What exactly is iCUE reporting as FAN #1?

Hi,

First time with Corsair gear and an AIO, so I was wanting to look at Fan / Pump speeds so that I could understand what to expect and spot any issues.

I have three LL120 RGB Pro case fans, one venting out the rear and two venting out of the top of the case. They are configured as follows:

Rear fan: SYS_FAN3, Fan 3 on the Fan Hub

Top left fan: SYS_FAN1, Fan 2 on the Fan Hub

Top right fan: SYS_FAN2, Fan 1 on the Fan Hub.

The AIO is connected to CPU_FAN.

There are NO other fans connected.

I've attached a screenshot (All_fans_connected.PNG) which shows iCUE Dashboard and also CPUID's HWMonitor to compare for this set-up.

My question is what exactly is being reported by HWMonitor as the CPU RPM and by iCUE as Fan #1 from the motherbaord 1126/1127 RPM)? It does not appear to be the Pump RPM which is reported under H115i PRO section (1140 RPM), or are they actually one in the same, but the readings are from two different sources and therefore have a variance?

It appears the Fan numbering (#) reported in the motherboard section of iCUE does not correspond either to the connection order on the Fan Hub nor to the SYS_FAN numbering on the motherboard itself or the FANIN number from HWMonitor - but at least FANIN correlates to SYS_FAN!

That being said, HWMonitor is also reporting readings for FANIN4, although I have nothing attached to SYS_FAN4 on the mobo, so what can this be? It does not seem to relate to anything iCUE is reporting either.

Finally, for Fan and Pump speeds are these readings broadly what would be expected at low load?

Thanks!

They are the same thing (the pump), but one is iCUE’s prediction of the pump speed and the other is the motherboard’s calculation. Each one samples for a given amount of time, then multiplies to reach the standard per minute mark. You may notice iCUE gives you very even numbers and the value is being rounded. The motherboard likely does not round out the decimals and shows more variation. The long term average should be the same and the pump really isn’t changing speed, but there is some fractional fluctuations in the prediction.

Your pump speed corresponds to the “Quiet” speed in iCUE. Balanced will be around 2160 +-30 and Extreme will be 2850 +-30.

They are the same thing (the pump), but one is iCUE’s prediction of the pump speed and the other is the motherboard’s calculation. Each one samples for a given amount of time, then multiplies to reach the standard per minute mark. You may notice iCUE gives you very even numbers and the value is being rounded. The motherboard likely does not round out the decimals and shows more variation. The long term average should be the same and the pump really isn’t changing speed, but there is some fractional fluctuations in the prediction.

 

Your pump speed corresponds to the “Quiet” speed in iCUE. Balanced will be around 2160 +-30 and Extreme will be 2850 +-30.

Hi, thanks for the reply. By the way, a reboot got rid of the FANIN4 issue and having watched one of DEvBiker's tutorials I have renamed the Fans so I can at least more easily see what the heck is going on!

So I see the Performace options in iCUE for the H115 are i: Quiet, Balanced, Extreme and Zero RPM. As you correctly state, I have these set to 'Quiet' at the moment. However, should my son start gaming and the CPU temperature rise then does iCUE manage this and react accordingly? Presumably I don't need to come into iCUE and change the setting to 'Extreme' for example? When would these sort of setting be appropriate?

I also note through Aorus SIV that it has 'Smart Fan 5 Auto' settings of Quiet, Standard, Performance and Full Speed with my current setting being Standard. Is there likely to be a conflict there at all?

However, should my son start gaming and the CPU temperature rise then does iCUE manage this and react accordingly? Presumably I don't need to come into iCUE and change the setting to 'Extreme' for example? When would these sort of setting be appropriate?

