Can the water cooler for processors make noise?
RAMWolff
Posts: 10,381
I've been noticing lately that my machine gets sort of noisey, esp when watching movies or running high processes like doing renders.
So this AM I was checking seams for Gino as I had some fixes to do for Gino, all check out but I was noticing that rattle type noise starting up again. SO I got a flashlight and opened up the chassis and started listening. I thought it MIGHT be the video card but the noise was clearly coming from the processor. The tubes that run the coolent are hot as the dickens so that's my question... can the coolent go bad, develop clogs or is this just a sign of old age and perhaps replace this part of the rig at some point?
PS, Yea, I do have a new computer but had to send it back for some fixes and adjustments so in the mean time....
Thanks!
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Comments
Sounds like a pump going/gone bad.
I agree with Jack, @RAMWolff. Noise coming from the processor is most likely the pump. I wouldn't wait any longer to replace it than it takes to get a new one.
And just because other people who have water-cooled systems are going to read this thread, I wanted to mention another reason the cooling system can get noisy: Dust. On the fans.
The case for The Beast has 6 fans, not including the water-cooling system, which has two. Five fans are mounted vertically, pushing air out of the case to one side or the other. The last fan and the cooling system radiator with dual fans are mounted horizontally at the top of the case. Perhaps it's because of the radiator, but when the fans of my last cooler got dusty, it was enough to throw the blades out of balance. None of the other fans had a problem. (It is also possible I should have paid more for a different cooling system when I had the computer built. When I pulled the fans off, they were generic, and from two different manufacturers!)
And because the fans are pushing air through the radiator, it is very difficult to get at the top of the fans to clean off the dust. It can be done, and it can be done safely. Do a search and you'll find info from a lot of sources to guide you. I did not. And eventually I damaged the fans trying to clean them. Last October I replaced the cooling system. (I got lucky. The Corsair cooling system I bought was on sale at Amazon for $90, and applying the points I earn with my Amazon credit card, I paid a bit over $42. That same system is now $200 on Amazon. It really does pay to shop around.)
Are you sure it not a fan hitting somewhere on the fan case that the CPU cooler uses to cool the coolant in the CPU cooler. . That be my first guess, only becaue the tolerances are so close with these fans now days it does not take much to for a CPU cooling fan to be banging on the side of the fan box even dust build up can cause it. . Its very rare for the CPU cooler to go bad. My cooler tubes always run hot when i push my system. you should feel how hot my gpu coolers gets those are hotter and sounds like a jet taking off when I am rendering. But seriously Ramwolf when my CPU starts making any ticking , or rattling sounds I usually start by blowing out the fans with pressurized air or a "can of air" . and then looking the fans over good to make sure they are not hitting anything, fans ticking is most annoying for sure.
I would start with the simple things first before buying another cooling system That is just my opinion
yes they can.
You forgot haunted hardware. I’d definitely check it for evil spirits and ghosts.
> Can the water cooler for processors make noise?
Sure. What kind of noise would you like it to make?
Water coolers can hum a little bit but rattling is never normal. Is it open loop (generally hard lines and custom made) or closed loop? Came assembled, generally bendy tubes.
If you're on an Intel CPU run RealTemp to monitor your temps, if you're on AMD you can use coretemp I think. I've never touched the tubes but I imagine the intake would be pretty hot, holding all that heated liquid.
At the VERY least run a temp monitor. My temps never get over 75-80 on full load renders.
In my experience, the only time the tubing gets hot was the time the pump in an AIO went, so yea, it just kinda all sat in the loop and just heated up. Generally speaking with the pump moving the water around the loop, it will warm up, but never gets 'hot'.
But yea, you'll soon see the temps shoot up.
That's only during renders when they try to escape the confines of the render.
That high? I'm air-cooled with Noctua NH-U12S and my cpu temp never exceeds 60 degrees no matter how long the render on cpu-only.
Water cooling pumps always make some noise Loud noise is always a bad sign. The sound the OP describe could be a bad pump or an obstructed fan.
Water cooling tubes can get hot to touch, the fluid inside can get into the 70 to 80C range, I(t depends on how quickly they get that hot and under what load they are under when they do get that hot.
You don't want the water in the tubes approaching 60c as the plastic breaks down over time compounding the clogging problem.
Edit: should say that measured cpu temp would need to be approaching 90 for tube temp to get that high usually, but you said the tubes were really hot in the first post.
Not sure about that. Corsair, which sources their AIO's from Asetek which makes most of the AIO's around, rates their tubes as safe to 100+C. I know some kinds of hardline tubing aren't rated that high but hardline is only custom loops.
The tubes are very hot to touch so I guess your right. I've NEVER changed out a water cooling device for a processor. I don't mind doing it but seems a bit scary for me. I've bulit my own computers in the past so I know what little I know.
Oh for those that were asking it's an Intel i7 processor. There is nothing touching anything, I double checked that to make sure so that was not anything that COULD have been causing this.
As stated the noise starts up after I start rendering in DAZ Studio or watch movies and it doesn't start up right away, it's after perhaps after a few test renders then it starts up!
Here is what I wrote on CyberPower PC's Fb page in hopes they can suggest and help me with getting the older pump removed and the one installed...
You and I have a lot in common, it seems. I not only built my own computers, but for both co-workers and family members as well. And when I had to change out my water cooling system, I felt intimidated. But the documentation was really easy to follow. The pump assembly attaches much like a modern CPU heat sink. It can get a bit awkward with the tubing and fan/radiator assembly attached, but it's all pretty straight forward and easy.
My current pc is just under 4 years old and I am unfortunately on my third AIO cooler. I didn't get any extra noise with the failures, but I did start to notice an increase in idle CPU temperatures and worryingly high CPU temperatures when rendering. Fortunately, Corsair have been excellent in their replacement policy. I'm not sure that they will replace the current one though, as I have no proof of purchase for the replacement. I am hoping that the one in the pc will last another 18 months, and I have a new, boxed one ready to replace it. After that, this machine may have to go to a heatsink and air cooling and by that time I should hopefully have something new as a rendering machine.
As for fitting the replacement, I'd recommend getting something like Articlean thermal material remover, and some lint-free cloths to clean the surface of the processor after you remove the old unit. If your unit is an AIO then it should already have thermal compound attached. Watch a few youtube videos, plan everything before you start, go slowly and give yourself plenty of time. Double-check all cables once you are done, and check other cables in the machine in case you have accidentally caught anything.
The first time I had to do this you would have though that I was defusing a bomb, but everything did go smoothly. Do please post back and let us all know how it goes.
Thanks you two. Very helpful! :-)
I may not get to replacing the failing cooler until July when I have my week off for vacation but i'll bookmark this and if I'm freaking out or completed it and all is well then I'll for sure try to remember to post here! I did find an Intel cooler. It's a bit more expensive than the Corsair but the unit I was looking at seemed more geared to AMD processors that made me a little nervous considering that one.
Here is the Corsair: http://tinyurl.com/y3y7tcuv
Here is the Intel: http://tinyurl.com/y29gpuvw