Corsair H100i GTX Bios or Link Fan Control?

Well i just installed my H100i GTX today and keep getting Cpu Fan Error Press F1 blablabla and then after i set the cpu fan header to DC (it was PWM i think) in the bios it work fine and after that i installed Corsair Link but on somes forum people suggest to desactivate the bios Cpu Fan Control should i do it? or i can keep the Cpu Fan to DC on the bios? Will it change the h100i performance? which one better?

PS: I didnt see how to disable the CPU Fan Control in my bios too... (Asus Maximus Hero VII)

You can do it either way.

 

1) Set the CPU_FAN to "full speed" in Q-fan control, BIOS level. This will cause the pump to run at the maximum speed all the time and lock out the AI Suite controls. Once you load into Windows, you'll see the CPU_FAN graph grayed out in AI Suite. This also prevents any power saving features (intentional or otherwise) from cutting into the voltage for the pump. The down side is you won't be able change the pump speed from the desktop, if there was a need.

 

2) In Q-Fan control set CPU_FAN to "manual" and then move all three dots to 100%. This will run the pump at full speed in the BIOS and while loading Windows. Once AI suite loads up, the controls will be open to you again. You will then need to set the pump to run full speed again there. Make sure you don't use the Asus quick fan presets (Full, Turbo, Quiet, etc). Those will cut the pump voltage as well. In this configuration, it might still be possible to change the pump speed between its high/low setting without damaging the pump, but we need to know whether the variable speed pump is PWM or DC control, and I don't have that information.

What is the Q-Fan Control? And is it good that i use DC instead of PWM for the CPU FAN ? (If I use PWM i get CPU FAN ERROR PRESS F1 blablabla)

Should i change the stock fans to Corsair SP120? And i saw somewhere that we need to update the firmware of the corsair h100i gtx if i were to change the fans or stuff like that btw i didnt upgrade the firmware yet of the corsair h100i gtx should i? (Using Stock Fan atm)

EDIT: Nvm found it and it was already DISABLE (CPU QFAN) does that mean my pump is working full speed all time? Now my corsair link show me that the pump is at 2850 all time is that the maximum pump speed? and my H1000i GTX fan are at 1020 rpm (that at max speed too? o.O)

Q-Fan is just Asus-speak for their BIOS fan control system. It's the section on the bottom of the E-Z BIOS page. You can do it through the Advanced BIOS as well, but that is just making things more difficult. You're right, you need to be on DC for the pump. The BIOS is supposed to auto-detect, but sometimes it needs a helping hand.

 

2850 is fine for the pump RPM. My understanding is the top speed is 2900 +-5%.

 

1000 rpm is not the maximum speed for the fans. That is somewhere in the neighborhood of 2400. 1000 rpm would be a normal speed for a non-load situation like working from the desktop, internet, etc. Unless you intervene, the fans aren't going to run 2400 unless you get very close to 80C.

 

How are the fans hooked up? Through the pump block on the GTX? Or through the motherboard? If through the GTX, you need use LINK to pair the fans with the H100i GTX temperature (water temperature) from the groups tab (2nd page). Drag the round fan dial into the row that reads H100i GTX temperature. If through the motherboard and you are running AI suite, you will need to run the fan tuning program again.

You can do it either way.

 

1) Set the CPU_FAN to "full speed" in Q-fan control, BIOS level. This will cause the pump to run at the maximum speed all the time and lock out the AI Suite controls. Once you load into Windows, you'll see the CPU_FAN graph grayed out in AI Suite. This also prevents any power saving features (intentional or otherwise) from cutting into the voltage for the pump. The down side is you won't be able change the pump speed from the desktop, if there was a need.