No, the pump speed is fixed and does not dynamically adjust with temperature, except perhaps if the coolant reaches some critical threshold. Fortunately, it doesn't really need to. Pump speed is not the limiting factor in these short length AIO cooling systems. Now that said, you probably give up a few degrees by leaving the pump it in Quiet mode. It's a little bit too slow for full load. My recommendation for almost everyone is to put the pump on Performance (2160 +-30 rpm) and leave it. You should not be able to hear it at the desktop level while doing quiet work. On the other hand, it also gives you 100% of the cooling capability. I cannot drop my coolant by even a tenth when toggling from Performance to Extreme (2850 rpm). On the other hand, you will hear the pump in Extreme mode unless there is sufficient noise to cover it up. I actively use all my settings and tweak at will, but the pump gets left on Performance and that suits all uses.

I also note through Aorus SIV that it has 'Smart Fan 5 Auto' settings of Quiet, Standard, Performance and Full Speed with my current setting being Standard. Is there likely to be a conflict there at all?

Presumably the rest of the case fans are connected to motherboard headers and managed by the SIV program. This will have no effect on the H115i PRO. It gets its power from the SATA power line and its internal fan controller is immune to motherboard controls. There are some coolers that get their power directly from a motherboard header and on those models cutting voltage through fan control acts like a dimmer switch with undesirable consequences to the cooler, pump and fans. Should not be an issue for you and on those models you typically "disable" fan control for the header powering the cooler. You likely can still do that with the speed reporting header on your board and I do the same on my Asus, even though it really doesn't matter.

Yes, I am afraid rename and/or delete is still the most effective management tool for the UI. Also be aware occasionally the dashboard will "re-arrange itself" on boot or especially wake from sleep. I don't really know why. Maybe the order the devices are recognized in on the wake alters the arrangement, but just be aware it happens. It isn't your son dragging stuff around and making a mess. Duplicate fans or temp readings also happen, though the frequency of this occurring has greatly diminished. I have not had it happen to me a while. Usually this can be quickly fixed by quitting iCUE and the Corsair Service in the task manager or rebooting --- a lot faster than trying to put them all back in place and delete/rename.

No, the pump speed is fixed and does not dynamically adjust with temperature, except perhaps if the coolant reaches some critical threshold. Fortunately, it doesn't really need to. Pump speed is not the limiting factor in these short length AIO cooling systems. Now that said, you probably give up a few degrees by leaving the pump it in Quiet mode. It's a little bit too slow for full load. My recommendation for almost everyone is to put the pump on Performance (2160 +-30 rpm) and leave it. You should not be able to hear it at the desktop level while doing quiet work. On the other hand, it also gives you 100% of the cooling capability. I cannot drop my coolant by even a tenth when toggling from Performance to Extreme (2850 rpm). On the other hand, you will hear the pump in Extreme mode unless there is sufficient noise to cover it up. I actively use all my settings and tweak at will, but the pump gets left on Performance and that suits all uses.

I presume by 'Performance' you actually mean 'Balanced' as 'Balances is the iCUE setting rather than 'Performance' which is the SIV setting? I actually changed my setting to Balanced after watching one of DevBiker's tutorials as well. Currently running at 2160 RPM so that is in line with what you have suggested.

So is the Temp shown on the H115i page the coolant temperature then rather than the actual CPU temp?

Presumably the rest of the case fans are connected to motherboard headers and managed by the SIV program. This will have no effect on the H115i PRO. It gets its power from the SATA power line and its internal fan controller is immune to motherboard controls. There are some coolers that get their power directly from a motherboard header and on those models cutting voltage through fan control acts like a dimmer switch with undesirable consequences to the cooler, pump and fans. Should not be an issue for you and on those models you typically "disable" fan control for the header powering the cooler. You likely can still do that with the speed reporting header on your board and I do the same on my Asus, even though it really doesn't matter.

Yes, the three case fans are connected to mobo headers, so as you suggest these will be controlled by BIOS / SIV. The H115i is connected to the CPU header on the mobo. So are you saying I need to change a setting in the BIOS for this header?