Best AIO Placement for a Gaming PC

[hanfo]

you have two options:
1. your cpu heats your gpu
2. your gpu heats your cpu
pick your poison

[JumpyWizard]

The highest priority should be not killing your water pump

[Makerr]

Jayztwocents made this comment about the AIO on top: the hot air going through will be far cooler than the temp of the radiator even with it being warmer than the ambient temp. Also, having it on top helps to make sure the pump isnt the highest point in the loop.

[earlygrayce]

I live in the Australian desert and my office regularly sits above 30c so top mounted AIO saves my GPUs ass.
It meant the two fans on the old CPU cooler are now extracting heat rather than just moving it around inside the case.

[theworkshopwhisperer.]

The counter argument is the hot air is already rising so leapfrog that shear flow is better than overall efficiency.

[LOKOBach]

For anyone who's struggling to understand (that's okay btw), the computer overall produces heat that you need to move away from it, maximizing the order in which you do it is squeezing the last drops of efficiency, not that important as long as everything is properly cooled.

[arnone]

Gamers Nexus did a video on radiator placement. placing the rad at the front or side with fans as intake will technically affect the temperature of the graphics card.

[Zindoviev]

For the AIO the best position is on the top of the case, in that case the air left in the AIO will stay always in the radiator instead going into your pump and killing it.

[Bronyboiiiii]

Just make sure that the pump *IS NOT* the highest point in the water cycle! Or else air will end up in the pump it can't pump water anymore and can even brake in the worst case.

[viscellera]

This is why i love the O11 dynamic. Enough fan space for both a front AIO position and exclusive fan intake for the GPU on the bottom.

[jamesbiser]

gpu temperature was considered and that seems to be the most important temp

[ClearAlera]

"Hot air rises" is one of the most often used phrases in PC cooling that sounds like common sense but it doesn't actually matter compared to how fast fans can move the air. If you open your windows while speeding down the freeway you're not going to be able to tell which way the wind is blowing because the speed of the car is so overwhelming it doesn't matter. A more extreme example, but it's the same concept.

[gtf]

Two disappointing points with this advice:

1. A CPU will almost always tolerate more heat than a GPU, so having the GPU use warm air from the AIO on the front, would likely negatively impact temperatures/performance more

2. The "hot air rises" argument is objectively invalid unless it's a passive system - the airflow from even slow RPM fans will always completely negate any natural convection (with PC heat levels)

[thegamingnerd]

Another important thing is ensuring that there is a part of your AIO that is above your cpu. That way, air can't get caught in the cpu pump

[hamzjo]

You have to put the radiator above the pump so air Bubbles don't damage you pump ...

[XxCrazZyNooBxX]

GPU heats up way more in gaming then CPU so AIO on Top is the way to go for gaming, please people stop following these Youtubers who just post missinformation and use common sense :)

[DataStorm]

It's ALL baloney, air rising from heat is a TINY force that fans will overpower 10.000x in lowest rpm.
Also hot air? you have water cooling on the CPU and a GPU without there. THINK about it.
you EITHER throw out the "hot" air (I get back to it) with exhaust fans THRU the radiator, or throw "hot" air IN the case for the GPU to munch... It makes no difference.
With the amount of fans in that white case, air won't be longer in there then 1-2 seconds.. good luck in heating that so fast.
Direction doesn't matter, as long as you make sure the heated air is going in a direction that won't get sucked back into the case. In general that is to be on top, and back, and intake from bottom and front. (while in winter you might like hot air over you, in summer you don't.

[AllThingsInterestingOfficial]

As far as air flow maybe but the aio pump should be lower than the radiator to keep air out of the pump. I am going to disagree with our YouTube overlord on this one the best way to have the aio setup is with the radiator at the top and fans pulling air up and out through the radiator. If you have good air intake it will work great.

[Honerkamp]

GPU cooling matters more than CPU cooling.

[SUPERMAR]

Or a 3rd option. Mount the radiator outside the case. Fresh air for both CPU and GPU