 

2) In Q-Fan control set CPU_FAN to "manual" and then move all three dots to 100%. This will run the pump at full speed in the BIOS and while loading Windows. Once AI suite loads up, the controls will be open to you again. You will then need to set the pump to run full speed again there. Make sure you don't use the Asus quick fan presets (Full, Turbo, Quiet, etc). Those will cut the pump voltage as well. In this configuration, it might still be possible to change the pump speed between its high/low setting without damaging the pump, but we need to know whether the variable speed pump is PWM or DC control, and I don't have that information.

 

Q-Fan is just Asus-speak for their BIOS fan control system. It's the section on the bottom of the E-Z BIOS page. You can do it through the Advanced BIOS as well, but that is just making things more difficult. You're right, you need to be on DC for the pump. The BIOS is supposed to auto-detect, but sometimes it needs a helping hand.

 

Hello, I came across this thread as I am having similar issues with my newly built machine using the H100i GTX. I'm using the Asus Maximus VIII Hero board. In the Corsair Link software, my Cooler Fan is blinking red and shows 0 RPM. I can visibly see that the fans are spinning on the radiator however. The fans are plugged directly into the cooling block, and then the cooling block is plugged into the CPU_FAN header.

 

I opened a case with corsair and this was his response:

 

"Please make sure you're using PWM/Manual fan mode in BIOS instead of DC/Auto fan mode, use the latest BIOS and USB port driver in your system, disable USB legacy and USB selective suspend (found in the Power Options of Control Panel, Advanced Power settings), try another USB header. If it still does not detect the cooler, grab a mini usb cable to a regular usb cable and plug the cooler to the back of the usb ports on the mobo (trying to identify if the cable provided is faulty)"

 

This seems to contradict what you had stated in your first suggestion which was to run the pump in DC mode. This corsair tech is saying to make sure it's set up for PWM/Manual mode. So now I'm thoroughly confused as to how my setup is supposed to be configured.

There are a couple of terms bundled together that shouldn't be. It's PWM or DC and then one of the 4 preset fan curves including a manual setting and a full speed setting. PWM is a 12v signal, but the idea was to keep AI Suite from trying to "tune" the pump or treat it like a fan in some other way. Unfortunately, I don't think PWM vs DC is your issue and the above was specifically for the CPU fan error problem. The flashing red dials usually indicate a USB or software issue. Re-post your issue with the flashing red info in the title. There are a couple of people who are good about sorting out the LINK software issues. I am afraid I am not one them.

I fixed the issue by following the corsair tech's suggestion. I changed the CPU fan to PWM/Manual mode and set it to full speed.

 

I also disabled USB selective suspend within windows power settings. After doing these two steps my fan was displaying properly in corsair link.

 

I'm not sure if it was both of the changes or just one that fixed the issue, but I'm not touching it now. :)

Good, I am glad it got sorted. Just be careful if you run the AI Suite fan tuning program. It will tune the pump like a fan (probably down to 70%). You likely will need to manually move the dots back up to 100% or use the fixed rpm mode -- if using AI Suite.

Good, I am glad it got sorted. Just be careful if you run the AI Suite fan tuning program. It will tune the pump like a fan (probably down to 70%). You likely will need to manually move the dots back up to 100% or use the fixed rpm mode -- if using AI Suite.

 

I did run the fan tuning program after fixing the issue. I was under the impression that by making the CPU_FAN header PWM/Manual mode and selecting the Full Speed setting in BIOS that Fan Exprt 3 wouldn't be able to control the pump/fan speed anymore? For example, if I go into AI suite and look at the fans, I see the RPM's of the CPU fan, but it's actually grayed out in Fan Exprt 3 and it won't let me adjust any settings. I thought that's what we wanted, so that Corsair Link now has full control of the CPU FAN settings, not AI Suite.

If it's grayed out you are fine. On my platform, AI Suite 3 will override 3 manual dots moved to 100%, but not the "Full Speed" setting which is effectively the same thing. Even then, there is an occasional inconsistency. Just one of those things to keep an eye on.

