H100i v2 questions troubleshooting

Hello,

I've built a new PC half a year ago and since I've been having recurring issues with the H100i v2 noise levels\cooling capabilities.

Here is the current state of my machine while idle:

Idle temps

And while gaming:

10-15 minutes of gaming

25-35 minutes of gaming

And beyond that

Goes back and forth between this and the previous picture

(Example made playing Diablo 3, it varies from game to game)

I've read a lot about this through the months and my cores settle in between 70-80C under really heavy gaming which seems alright, yet the cooler gets really hot.

While gaming (Some games faster, some slower, some none at all) the temps climb to 45C and then up to 50C.

I have no idea why but games like Diablo 3 and Destiny 2 make the temps rocket a lot faster while playing The Witcher 3 and Divinity Original Sin 2 the temps didn't get over 45C (Which, I think, is still quite high isn't it?).

If needed I can give more examples of which games make the temps go crazier than others.

I set my fans curve to be like this:

Fan curve

Anything beyond 65% sounds horribly loud - I mean really loud. Honestly even 60% sounds louder than I think it should but I just turn on the volume.

But no matter what I configure, when the cooler temps gets to 50C it starts sounding like jet.

I guess this is some kind of a fail safe and I do understand the need but what I get is the sound of a jet for a few moments, then back to normal and on and on.

As seen in the attachments the temperature will just jump between 49.xC to 50C and with it the noise levels will go really loud and back again.

The pump itself is set to performance mode and hardly make a sound.

I even thought it does not work at all so I had to quiet down the other fans to the minimum and alternate between the pump's quiet and performance mode to hear it start lightly clicking (Through my PC case, not straight up near my ear):

Pump performance

And here it is on quiet:

Pump quiet

So because it does make no noise difference I just leave it on performance.

Is there any way of telling it works properly besides the RPM in Link?

The ambient temperature where I live tends to get high but my room is air conditioned and while the PC is on the room temperature never goes beyond 23-24C.

My set up is fans above radiator, pulling air from outside.

Also read tons about it, never found a definitive answer of whats better but most people using the same case I use (The NZXT H440) did it like that.

To sum up:

Seems my cooler gets way too hot and really noisy while it shouldn't.

Please tell me if there is any other data I can show to help diagnose it.

(All of the images)

Edit, adding my PC specs:

Windows 10 64-bit

MAXIMUS IX HERO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard

i7-7700K 4.20GHz

GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB SC2 Video Card (EVGA)

Kingston - Predator 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory

H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler

RMx 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

H440 (Matte Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case

No overclock.

Edit 2:

I'm thinking of replacing the fans to http://www.corsair.com/en-gb/ml120-pro-led-red-120mm-premium-magnetic-levitation-fan (Not for better cooling but hoping they'll be more quiet).

Also, would love suggestions about intake\outtake:

Should the fans be placed under the radiator as outtake instead of above it as intake?

First, the ML fans will make a HUGE difference with the noise levels and will perform as well or better than the stock fans. Certainly, at high RPMs, there will be noise but it will be nothing at all like the stock SP-L fans with that cooler.

Now ... for your cooler temps. They are warmer than you would typically like to see. You mentioned that your fans are set as intake ... so they'll be pulling in air from outside the case. First, I'd verify that this is the case and that both are set correctly.

Next, it may be a good idea to get a temperature reading at the intake. Depending on how your system is set up, you may have an room temp of 25-27C but in that area just around the PC, it's warmer. This actually seems possible as you describe increased temps after gaming - where the GPU is dumping LOADS of waste heat into the environment. Depending on how your entire cooling system is configured, this waste heat may be circulating through the radiator, which will keep it from properly cooling. Certainly, A diagram of your system and fan configuration would be helpful.

For your fan curves, having the fans ramp up earlier would likely help mitigate the issue a bit. Certainly, there's more noise involved but you have a pretty low curve. Even the "Quiet" default curve ramps up quicker than yours does. The noise will be less of an issue with the ML fans.

I also have to mention that your case interior is going to be getting warm. If you look at the temps for the Samsung 960, you'll see that it's getting pretty warm (> 60C). That's likely due to an excess of waste heat from both the GPU and the radiator. This is one of the reasons that most folks actually configure the radiator as exhaust rather than intake ... the CPU waste heat gets dumped outside the case, rather than inside the case. Following up with that, if your case is getting warm and the ambient environment around your radiator is, therefore, warm, it will also impact the temperature of the radiator ... even if the air going through the radiator is cooler.

Finally, make sure that the fan header that the cooler is plugged in to is set to 100%/full speed. Your pump RPMs look just a tiny bit low (about 100-200 RPM) which may be normal variation or may be that it's not getting enough power.

Oh ... and before I forget ... I notice that you are running an EVGA card. Be careful with EVGA Precision XOC. It's caused all kinds of issues with the Hydro series coolers.

Second vote on the ML fans. Like night and day. Also, keep in mind you get diminishing returns as you increase fan speed. Running them maxed at 2600 rpm vs 1800 might only net you a 1-2C gain in coolant temp and thus the same in CPU temp reduction. Bad trade for noise and not necessary unless you are at your limit.

