution, then you can have an effective watercooling setup for about $150. If you are wanting to spend $75-$125, I would seriously go and buy a Sonic Tuniq Tower with a Thermalright HR03 for the GPU for about $100 total and be done with it. Good air is far better than cheap, lousy water anyday. And don't even think that a Thermaltake Big Water is a possible solution as it is another cheap piece of work.

When it comes to watercooling, you get what you pay for. Cheap is exactly that-cheap.

For example, you can find a used MCW6002 or maybe Apogee for like $30 or less, a D5 or the like used for maybe $50-$60, a Maze4 GPU used for maybe $30, a '77 Bonneyville 302 heatercore from Autozone for $20, and use Masterkleer tubing from Mcmaster and come out close to $150 and have a system that will work very well. But it takes work finding parts, making a shroud for the heatercore, etc. If you are unwilling or unable to do so, then go with good air instead.