Custom PC issues at one month old – need some guidance on fixing it
Custom PC issues at one month old – need some guidance on fixing it
I've already tried reinstalling the RAM and it didn't help. If needed, I could switch to a different motherboard. Could it be a CPU issue due to overheating? I expected the system to start at least, but then stop if the processor was bad. I know water cooling isn't much better than air cooling today, though I built this system with water for style and learning experience. It's definitely more effort, but I'm willing to try. Debugging why it's not working is really frustrating. I don't plan to change this PC to air cooling just yet, but with my experience I might consider it for future builds.
The 5900X should slow down when it reaches around 90°C to safeguard itself — this is typical for modern chips. I question whether the CPU has actually reached temperatures that could cause harm. Probably you have a defective board; MSI hasn’t impressed me yet. Still, if it were air-cooled, you’d likely have spotted the issue earlier.
EDIT: I did observe something else. Your looping might be off, but the connections seem unusual. It looks like the path goes straight from the CPU plate into the GPU plate. You should consider letting the CPU cool down before moving heat from the GPU through a reservoir system — pump, CPU plate, radiator 1, GPU plate, radiator 2, and then to the reservoir. Coolant can only take so much heat before it becomes ineffective, which might explain why one of your tubes felt unusually warm. A multi-source cooling setup works better when heat is released between components. Thought on that.
Edited April 29, 2022 by An0maly_76
Revised, more info
The sequence of the loop doesn’t affect the outcome. JayzTwoCentz shared a video showing that adding a radiator between the GPU and CPU usually leads to less than a 2-degree variation. This is mainly due to PCs handling temperature shifts differently compared to engines. My previous setup used two 360mm rads, but I removed one for simplicity; the remaining one was unnecessary and took up space. Still, it seems the motherboard might be the problem again. I’ve experienced an MSI board failing completely in the past, though I’ve used them reliably in most builds. Swapping to ASUS or Gigabyte could cause socket misalignment and require rework. Water cooling is significantly more complex than air cooling, which is clear. You won’t be persuaded to skip it for this build, I think.
I believe cooling in the middle has a bigger impact with smaller radii. It seems less noticeable for 280s, 360s and 420s. Looking ahead, good luck—your money and your time are on the line. I like my machines to stay closed, working as intended. Otherwise, they just become an unnecessary burden. Edited April 29, 2022 by An0maly_76 Updated with more details