Best Location For Temperature sensors included with commander pro

Depends on what you want to measure. I currently use 3. One is tucked on the exhaust side of my GPU radiator in a custom loop. This gives me coolant temperature that I otherwise would not have and a basis for fan control (iCUE does not need to be running to control fans based on the temp probes). Another is on the exhaust side of PSU. I cannot access temp data for my passive run power unit. This lets me know when it is running and how hot, again by exhaust temp. Don't stick the temp probe into the PSU. My third is in a corner of the case, one I refer to as my "hot corner" where the CPU and GPU 280mm radiators meet. It is also down stream of my VRM and RAM. The difference between that reading and my other temp sensors (like motherboard) let me know how hard the board is running.

Not sure what hardware you want to keep an eye on. For most people, somewhere above the GPU or at the rear exhaust is a good spot. Sticking them in obscure corners that do not get much temp change makes it less useful for control purposes. As for sticking them, I use high temperature electrical tape, but there certainly are other solutions.

If you want to measure coolant temperature (or really the exhaust temp equivalent), put the probe on the exhaust side of the H100i v2 radiator. That can be between the fan and radiator or on the aft side of the fan. However, if you have the Commander PRO and a Corsair cooler, you shouldn't need this one. You can set case fans to run via the H100i v2 Temp (coolant temperature) from the drop down menu in the C-PRO. The only reason to do this is to configure a coolant temp based fan curve that can run without iCUE/Link active. (coolant temp = radiator exhaust temp within 1C and scales with it)

The GPU area might be more useful. Can use it for rear exhaust speed and in many systems, the front fans are better set to work with GPU temp than CPU temp.

So ...

I use all four.

I have one on the radiator intake and one on the radiator exhaust. Radiator intake is actually quite useful in comparison against my radiator temperature. As my cooler is an H115i PRO with an internal temperature sensor, the exhaust is somewhat ... redundant. But nice.

Another one is actually just above the pump head. This is impacted by the GPU exhaust heat and the one that I use for most of my case fans.

The fourth is near the "bottom" of the motherboard (lower case). This one shows the lowest internal case temperature and is interesting in comparison to the radiator intake and mid case temperatures.

For the temps on the radiator, I place them between the radiator and the fans (I have push/pull configured). For the others, I route and place them so they are "suspended" a but, usually using a zip tie to keep them in place.

I thought it was pretty well hashed out that coolant temps will normally equalize across the entire loop. So there's no meaningful difference in temps before and after components, radiators etc. Are you guys seeing something different?

Also, how are you using the included sensors for coolant temps? I have one of those inline fittings that I use. It is nothing more than a flat sensor wrapped around the bare metal of a fitting that is secured with a plastic collar.

I thought it was pretty well hashed out that coolant temps will normally equalize across the entire loop. So there's no meaningful difference in temps before and after components, radiators etc. Are you guys seeing something different?

My two temps are on the radiator air intake and radiator air exhaust. Coolant temperature is supplied by my H115i PRO.

Also, how are you using the included sensors for coolant temps? I have one of those inline fittings that I use. It is nothing more than a flat sensor wrapped around the bare metal of a fitting that is secured with a plastic collar.

You should be able to use the sensors with fittings from a custom loop on a CoPro; it's a standard 10K sensor. I don't have a custom loop so I'm using what comes with the CoPro.

Well, air intake shows you what temperature the air is going through the radiator. This is the baseline for the coolant temperature - the coolant cannot be cooler than the air going through the radiator. Comparing the delta between the intake and the coolant temperature gives you an idea of the efficiency of the cooler and how well your cooling is working. It can also be an indicator of flow problems

For example, if I saw a 38C coolant temperature, I'd normally freak out. But if I saw that and the radiator intake temperature was 36C ... well, that's telling me that the radiator is actually working (2C delta) but I have an issue with airflow. Likewise, if the intake temperature is 30C, I now have an 8C delta ... and that's something that I'd need to investigate and could be do to a coolant flow issue. This is actually something that we walk people through pretty frequently here on the forum ... coolant temps have a good deal more meaning when they are compared to the intake temperature.

The exhaust doesn't have too much value if you have a reading on the coolant temperature. If you don't, however, it's an excellent proxy to give you an idea of the coolant temperature. In my case, I really don't need it (as I have a reading on the coolant temperature) but I do like to have it as it's a double-check that the radiator is actually exhausting heat. There are also cases where this can be used to control fan speeds.

Example: Right now (as I'm typing this), my Rad Intake is at 31.0C, my coolant is at 32.3C and my Rad Exhaust is at 33.1C. My fans are spinning at 464 RPM (ML Pull) and 731 RPM (LL Push) respectively ... so pretty much at minimum speeds. However, I can see that things are working pretty well ... I have a 1.6C delta from the intake to the coolant and the exhaust is actually a touch warmer than the coolant at 33.1C. It's quiet and I'm fully confident that at a low workload, the fans can run at minimum levels and the system will do its job efficiently. Oh, and my CPU is at about 34-35C ... so a 2-3C delta from the coolant.

Well, air intake shows you what temperature the air is going through the radiator. This is the baseline for the coolant temperature - the coolant cannot be cooler than the air going through the radiator. Comparing the delta between the intake and the coolant temperature gives you an idea of the efficiency of the cooler and how well your cooling is working. It can also be an indicator of flow problems

 

For example, if I saw a 38C coolant temperature, I'd normally freak out. But if I saw that and the radiator intake temperature was 36C ... well, that's telling me that the radiator is actually working (2C delta) but I have an issue with airflow. Likewise, if the intake temperature is 30C, I now have an 8C delta ... and that's something that I'd need to investigate and could be do to a coolant flow issue. This is actually something that we walk people through pretty frequently here on the forum ... coolant temps have a good deal more meaning when they are compared to the intake temperature.

 

The exhaust doesn't have too much value if you have a reading on the coolant temperature. If you don't, however, it's an excellent proxy to give you an idea of the coolant temperature. In my case, I really don't need it (as I have a reading on the coolant temperature) but I do like to have it as it's a double-check that the radiator is actually exhausting heat. There are also cases where this can be used to control fan speeds.

 

Example: Right now (as I'm typing this), my Rad Intake is at 31.0C, my coolant is at 32.3C and my Rad Exhaust is at 33.1C. My fans are spinning at 464 RPM (ML Pull) and 731 RPM (LL Push) respectively ... so pretty much at minimum speeds. However, I can see that things are working pretty well ... I have a 1.6C delta from the intake to the coolant and the exhaust is actually a touch warmer than the coolant at 33.1C. It's quiet and I'm fully confident that at a low workload, the fans can run at minimum levels and the system will do its job efficiently. Oh, and my CPU is at about 34-35C ... so a 2-3C delta from the coolant.

Possibly the first of several questions - but how/where do you physically attach the sensors for intake/exhaust (a picture may save several hundred words) ... I have a dual rad at the front of my 1000d so id like to monitor those as well as the rear /top exhust as well - so its the best place to put them I'm looking for...