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AIO Radiator Orientation and Performance?


mattlach

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Hey all,

 

A while back I built my stepson a system from a mix of new parts and spare parts I had kicking around in my parts bin.

 

One of the spare parts I had, was my old Corsair H110i GTX I used in my rig before going to a custom water loop.

 

I'm having a bit of an odd performance issue with the cooler.

 

During setup and stress testing using Prime95, I noticed that the fans were running at full speed, and the CPU was running unusually hot and throttling heavily. At one point all cores went below 1Ghz.

 

Fan RPM's and Pump RPM's read using iCue looked normal (pump was at 3200rpm)

 

I opened the case to take look at the cooler and investigate.

 

While investigating I touched the tubing of the cooler, and all of a sudden the fan speeds dropped down to expected levels. I actually thought Prime95 had crashed, but when I looked back at the screen it was still running, the CPU had stopped throttling and was down at a normal temperature level for load.

 

So, I suspect there is either some sort of intermittent blockage in the lines of the AIO cooler that I temporarily alleviated by touching it. Maybe some sort of air bubble?

 

Could this have something to do with the orientation of the cooler? Or is the cooler just on its way out?

 

When I installed it, I originally tried to fit it up top, but couldn't make it work in this case. Eventually I settled for a front mount. Could this orientation be contributing?

 

31698148338_d70396a93c_c.jpg

 

I might be able to move it back up, if I put the case fans out the outside. It would be a pain and slightly ugly, but if the cooling works, that's what really matters.

 

I'd appreciate any thoughts.

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So, I suspect there is either some sort of intermittent blockage in the lines of the AIO cooler that I temporarily alleviated by touching it. Maybe some sort of air bubble?

 

I agree. Unfortunately, that model has a bad track record when it comes to partial blockages and I usually point the finger at sealant and anti-corrosives forming little gummy balls. However, if you just ticked the hose and the temp dropped, that reads more like an air bubble or other pressure anomaly.

 

Orientation is not supposed to matter for AIO coolers and you have to overcome gravity at some point. I think you are fine as you are and you are certainly not the only person in the world with a front mount and tubes straight across. I don't see any clear problem. That said, if this becomes a repeated issue then perhaps you could slide it up and see what happens. Can you put it up just another inch? I can't quite see the 140mm rail on the front. Some cases have a continuous slot for any placement. Others have very definite 140mm locations.

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