Eisbaer Aurora HPE 360 x 9800X3D poor performance

[Eddy]

Is it possible that the flow of water is restricted somehow despite the pump running 100%? I keeps seeing this bubble sat against the window not moving, I would expect it to move around in water flow.

The bladder does not have to move. But of course, the flow may not be good for some reason. But you will only find out if you unscrew the radiator base and take a look at it. This is the narrowest point in the entire circuit.
You can also open the quick-release fastener and close it again. Perhaps the locking mechanism has jammed here.

When you unscrew the base, hold the Eisbaer all the way up and leave the radiator down. Then you can at least have a quick look to see if the cooling fins have become clogged with anything without having to empty and refill the AIO.

 

[skankeh]

The bladder does not have to move. But of course, the flow may not be good for some reason. But you will only find out if you unscrew the radiator base and take a look at it. This is the narrowest point in the entire circuit.
You can also open the quick-release fastener and close it again. Perhaps the locking mechanism has jammed here.

When you unscrew the base, hold the Eisbaer all the way up and leave the radiator down. Then you can at least have a quick look to see if the cooling fins have become clogged with anything without having to empty and refill the AIO.

Thanks, I plan on doing this.

For reference, here is an over clocker, I believe using an AiO as well:

SkatterBencher #82: Ryzen 7 9800X3D Overclocked to 5750 MHz - SkatterBencher

We overclock and undervolt the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D to 5750 MHz with the ASUS ROG Crosshair X870E Hero motherboard and AIO liquid cooling.

skatterbencher.com

He is getting much better temperatures than I am and at higher clocks.

 

[Eddy]

For reference, here is an over clocker, I believe using an AiO as well:

He is using an AIO with 420mm radiator and it is an open Benchtable. In compare to a 360mm version inside a closed case, temp differences about 10°C are normal.

 

[skankeh]

He is using an AIO with 420mm radiator and it is an open Benchtable. In compare to a 360mm version inside a closed case, temp differences about 10°C are normal.

I don't think the radiator size is a factor in this, the temps are hitting 95 Celsius within a few seconds, I don't think the water has even had a chance to do a full circuit of the loop by that point, the water isn't heat soaked at all yet. It is the transfer of heat from heat spreader to the cold plate, or cold plate to the water that is not happening fast enough. I tried with all panels removed from my case (Lian-Li PC-O11D) and I don't see lower temps, maybe an extra 30Mhz core clock, could be normal deviation.

As I said, I will check the fins on the cold plate, hopefully this weekend.

 

[skankeh]

I removed the cold plate from the pump and noticed some light coloured particles of different sizes in the coolant (visible in the images). Also the nickel plating on the inside of the cold plate has turned black and come off in one area (visible in the images). I rinsed the cold plate under running water, I didn't use a toothbrush as I don't have any spare soft bristle toothbrushes and didn't want to damage the fins. After this I ran OCCT again and got 5250Mhz on the SSE test with 95 Celsius and 5050Mhz on the AVX2 test with 93 Celsius. This is a definite improvement, there does seem to be some contamination in the coolant. This AiO is only a few months old, it doesn't seem normal to me.

 

[Eddy]

Particles should not be in the circuit, this is not normal. It is actually normal for the cooling plate to become discolored, but not for the nickel plating to come loose.
Please write to the support team: info@alphacool.com.
They should send you a new base plate and coolant.
I would then rinse the Eisbaer once with distilled water. I suspect that solvent residue from the radiator has entered the circuit.