Question about H110 power source

I'm assembling the workstation in my profile currently and have a question that seems to have several different answers.

The directions that came with my H110s are very clear -

Connect the pump to ANY 4pin or 3pin fan header on the MB (with pictures)

And the pump has a standard 3pin fan connector with all 3 wires attached.

Yet here in the forums, it is stated that the pump should be connected to 12v, and not a variable voltage or PWM fan connection.

Yet in all the reviews I've seen online, the pump was connected to a CPU fan or a MB fan connector, and no mention was made of the pump needing a steady 12v or that Corsair had contacted them to indicate it was needed.

So what is the real deal?

Why does the pump have a 3pin fan connector on it, if is not meant to be connected to a fan header, and not a std. 4pin molex connector for a constant 12v :confused:

And why does the 3pin fan connector attached to the pump have all 3 wires in use, if only 2wires are to be used to connect to 12v :confused:

Yet here in the forums, it is stated that the pump should be connected to 12v, and not a variable voltage or PWM fan connection.

Different coolers have different power requirements. Some of them do indeed connect to a 12v PSU connector, but your unit gets it's power from a MB header. If you don't have any spare headers, you can use a molex to fan connector adapter to get your power.

 

So what is the real deal?

Why does the pump have a 3pin fan connector on it, if is not meant to be connected to a fan header, and not a std. 4pin molex connector for a constant 12v :confused:

And why does the 3pin fan connector attached to the pump have all 3 wires in use, if only 2wires are to be used to connect to 12v :confused:

Most, if not all, motherboards require that the CPU fan is spinning before they will boot without error. The pump needs to be connected to the CPU fan header so that the requirement for a working CPU "fan" is met.

Yet here in the forums, it is stated that the pump should be connected to 12v, and not a variable voltage or PWM fan connection.

This is would be for a different unit than yours.

And why does the 3pin fan connector attached to the pump have all 3 wires in use, if only 2wires are to be used to connect to 12v

To clarify this and make it easier. the reason for the three wires is this

You have one wire that is hot, the other is a ground and the third is a tach lead that reports the pumps RPM to the BIOS to prevent the CPU-FAN error when first starting you machine. Just as Jkiefer pointed out. But 12v is 12v, not matter where you get it.

Some of these units do use a molex connector and some get their power from the MB header, and even units such as the H80i & H100i use a SATA connector off of the PSU for power.

You just need to disable any PWM function in your BIOS or set the header to 100% This way it will receive full power all the time.

Thanks JKeifer and peanutz94, that makes sense.

You just need to disable any PWM function in your BIOS or set the header to 100% This way it will receive full power all the time.

Perhaps someone should ask Corsair to include this in their install instructions, as there is no mention of this in the H110 instructions. :roll:

So I will have fans connected to the CPU PWM fan connectors and will be powering the pumps through a 4pin molex to 3pin fan adapter, since my board doesn't allow disabling the PWM function or control of fan speed yet. (maybe after a bios update when the MB is actually released to the public)

That would be the correct way to use the H110 cooler and we will ask the Product manager to look at the install Guide.

And put some PWM 4 Pin Cooling Fan Cable extend Wire because i can't connect fans to CPU fan on Asus P8Z77V PRO mother board. Wire is to short.

I have one H110 instaled in front of Fractala Define R4 at my girlfriends PC.

I have a similar problem when I install H110 cooler my computer don't reboot, no BEEP if I reinstall my old cpu fan with 4 wire my computer work fine, can someone help please.

Thanks