Hi, so I'm revisiting this thread because I'm still convinced that Corsair Link has no control over anything. When I open Corsair Link, the cpu fan speed is set (and stuck) on 1380 RPM and the cooler pump is set to (and stuck on) 2730. These numbers NEVER change regardless of any settings I change in Corsair Link such as quiet, balanced or performance. What's even more troubling is that when I open AI Suite, I can see the CPU fan speed and it's anywhere from 600-850RPM. So Corsair Link seems to be useless in giving accurate readings.

 

One other thing to note is that I just replaced the stock fans on the h100i gtx with these:

 

Corsair Air Series SP120 (CO-9050012-WW) 120mm PWM Quiet Edition High Static Pressure Fan (Twin Pack)

 

When I was using the stock fans, the RPM's in AI Suite were up around 1200RPM's if not higher. With these new fans, they are running lower between 600-850. I'm not sure if this is normal or not. CPU temps seem to stay low though.

 

I have tried changing my QFAN settings in BIOS to PWM/Full Speed and PWM/Manual (and then setting the fan speed to 100%). It doesn't matter what I do, the RPM's on the fans never go above 800. I would have thought that if I set the fans to full speed they would reach max RPM's which is listed as 1450.

Hi, so I'm revisiting this thread because I'm still convinced that Corsair Link has no control over anything. When I open Corsair Link, the cpu fan speed is set (and stuck) on 1380 RPM and the cooler pump is set to (and stuck on) 2730. These numbers NEVER change regardless of any settings I change in Corsair Link such as quiet, balanced or performance. What's even more troubling is that when I open AI Suite, I can see the CPU fan speed and it's anywhere from 600-850RPM. So Corsair Link seems to be useless in giving accurate readings.

 

One other thing to note is that I just replaced the stock fans on the h100i gtx with these:

 

Corsair Air Series SP120 (CO-9050012-WW) 120mm PWM Quiet Edition High Static Pressure Fan (Twin Pack)

 

When I was using the stock fans, the RPM's in AI Suite were up around 1200RPM's if not higher. With these new fans, they are running lower between 600-850. I'm not sure if this is normal or not. CPU temps seem to stay low though.

 

I have tried changing my QFAN settings in BIOS to PWM/Full Speed and PWM/Manual (and then setting the fan speed to 100%). It doesn't matter what I do, the RPM's on the fans never go above 800. I would have thought that if I set the fans to full speed they would reach max RPM's which is listed as 1450.

 

 

I am in the same boat as you with the Corsair Link, I am not seeing any differences or usage of it. I actually can't even change/alter anything in it as a matter of a fact.

 

When I open my Corsair Link it usually turns my PC into a slug for speed, I'm not sure why.

I'm almost ready to say screw Corsair Link and just plug the radiator fans directly into the PSU. This is getting ridiculous. These upgraded fans I put on the H100i GTX won't spin up passed 800RPM even though I set the CPU_FAN header for PWM/MANUAL and moved the 3 dots to 100% max speed. On the plus side, my computer is really quiet now.. haha.

 

Just to add, the stock fans that come with the H100i GTX are 3-pin, and these new fans are 4-pin so I'm not sure if that plays a part in all of this?

I'm almost ready to say screw Corsair Link and just plug the radiator fans directly into the PSU. This is getting ridiculous. These upgraded fans I put on the H100i GTX won't spin up passed 800RPM even though I set the CPU_FAN header for PWM/MANUAL and moved the 3 dots to 100% max speed. On the plus side, my computer is really quiet now.. haha.

 

Just to add, the stock fans that come with the H100i GTX are 3-pin, and these new fans are 4-pin so I'm not sure if that plays a part in all of this?

 

I could be wrong but from my research and what I have previously seen, the 4th pin is simply the PWM pin whereas the 3 pins don't have that function.

Yes that's the same thing I've been reading as well.

 

And just to correct myself, the stock fans are 4-pin but the cable from the water block to the CPU_FAN header is 3-pin.

