"high end" Noob

[Nathan5660]

Ordered myself a 5800x and a corsair h150i Elite capelix 360mm AIO today. Arrives over the weekend. 

 

any tips on AIOs that i should know about? Are the rumours true that the 5800x runs at too many volts out of the box and runs WAY too hot all the time? Does front vs top mount matter for AIO placement?

[Chris Pratt]

The 5800X is a hot chip, but that's because the cores are so tightly packed. It has nothing to do with voltage, per se, other than in general more volts equals more heat. It doesn't run out of spec or something like that, if that's what you're asking.

 

That said, all Ryzen chips tend to benefit from undervolting, just because precision boost is so good at using every bit of power and thermal headroom to increase performance. In the past, it used to be exceedingly difficult to get a stable undervolt, but with the curve optimizer introduced with Zen 3, it's trivially easy. Undervolting it will definitely help with the thermals, and will likely also give you better performance. It's a win-win.

 

As for AIO placement, it's somewhat subjective. I personally prefer a top mount exhaust, so I can keep the front as intake. Wherever you put it, though, it should have access to good airflow, i.e. if the front of your case is all glass, don't stick the AIO there, as the fans will struggle to get enough air to properly cool the radiator. Also, ensure that the end of the radiator without tubes coming out of it is higher than the pump. That will be the case regardless with a top mount, but it's easy to mess up with a front mount. There's always a bit of air in the lines and you don't want that to end up accumulating at the pump. The result can be failure to cool the CPU properly to outright pump failure.