Issues With ARCTIC LIQUID FREEZER II HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU WATER COOLER - 120MM

Associate
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25 Oct 2020
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Hello Watercooling forum,

I recently got my hands on this cooler from OverclockersUK.

I have had this installed on a Gigabyte G97X Gaming 3 motherboard, for an Intel i7-4790K (~4GHz) CPU. It is set to boot to a Samsung 860 EVO 250 GB SSD with Windows 10 Professional installed as the operating system on that drive.

The fans for the radiator and the component placed over the CPU work fine (having plugged the appropriate cables into the sys_fan and cpu_opt headers, respectively). But the pump system for this AIO watercooler is not consistently operating.

It has come on for between 30 seconds and 1 minute (with the cooling effect being noticeable), but has not stayed on for much longer when going into BIOS. It has also not come on either when the drive has booted to Windows, or when logging in.

I have made sure the backplate is fasted securely to the motherboard and that the component placed over the CPU, is fasted securely with the 4 screws provided, over the CPU chip that has a fairly even layer of thermal paste applied to it.

If I am able to login to Windows, using Speccy to check the temperature of the components. I can see that the temperature of the other components is quite low (~30 degrees Celsius or less, as expected), but the CPU temperature is at least 95 degrees Celsius, on a consistent basis when starting up.

Would anyone have any idea of what the problem is? I can provide more information as required.

Thanks in advance for your help Watercooling forum :).
 
Associate
OP
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I tried using those headers instead (cpu_fan and cpu_opt), the fans for both components would spin up no matter which header they were connected to, but the pump only came on for about 45 seconds, then went off and never came back on again (in that boot attempt or any further attempts), no matter which component I connected to either of the 2 headers. This would suggest that the product has faults in it, or my setup is not cutout for this bit of kit.
 
Associate
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you are using the right bracket and have taken the clear plastic protector off the cold plate.

If the pump wasn't working it shouldn't shoot right up to 95C just on idle right after you had switched it on.
 
Associate
OP
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Sounds like it needs to be sent back
I would think so too. There is just 1 more avenue that I can use IRL. A guy from a* computer maintenance company will come round tomorrow, pick up the system and then take it back to his office to see if he can get the pump system working.
 
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Soldato
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Norfolk, South Scotland
I would think so too. There is just 1 more avenue that I can use IRL. A guy from a* computer maintenance company will come round tomorrow, pick up the system and then take it back to his office to see if he can get the pump system working.

You should have more confidence in yourself. If you've installed it anything like it should be then it should work. It sounds like you've done the correct amount of fault diagnosis and you really should just send it back because it very much sems to be defective. Getting someone else involved is rarely a great idea. A lot of these so-called technicians are just unqualified people with a little more than average experience and a lot of self-confidence. At least if you pull the motherboard and remove the cooler you'll know it was done carefully by someone who cared. I've seen 'professional' technicians removing 3.5" spinning rust hard drives with a magnetic tipped screwdriver etc.
 
Man of Honour
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16 Mar 2005
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Clevedon , Bristol
Try this ;

In BIOS, go to Smart Fan and change the fan headers you are using to PWM ( Fan Control Mode )

Temperature Input should be CPU ( not pci-ex16 as in picture )

Speed Control MANUAL > then set the curve to a flat 40% for testing ( you can amend this latter )


( ignore the other settings in the screenshot - it just a random pic from the internet)

jUsklAz.jpg
 
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Associate
OP
Joined
25 Oct 2020
Posts
16
You should have more confidence in yourself. If you've installed it anything like it should be then it should work. It sounds like you've done the correct amount of fault diagnosis and you really should just send it back because it very much sems to be defective. Getting someone else involved is rarely a great idea. A lot of these so-called technicians are just unqualified people with a little more than average experience and a lot of self-confidence. At least if you pull the motherboard and remove the cooler you'll know it was done carefully by someone who cared. I've seen 'professional' technicians removing 3.5" spinning rust hard drives with a magnetic tipped screwdriver etc.
Thanks for suggesting I just have it sent back and not bother with sending this over to this technician. In all fairness, he has been quite helpful to other people in my neighborhood, but I will consider just have the system removed and sent back for a refund.

it might be something simple causing this issue, but I would not know what, having more people look at it can help in finding the cause of the problem if it is something I have missed, but if it is indeed fault ridden, then I will just have the system removed and sent back for a refund.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
25 Oct 2020
Posts
16
Try this ;

In BIOS, go to Smart Fan and change the fan headers you are using to PWM ( Fan Control Mode )

Temperature Input should be CPU ( not pci-ex16 as in picture )

Speed Control MANUAL > then set the curve to a flat 40% for testing ( you can amend this latter )


( ignore the other settings in the screenshot - it just a random pic from the internet)

jUsklAz.jpg
The fans are working fine, will this help with the water pump system though?
 
Man of Honour
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16 Mar 2005
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Location
Clevedon , Bristol
Thought the Freezer ii only had one power cable?

The video you linked confirms this. (or are you using 2 fans in push pull?)

Good point , the fan connects to the pump and only a single 4 pin cable connects to the mobo

ARCTIC
1 month ago
Only one 4-pin connector is used. We recommend the CPU-Fan header


Slavi Slavchev
1 month ago
@ARCTIC Do the pump and fan run off the same connector?


ARCTIC

1 month ago
Yes, the run of a single 4-Pin PWM connector


REPLY

Pump could be shutting down as it doesn't detect a fan ?
 
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