[SOLVED] Just installed my first AIO - Two questions?

[simmyx]

Installed my first ever AIO ! NZXT Kraken.

Went fairly smoothly, however I couldn't mount it up the top so had to put it at the front. The spec on my case says it can house a 240mm AIO but obviously not. It also said " max component height on motherboard 40 mm "

Upon thinking about it, that's probably a good thing as if I mounted it up the top, i'd be blowing hot air from the case into the radiator. So putting it at the front in a pull configuration, pulls cold air from outside - into the case.

The only thing is, I bent a few of the radiator lines ( the horizontal bendy things )
Should I try and pry them straight gently ? Temps are spot on however..
Also it makes a bit of a noise which I assume is the pump, is that normal ?
It could be a rattling cable so i'll have to check

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGGpZYNan4I&feature=emb_title

 

[Fix_that_Glitch]

You never want to blow hot air in to your computer case. The fans should be blowing air out of the case across your radiator and in to the room. A few bent fins wil not do any harm and messing with them may result in a hole. Also make sure that the hose inlet/outlet are higher than the pump, or on top not bottom of installed radiator, or you will introduce air bubbles in to the pump causing unwanted wear.

 

[USAFRet]

You never want to blow hot air in to your computer case. The fans should be blowing air out of the case across your radiator and in to the room. A few bent fins wil not do any harm and messing with them may result in a hole. Also make sure that the hose inlet/outlet are higher than the pump, or on top not bottom of installed radiator, or you will introduce air bubbles in to the pump causing unwanted wear.

For the radiator, front intake vs top exhaust is a hotly debated issue.
There is no One True Way.

For the hoses v pump, I think you have that backwards.
You don't want the pump to be the highest thing, but you also don't want the inlet pipe to be the highest thing.

 

[simmyx]

You never want to blow hot air in to your computer case. The fans should be blowing air out of the case across your radiator and in to the room. A few bent fins wil not do any harm and messing with them may result in a hole. Also make sure that the hose inlet/outlet are higher than the pump, or on top not bottom of installed radiator, or you will introduce air bubbles in to the pump causing unwanted wear.

This is the only way I can mount it, if i turn the pump upside down it will make cable management difficult...

 

[DSzymborski]

The deltas between the air temperatures are too small to matter whether radiators are intake or exhaust. Yes, you're bringing warmer air in, but there's cooler air going over the radiator. Technically speaking, you might see the CPU slightly cooler and the GPU slightly hotter with an intake radiator, but not enough to really matter about. The concern is just logical airflow.

 

[simmyx]

Does the sound in the YouTube video sound like it's the pump or the radiator ?


Done some reading on Reddit and lots of others with the same problem. Aparrently turning down the pump helps

 

[rubix_1011]

The whole concept of 'hot air from radiator' is not entirely true.

If the air from a liquid cooled radiator truly is that hot, you have the wrong liquid cooler installed for your CPU. It should never really be that hot or even that warm, even at 100% load and then only if you are running a synthetic benchmark.

Otherwise, under normal operation and usage - even gaming - there should not be 'hot air' coming out, meaning you can orient the fans anyway you want assuming your case has good airflow.

If your case has poor airflow, this will cause cooling to suffer.

Cooling is only as good as the airflow in the case - not necessarily the actual cooler itself.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Cooler Troubleshooting and Questions


High CPU and GPU temperatures:

This could be caused by a few different things, please don't automatically assume 'the cooler is not working' without also checking if the case airflow is sufficient.

Remove the side panel of the PC case. Orient a house fan (desk or box style fan) to blow air into the case, directly over components at the highest setting.

This will represent a case with the best possible airflow possible. For reference, the fans I am providing as examples would look like the items below (just to clarify for anyone who might want reference)

Re-test as you have normally done - play games, run benchmarks, etc. to get to where temperatures were normally seen to be higher than they should. Normal room temperature is usually between 20-24C or 68-75F. Please note that every air or liquid cooler operates as a product of delta-T over ambient, meaning that if the PC is operational (simply turned on), it is impossible for the CPU to display a temperature below ambient room temperatures. If it is, this is likely a bug in software temperature reporting either from the desktop UI or the BIOS reading it incorrectly.

With the fan running at full speed, if temperatures drop by 5-7C or more, case airflow is one major issue to contend with. You will need additional fans or better fans for your setup in order to optimize air in and out of the chassis. This might even require consideration for a new PC case or leaving the side panel partially open during sessions of heavier computing until these items are corrected.

If your temperatures remain relatively the same (difference less than 1-2C), then you likely have an issue with the cooler in question (if CPU is hot, CPU cooler, if GPU is hot, GPU cooler). It would be good to then approach the next steps by thoroughly cleaning the cooler with compressed or canned air and ensuring there are not large blockages in cooling fins or on fans, etc. This might require the cooling fans to be removed from the heatsink or radiator to ensure there is not a buildup of pet hair, dust or even carpet fibers which can trap additional debris. Please ensure the PC is turned off and unplugged during this process to prevent unwanted startup to keep fingers safe from fan blades or accidental shorting if you happen to drop a screw onto other components during fan removal.

Removal of the cooler and re-application of thermal paste & re-seating the cooler can also be beneficial once cleaning of the cooler is ruled out by retesting the steps above.