First thing I noticed is your 960 M.2 temp is very high. The 960 series stays pretty cool and mine run colder than my standard Samsung SSDs. General idle temps seem warm as well all over. I know you put a lot of detail into original post, but can you describe your case layout in 440? Where is the H100i v2? Is it set to intake or exhaust? What other fans are there and where?

Thank you both for your comments!

Sadly they only had one red ML fan, so I'm getting the second one tomorrow.

Here are some images of my case, hopefully shedding some light on the situation (I see I have to clean the dust, please excuse me):

Whole case

Central area

Upper view idle

Upper view at action

3 front intake fans

Diagram of airflow, kind of

When I first built it I happened to place the H100i v2 fans upside down and then it took me a month to understand where does the low 'vroom... vroom...' sound comes from.

So at first they were above the radiator pulling air from inside to case, and now they are above the radiator pushing air into the case.

Is it alright? I've no idea really. Maybe they should be beneath it?

For your fan curves, having the fans ramp up earlier would likely help mitigate the issue a bit. Certainly, there's more noise involved but you have a pretty low curve. Even the "Quiet" default curve ramps up quicker than yours does. The noise will be less of an issue with the ML fans.

I know, I set it like that because the pre-loaded profiles didn't work correctly, they went crazy from time to time.

I'll make the fans ramp up earlier, thanks.

The real issue is no matter what the profile is, once I reach 50C the fans spin at 100% speed.

I'm by no means an expert, this is the first PC I built alone and mistakes were made I'm sure of it.

As both of you mentioned my 960 gets warm and that's sadly because (I think) I had to put it in here (above the gpu) instead of in here (beneath the gpu). That's due to the fact I have a broken screw exactly where the 960 needs to go (circled in red). I was too afraid I'd break anything so I left it there. Any advice will be welcomed.

Finally, make sure that the fan header that the cooler is plugged in to is set to 100%/full speed. Your pump RPMs look just a tiny bit low (about 100-200 RPM) which may be normal variation or may be that it's not getting enough power.

Yes, I've did that through the bios.

Oh ... and before I forget ... I notice that you are running an EVGA card. Be careful with EVGA Precision XOC. It's caused all kinds of issues with the Hydro series coolers.

I had no idea, I'll just uninstall Precision I'm not using it.

OK, that makes sense on the m.2 drive and also gives you an idea of the amount of radiant heat coming off the GPU backplate. I can't quite see the inner part of the lower 2280 mount. The screw snapped off inside? Yikes. That is unlucky. It is costing you 20C+ in drive temperature, so trying to get it out with a screw extractor might be worth it. Perhaps someone else has a better idea.

As for the general case flow, you can use the H100i v2 fans as intake on the top, but it is not my favorite configuration. In some cases this is necessary, but you have 3x120 more or less unobstructed on the front so the 5 in/1 out set-up is probably causing a backup of heat waiting to exit the case -- right above the GPU in the m.2 + radiator area. When you get your 2 new ML fans, I would put then underneath the radiator pushing up and out of the case.

This should do several things.

1) No more droning. ML fans have a different kind of bearing type that does not let the blade bounce off the bottom of the spindle when inverted. In simple terms, no grinding sound.

2) Restore some balance to your intake to exhaust ratio.

3) Things are not working as is. This is the easiest and least radical change to make.

When gaming and under GPU load, keep that rear exhaust fan going as fast as you can stand. You want most of the exhaust to go through it, rather than the radiator. If the case ambient temp is 40C, then the coolant is going to be 40C no matter what you do with the H100i fans. Don't over-spin them to compensate. Lets see if we can move air out the back or push it elsewhere. If the fans on top run too fast, they will draw more of the hot GPU air into the radiator versus anywhere else that would be preferable.

Yes I should try getting that screw out it's really bad for the m.2. As you said, if anybody has an idea please do tell me before I try it myself.

Understood.

I guess I don't get how it works but if I'll put the new fans under the radiator, pushing up and out, won't it make it hotter? I mean, no matter how hard the exhaust will pull, still some heat will go through the radiator.

About the exhaust, I understand that I'll have to make it run as fast as I can tolerate noise wise.

Should I just buy a new 140mm fan instead of the stock one? I don't know if it fits but there are also 140mm ML fans.

I have a Samsung 950 installed above the GPU. With the right airflow, it's workable.

1) As c-attack mentioned, have the radiator fans as exhaust. Push or pull doesn't matter. Pull has an advantage as it can make it easier to clean any dust from the radiator fins.

