Eisbaer LT360 failure? 9900K running at 100c at start of benchmark

[timmymagic07]

Good evening,

I have never used any form of water-cooling before, and today I put together a new build with a 9900K, an Aorus z390 Pro and an Alphacool Eisbaer LT360.

I tried PCMark to test temps and HWMonitor showed the CPU spike up to 100c and then back down again, almost immediately when the test started and the fans on the radiator started going full speed making a lot of noise. The test completed and had the CPU in the 99th percentile, and did not crash the PC. 100c was the highest the temps went, and the PC has been stable.

I felt the two tubes that go from the CPU mount to the radiator and they are both cold, is this normal? I am assuming they are supposed to be hot (or at least one of them is) and thus there is an issue with the cooler?

Originally I plugged the cooler into the CPU fan slot on the motherboard, then I switched it with the system fan slot that was connected to the fans that are attached to my radiator (which I knew were getting power and going like crazy) and get the same result both times - 100c temps and cold tubes.

I am assuming there is something wrong with my cooler, but wondered if anyone could shed some light.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[timmymagic07]

Sounds exactly like the Eiswolf I bought which arrived with a dead pump. TBH I know a few people who have had this and it seriously makes me question the quality of their parts. I gave the Eiswolf to another forum member as I didn't trust it after that. It was also imo quite a shoddily made bit of kit.

Thanks for the prompt reply, I guess I will have to give OC a call in the morning and setup the RMA :/

 

[timmymagic07]

You could remove the pump and rad, put power to it and giggle it around to check it isn't somehow air locked, can you hear the pump at all? Honestly if it was me and id just spent good money on a cpu then I wouldn't trust it, id just send it back and replace it with something else. if it's worth anything to you I run a h100i v2 on my tr1950x and have been really pleased with not only it's cooling performance but also the build quality.

Yeah as I am no expert when it comes to AIOs I think I am just going to return it and get a replacement, it is a shame as I have read good things about the LT series and alphacool in general. Sounds like they might have a QA issue, unacceptable really.

Thanks, I will give the 100i v2 a look depending on what OC say on the phone tomorrow.

 

[timmymagic07]

Have a look at this from gamers nexus:



Id say they would be a pretty good source on cooler performance. The stock Eisbear on there isn't doing too well but it looks to do well with some decent fans. I dunno for me id spend a tenner more on an nzxt or a corsair. Im sure ocuk wouldn't have an issue with swapping it over if you wished.

Thanks, and yes the Eisbaer is not quite the best but I picked up the LT360 for under £100 which looked a good deal - perhaps I am now finding out why

I will give OC a call and see what they suggest, certainly the NZXT and Corsair options look better

 

[timmymagic07]

Thanks I will take a look at the H115 Pro, definitely giving the RGB a miss though, I would pay extra for a product without it!

So I called OC and they want me to send it back to them, test it and then send me a replacement if they find a fault....

 

[timmymagic07]

Felt I should update this as I was a little peeved when OCUK said it would take 5 day turnaround for me to receive a new one when I phoned them (I wrote a bit of a rant above then edited it when I had calmed down! A bit too used to Amazon just firing off replacement products immediately perhaps)

So I returned the cooler to OCUK and they replaced it, turn around was 3 days - they received the item on Tuesday and I received the new one on Wednesday. I dropped off the card on Saturday, it was picked up on Monday by DPD (the place I dropped it off at was closed on Sunday, so if I had dropped it at one that was open turnaround might have been even shorter) and then delivered on Tuesday to OCUK. My packaging of the product was not perfect, the box was damaged and I did not have the plastic fan sleeves, I was a little concerned this might be an issue but it was not.

All in all very happy with the server and the new cooler (now working!) is doing a very good job with the 9900K, although I have yet to go through the overclocking process! Getting mid-60s whilst gaming on all cores at 4.8 ghz (reaching 100% on most threads in Quake Champions) and getting a very smooth experience!