h100i RAD "upside down" or on top?

Hey All,

 

New member here...

 

Sorry if this is a dupe thread. i cruised the forum & didn't see anything else on this topic.

 

I just got a H100i for my latest build. The case isn't big enough to do a push-pull set up so I'm fixing to mod it for an outside mount. I have two options. I can either do a stand off mount in the rear, or cut ports & mount the rad & fans horizontally on top of the case itself. I'd prefer do the rear mount. However, this would require that I mount the RAD "upside down" (with the tubes on top). The manual states that for optimal cooling they should be on the bottom.

 

I HAVE seen a few pics out there with h100 rads mounted with the tubes on top, so I know it's been done. But then I've read stories about the pump struggling in such a configuration. Does anyone have any first hand experience with this? I need to try & get a plan together before I start cutting & drilling.

I have this same question. I mounted my H80i with the tubes on top. It's cooling great, no problems at all. But why in a closed system does it matter? And why, if it work horizontally on top of the case, would it matter if the radiator is upside right or upside down? I'll try to change mine if it really is a bad idea. :o:

The units are designed to operate in just about any position you can mount them since they are a closed loop system. However you do want to make sure the pump is lower than the RAD to prevent the small amount of air in the unit to become trapped and not circulate the water inside.

Here's how my setup looks:

 

http://emblemagic.com/apicturehost/collections/m5ea%20001.jpg

 

Ok, I couldn't stand having it installed wrong, so I re-installed it. I was surprised to see that I did not get the H80i bolted down very evenly. The included pasted wasn't even touching the CPU on about half, split diagonally. I removed the old paste, cleaned thoroughly with Isopropyl Alchohol and used my own Arctic Silver. I made a stencil out of a piece of posterboard and spread it on. Removing the stencil, I had a nice square of paste like comes on it originally. Poster board is very thin, so I think it should be just right. Temps are as good as ever: hovering in the low 60's Farenheit as shown by Hwinfo. (More accurate than the CorsairLink 2 which is an AVERAGE of the various cores.) Ambient case temperature is in the low 60's. I have the unit set for "balanced." I used alternating diagonal tightening, and by small increments too. I guess time will tell. I hope I got the block on more evenly this time... The final re-installation is shown below. At least now the radiator is oriented correctly, and the fans are blowing into the case (push-pull) There are no conflicts with the hoses, but the wiring is somewhat difficult to hide and tidy up. Based on the better cooling, I think I have the block on much better than last time.

 

http://emblemagic.com/apicturehost/collections/m5eb%20001.jpg

The thermal paste issue aside.. was there a significant change in temperature or pump performance after you reinstalled?

The temperature is now in the low 60's (highest temp core, the lowest temp core is in the 40's!) so that is about a 10 degree (Fahrenheit) difference with the radiator changed. It was running in the low 70's (again highest temp core) for the same ambient temp (approx. low 60's) This is all at idle. But I wonder how much of that is due to better mating with the pump? :confused: