What's an inexpensive AIO product line with a strong pump and low price?

Imperialism?

Tenderloin is still a great fallback for a regular staple!

I suppose going with the 'usual' or most common AIOs would be acceptable - just a 240mm and 360mm. Maybe 120mm.

Imperialism?
Tenderloin is still a great fallback for a regular staple!
 
I suppose going with the 'usual' or most common AIOs would be acceptable - just a 240mm and 360mm. Maybe 120mm.

That defeats the purpose of the test to limit it to 2-3 smaller AIOs. My contact at SilverStone pointed to the HW Canuck comparison of the full range of a Corsair AIO product line, but then said it'd still be good for me to do it to corroborate that video, despite the fact that internal SilverStone testing came to similar conclusions, especially as regards 280 vs 360.
 

(emailed)
 
Hi Glenn, regarding AIO sizes, I think Hardware Canucks’s video here is a good example.
https://youtu.be/VDB3ZBHh5Rk
 
Their conclusion mirrors closely to what we see in our internal testing, that the 280mm’s performance is about on par with 360mm. So for noise to performance ratio, plus cost and size, the 280mm is overall the best choice (if the case fits).
 
But yeah, if you can also help contribute to this testing, that’d benefit everyone. There are still a lot of people that thinks 360mm is clearly superior to 280mm because the number is bigger

Imperialism?

Tenderloin is still a great fallback for a regular staple!

 

I suppose going with the 'usual' or most common AIOs would be acceptable - just a 240mm and 360mm. Maybe 120mm.

Taking your advice, I put some tenderloin in my stapler. For some reason, I must've made a mistake, because it worked horribly and, in fact, I'm going to have to buy a new stapler. That's a shame, since mine is a bit of an antique.

YUP I agree - I prefer 280mm! I said this too.

"280mm AIOs are good. Very close to a 360mm in terms of cooling performance and quieter with 2x140 fans instead of 2x120 fans on a 240 or 3x120 on a 360 AIO.
Plus often a case can take a top mounted 280 AIO, but not the 360, so fitment issues can be remedied with a 280mm if wanting better cooling with the 280mm instead of a 240mm.
Downside is the 280mm are usually more expensive compared to a 240mm since these are less common."

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/796701/whats-an-inexpensive-aio-product-line-with-a-strong-pump-and-low-price/?p=5636965

YUP I agree - I prefer 280mm! I said this too.

 

"280mm AIOs are good. Very close to a 360mm in terms of cooling performance and quieter with 2x140 fans instead of 2x120 fans on a 240 or 3x120 on a 360 AIO.
Plus often a case can take a top mounted 280 AIO, but not the 360, so fitment issues can be remedied with a 280mm if wanting better cooling with the 280mm instead of a 240mm.
Downside is the 280mm are usually more expensive compared to a 240mm since these are less common."

 

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/796701/whats-an-inexpensive-aio-product-line-with-a-strong-pump-and-low-price/?p=5636965

I remember. Yay!

Hot sauce. Fixes the food staple problems.

It is all about the condiments.Hot sauce is a good one.

OK. My stupid question. Are Cooler Master AIOs any good? Or bad?

Hot sauce. Fixes the food staple problems.

It is all about the condiments.Hot sauce is a good one.

 

OK. My stupid question. Are Cooler Master AIOs any good? Or bad?

I've never used one, but I've seen some data. It depends on which product line. That's all I can really say for sure. Sorry.

Don't be sorry!

Be happy!

MSI AIOs have the pump in the rad. So are these AIOs OK for top mounting regarding getting air trapped inside the pump?

Or is front mounted the best place for this design? If so, can the tubes now be placed on top without any air trapping issues?

Don't be sorry!

Be happy!

 

MSI AIOs have the pump in the rad. So are these AIOs OK for top mounting regarding getting air trapped inside the pump?

Or is front mounted the best place for this design? If so, can the tubes now be placed on top without any air trapping issues?

I have heard that MSI's AIOs are bad, but I've never used one. 

I don't believe that top mounting with the pump in the rad is a good idea. I know that SilverStone recommends to mount for the pump in the rad or block, and this is to achieve a compromise between performance and longevity. Tests I've seen generally show that top mounting has the worst thermal results, but I'm not done with my testing, and other PCs for various reasons might do better with top mount. Front mount intake or side mount exhaust are the best based on mine and NorKris's separate tests. If the front and top are heavily restricted, then the side, with low restriction, is best. If there isn't a lot of airflow restriction however, on those 3 positions, front is best. That said, both are within 1 to 2 degrees of each other in the 5000x.

I suggest that if the pump is on the middle of the rad, bottom, front or side, tubes up or down, is best. However, if you put it on the bottom, the tubes must be oriented up or to the side of the block. Then again, you should do that for any AIO IMHO. Still, air might build up anyways in the block damaging the pump and causing higher temps. 

If the pump is on the rad end, that end can never be up, and it is risky to top mount it. As with the above, there is a risk of top mounting. I think, though, that it would take a long time for a top- mounted rad to have trouble due to air accumulating in the rad-pump, especially one spread out in the middle. 50% uncovered by water would likely be very bad for it no matter where.

Mounting tubes on top is the only choice for some people. If the pump is at that junction, it would not be advisable to put it tubes up unless you can top it off whether it starts gurgling. Same potential issues, if not.

I personally would avoid a pump-in-rad AIO in specific, and any AIO, really,  that isn't user-servicable.

Thoughts?

Me too. Completely avoid the thing entirely and that entirely and completely avoids the problem.

MSI does state that top placement is OK, but it is something I don't want to experiment with on my time.

"Mounting the radiator at the top is the best option for sure and most mid and full-tower cases are designed with this in mind. You can almost always fit a 240mm or 360mm cooler up top. The 4000D and 5000D cases come to mind here, respectively.

However, the front of the case usually has enough space for an AIO radiator too. You can mount it here if you want to, but we only recommend this if the tubes connecting the radiator to the pump are at the bottom, with the top end of the radiator above the pump. This will make it easier for the air to naturally sit at the top of the radiator."

Quoted from : https://www.corsair.com/ca/en/explorer/diy-builder/cpu-coolers/how-should-you-mount-your-aio/

Corsair is using the pump on the block type of design.

Edited by 0lds0d, Today, 11:01 AM.

https://storage-asset.msi.com/global/picture/news/2021/cooling/how-to-place-lc_06.jpg

from https://www.msi.com/blog/how-to-place-your-liquid-cooler

If I had the extra money, I would build a custom loop.

But alas it's too much for me.

So sticking with AIO then it is!

I thought it important to add this info from SS

 

our pump in radiator design actually has its liquid pathway for the pump in the lower half portion of the radiator. So that means when the radiator is on top with the tubing pointing down, there is no worry about air pumping through even if liquid level was lower than optimal after years of use.

Every position has its pros and cons. If you can mount the rad outside the case, which is possible with my 5000X if I modify it with something to retain the rad,  that is probably the best choice as long a the tubes are long enough, don't you think?

The MSI article is part of what inspired my testing, along with constant disagreements on tech forums about best options.   

Thank You I never saw that before- must of missed it completely.

Yes rads were, in the beginning years ago, often mounted on the outsides with cases designed with some sort of opening to allow the tubes or pipes to run outside of the chassis.

Probably for custom loops, originally.

I suppose there are mounting holes for an externally placed rad on 5000x or is there a separately ordered kit for this? Or from third party?

OMEN 45L ATX PC case has the trade marketed "OMEN Cryo Chamber" designed for an externally placed rad. Supports 360mm rads.