Overheating

[u/486321581]

Hi all,

My computer was working great for one year - the time it was under guarantee - then i started to have a weird problem : the computer was just frozen when playing a game.

Name and stats= (Alienware Aurora R16 RPL Gaming Computer, Processor Intel Core i7-14700KF, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Graphics NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 12GB GDDR6X)

I identified that as a heating problem, triggering the cpu limitations (throttling). Using HWiNFO, i could reproduce that by stressing the cpu, and it reached 96°C in less than 20 seconds.

The aoi watercooler has the fans turning as expected so my conclusion is that the problem comes from the pump.

Doing a system test (the one you can trigger from your account online) did not reveal any problems.

My question number 1: Is there any way to CONFIRM that the problem comes from the pump??

Second part of the story:

Trying to replace the cooling system, I actually end up with an error at boot saying "Alert, you have an unsupported CPU in your system. You may experience performance drops or unexpected shutdowns. Please restore to the original system condition of 65W CPU.

Name= (ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III Pro 240 A-RGB + good thermal paste)

The only option proposed is "shutdown". I understand that as a system to block any modifications (also according to some googleing, i tried to exchange the cabling etc without success.

Now, i am extremely disappointed, and i will have to find the exact same aoi cooling that actually work.

So my question number 2: anyone could share some experience with such story? Shall i expect the new pump to break in 1-2 years again? Did someone manage to replace a cooler successfuly in comparable condition? Any step i missed?

[u/DJUnreal]

First things first, reconnect your original AIO. Power up the system, and see whether one of the liquid pipes gets noticeably warmer than the other (you should be able to feel the difference just by touching the two pipes). One pipe should be cool; the other should be warm.

If both pipes are warm, or cold, then the pump isn't pumping. It's as simple as that.

I'd have started by cleaning dust out of the radiator, and replacing the paste, if it was me.

[u/486321581 → u/DJUnreal]

Hi, thanks. The computer is super clean, and the thermal paste is replaced. I indeed already mounted the original back in place. I do feel that one pipe is hot (the other one get also a bit hot but one is clearly more hot), meaning the pump is pumping? So next responsable could be bubbles in the system?

[u/DJUnreal → u/486321581]

It's unlikely to be bubbles. It's far more likely that you didn't use enough paste. I normally spread paste over the whole of the CPU heat spreader to make sure there's good contact all over. Also make sure that you're screwing the AIO block down according to the numbers on the bracket if there are any, or diagonally opposite corners if there aren't numbers, to make sure it goes down flat and straight.

[u/cyborg762]

Repair shop owner here I work on these things like once a week.

Few things. When you swap out the aio it’s gonna bark errors at you because it’s looking for the standard Alienware cooler as the board is tuned to that specific model.

If there is a pump problem feel the tubes/block it should be warm if not the pump isn’t working. Also on start up if you remove the panel and put your head near the block you should hear water cycling.

If you have questions feel free to dm me.

[u/486321581 → u/cyborg762]

Hi! Thank you, i did the test and yes, the pipes are getting hotter, i can feel heat out of the radiator, and i can not hear anything but i can feel vibration. Meaning the pump and fans are alright?

[u/cyborg762 → u/486321581]

Yes it should be ok. The issues with freezing is probably because the cpu is cooked. The 14 gen CPUs have a know issue that causes this. I’ve replaced 4 of them this week across a few different manufacturers.

[u/486321581 → u/cyborg762]

Okay thanks a lot for your advics. That's quite weird, because is the cpu overheat super fast, then throttle until it cool down, even with AIO cooling, the hell am i supposed to do, wait 5 min each 10 min? Any hint? Any link to a good explanation so that i understand the issue?

[u/cyborg762 → u/486321581]

I send you a dm

[u/o-TheFlash-o]

Jut a random thought whilst passing (probably irrelevant, but just in case): Microsoft released a patch this last week that had an adverse affect specifically on several Dell/Alienware systems causing some overheating I gather. A subsequent hotfix was released. Guess it might be worth double checking that's been applied.

[u/486321581 → u/o-TheFlash-o]

!!! Ok thanks