AIO orientation question

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The primary purpose of trapping the air at the closed end of the radiator is to prevent the air from getting to the pump/block of an AIO. Fluid permeation will still take place through the hoses, and only the hoses, not through any other parts of the cooler. The reason you do not want the the air to get to the pump is because it will cause unwanted noise, and it can also cause accelerated wear.

For custom/open loops, you want the exact opposite radiator placement to ensure the air get out of the radiator, and into the reservoir. It is also why the order of the loop matters, not because of performance difference, but to help bleed the system quickly without extra noise (pump should 'suck' from reservoir to prevent air from getting into the pump, which would usually require it to be pulsed to get the air out, creating unnecessary noise).
 
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The primary purpose of trapping the air at the closed end of the radiator is to prevent the air from getting to the pump/block of an AIO. Fluid permeation will still take place through the hoses, and only the hoses, not through any other parts of the cooler. The reason you do not want the the air to get to the pump is because it will cause unwanted noise, and it can also cause accelerated wear.

For custom/open loops, you want the exact opposite radiator placement to ensure the air get out of the radiator, and into the reservoir. It is also why the order of the loop matters, not because of performance difference, but to help bleed the system quickly without extra noise (pump should 'suck' from reservoir to prevent air from getting into the pump, which would usually require it to be pulsed to get the air out, creating unnecessary noise).


thanks for that. So I should have the hoses coming from the bottom if I put it at the front of the case?
 
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This all seems like BS. An AIO is a closed system, it should have little to no air in it at all and in my experience orientation makes no difference to cooling or noise. But that’s anecdotal, so if someone has more data that would be great!
 
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thanks for that. So I should have the hoses coming from the bottom if I put it at the front of the case?
If it's an AIO, yes.

This all seems like BS. An AIO is a closed system, it should have little to no air in it at all and in my experience orientation makes no difference to cooling or noise. But that’s anecdotal, so if someone has more data that would be great!
Just shake the radiator, it's pretty obvious if there's gas inside, even a brand new unit will have some gas inside. The older the AIO, and the higher the fluid temperature is (linked to heat load vs radiator size), the quicker it will permeate through the tubing. E.g. a 240mm AIO on a Core i9 CPU will suffer quicker fluid loss than the same AIO model on a Core i5, generally speaking.

If you change your AIO every 4-5 years (Asetek gives a MTBF of 50k hours for their gen 4 and 5 stuff, not sure about the newest gen 6), you are not going to witness this problem, especially if you mount it correctly so the gas never have a chance to enter the pump. Most users only become aware of issues when something changes in their system (odd noise from gas trapped in the pump/block in this instance). It's only when you run the AIO past its rated specs (Asetek consumer units are supposedly tested to a fluid temp of 60c). Also keep in mind the models with bigger radiator have more fluid inside to counteract against permeation when mounted correctly.
 
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If it's an AIO, yes.


Just shake the radiator, it's pretty obvious if there's gas inside, even a brand new unit will have some gas inside. The older the AIO, and the higher the fluid temperature is (linked to heat load vs radiator size), the quicker it will permeate through the tubing. E.g. a 240mm AIO on a Core i9 CPU will suffer quicker fluid loss than the same AIO model on a Core i5, generally speaking.

If you change your AIO every 4-5 years (Asetek gives a MTBF of 50k hours for their gen 4 and 5 stuff, not sure about the newest gen 6), you are not going to witness this problem, especially if you mount it correctly so the gas never have a chance to enter the pump. Most users only become aware of issues when something changes in their system (odd noise from gas trapped in the pump/block in this instance). It's only when you run the AIO past its rated specs (Asetek consumer units are supposedly tested to a fluid temp of 60c). Also keep in mind the models with bigger radiator have more fluid inside to counteract against permeation when mounted correctly.

Thanks
 
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