Repaste or new cooler?
CPU has been hitting 80-85c while simply watching YouTube recently, which is wild for just video and also idles about 10c higher than it did at installation.
It's been in this machine for at least 10 years now. And the AIO itself is older than that, having been used in my previous machine for 6 or 7 years.
Don't see any leaks, don't feel any unusual vibrations, don't hear any unusual sounds; seems to be in good condition still, but with it being that old I am not sure if repasting would be sufficient.
Or maybe I'm just paranoid, because most of my PCs in the past were killed by heat.
Gotta spend some money either way, but all I need for a repaste is some isopropyl to clean the old paste off, which is a lot cheaper than a new simgle fan 120mm AIO or air cooler (all that will fit in the case).
11 replies
If you have to buy paste its worth getting a high quality one. I worked at a research lab and we used to get machines and we would repaste with better paste than the manufacturer used to get higher performance. It was an academic place trying to get every bit of performance out so we were like recompiling kernels and such to. paste and power supplies are the parts to not chince on when building a machine.
Repaste now, is probably your issue.
I have heard of AIOs losing water slowly over years, but that’s a more expensive fix.
This was my initial though; but I don't hear any gurgling to indicate air in the lines.
I did manage to find some iso in the porch closet tho, so I repasted it about 10 minutes ago. No change to the temps. Looks like I might just need a new cooler. 😔 God damn it...
Your radiators are clean?
Yeah. I dust it out once a month.
Damn, squirrel. That’s dedication.
Yeah, if the paste is good and the rads are clean, you might be low on coolant, or the pump is failing.
Maybe you can try refill?
Maybe you could Frankenstein a new pump into the system? 😁
But what is the age of said paste? Surely you didn't use something semi open in a drawer for several years. Or several years old even closed really
Even if it had been unopened? It was a "brand new" unopened tube, but I have had it for quite some time.
Depends. From my experience, even unopened paste loses performance over time. More if there is exposure to sun and/or significant temp fluctuations a shorts period of time (let's say going to the sun for 10 minutes and go to the fridge while hot, as an extreme example). And depending on the paste, there is a chance is not sealed properly (meaning, air can go in). I would advise to get a new tube, nothing crazy, meaning, something similar to artic 5 or artic 7 which is usually very inexpensive (no need for kpx, thermal grizzly or noctua)
I'll try that, but I am weighing between the arctic mx7 you recommend, which I have to order, or I could walk down to Best Buy and get some Corsair XTM60 for about the same price. Not sure which would be better; only what I'd be able to get quicker (same day vs 3-5 days shipping). But I really wanna use my computer again, and I am keeping it off until this is resolved. 🤣
I do not have experience with the corsair one, but if the price is not so different, I cannot see being a bad choice. From a quick search I noticed some people do mention it can be a PITA to spread. Some heating up can help here if necessary