[Freakie]

DELID A soldered cpu??? leave it and fix your cooler

Like I said, cooler is working fine. If it wasn't, then I wouldn't have noticed a difference by flushing the IHS vent hole, I wouldn't notice the outlet being much warmer than the inlet, and the CPU wouldn't be reaching over 95℃ when clocked at only 400MHz.

And yes, there are people out there that offer de-lidding services for soldered IHS CPUs.

 

[Biggu]

Say what you will about the AIO working, Id still reccomend getting an air cooler that way you can narrow down the issue. Right now you are going back and forth of is it the AIO, is it the CPU. Replace the cooling so you can say for certain its the CPU.

 

[Blameless]

AIO seems good. Outlet is quite warm (trying to cool a 90+℃ CPU) and inlet is much cooler. Pump and fans are all functional.

This is not a sign of the AIO being 'good'.

Outlet temps deviating significantly from intlet means your pump is broken or there is some significant obstruction restricting flow.

And yes, there are people out there that offer de-lidding services for soldered IHS CPUs.

I've delidded several soldered CPUs by a variety of means, but the only way it would solve the issue you're experiencing is if you've somehow damaged the solder TIM between the IHS and the die. This can happen (and can be fixed by reflowing the solder or delidding), but is very unlikely, especially from lapping or getting anything in the vent. It's more an issue with non-soldered CPUs where people get solvents in the vent and they erode the conventional TIM.

Ten to one, it's your AIO that is the culprit. Water temp is supposed to be nearly homogeneous, through out the entire loop, unless there is grossly insufficient flow.

 

[o1dschoo1]

ITS YOUR COOler lol. ive literally never seen a soldered cpu go bad cooling wise unless someone tried to delid it screwing the solder up

 

[Freakie]

Right now you are going back and forth of is it the AIO, is it the CPU. Replace the cooling so you can say for certain its the CPU.

Ten to one, it's your AIO that is the culprit. Water temp is supposed to be nearly homogeneous, through out the entire loop, unless there is grossly insufficient flow.

ITS YOUR COOler lol. ive literally never seen a soldered cpu go bad cooling wise unless someone tried to delid it screwing the solder up

Alright alright, I give in and I'll explore in the cooler direction 😂 Any suggestions on clearing potential obstructions in the AIO? Do you suspect air or object? Here's a picture of the gunk I cleared from the fins of the cold plate. Wasn't horrible compared to others I have seen online, especially given it was after 4.5 years of use.

 

[o1dschoo1]

Alright alright, I give in and I'll explore in the cooler direction 😂 Any suggestions on clearing potential obstructions in the AIO? Do you suspect air or object? Here's a picture of the gunk I cleared from the fins of the cold plate. Wasn't horrible compared to others I have seen online, especially given it was after 4.5 years of use.

It's either air in the lines or the pump is going out

 

[Blameless]

Cold plate doesn't look too bad from that image, though I'd still clean it.

Check the pump (chamber, impeller, and shaft) for damage.

Also, what did you refill it with? AIOs are normally filled with a water/glycol mix with corrosion inhibitors in it to deal with mixed metals. Using just distilled water can cause some AIO pumps to spin faster than designed and cavitate, which can reduce flow and damage the impeller. Omitting a corrosion inhibitor will also result in serious galvanic corrosion issues if the loop isn't kept electrically isolated from the case.

What model AIO is this again?

 

[Freakie]

@Blameless @Biggu @o1dschoo1

You guys were right! Took the AIO all apart again (Lepa Aquachanger 240) and drained it completely except I filtered it through a coffee filter. Next I ran vinegar though the hoses and radiator and let it sit for 5 min. Let the cold plate and pump housing sit with vinegar on them for 10. Flushed with vinegar, then tap water, then did a bunch of flushing with distilled water. Quite a bit of gunk came out. Put the drained and filtered original liquid back in and topped it up with distilled water and reassembled it all. Installed it back in my tower and it's cooling just fine! Even better than pre-lapping, actually, so in spite of the problems I caused myself, I was still successful 😂

I know that putting in fresh coolant would be best, but the point of the project was to spend as little money as possible so I just put the old coolant in. When this thing dies, I'll probably switch to the Arctic Freezer II.

I think what happened is that when I topped it up with distilled water the first time, I did a LOT of shaking to the hoses and radiator and ran the pump for brief 5 second intervals to get any air bubbles out. I think the combination of shaking it a lot, and running the pump multiple times, cause debris to break loose and then pile up at a single choke-point and that was killing the flow-rate. And of course the low flow-rate meant it's cooling capacity went to ****.

Thanks for the help, everyone!

 

[Blameless]

I know that putting in fresh coolant would be best, but the point of the project was to spend as little money as possible so I just put the old coolant in. When this thing dies, I'll probably switch to the Arctic Freezer II.

A mixed metal AIO is not going to last long without a corrosion inhibitor, unless it's perfectly isolated from the case and all other paths to ground.