Rising temps on i7 7700K with H115i

whisper

whisper

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 16, 2003
Messages
466
Hey all, over the past couple months I've been playing closer attention to the core temps on my i7 7700K (see signature). When I first built this system they would typically fall around 30-32C at idle, but now they've crept up to a consistent 40-42C. At full load they skyrocket to around 77-83C. Granted, I haven't touched the heat block on my H115i since I installed it back in late 2017.

I used the stock thermal paste which I do not regret, at least originally, but wondering if it's simply time to replace it with some AS5. Just a sanity check on this idea-
  • Do the current temps seem to high?
  • If I clean the heat block and re-apply new thermal paste, is this likely to help?
  • Maybe doing the above is good general practice every couple of years, regardless of what the temps appear to be?
Thanks
 
have you cleaned it recently and have your ambient temps increased? yes cleaning the rad and cleaning/re-applying paste will help. if it doesnt, te aio could be getting clogged, ie dying.
 
pendragon1 said:
have you cleaned it recently and have your ambient temps increased? yes cleaning the rad and cleaning/re-applying paste will help. if it doesnt, te aio could be getting clogged, ie dying.
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I haven't cleaned the H115i recently... in fact, really haven't touched it since it was first installed. I'm a bit anal about dust buildup so I routinely clean out the radiator (and the entire case) of dust, but I've left the heat block and tubing alone.
Sounds like it would be worth a try to clean and re-apply paste. It runs quiet and no unusual noises.
 
defaultluser said:
Has the temperature in your house gone up? There's this litte thing we like to call Summer coming round, and you may have cheaped-out on your AC settings
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Haha, I'm setup in a finished basement room of the house where it stays a bit cooler. In fact there is no AC in the basement and no need. That said, yes, it's slightly warmer in the summer than in the winter. Notably, the H115i liquid temp really never changes and hovers a few degrees above ambient, currently at 29.2C. This has always been the case despite the core temps creeping up over time.
 
whisper said:
Not sure... it looks like cleaning is a good option, so I'll see what it looks like when I remove the heat block.
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No I mean corrosion you can't check with a closed loop cooler. like corroded material clogging the radiator and such affecting overall flow. It's one of those things you would know if it was corroded by ruining the closed loop cooler by opening it up or just rising temps. In this case it would just be if the temps are within your ok range I would leave it kind of degradation.
 
whisper said:
I haven't cleaned the H115i recently... in fact, really haven't touched it since it was first installed. I'm a bit anal about dust buildup so I routinely clean out the radiator (and the entire case) of dust, but I've left the heat block and tubing alone.
Sounds like it would be worth a try to clean and re-apply paste. It runs quiet and no unusual noises.
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id clean the paste and reapply new stuff. i'd also take out the rad and take the fans off to make sure its clear all the way through. then the next time you use it under heavy load feel the tubes and if one is really hot you might have a clogged barb. if thats the case it is fixable, ive done several.
 
I would make sure radiator fins are clear with no lint stuck in them as well as intake filters on it's vent or case intakes if it is exhaust. But CLC age it's not uncommon for temps to gradually get warmer. I think it's a combination of coolant loss (yes, some coolant does evaporate through hoses) and pump wear. I change from custom loops to air when first big heatpipe air coolers came out because they take a lot more maintenance (annual flush and fill) as well as pump wear high cost. When CLCs came out I knew they couldn't be as good as top tier air even though costing more. Add in their much shorter life and air cool are still best way to go.
 
If you had the cooler for awhile now, it may just be degrading. Its normal, and it happens. I noticed a drop in performance after about 15 months or so, and it just steadily progressed. I retired it after about 4 years, and gave it to my brother who also has a 7700K and saw similar temps. Maybe slightly higher by a couple c since it was an H100. He got maybe another year out of it before the pump kicked the bucket.
 
I took off the sink and gave everything a good clean with some ArctiClean 1+2 solutions. Then I decided to give this thermal pad a try. And the verdict is..... basically no change. Lol. I'm trying to decide after staring at the temps for a while whether it's maybe between 1-2 degrees cooler, or that could just be me imagining it. But I guess I'm satisfied that at least it didn't get worse, which would have annoyed me:)

Tubing generally feels okay, with the one leading away from the cpu being a little warmer, and it still runs quiet (no unusual noises or anything). But I think this cooler is maybe reaching it's fall season and there's not much more I could do aside from replace the whole thing. That seems unnecessary at the moment, but if/when it declines more then that would probably be my next move.

On a side note, I don't hate the graphite cooling pad and actually kinda excited I won't have to clean up more messy thermal paste the next time I take it apart. I recommended checking it out for anyone needing to replace your cooler or re-apply paste for whatever reason.
 
It's a good idea to have a backup cooler so when CLC does die you have something to put on so you can use your computer. When pump dies there is no CPU cooling until cooler is replaced. ;)
 
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