Area-51 R2, CPU reaching 85-90°C on Windows Desktop

Question

I purchased my Alienware Area-51 R2 around September of 2015. I know, it's an old PC, but it still has some decent components,

the PC has a GTX 970,

intel core i7-5820k

32gb of ram

The PC ran like a beast up until 2021 where I can remember clearly the PC running perfectly fine until I played the game Anthem, upon loading the game the PC fans kicked up to 100% I never heard my fans get this loud where it sounded like a Jet Engine for a good minute or so, until I closed the game application. Since then, my CPU has not been the same since.

on a PC where the fans were barely noticeable, now are running at 60-70% usage to keep the CPU from reaching even higher temps, the CPU now just booting up will reach 70C, and on Windows reach up to 90C - 92C the PC is basically unusable now.

I did attempt to see if the Thermal paste dried out, so I redid the thermals, it helped a little lowering the temps to around 85C - 89C, I also tried reseating the CPU just to make sure nothing got moved around weird, but the temps remain pretty much the same.

I did notice some noise from the AIO pump, I hear a rattling noise upon booting up the PC, so I don't know if my AIO Pump died? I also notice when the CPU gets up to 90C that one of the hose's gets extremely hot where you can burn your hand just touching the hose, while the other hose feels like room temperature to the touch.

I was questioning if I should try to go on Ebay to buy another AIO pump, or is there damage to the CPU that I would need to replace the CPU instead?

Anyone have an ideas what could be the issue?

redxps630 · Accepted Answer

A51 R2

Cooling

Heatsink, H2C, CPU, ASTK, A51 R2

Centauri CPUheatsink. Dell K31VH

it is oem AIO made by Asetek for Dell. according to Cass

Original alien cooler (K31VH) for R2 is entry-level 27mm wide (120x27) which is also used in R4/R5

R4/R5 also uses a newer AIO which is backward c/w R2.

R2 = K31VH or H4TYR (slightly older gen Asetek 27mm circa 2014)

R4/R5 = NVDDX (newer gen Asetek 27mm circa 2017)

Dell NVDDX

Heatsink, LCM, CPU, ASTK, A51 R5

Intel(R) Core(TM) i9 7980XE (1 8-core, 24.75MB Cache, upto 4 .4GHzwith Intel(R) Turbo Boost Max 3.0)

I would use this opportunity that original AIO died to upgrade the cooler if within Dell oem family rather than keep on using the same used old stock.

The newer pump uses sleeved tubes which look more premium than the plain tubes of old pump.

Vanadiel · Answer

7 year old AIO is end of life. I would replace the AIO. You cannot just purchase the pump, you need to purchase the whole unit.

I am assuming you removed all the old thermal paste before applying the new one?

I would also double check the cooling fan on the AIO, to make sure the bearings are not gone on it.

And a good cleaning with compressed air would also be a good thing to do.

BrendanXX6 · Answer

I figured the AIO is end of life, and yeah, I would replace the whole unit.

I did clean up the old thermal paste before applying, it did help the temps a bit, but the fans are still running pretty high

I did a really good cleaning before applying the new thermal paste, the PC is quite clean, so I'm guessing the AIO pump died cause I notice the two hoses aren't the same temp, one is room temperature while the other is extremely hot to the touch

Would you suggest buying the same / used pump on Ebay? Or should I buy a non Alienware AIO pump?

This is one of the options I was looking at: https://www.ebay.com/itm/385167258678?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=DCuLsnshTgG&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Vanadiel · Answer

The easiest is to purchase the exact OEM replacement, so you don't have to fiddle around with anything. You should get another 7 years out of it.

redxps630 · Answer

This from Dell Chris M Area-51 R1 2009HRGD5 Asetek 35-101-1012118 & 35-101-1012150R5TNT Asetek 35-101-1012119 & 35-101-1012151 Area-51 R2 2014H4TYR Asetek 35-102-0000002 Area-51 R3 2017 (August)VTRG3 Asetek 35-102-0000145 Area-51 R4 2017 (September)H4TYR Asetek 35-102-0000002VTRG3 Asetek 35-102-0000145 Area-51 R5 2018 (February)H4TYR Asetek 35-102-0000002VTRG3 Asetek 35-102-0000145 Area-51 R6 2018 (February)HR6V4 Asetek 35-102-0000163

BrendanXX6 · Answer

Thank you for the information! I'm going to purchase the newer pump you linked, I'll post an update here if this resolves the temperature issues.

BrendanXX6 · Answer

I finally got the new pump, sadly to find out that the screw holes don't line up with my Area 51 R2 case, I also notice the heatsink looks beefier than my previous R2 AIO/heatsink

Is it possible to remove the screw plate and add it to the new pump? Or would I damage the pump doing this?

BrendanXX6 · Answer

Sadly, rotating 90 degrees still overextends the screw holes

Vanadiel · Answer

ok, that is unfortunate.

BrendanXX6 · Answer

This is the pump, with the screws not lining up with the motherboard

Vanadiel · Answer

Try rotating it 90 degrees in either direction.

redxps630 · Answer

Seller did not ship you the LGA2066 socket mounting bracket which is square 80x80 mm. What you received is the mounting bracket for R3 AMD Threadripper TR4 socket which is trapezoid in mounting hole spacing. Ask the seller to ship you the Intel socket mounting bracket or ship you a replacement. I think this seller has > 10 units and got a bit confused about the details. It is possible some of the stock are Intel and some AMD mixed up, while the listing is for R5 (Intel).

Since VTRG3 is the cooler used in both R4 and R3, there are two types of mounting bracket for Intel and AMD respectively and one would assume the bracket is a detachable piece and the appropriate bracket can be fitted on pump head.

R3

Alienware Desktops

Area-51 R2, CPU reaching 85-90°C on Windows Desktop

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