Liquid-Cooled CPU Overheating

Hi everyone,

I have a very old Digital Storm computer (purchased directly from the company in 2014) and with good maintenance it has lasted me this long with no problems. Yesterday, it forced shutdown because the CPU (Intel Core i7-4700k) was overheating. Upon restarting, I checked the temperature and it was idling between 70-90 degrees C. I don’t push the computer at all, so I rarely check the temps, but it seems unlikely that this just suddenly occurred last night (it might’ve been happening for a while, unbeknownst to me). This being said, the CPU only feels mildly warm when I opened the computer (although I might not be a completely accurate gauge of this)

This unit is liquid cooled (Digital Storm Vortex 120mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler) but I can’t find any instructions on how to fill up the reservoir, or at least see if fluid levels are normal so I can rule this out. Every forum post I can find for this ancient piece of tech say it shouldn’t require any maintenance, ever.

Any advice is very welcome. It might be time to buy a new computer, although if I can avoid it for a couple more years, I’d prefer that.

A new Computer is pretty nice even for me a 69 year old Gamer!

But I intend to keep the old beast for server purposes.

My suggestion would be to see how much it would cost to fix your current system then fix it if reasonable then decide about getting a new screaming fast Digital Storm Beast to Game YEARS into the FUTURE!!!!

Originally posted by Cretae The all-in-one liquid coolers are meant to last 5 years+, and then be replaced. You've gotten very good service from yours. Time to replace. If you ask Best Buy, they will probably install it for you at a store if you buy it there. It's a little daunting to DIY, but not too complex. Look for some You Tubes to see if it's for you. Right now is a pretty expensive time to buy a new rig. There are parts shortages all over and GPUs cost over double MSRP because of crypto mining and supply problems. There is a lot of talk online about these issues being resolved in the not-so-distant future. If your rig still suits your needs, I'd wait a bit. Just FYI, 70-90C is not yet dangerous, but there is something wrong. Your CPU is designed to shut down before it can fry.

Thanks for the response! I’ve already spoken to the DS tech and bought a new cooling system as well as thermal paste and will be installing it with my friend this weekend. My computer might be old but it definitely still fits my needs and I’m eager to fix it before shelling out the money for a new one. Hopefully this solves the issue; I’m not sure what else it could be.

Originally posted by Onkel_Ken nathanisaacson. As I mentioned earlier my, the 12 year old DS system I am using is still a great machine even after all these years. I think you did the right thing since your Digital Storm system obviously has several years of productive life yet. But with time, let's say 12 years, it is just about the right time to upgrade like I did while still having a nice back-up system.

Agreed! I just got all the parts today, so I’ll let you know if this works out. Thanks for the response!