Ask GN 61: Separate Streaming PC vs. Same System, Liquid Coolers

This Ask GN episode discusses tube orientation on radiators & coolers (top vs. bottom orientation) and why it matters, AIO headers on motherboards (like the Crosshair Hero VI), case testing methods, and streaming PC builds.

The last question is an interesting one, and one we've pondered for a bit: As we've shown in our streaming + gaming tests on a single system, there is potential that it'd make more sense to build two separate PCs, both of lower total cost, and run one of them as a standalone capture box. This takes more room (and probably more power), but would resolve concern of frametime variability on the player side and could potentially cost less than 8700K/R7 builds. We'll look into adding this to our test methods, but for now, we tackle the question in the video: 

Timestamps

00:00 - OUTOFTHEBOXTHERMALS

2:39 – Otterwise: “You guys have lots on content on gaming + streaming, but what kind of hardware would be ideal for a dedicated streaming machine?”

6:17 – waffle: “@Steve Burke I want to ask a question that pertains to new MoBos, like the Asus Crosshair Hero 6 whcih come with AIO headers, but don't know how to ask it. It might go something like : Should we be using aio headers or not? Are there any performance benifits? If not, what should we be doing and should we the consumers care if a mobo has an AIO header? What do you think?”

8:35 – Surpuppa: “#AskGn: Thoughts on testing cases with water cooling alongside air cooling? My thought is that as the cases get bigger, the air from the front fans loses its speed and therefore cooling performance. Do you think that an AIO would be an equalizer between big and smaller cases and therefore have a purpose in testing? Or would the workload become too high?”

12:30 - Jonas Björklund Svensson: “Follow-up question to the radiator positioning question: You said that it is sub-optimal to have the tubes going up and not down with a CLC. I have heard this before, but I really don't get why this is the case, probably because of a lack of understanding of how the inlet/outlet to the radiator looks. I watched your video on AIO coolers, but as far as I remember, that particular detail wasn't covered. Can you elaborate quickly on this?”

14:49 – AlexComan: “@Steve Burke I've been watching the Threadripper review, since I want to get it for work, (3d rendering), my question is... Why do you keep calling it "Blender rendering"? and I know, you guys use Blender to test performance, but that's not the point that I'm trying to make. There are so many render engines out there and it might confuse new comers in the industry that it's only good for Blender. Wouldn't it be better , when refering to 3d rendering performance, or video encoding performance to call it like that instead of Blender rendering or Premiere rendering? You don't call streaming performance OBS performance or Xsplit performance. I KNOW this is a very nit picky way of thinking, but who would understand nitpick better than the man, the legend.”

18:27 – Cookiekinggaming: “Gamers Nexus STOP USING CHARTS! These results are not tested or proven! So basically this is FAKE content if you call stupid charts content. Disliked.”

Host: Steve Burke
Video: Andrew Coleman