 

[Fix_that_Glitch]

The deltas between the air temperatures are too small to matter whether radiators are intake or exhaust. Yes, you're bringing warmer air in, but there's cooler air going over the radiator. Technically speaking, you might see the CPU slightly cooler and the GPU slightly hotter with an intake radiator, but not enough to really matter about. The concern is just logical airflow.

The radiator cools better When the fans blow out across the radiator rather than suck air form the other side of the radiator, then through the radiator then through the fans. The static pressure is better when blowing out.

 

[Fix_that_Glitch]

This is the only way I can mount it, if i turn the pump upside down it will make cable management difficult...

Sorry I did not see that your hoses are already in the proper position, on top. I couldn't tell with the first posted picture. When I first installed my aio I had the fans incorrectly sucking air in to case and was getting higher than I liked temps. When I turned the fans around and blew out across the radiator It resulted in cooler temperatures.

 

[USAFRet]

Sorry I did not see that your hoses are already in the proper position, on top. I couldn't tell with the first posted picture. When I first installed my aio I had the fans incorrectly sucking air in to case and was getting higher than I liked temps. When I turned the fans around and blew out across the radiator It resulted in cooler temperatures.

I would say those pipes are in the wrong config.

The highest part of the loop is where any air would migrate to.
The tube leading back to the pump will be much more likely to be liquid starved in that config.

Tell me where I'm wrong.
I will gladly accept the fact that I may be wrong. But I don't think so.

 

[Fix_that_Glitch]

I would say those pipes are in the wrong config.

The highest part of the loop is where any air would migrate to.
The tube leading back to the pump will be much more likely to be liquid starved in that config.

Tell me where I'm wrong.
I will gladly accept the fact that I may be wrong. But I don't think so.

Its exactly what I said. You want the hoses above the PUMP so that the air is trapped at the highest point, I.e. hoses, and then will not be able to migrate to the pump liquid starvation. Air always travels to the highest point in liquid, but the liquid will travel freely even with air in the top of hose because it is a closed loop.

 

[USAFRet]

Its exactly what I said. You want the hoses above the PUMP so that the air is trapped at the highest point, I.e. hoses, and then will not be able to migrate to the pump liquid starvation. Air always travels to the highest point in liquid, but the liquid will travel freely even with air in the top of hose because it is a closed loop.

And what I'm saying is that you don't either the pump OR the hoses to be at the top of the chain.

Flip the rad 180, pipes at the bottom.
Any air would congregate at the very top of the rad, and not be sucked into the return tube.

 

[Fix_that_Glitch]

Think of it this way, the liquid will move, the bubble will stay in one place, it will not cause a void because the air is in the liquid. If you turn the radiator upside down the pump is now higher than the tubes and the air will stay in the pump because it can not push the air down to the tube and then through the radiator.

 

[bignastyid]

It is better to have the hoses at the bottom so the air is trapped at the top of the radiator. This way the hoses remain full.

 

[USAFRet]

Think of it this way, the liquid will move, the bubble will stay in one place, it will not cause a void because the air is in the liquid. If you turn the radiator upside down the pump is now higher than the tubes and the air will stay in the pump because it can not push the air down to the tube and then through the radiator.

Flipped over, the rad is in exactly the same place vertically, with respect to the pump.

 

[USAFRet]

Quick and dirty CAD.

Green = pump
Red = supply to the rad
Cyan = return to the pump
Blue = liquid in the rad
White = air space in the rad (exaggerated size for clarity)

The pump is in the same place vertically in both configs.

Which config is more likely to suck in air going back to the pump?

 

[simmyx]

I've done lots of reading and YouTube.
From what I learnt, as long as the pump is lower then the top of the radiatior you're all good as the air will sit at the top of the rad and not get into the pump.
The best way is to mount the rad at the top, but that was impossible in my tower. second best place is with the pipes at the bottom, and third is pipes at the top (as mine is)

BTW. the AIO is now silent. So i'm happy with that

 

[Deleted member 2838871]

You never want to blow hot air in to your computer case.

For the radiator, front intake vs top exhaust is a hotly debated issue.
There is no One True Way.

I'd agree with both... and I've done it both ways. Previous 7700k build I had in a S340 Elite case with my 280mm AIO in the front... blowing warm air into the case. The front of the case was closed and sucked air in thru the top. Can't believe I went with this case... such a horrible case looking back on it. Temps were never a problem this way... and it was done this way because I couldn't put the AIO up top without cutting the top of the case so it would have airflow for more than 1 fan. Lesson learned.

The new 10900k build I made the case a lot bigger priority... and I went with with Fractal Design Meshify 2. It's a case that's much bigger... has a mesh front and top... so naturally this time I put the 360mm AIO at the top blowing the warm air out... and now I have true cool air coming in the front (and bottom) without passing thru any AIO radiator.

There is no one true way... but option 2 here definitely makes a lot more sense.

 

[simmyx]

I switched the radiator round just to decrease the chance of air bubbles obstructing anything

 

[simmyx]

This is how it's now mounted...

 

[simmyx]

I have a meshify C and on the spec for the case it says it can house a 240mm rad up top, however it definitely can't.
On the site it says " (max component height on motherboard 40 mm) "

Is it simply because my specific RAD was too big for it ?

 

[rubix_1011]

This is how it's now mounted...

This is your best option. The pump might still have some air but hopefully will get pushed out as it runs. This should cause air to collect at the top (vertical end) of the radiator, which is what you would want. Over a short period of time, this should correct itself and be what you want.