ROG Z790-E Wifi II with Corsair H150I elite XT LCD cooling performance subpar

[Frikkels]

Hi

Im running a Z790-E Wifi II with 14900K and Corsair H150i ELite XT LCD. The AIO is front mounted in a Corsair 5000d Airflow Case. 

Running stock settings, no XMP, no overclocking, Intel default profile. Latest Bios 1602.

Ive been struggling with thermal throttling and at first thought it was my 14900k and all the issues that already surrounds that. I have now swopped in my old 12700K and i still feel that my cooling is subpar. Getting around 40-50c idling temps, and when running benchmarks or games the 12700k does reach and spike to 100c. ive reseated the cooler and re-applied thermal paste but getting the same results. In Icue i have confirmed that the AIO pump is working.

What I suspect is not proper contact between the AIO and Motherboard. (Although i cannot screw it down any further and no plastic stickers under the block.) what i did notice is that the Asus motherboard has "multiple" mounting holes and i was curios which ones people use. The outer ones or the inner ones, since the AIO mounting bracket can accommodate both. (See attached picture for reference).

I was expecting any benchmarking or games running with this cooler to never reach 100C or thermal throttle (for the 12700K). I don't think the AIO is faulty, either a mounting problem or settings in the BIOS. Going to move the radiator to the top this weekend and see if it makes a difference but any comments or suggestions welcome.

[inge70]

You have to assemble the AiO exactly according to the manual. So also install the backplate and the mounting rack from Corsair, otherwise it will never fit correctly. That's why the AiO manufacturers supplied these parts.
But you can still easily get a CPU to 100 degrees with Cinebench, despite the AiO.
Cinebench is also a synthetic workload that represents the maximum possible for a CPU, etc. The fact that such temperatures arise is normal depending on the UEFI/BIOS settings.
I had the same thing with my CPU and despite the AiO.
It helped me to simply set the Intel standard settings in the UEFI and since then my CPU has not reached 100 degrees. BUT: of course the Cinebench values ​​also go down because all of Intel's protective devices kick in when the part reaches various temperature thresholds.
Even with a custom water cooling system you can get an Intel CPU close to 100 degrees. Especially those who use overclocking should have correct settings in the UEFI and a powerful cooling system, otherwise the CPU always runs into the 100 degree limit when gaming or video encoding etc.

An AiO or custom water cooling alone is not enough to achieve full power and cool temperatures.

What happens when running Cinebench is almost never likely to occur in normal everyday PC use, i.e. temperatures like these, since you almost never stress the CPU as much as Cinebench does.

It also depends on how fast the fans run and how warm the environment/room is where the PC is located. Because a very warm room also results in a very warm CPU.

Since your AiO is installed at the front, the fans should also suck "cool" air from the outside into the inside of the PC case and not the other way around. There should also be fans at the back and top of the case to ensure airflow.

However, you should pay less attention to Cinebench than to what is expected and delivered in the respective activities.

[Silent_Scone]

Hi @Frikkels 

Download HWINFO64 and inspect the DTS for core deltas. I suspect you may benefit from installing a contact frame.

[achugh]

Hi @Frikkels I believe there was another post (if I find it, I will add a link to it) having issues with Corsair H150i AIO here in the last 3-5 months. This AIO comes with its own special installation plate that only works with the Intel ILM so the contact frame solution that Silent_Scone is mentioning above may not work for you. While contact frames are cheap you may want to check with Corsair Support if H150i can be installed over a contact frame.

I am hoping you are following the H150i install guide https://cwsmgmt.corsair.com/documents/WW_Elite_LCD_XT_QSG_AB.pdf?_gl=1*666o0k*_gcl_au*MjEzNDI0MTk2OC... mainly that you are using the correct standoffs for the height (LGA 1700). As per this guide. Also I hope you have installed the fans with AIR IN-TAKE configuration (see PAGE 3 of this Quick Install Guide).

The post I am think off was talking about VRM heatsink getting into the way to properly install this AIO and if your board design has the same issue then you are correct that the AIO is not able to make a proper connection and hence the cooling is not happening properly.

If you can exchange the AIO, I recommend going with another vendor due to the design of this AIO not working on some of the ASUS boards.

[Alpine_Alex]

Hey, a little perplexed by this response for a couple of reasons. A quick google would show you that people have used this cooler in conjunction with this board. I don't see any mention anywhere of an incompatibility issue?

Secondly, the contact frame is a direct replacement for the stock retention mechanism - what spurred you to suggest it might not be compatible with this cooler? Again, just a quick google search will show you that some users are using different contact frames with the H150i Elite.

Please be mindful of what you're saying when suggesting someone should return components without verifying.

[Frikkels]

Hi, Thank you for the responses so far.

Just to clarify, nothing is in the way or not being installed properly from the AIO point of view. My only question was which holes the asus folks tend to use, since these "multiple holes" are asus specific. other motherboard vendors only have one hole to mount the backplate and cooler (also the Corsair install guide, also just states stick it through the hole). My question was do i use the hole closet to the socket or furthest. I dont know why there are two holes per mounting place, i tried checking asus motherboard manual but nothing. my only conclusion is so it supports older coolers (but why would you use an older cooler on a newer cpu????) .

There might be nothing wrong at all, my only "feeling" is that my idle temps on a 12700k is around 40-50, and i would have expected more 30-40. I dont have any BSODs or pc shutdown due to overheating. Just some spikes to 100c in games that i notice, since i have the LCD on the cooler and the glaring numerical indicator on the motherboard that turns on a red light when it thermal throttles. it doesnt stay at 100c but it does reach it. i was checking other peoples posts on other forums and they rarely with this cooler hit the 100c in games. 

Other piece of info is that i had a 14900k before and it crashed constantly in games, replacing it with the 12700k i have no more crashes. So i have RMA'd the 14900k and waiting for the replacement. Im probably paranoid now that it might be the cooling that is also not sufficient, but it was probably just a degraded cpu. However, before i put the "new" 14900k back i want to make sure my cooling is working 100% and getting the 12700k never to reach 100c would probably set my mind at ease.

Is this even possible?

[Silent_Scone]

The mounting point offset is for past gen socket cooler compatibility. It should be evident from the 150i design and included brackets which ones you need to use for LGA 1700.

I don't believe that is to do with your issue. I would inspect the DTS temperatures within HWINFO64 and check your core deltas. If there is a sizable difference between P-Core delta (10-18c or more) you may benefit from using a contact frame as previously mentioned.

[Frikkels]

Hi

It should be evident from the 150i design and included brackets which ones you need to use for LGA 1700. <-- This is the point, the mounting points for the backplate for the h150i can move diagonally, so they can match the outer or inner hole. the only lga1700 specifics from the AIO is the standoffs that screw in. I can find no documentation from ASUS anywhere that states the outer holes are lga1700 and the inner holes are LGAxxxx or reverse, hence my question does it make a difference then?

[Silent_Scone · Accepted solution]

The mount for the LGA1700 is wider in diameter. 

[Frikkels]

Thanks, its currently installed in the outer holes, as i found something similar when installing the backplate. This post was more a curiosity check to see if anyone deviated. (and now i wonder why ASUS would allow older cooler support on a high end motherboard like this, z790-e wifi II, as this sounds like a very bad idea. but anyhoo.)