AIO Mounting - Roof or Front?

[EchoDarkly]

Hi all,

I've bought a build in the last few days (see total config below for details), and I've been reading up on the Corsair H150i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler.

I've seen a lot of thoughts and videos regarding where it should be mounted (top or front panel). The case I have is the Corsair iCUE 5000X RGB mid tower case.

I was wondering if:

1. Anyone knew what the size of the cooler will be (280mm, 360mm, 420mm)?
2. What the standard placement of the cooler is for this case?
3. People's thoughts on placement?

Is there any benefit to it being top or front? Or is it minimal and it should just be aesthetic preference? Do I even have a choice with this particular case? 😂

Thanks for any info 👍


Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12 Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.8GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
10GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3080 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 3000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H150i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Promotional Item
Get Guardians of the Galaxy with select GeForce RTX™ 30 Series GPUs
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo

 

[Martinr36]

It's 360 and with your RAM configuration in that case I'd expect it to be in the roof

 

[sck451]

The H150i is a 360mm radiator (i.e. three 120mm fans). On the 5000X it can be mounted on the front, on the top, or on the side panel in front of the motherboard.

The normal place to mount it would be on top, which I would imagine will be where PCS puts it. It won't make a huge difference one way or another in terms of temperatures and performance.

 

[Steveyg]

Generally the best place for it is on the roof

Usually the 5000X comes with the H150i mounted on the roof from PCS as well

I will say though the H150i was specifically for the 5000X and the window on the rear panel was designed for that radiator to fit. I personally think it looks fantastic here and leaves the roof free for more fans but it's definitely suboptimal in terms of airflow.

Most likely mounted on the roof and that would be the best place for it. Aesthetically I like it on the rear panel window

 

[EchoDarkly]

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies (tried to rush back here to edit my post when I saw the promo video for the cooler on Corsair's website and in big letters it says "H150i - 360mm 🤦‍♂️😂)

If there's no real difference to performance, then it's fine if it's on the roof (think I prefer the tubes heading up rather than across).

Thanks everyone 👍

 

[sck451]

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies (tried to rush back here to edit my post when I saw the promo video for the cooler on Corsair's website and in big letters it says "H150i - 360mm 🤦‍♂️😂)

If there's no real difference to performance, then it's fine if it's on the roof (think I prefer the tubes heading up rather than across).

Thanks everyone 👍

There's a real difference, but it's not a big one, and either option has its downsides. On the front means better CPU cooling and worse GPU cooling. On the top means better GPU cooling and worse CPU cooling. Either way it's not a huge difference, and a top mount is cleaner and simpler and it's easy to do in the 5000X.