Game shouldn't allow installation of AIOs incorrectly.

[ITBlogger]

Fun and relaxing game so far.

My only quibble is that it allows for AIO coolers to be installed with the tubes at the top of the radiator, which is bad and incorrect for nearly all AIO CPU coolers on the market. The tubes need to be mounted at the bottom of the radiator, if the radiator is installed vertically, either front or side of the case.

The reason for this is that all AIO coolers have some amount of residual air in the system, and the pump is mounted in the CPU block. With the pipes mounted at the top of the radiator, air will be pumped through the block, damaging the pump, shortening its lifespan AND reducing the effectiveness of the cooling system. Just generally a very bad idea that shouldn't be reinforced in a game like this.

Thanks

[🦊Λℚ𝓤ΛƑΛᗯҜᔕ🦊]

Originally posted by ITBlogger:

Fun and relaxing game so far.

My only quibble is that it allows for AIO coolers to be installed with the tubes at the top of the radiator, which is bad and incorrect for nearly all AIO CPU coolers on the market. The tubes need to be mounted at the bottom of the radiator, if the radiator is installed vertically, either front or side of the case.

The reason for this is that all AIO coolers have some amount of residual air in the system, and the pump is mounted in the CPU block. With the pipes mounted at the top of the radiator, air will be pumped through the block, damaging the pump, shortening its lifespan AND reducing the effectiveness of the cooling system. Just generally a very bad idea that shouldn't be reinforced in a game like this.

Thanks

Jay did a video on this on youtube recently. The orientation of the tubes is not the issue. The issue is making sure the radiator is above the pump physically. The only problem with AIO's is when we have the radiator lower then the pump then air will migrate to the pump and cause the pump to stop working. We can have the tubes any which orientation we want, it doesn't matter. As long as the radiator is higher than the pump is.

EDIT: Here's the video for you:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKwA7ygTJn0

You might want to skip to the 4:45 minute mark to skip most of his nonsense stuff and get right to the relevant information.

[Mansen]

Just... stop. As long as the radiator is above the pump head that's literally a non-issue.

[ITBlogger]

Originally posted by Mansen:

Just... stop. As long as the radiator is above the pump head that's literally a non-issue.

That's totally not true. Air sits at the top of the radiator and the pump will pull it to it along with liquid. Doesn't matter where the pump is in relation to the radiator. And this will get worse over time as the liquid evaporates. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbGomv195sk&t=957s See 18:00 section. It's just plain bad practice to mount the AI with the tubes at the top, regardless of where the pump head sits in relation.

The game should not allow this configuration.

[ITBlogger]

Go into a full bathtub with a straw. Put your head below water with the straw going up right at the water line and suck, because your straw is half in and half out of water, you will suck in air along with the water. This is bad for your pump as it is designed to pump LIQUID, not GAS, it will degrade performance of the AIO because the plate depends on LIQUID passing by it, not GAS, and it will increase noise of your AIO, because it is designed to pump LIQUID and not GAS.

[Mansen]

Originally posted by ITBlogger:

That's totally not true. Air sits at the top of the radiator and the pump will pull it to it along with liquid.

That is - And I cannot stress this enough - LITERALLY not how it works. Take it from someone who actually builds and runs loops on a daily basis (yes an AIO is a closed loop, who would have thunk)

You will hear very clearly if the pump is sucking in air - And having the radiator be above the pumphead, means the impeller cannot suck in air... because there's a ton of liquid between it and the air.

This is why you have a reservoir in a loop. Usually but not always connected directly to the pump below. It acts as a buffer of liquid to prevent air getting sucked into the impeller.

"Not best practice" does not mean "literally bad" or harmful.

[🦊Λℚ𝓤ΛƑΛᗯҜᔕ🦊]

Originally posted by ITBlogger:

That's totally not true. Air sits at the top of the radiator and the pump will pull it to it along with liquid. Doesn't matter where the pump is in relation to the radiator. And this will get worse over time as the liquid evaporates. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbGomv195sk&t=957s See 18:00 section.

You're literally exactly what Jay was talking about in his video: You jumped/skipped through the long video from Gamer's Nexus and you didn't watch all of it all the way through.

EDIT: Additionally now I'm wondering: Do they still teach basic physics in high school science class? If so I'm guessing you may have failed science class. Air in a liquid will not "magically get pulled along" a tube (At least not in an AIO. The pumps aren't anywhere near powerful enough for that). If a radiator is higher than the pump (In off the shelf AIO's) then the air gets trapped in the radiator and will stay there. Forever. No matter how big the air pocket gets. It's basic physics. The only thing that could possibly cause it to ever end up in the pump is if you remove it from the computer and change the orientation of the parts.

[ITBlogger]

OK, so the game will continue to allow bad AIO radiator placement. Got it.

Not sure why you think an AIO will continue pulling in liquid once enough evaporates that only air is available to the pump because the liquid is now below the bottom level of the pipes. You are literally ok with a setup that is 100% guaranteed to degrade in effectiveness over time vs installing the radiator in the proper orientation.

Also, stop with the ad hominems, they aren't helping your position AT ALL.

[🦊Λℚ𝓤ΛƑΛᗯҜᔕ🦊]

Originally posted by ITBlogger:

Also, stop with the ad hominems, they aren't helping your position AT ALL.

I don't need anything to help my "position" at all. The bottom line is this: In this game it doesn't matter how radiators or AIO's are positioned. It doesn't effect anything what so ever in-game in terms of cooling. In-game "It just works". In real life place the radiator higher than the pump and go on life and everything will be hunky dory for several years. Most people completely replace everything in their computer once every 3-4 years anyway if not sooner. By the time it would be an issue in real life their computer wouldn't even be in their possession anymore (Probably sold off to someone else). It's a non-issue in real life as well as long as things are put into a computer correctly.

[spelljammer]

Originally posted by ITBlogger:

Not sure why you think an AIO will continue pulling in liquid once enough evaporates ...

How long do think this evaporation process has to go on until you have so much air in the loop that the pump is pulling air? Depending on runtime hours, liquid temperature and most of all permeability of the materials used in the AIO this could be from 5 to 10 years.
But AIOs in general come with a limited lifetime. Before those 5 years have passed most likely the pump will have failed due to mechanical exhaustion first.

But please do yourself a favour and watch Steve's (from Gamer's Nexus) video completely and then Jay's (from Jayztwocents) answer or additional information. I have watched them both when they were released and I can tell you that you react just like the people Jay complained about. Those people did not watch Steve's video from beginning to end or did not comprehend the points he made.
TLDR: As long as the pump is not the topmost part in the loop it is ok, but not ideal.