Extremely high temperatures affect liquid cooling performance at 3570k.
Extremely high temperatures affect liquid cooling performance at 3570k.
It looks like users can achieve 4.5ghz on a hyper-evo, which is a more affordable air cooler, but they struggle to reach 4.2ghz in the 75c-80c range. Reapplying thermal paste might help. The pre-applied paste isn't always optimal. This approach also lets you re-seat the CPU heat sink and verify its placement. Keep in mind, not all CPUs perform the same; one high-speed CPU may differ from another identical model.
120mm radiators in closed loop coolers can really only manage to dissipate up to 150 watts at the best... in practice, 130-140w seems more achievable. Your CPU has a 77w TDP when running at default settings, but as you increase voltage and clock speed, the TDP climbs steadily. With higher clock speeds and corresponding core boosts, you might approach the capacity of these radiators. Since closed loop coolers rely on low-power pumps and aluminum radiators (often brass or copper), their performance is constrained by these factors, leading to a lower Delta-T compared to other cooling solutions.