2) Let's also look at the fan speeds and how you are managing them. I'm assuming that you have the case fans attached to the motherboard. By default, the fan curves will be tied to the CPU temperature. This won't help you at all as your CPU temperature won't be related (at all) to the case temperature and it's the case internal temp that you need to manage. You need to have your fan curves tied to a temperature that is more indicative of this internal case temperature. The Maximus IX Hero has a number of motherboard sensors but I've never been able to figure out what sensor is where on the board. You also have a header for a temperature sensor - and this one will work: https://www.amazon.com/Phobya-Temperature-Sensor-Sleeved-Black/dp/B00EURF6GW (note: other ones may work as well ... just needs to be a 10K sensor). What I would suggest is to base your fan speeds on a temp sensor that's just above the GPU. You will want to ramp up that exhaust fan pretty quickly to get cooler air moving from the front/bottom and get rid of the warm air from the GPU. The front fans can be a little slower (for noise control) but, again, ramp up as the case interior warms up. Part of this is also to ensure that you have cooler air flowing to the radiator, which will keep your coolant temps low.

This is, by the way, absolutely do-able. It may take some experimentation to get the airflow balance on the intake and exhaust fans just right but we should be able to get your thermal environment under control.

Got my new fans and put them beneath the radiator pulling air from inside the case through the radiator and out (Sorry for through the case shots):

New fans

New fans 2

Sadly, because the fans are beneath the radiator I had to move the whole thing to the right (Look at this for old placing) because of a power cable taking the place. I can move the cable through somewhere else but is it worth it?

After an hour or so of playing Diablo 3 those are the results, which is awesome I think:

New Link results

Plus the fans noise level even on higher rates is far better.

Still I would like to move the 960 back down once I get the screw out and would love any other improvement you may think of.

1) As c-attack mentioned, have the radiator fans as exhaust. Push or pull doesn't matter. Pull has an advantage as it can make it easier to clean any dust from the radiator fins.

When you say 'pull', you mean pulling air from inside out or vise versa? I always confuse those.

I'm thankful to you all for the help!

The push pull descriptions are not overly fabulous. In order to describe fan orientation, you need to two things: 1) Push or Pull - this explains the position of the fan in reference to the radiator; and 2) Intake or exhaust - indicating which way the fan is blowing. You need both to lock it down.

Push and pull is dumb, but it refers to the fan's airflow in relation to the radiator. Keep in mind that unlike a house fan, computer fans draw air from the pretty "front side" of the fan and blow air away from the "label side" of the fan. So when you put the label side against the radiator, you are "pushing" air through it. When you put the pretty front side against it, you are drawing (pulling) air through the radiator and then out the back of the fan. Push or pull usually does not matter for performance. Some fans will make a bit more noise when in the pull position, but this is highly dependent on blade design and the case material the fan is sandwiched between. Some case meshes make a lot of air noise. Putting the fan below the radiator pushing up and out minimizes the interaction between them.

Intake or exhaust is bit more straightforward, but the relevance here is in the total case flow. With your prior set-up of 5 in/1 out, the choke point is at the rear exhaust fan. All flow must wait to go through there and while it is waiting, it gets hotter. You are providing a more effective heat transmission from GPU to the rest of the case. By turning the top fans to exhaust, the intent to is to move air out of the case quickly. Yes, some of the GPU waste heat will move through the top radiator, but that is already happening. The coolant is that warm because the entire central area of the case is that warm. It is better to move the air through then to make it wait. Yes, in theory if you blocked off the rear fan and made it all go through the top, temps might be even worse. However, this is why I suggested turning up the rear exhaust and not over-reaching on the radiator fan speed to start. Let the rear fan take the GPU waste heat out. Some of your top exhaust is coming directly from the front top intake fans and that should not be overly warm. Frankly, this shift of the radiator toward the front should help coolant temperatures, but it did not as much as I would have liked.

Nevertheless, if you want to put the fan above the radiator (but still blowing up and out) so you can move it back, do so.

I was hoping for a bit more in temp reduction. I may have missed it, but what is your general room temperature right now? Is there anything that might prevent the case from expelling its heat? Pushed into a tight corner? Solid top panel preventing ventilation?

Thinking back, I seem to remember fielding a lot of these types of issues on the 440 and its solid covers. Ultimately, those may be the source of the problem. The next alternative might be to front mount the cooler. This might make the interior even warmer when under combination loads, but it should move the radiator out of the heat zone with all heat traveling the other direction. I would really like to get some H440 owners to weigh in with their hand on experience with the case.

Hey all, I'm sorry for the delay I've been away from home.

Thank you for the explanation that makes things far more clear.

The case isn't pushed back against a corner, I let the exhaust from both the rear and the top enough space I believe, as you can see here, it's just like that (Only closed, of course).

Though maybe the problem is with the intake of air, as it's only 6-7cm away from the wall on the other side of the case.

Sadly I can't really put my PC anywhere else and for now that's the best spot I thought of (Air wise).

I don't think that is different from how most people are positioned. If you put your hand back in that space and it feels like a sauna, you might be able to take a standard desk fan and put it in front of the PC blowing toward it (just for convenience). The air will go around the outside of the case and displace the stagnant air behind. Low speed should be enough.

However, I don't think that is the real issue. I suspect it is the way NZXT designed the air baffles on the top and front that is causing the issue. Specifically, the top is trapping hot air close to the radiator. If that top piece is removable, you might trying unlatching it and see what kind of coolant temp difference you get. I was hoping some other H440 case owners would add to this. It is a popular case.