I noticed that as well, I think you and I are kinda in the same boat here on this one. I have tried just about every "fix" that I found posted about the H100i GTX and nothing seems to work, no idea why either...

So I ran another Prime95 test. As I was running it, the RPM of the cpu fan were hovering around 650RPM in AI Suite fan expert. In Corsair Link, the RPM's were stuck at the same setting they always have been (1380). My cpu core temps stablized between 65-70 Celsius at full load. I'm assuming my water pump is actually working with those temps but I honestly have no idea since the pump RPM's are stuck as well.

 

The interesting part here is when I decided to open Corsair Link during the Prime95 test, the RPM's of my CPU fan in AI Suite fanexpert jumped up to 1100+RPM. In Corsair Link, the RPM's were still stuck at 1380. When I ended the Prime95 test I witnessed the RPM's of the cpu fan slowly drop down to the 800 range.

 

None of this makes sense to me because I was under the impression that by setting the CPU_FAN header to PWM/Manual at 100% fan speed, that the fans should be spinning at full speed all the time. It is grayed out in fan expert so that shouldn't be able to control the fan speed at all. What is controlling the fan speed of the CPU fan then?

I did the same; CPU_Fan header + PWM/Manual 100% = Still sits at 825 RPM +/- 25 RPM (Which I assume is our Pump RPM??) I have never seen it spike up either, however I haven't ran any stress tests. I may go do that right now actually.

Ok I've got positive news! I was able to fix the issue by following these steps:

 

I went into control panel and uninstalled all Corsair Link apps and drivers (there were 3). I then went into Device Manager and found the Corsair Liquid Cooling System in the USB category and removed it (and checked the box for remove all drivers). It took a few reboots to remove all these things.

 

Then, I re-installed the Corsair Link software. I made sure that the AI Suite was CLOSED before doing this. After one final reboot, I can now see the fan and pump speeds as normal in Corsair Link, and I can adjust the RPM's as needed!

 

I set the Cool Fan speed to Custom Curve, and sure enough when I ran the Prime95 stress test, I watched the RPM's of the fans slowly go up to max speed, and then back down again when I stopped.

 

My theory is that when I first installed the CL software, my BIOS settings for the CPU_FAN header were defaulted to the wrong settings. So even after changing those settings, the CL software was unable to comprehend the changes. So a clean install with the current BIOS settings seems to have done the trick.

 

I'm still unsure why it works though. I thought that making the BIOS settings for PWM/Manual would force these fans to work at 100% power all the time. That is not the case. Corsair Link has control over the fans.

 

Hope it works for you as well!

Hey man, thanks a ton!!! I will definitely try that as soon as possible!! Currently facing a single issue of Corsair Link not recognizing my H100i GTX at all!! After troubleshooting that, I will surely give those steps a try!

I read in another thread you should disable the Q-fan in bios, under monitor settings?

I also set the PWM to 100%

Still not greyed out in AI-suite.. Allthough i prefere fan xpert by a mile. (So much more intuitive to setup than LINK. Even bios is better.

The pump runs at 2360, as before. with all kinds of settings. I even tuned the fans. Same result..

 

So in short, whats the best and most reliable setting - fail prove setting I should set it to?

You disable the Q-Fan speed control entirely. The pump speed will only report in Link; the fan speed reported over the CPU_FAN header is going to be the actual fan speed and not the pump speed.

 

Hello Dustin!

 

would it work if I just disable the CPU_FAN header and plug the pump on CPU_OPT Fan header? I believe the OPT header runs at maximum at all times.

 

Thank you,

If this is an Asus, then the OPT will be dependent on the CPU speed/voltage. If CPU_FAN is 0, OPT will also be 0. Unfortunately, if you use CPU_FAN for a pump, it makes the OPT header not particularly useful. It's more practical function is in a dual fan air cooler, although if you run your radiator fans from the board, you can do the same and connect the Pump to an alternate CHA_FAN header or to the power supply directly.