Corsair H115i with Asus Rampage V Edition 10

Should i plug the radiator fans to Y connector cable or to the CPU fan and optional headers in the board, is there any difference?

What about the 3-pin power cable, should it go to CPU fan header or can i plug it to the Water Pump header?

Thanks!

Something has to be on CPU_FAN to boot up. Whether that is a pair of radiator fans or the H115i pump, you can decide for yourself based on the below. The H115 "pump lead" does not offer any control function, but is useful for solving this dilemma.

The unit is designed to power the fans from the pump block. Doing so will allow the fan speed to be controlled the coolant/water temperature inside versus the very volatile CPU package temp or similar. Helping to remove heat from the water is the fans' actual role in the system and they do not affect the CPU core temps directly. Water/Coolant temp is slow to change up or down and makes for a stable control variable. However, you may notice higher fan speeds during warm Summer months or during gaming loads if you use a really big watt multi-GPU set-up. That can be handled by using your own custom fan curve. For this arrangement, put the fans on the pump. Put the H115i lead on CPU_FAN. Do not use OPT. W_Pump can be re-tasked in the BIOS to control any other case fans.

Of course, you can mount the fans directly to the motherboard and use your native BIOS and/or software controls for them. This likely means CPU temp is the control variable and while this works, it will make your fans change speed far more often than needed. Asus has some fan delays build into the BIOS on Z170 and I believe on the 2nd generation X99 boards like yours. These can help with the overly active fan problem.

Of special note, if you intend to use AI Suite on your system, it may cause polling or control errors with Corsair Link. If you intend to use AI Suite and FanXpert and your primary control mechanism, put the two radiator fans on CPU & OPT, then put the dummy H115i header on W_PUMP. Set the W_PUMP header to disabled in the BIOS (same as Full Speed in Q-Fan control). It does not have an active control function in this system, but it will prevent AI Suite from trying to needlessly "tune" that device. You can still use Link to change LED colors or check coolant temps, but you do not want it to run on start up and should actively quit the application after you complete your task.

@c-attack, thanks for you explanation!

Do i need to plug the SATA power cable?

Is it good practice if I connect my AX1500i to the H115i via the Link Digital Interface or, should I use the USB cable that came with the PSU?

Yes, you definitely need to plug in the SATA power cable to an unused PSU side connector or things will get hot really fast. On the H115i and a few other coolers, that SATA connector is only power supply for both the pump and fans (when on the block). If you look closely at the motherboard connector coming off the pump, I believe it only has 1 actual pin slot. This is why I referred to it as the 'dummy header'. It does not supply power as it commonly does on other coolers. On the positive side, it does not limit you to 1.0A current draw either. That dummy header also solves the CPU boot error dilemma, so it does have some purpose.

I have never used Link with a Corsair PSU, so unfortunately I cannot guide you on the best practices for that. I suspect you will want the digital interface from the PSU and the USB 2.0 on the motherboard. Link will take some motherboard data from the USB and of course the PSU data along the other line. There are many people on the forum using a Link PSU, so I am sure someone else can confirm or add better details.

I suspect you will want the digital interface from the PSU and the USB 2.0 on the motherboard. Link will take some motherboard data from the USB and of course the PSU data along the other line. There are many people on the forum using a Link PSU, so I am sure someone else can confirm or add better details.

Any clue on where can i plug the Link Digital Interface in not to the H115i?

Any clue on where can i plug the Link Digital Interface in not to the H115i?

The H115i does not have a Link Digital port so you can't and both will have to be USB connected.