Question AIO Orientation right or wrong? How screwed am I?

[Platysaur]

The GamersNexus video has me and a lot of other people worried. I was just wondering, how's this orientation? Not sure if I can flip it the other way, and I'd rather not if I can help it. If I understand it right, if the radiator is higher than the pump block I won't run into any issues, I think. Anyways, a year in and I have no gurgling or anything like that. Thoughts? What if I did keep it the way it is?

 

[bignastyid]

Not as bad as the pump being above the radiator but not optimal either. It would be better if you could flip the radiator so the tubes are on the bottom instead of the top. Looks like you should have enough tubing to do that.

 

[rubix_1011]

There are reasons the video exists - mainly to try and show 'why' these installations are bad or undesirable.

AIOs are not completely 100% filled with coolant. They have some air.

Pumps cannot pump air. Pumps pump coolant. This is the reason. If pumps cannot move air, the pump degrades and the cooler does not function.

 

[yaggaz]

There are reasons the video exists - mainly to try and show 'why' these installations are bad or undesirable.

AIOs are not completely 100% filled with coolant. They have some air.

Pumps cannot pump air. Pumps pump coolant. This is the reason. If pumps cannot move air, the pump degrades and the cooler does not function.

This is a great illustration and makes perfect sense to me except for the middle left and bottom left. Why would air stay in the bottom of the pump, wouldn't it float to the top?

I can't get my mind around what the difference is between Middle left being wrong and middle right being correct.

Both have the tube coming out of the bottom of the pump, so why is one wrong?

Not being smart alec, I am genuinely curious about this.

 

[rubix_1011]

The pump's tubing normally catches air in and out of the pump. At rest, it might reside a bit higher up, but in reality, there isn't a lot of 'space' inside these coolers like you would think just looking at the exterior housing (check out some YouTube or disassembly sites)

At pump operation, the pump housing will still have a little bit of coolant, but also some air, which it cannot displace by pushing it beyond the inlet or outlet of the pump itself - in many situations, this creates an airlock at the pump itself.

Middle left is wrong - air gets trapped in the pump and cannot be moved to the radiator tank, if it isn't there (in the illustration). The buoyancy of air can prevent it from being pushed 'down' into the radiator.

The middle right is correct, the pump does not have to force air down, just laterally, if there is any air. This is a much easier task. Also, the radiator end tank can capture air there and won't be pulled back into the pump over time.

 

[isseymiyake32]

Not as bad as the pump being above the radiator but not optimal either. It would be better if you could flip the radiator so the tubes are on the bottom instead of the top. Looks like you should have enough tubing to do that.

I almost made the same mistake on my custom build. i have the corsair(newest rad) 120mm and the guy at frys had the rad upside down. at first i complained but later found out that your tubes are not supposed to be higher than your cpu. if flipping your rad upside down doesnt work, you might want to consider getting more fans and making your cooling system a push pull.

 

[yaggaz]

The middle right is correct, the pump does not have to force air down, just laterally, if there is any air. This is a much easier task. Also, the radiator end tank can capture air there and won't be pulled back into the pump over time.

scratching head Hehe sorry. Using a clock analogy, the middle left picture shows the tube coming down at 6 oclock, the middle right is coming down at 5:30. Is 5:30 causing a slight lateral position and should you never have the tube coming directly down at 6pm?

 

[rubix_1011]

The exact positioning of the tubing isn't the issue in the drawings - they're just quick drawings. On some AIOs the tubing also comes out from either side, so, 3o'clock or 9o'clock, those are also possible. The issue is understanding how air can get trapped based on pump and radiator orientation, that is the primary item to consider.

Yes, tubing can be at 3o'clock, 6o'clock and 9o'clock...sometimes even at 12o'clock. The knowledge here is the position of the pump and the radiator to one another.

Ideally, you want air to always collect and stay in the radiator - position the cooler to allow this to occur.

 

[yaggaz]

The exact positioning of the tubing isn't the issue in the drawings - they're just quick drawings. On some AIOs the tubing also comes out from either side, so, 3o'clock or 9o'clock, those are also possible. The issue is understanding how air can get trapped based on pump and radiator orientation, that is the primary item to consider.

Yes, tubing can be at 3o'clock, 6o'clock and 9o'clock...sometimes even at 12o'clock. The knowledge here is the position of the pump and the radiator to one another.

Ideally, you want air to always collect and stay in the radiator - position the cooler to allow this to occur.

Okay thank you it all makes sense now. Do the rules change much when you are talking about a pump on the underside of a classic horizonal mounted GPU and it's facing down?

 

[Platysaur]

There are reasons the video exists - mainly to try and show 'why' these installations are bad or undesirable.

AIOs are not completely 100% filled with coolant. They have some air.

Pumps cannot pump air. Pumps pump coolant. This is the reason. If pumps cannot move air, the pump degrades and the cooler does not function.

Out of these, it doesn't seem like my pump fits any of them? I'm not sure. Either way, it seems mine is maybe very slightly higher than the pump.

 

[rubix_1011]

Post a photo of your setup.

 

[Platysaur]

Post a photo of your setup.

I have an image as the first post. Shows up for me at least

 

[Phaaze88]

I have an image as the first post. Shows up for me at least

Your setup matches the top left example in rubix_1011's little picture, but mirrored.

 

[rubix_1011]

Yes, agree. Your setup is exactly that one.

Yours is just in the 'front' of the case, rather than the rear like the drawing. Same exact concept though.

Your issue won't necessarily be air getting trapped in the pump, but you are at risk of air in the radiator collecting in the inlet tank and preventing the pump from getting coolant returned from the radiator....also that same image where air collects near the tubing I/O.

 

[derekered]

The exact positioning of the tubing isn't the issue in the drawings - they're just quick drawings. On some AIOs the tubing also comes out from either side, so, 3o'clock or 9o'clock, those are also possible. The issue is understanding how air can get trapped based on pump and radiator orientation, that is the primary item to consider.

Yes, tubing can be at 3o'clock, 6o'clock and 9o'clock...sometimes even at 12o'clock. The knowledge here is the position of the pump and the radiator to one another.

Ideally, you want air to always collect and stay in the radiator - position the cooler to allow this to occur.

Sorry if I'm not understanding, but I just wanted to know if this layout would work. Planning on building a new PC with parts I got for Christmas, but haven't decided on whether to get an AIO or an air cooler. I plan to set it up this way because I think it would look the best aesthetically. If it won't work, please let me know. Thank you.

 

[USAFRet]

Sorry if I'm not understanding, but I just wanted to know if this layout would work. Planning on building a new PC with parts I got for Christmas, but haven't decided on whether to get an AIO or an air cooler. I plan to set it up this way because I think it would look the best aesthetically. If it won't work, please let me know. Thank you.

Please start a new thread for your particular situation.

Thanks.