[SOLVED] AIO Corsair H115i Temps

Seabass101

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Jan 18, 2016
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Hi, I have a Corsair H115i and it is mounted on the front of the case though the mount has the tubes pointed upwards. I know that air can get trapped doing this, but for space and tubing length that had to be done.

My question is by how much difference can temps be with tubing down towards the bottom of the case like it’s suppose to be?
 
Solution
Much is misconception. As Steve said, cpu could be 90°C, coolant temp 30. Doesn't actually stay that way for long, usually ending up closer to 45ish°C.

Too many think that just because the cpu is high, the rad will be blowing hot air. It shouldn't. With liquids, they absorb the wattage from the cpu. Not the temp. The temp the cpu sees is what's being used under load after the resultant wattage is removed. You aren't going to get a 9900k/10900k at max oc/max loads to run at 50°C even with 4x 480mm rads. Doesn't work that way.

So if you have a 150w OC on the cpu, the coolant will absorb that 150w. That's not enough wattage to boil water with any speed, or really change the coolant temp even 1°C . The coolant is shunted into the rad...

Seabass101

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Jan 18, 2016
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I have not seen that yet, but I was reading online about placement of the radiator and tubes so air does not get trapped in the AIO pump or tubing. I have the radiator tubing facing up and was wondering if temps are higher due to air bubble placement or where they can appear for a Corsair H115i ?
 

Rogue Leader

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Highly recommend against this. It will work perfectly fine until one day it won't. I have a H110i and in my prior case the pump was above the radiator, one day, suddenly, really bad temps. I took the case flipped it upside down a couple times and it worked the bubbles out, Temporarily.

Corsair also advised against this setup. If you can't change it I suggest changing cases.
 
Jul 12, 2020
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It COULD lead to higher thermals, but no one knows where the air pockets are at in your unit without doing what Gamers' Nexus did in this video:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbGomv195sk
Interesting.... all the things we do against common sense just to make it look nicer.
I always was against front or bottom mounting because I don't like warm air coming in over RAM, VRM etc. This is just another reason to exhaust the hot air through the top.

I don't want to start a air-cooler vs AIO war, but this is an example of that one either does water cooling right, or air cooling. Not that in between hackery.
 

DSzymborski

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Interesting.... all the things we do against common sense just to make it look nicer.
I always was against front or bottom mounting because I don't like warm air coming in over RAM, VRM etc. This is just another reason to exhaust the hot air through the top.

I don't want to start a air-cooler vs AIO war, but this is an example of that one either does water cooling right, or air cooling. Not that in between hackery.

I personally prefer top-mounted radiators, but the evidence suggests that the difference isn't really significant either way (what is better can depend on a lot of things about the case and cooling solution). The air coming over a radiator isn't actually that much warmer; it's very easy to overestimate just how quickly heat is dissipated from the radiator. You have slightly warmer air going through the components, but you also have slightly cooler air going through the radiator, cooling the fluid more quickly. There's enough of a balance that either configuration tends to work.
 

Rogue Leader

It's a trap!
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The affect of warm air is overestimated, as the cooling within the system is far more affected by air FLOW than how cool the air is. If you don't have fans moving the air through the system then thats the problem, because the air warmed by the components sits right over them. Even warm air if its flowing has no problem cooling a system properly.
 

Seabass101

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I have air moving out a little faster then in and I have air blowing steadily through the AIO, but if the AIO gets some bubbles it would cause higher temps or water temps right?

and if so by how much could it be?
 

Rogue Leader

It's a trap!
Moderator
I have air moving out a little faster then in and I have air blowing steadily through the AIO, but if the AIO gets some bubbles it would cause higher temps or water temps right?

and if so by how much could it be?

10,000

There is no consistent number 10,000 is as good a guess as 20. I just explained that I literally through poor case design dealt with this very problem. My system went from running 70c at load to over 90c in a flash. And just as quickly back to normal by working the bubble out.

You need to fix this problem properly by getting the pump below the tank. That is the solution, period.
 

Karadjgne

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Ambassador
Much is misconception. As Steve said, cpu could be 90°C, coolant temp 30. Doesn't actually stay that way for long, usually ending up closer to 45ish°C.

Too many think that just because the cpu is high, the rad will be blowing hot air. It shouldn't. With liquids, they absorb the wattage from the cpu. Not the temp. The temp the cpu sees is what's being used under load after the resultant wattage is removed. You aren't going to get a 9900k/10900k at max oc/max loads to run at 50°C even with 4x 480mm rads. Doesn't work that way.

So if you have a 150w OC on the cpu, the coolant will absorb that 150w. That's not enough wattage to boil water with any speed, or really change the coolant temp even 1°C . The coolant is shunted into the rad far too fast for that to happen, where the fins which are colder than the coolant then absorb that wattage, or most of it. It's that excess wattage that'll slowly add up to a constant amount in the loop, and warm up the coolant.

You aren't blowing 70°C air into the case. You are blowing 100-150w charged air from a 30°C coolant. The 'low' setting on a hairdryer is @ 450-500w, the high setting being 1200-1500w. Just for comparison.

If an AIO is sized correctly for the load, the air entering from a front mounted AIO should only be a few °C above the ambient outside air. That's it.

Numbers used for example purposes.
 
Solution