PC started to lag/heavy fps lag and stuttering

[Chalee]

I tried opening the side panel and pointing a fan into it, but the CPU temp remained the same and PC remained laggy. I removed the fan I had pointed inside my case and closed back up the PC as it made no difference in temp. I also tried reapplying thermal paste in case I didn’t do it correctly last time, but everything remained the same.

[Bruce]

Let’s see what others have to add.
@PeterOz @georgeks @xrobwx71 @Malnutrition @Pyro

[xrobwx71]

Phill pretty much said everything I thought of in post #6.

A few more things I can think of is you’re not tightening the block/harness down properly. Use the torque method of start at screw 1, then diagonally to screw 3,

1. You have a blockage or air bubble in your AIO system.
2. The AIO pump is bad.
3. If it hasn’t been covered, make sure the shipping plastic is removed from the AIO block.

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[Chalee]

1. I tightened the screws using that method.
2. The aio block did not have a plastic covering.
3. I believe the pump is still working. I looked online a bit on how to tell. The only thing I did to check was to see if one pump was vibrating a little and warmer than the other pump, which it was.
4. This might be it!

Further context: I started experiencing this problem after I came back from a 5 week trip, so it was off for 5 weeks (not sure if being off for so long is relevant). As soon as I turned on the PC again, I noticed that it was a lot louder. Previously, it didn’t matter what I did, it was always fairly silent. I also started hearing a weird rattling/gurgling noise, but thought it was nothing significant. CPU temps were similar to now, but didn’t affect performance too much so I just brushed it aside.

back to point 2. I didn’t know AIO can get blockages and air bubbles. After looking at symptoms of that, it said a gurgling noise is one of them, which makes me more sure that it indeed is a blockage/air bubble.

I saw some possible solutions involving tilting the PC back and forth at certain angles, or tapping certain parts of the cooler, but will refrain from doing anything and wait to hear from you on what to do next.

[xrobwx71]

You can try tilting the PC as you suggested. Be careful, Make sure it’s all unplugged.

The last resort is to get some quality cooling liquid. Take the system out of the PC. Unscrew the tubes and thoroughly drain everything, even blow air through it. Re-fill it carefully.

[Chalee]

I tilted and shook the PC a lot, but it made 0 difference. I tried laying down my PC on its side for a few hours so the air can go towards the radiator. This lessened the noise a bit, but had 0 impact on performance. Once I stood the PC upright again, the noise returned back to full. I can try draining and refilling like you said. Do you have some recommendations on good cooling liquid?

[xrobwx71]

2 parts auto anti-freeze and 8 parts distilled water. This will keep it cooler, inhibit corrosion and antimicrobial as well.

There are many pre-mix brands out there. Avoid the colored stuff as the pigments can degrade and cause blockages down the road.

[Chalee]

Ok, thank you. I just went ahead an ordered a pre-mixed bottle instead. If it arrives by May 15th, I will empty and refill the tubing. I will be out of the country from May 16-June 9th so I will refill when I come back if the bottle arrives after I leave.

[xrobwx71]

Ok, Let us know! Safe travels!

[Bruce]

@Chalee - do we have any exciting news?

[Chalee]

Not exciting or bad news, but I’ll have to wait until I return home. Luckily I got the date wrong and will be home on the 6th and not 9th, like previously mentioned.

[Chalee]

I am finally back and problem is resolved! I was iffy about refilling an AIO that was probably low end since it came with the prebuilt, so I ended up returning the solution and buying a decent air cooler. I never replaced anything in a PC before, but everything went fairly smoothly. With the new air cooler, everything went back to normal and is no longer lagging. My CPU temps now average around 37-38 while small applications running. So it did end up being the water bubble. Thanks for everyone’s input and help in locating my issue.

[xrobwx71]

Thanks for letting us know! We are glad you got it sorted.