ASRock technical assistance explains the issue is due to using an AIO instead of a top-down cooler.
ASRock technical assistance explains the issue is due to using an AIO instead of a top-down cooler.
I'm struggling to understand what happened. After three and a half years of use, my ASRock X570M pro4 failed because a faulty MOSFET landed beneath the so-called "XXL aluminum alloy heatsink." This caused the motherboard to stop working. Although it's past the two-year warranty, I still wanted to reach out to tech support to voice my concerns. They asked about my CPU cooler and showed me some internal photos of the case. Then they criticized my setup, saying I should switch to a top-down cooler to extend the lifespan of the VRM and suggested rearranging the rear exhaust as an intake with aluminum shielding.
I pointed out that my current build has a NZXT Kraken X62 front intake, one rear exhaust, and two top fans. They mentioned that my case already provides ample airflow and that my CPU temperatures rarely go above 41°C. I also clarified that I never overclocked and only used it for light gaming or office tasks, so the VRM didn’t get heavily stressed.
They questioned whether a tower cooler would be practical given the layout, noting that tower coolers are tall and don’t fit well inside. They also compared tower coolers to AIO systems, saying they’re not ideal for my setup and that they don’t offer enough airflow over the VRM heatsink.
I mentioned having a radiator in the middle of the case, which I didn’t want. They emphasized that NVHTU coolers are superior to AIOs, but I didn’t want a bulky radiator. They also referenced their extensive experience, suggesting my setup is fine but needs a better cooling solution to last beyond three and a half years.
I attached pictures of the damage and my current hardware for their reference.
He overlooked assigning fault to your PSU for the dirty power. It might have been better to mention the water cooling leaking. Also, he set up obsolescence—making products fail right when the warranty ends. Plus, he missed talking about solar flares, neutrino emissions, and aliens. Did the board destroy the CPU and other components?
Would've inquired if the heatsink should've been taken out, since without it anything beneath it is more exposed to air. (sarcasm)
Essentially arguing that the VRMs are malfunctioning. It seems a CPU cooler would help by moving hot air away from the heat sink, which makes the logic questionable. All the builds using water cooling without extra cooling seem incorrect.
I have no idea if he has a point (judging by what others are saying he dosen't), but I wouldn't recommend an AIO on a ryzen 7 3700x for other reliability reasons anyway. If the pump were ever to fail in the AIO, you lose all cooling to the CPU. The PC might give you a warning about this, but if you were away from your machine or there was no warning, you could quite easily end up with a dead CPU very quickly. With a tower cooler, it dosn't matter if the fan(s) fail cause the tower will still move the heat away and the case fans will keep pushing the air around to exhaust the heat. Furthermore, on the ryzen 7 3700x there is (almost) no performance benefit to a good AIO vs a good tower cooler. Probably wouldn't have made a difference here, but just thought it might be info worth having for the next time you build. Although you can pretty good deals on AM4 boards atm so this repair probably would require a full rebuild.
I thought my recent Razer support encounter was rough... probably not. The CPU should have safeguards to prevent this. Some reviewers even pushed their Ryzen CPU without a cooler, and the protections caused the system to slow down significantly before shutting down safely. The support representative had a valid point about how proper airflow over the VRM can extend its life by keeping it cooler. This kind of setup should easily handle 3700X with just a little airflow, and the VRM failure might have been due to a faulty component or a short circuit.
Stimulated sine-wave signal detected. Power quality is affected by the PSU, not the board. Good that the board handled it without more damage—positive for Asrock. What's the updated board model?
I have a PCI 3 and PCI 4 M.2 SSD, which means everything runs smoothly at the same speed as before. The RGB controls are now working properly, and the ASRock RGB software stopped failing. It also boots much quicker than the previous one, suggesting the issue was with the overall build.