You may have noticed that your computer is performing poorly for a while now. Surely you have used software like Core Temp or AIDA64 to see the temperatures of the components and that everything is fine. If you have detected that the processor gets very hot, reaching temperatures of 80 ºC or more, we will explain the reason and how to solve it.
There are two possibilities here. That you have an air sink and do poor maintenance, hence the temperature problems. But, you may have liquid cooling and the problem is precisely this cooling system. We will explain what to do, depending on the type of heatsink you use.
Processor heatsink maintenance
We all clean at home, normally we clean to keep everything clean and once in a while, you do deep cleaning. The computer collects dust and periodically, it is important to perform maintenance. What we will do by cleaning it periodically is that the system works better and the components have less thermal stress.
The biggest problem with a computer is dust , which mostly accumulates on the fans. Most processor coolers have a fan, which helps dissipate heat. If too much dust accumulates, it may not rotate or be able to do its job properly. Performing maintenance on this component is simple , we just have to disconnect the fan from the motherboard. We take a brush and a vacuum cleaner and give it a good review.
If you have done this and it has not worked, continue the problem, you will have to work a little more. Possibly, the problem is that the thermal paste (located between the processor and the heatsink) is not correct . The normal thing is that it is very dry or has lost part of its properties over time. Here we must remove the heatsink and with a piece of paper and alcohol, remove the thermal paste . Then we apply some new thermal paste and reinstall the heatsink.
The ideal , in any case, is to disassemble the heatsink every time we clean it and remove the thermal paste, to put a new one. This process should fix the temperature issue . If this persists, it is possible that the heatsink is too small for the processor or we have a problem with the processor.
Liquid cooling, a big problem
We see how it has become fashionable to install liquid cooling of these that everything is already assembled. We must tell you that these refrigerations have a major problem : the evaporation of the liquid . Although everything is well sealed, the plastic has pores and little by little the water evaporates , thus reducing the amount of liquid.
After two or three years, depending on use, we may have half as much liquid as at the beginning. This is because the flow is bad and the absorption of heat by the liquid is no longer good. So, we have a significant temperature problem, since the heat cannot be dissipated.
In this case, the truth is, there is no easy solution. There are hardly any liquid coolers with a cap to fill them, simply because that’s how you buy a new one. You can choose to “break it” or what is the same, cut the tubes and thus fill the circuit. This process is not suitable for everyone, since doing it wrong can mean aggravating the problem.
If you don’t have the knowledge to do it, you will have to buy a new RL or buy an air cooler. The truth is, if you are not a user with average knowledge, do not buy an RL and, if you do, make sure it is a custom type. A Custom or personalized RL has a water block that we can refill periodically without any problem.