not sure what beef you have with GN, but they’ve seemed pretty rock-solid reliable to me for years now. Just good, detailed benchmarking and high-quality journalism. Unlike many tech channels and blogs, they actually cite their sources thoroughly.
And for the record, the Kraken Z7 I bought 6 years ago and mounted vertically is still running quite strong, despite gamers nexus all but telling me I was an asshole for mounting it that way because it was going to die within 2 years and I’ll have only myself to blame.
Quick google is pulling up no parts called “Kraken Z7” so not exactly sure what you’re talking about. I think you’re referring to this AIO mounting video they did 5 years ago? Generally speaking, computer parts are subject to a binning process, which means not all parts are created equal. Just because your AIO has lasted 6 years with a suboptimal orientation doesn’t mean that every Kraken Z7 will last 6 years in that orientation. In that video, Steve uses a lot of qualifying language. In the chapter testing vertical orientation, he even specifically says “this one is more about noise than performance”. They also say that you could mount vertically with the tubes towards the bottom of the radiator, and that would solve most of the issues. They supplied tons of testing and evidence proving that their recommended orientations would work best. I’m not sure how you heard “this could shorten the life of your AIO” and took that as a personal attack, but sure. Take it out on GN i guess.
Also, when it comes to mounting radiators, all that matters at the end is where the air collects, and as long as a vertically mounted radiator has one end above the pump, then air will naturally collect there. Tube orientation matters, but not a whole lot. Tubes on the bottom usually means that air collects on the side of the radiator where it’s less likely to recirculate back into the pump, but mounting it the other way doesn’t usually cause issues because the air can still collect and what few bubbles make it to the pump aren’t significant enough to damage it.
TL;DR: the goal is to not run the pump dry, which should never happen as long as the pump isn’t at the top of your water loop (radiator below pump).
not sure what beef you have with GN, but they’ve seemed pretty rock-solid reliable to me for years now. Just good, detailed benchmarking and high-quality journalism. Unlike many tech channels and blogs, they actually cite their sources thoroughly.
Quick google is pulling up no parts called “Kraken Z7” so not exactly sure what you’re talking about. I think you’re referring to this AIO mounting video they did 5 years ago? Generally speaking, computer parts are subject to a binning process, which means not all parts are created equal. Just because your AIO has lasted 6 years with a suboptimal orientation doesn’t mean that every Kraken Z7 will last 6 years in that orientation. In that video, Steve uses a lot of qualifying language. In the chapter testing vertical orientation, he even specifically says “this one is more about noise than performance”. They also say that you could mount vertically with the tubes towards the bottom of the radiator, and that would solve most of the issues. They supplied tons of testing and evidence proving that their recommended orientations would work best. I’m not sure how you heard “this could shorten the life of your AIO” and took that as a personal attack, but sure. Take it out on GN i guess.
Also, when it comes to mounting radiators, all that matters at the end is where the air collects, and as long as a vertically mounted radiator has one end above the pump, then air will naturally collect there. Tube orientation matters, but not a whole lot. Tubes on the bottom usually means that air collects on the side of the radiator where it’s less likely to recirculate back into the pump, but mounting it the other way doesn’t usually cause issues because the air can still collect and what few bubbles make it to the pump aren’t significant enough to damage it.
TL;DR: the goal is to not run the pump dry, which should never happen as long as the pump isn’t at the top of your water loop (radiator below pump).