Overheating - Liquid cooler

[kcinsti]

Hi all.

First let me say I'm completely new here so while I'm pretty sure I'm asking for help in the right place, please forgive me and point me in the right direction if I'm not.

Oh, and I've done a search on these forums for my particular problem and can't find it.

SO my computer's been running hot.

I got a system message yesterday that there was a problem with the graphics board. It had been slowing down a bit yesterday morning, then a lot, then I got that message, then crashes.

Tried turning it off and on, reinstalling the graphics drivers etc.

To cut a long story short, I figured out it's the operating temp...it was getting up to 100c then shutting down. When first booted up it runs at between 35 and 45...I'm using SpeedFan to get these figures btw.

I opened it up and gave it a good clean and checked all the connections. It was better for a while but then heated right up again...it's liquid cooled anyway.
I've been running it with one side of the case open to make sure all the fans appear to be running correctly [they seem to be] and there's no extra or strange system noise.

It only starts doing this when I start doing anything intensive like working a big Photoshop file or gaming. Turning off the Overdrive feature on the graphics card seems to make no difference at all.

So what I'm trying to figure out is whether:

- it's a CPU cooling problem affecting the graphics card, or
- it's a graphics card problem affecting the CPU

And, of-course, it's about a month out of return-to-base warranty!

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. There are 3-year warranties on everything, but what I don't want to do is send back the wrong part.

Please also note, there doesn't seem to be any overloading of the CPU during the tasks that cause it to start heating up.

specs:
- Windows 7 Professional, SP1
- Intel Core i7 3820 (3.60Ghz / 10MB / LGA2011 / Quad Core, Without Fan/Heatsink)
- Asus Radeon HD7870 DirectCU II (1010Mhz), 2GB GDDR5 (4840Mhz), PCIE3.0, DVI, HDMI, Dual Mini DisplayPort
- Intel RTS2011LC Liquid Cooling Thermal Solution for Socket LGA2011 / LGA1366 / LGA1156 / LGA1155
- Geil 16GB Kit (4x4GB), PC-12800 (1600MHz) EVO Leggera DDR3 Hardcore Gaming Memory, 9-9-9-28, Low Profile Heatspreader,1.5v, Dual / Quad Channel Kit

[Calum]

Sounds like the liquid cooler isn't working properly.  Check the connections, specifically the connection to the pump which sits on top of the CPU, to make sure it's firmly connected.  Try another power or fan connector if you have one available.  If the unit is making an odd sound, it's possible you have an air bubble lodged in the CPU block which can be dislodged, but right now I would put my money on a disconnected or faulty pump in the cooler.