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H100I V2 - fan replacement with HD120


kinggoose

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Hello,

 

I recently replaced my stock fans that came with the h100i v2, with 2 HD120 fans. I am aware that they are not rated as high for the static pressure as the stock fans, but I am still seeing a 10 degree (minimum) increase just at idle, and worse cooling when under load.

 

I was wondering if anyone else has had this issue of seeing such large temperature increases?

 

Also, whether if I got the ML120 fans, if they would make any difference, as I note they are rated for the slightly better high static pressure.

 

Thanks

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No fan makes a 10C difference at idle, so something else is going on. Most common error is not setting CPU Fan (or wherever the H100i v2 is connected) to 100%/12v/Full Speed/Disabled, depending upon your BIOS language. In terms of hardware, no other settings can account for that kind of change. Even with the fans at base minimum, you should be hard pressed to tell the difference when idle. What is your coolant temperature (H100i v2 Temp) when sitting at the desktop? Does it stay steady? Or slowly rise?

 

I just took my HD set off and put ML120 and 140's back on my two radiators. On a GPU radiator, the ML has a few degree advantage at medium speed (2-3C lower in the 1200-1300 rpm range). The 120mm radiator and TitanX make this cooler very liquid temp limited and thus fan choice and speed do show. However, on dual radiator most of the differences will be thin on anything except long duration torture. There is no discernible difference between my ML140 and HD140 in normal use or even on relatively short stress tests. Liquid temp and airflow is not the limiting factor.

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Thanks for the reply!

 

I changed the fans back to the stock ones, and I still have the same problem of the temps being ridiculous and way higher then before, so it must be the h100i v2.

 

The liquid temperature shoots up pretty much straight away when I boot up to around 40 degrees C, and then when the fans ramp up to 100% it reduces slightly to high 30s.

 

I was struggling to believe it could be the fans, as I have read a lot of reviews on them and no one mentioned such poor performance.

 

Do you have any idea what could be causing this? I did read on another thread that someone thought they had put water bubbles in in which affected the performance. Is that what could have happened to me and if so do you know how I would go about getting rid of them?

 

Thanks,

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Unfortunately this issue comes up in the forums somewhat regularly. Person X takes the radiator down and/or cleans the radiator and then performance is terrible after. My best guess is there is some amount of particulate inside unit, perhaps a combination of sealant/adhesive and the anti-corrosives. It was fine, but when you took it down that stirred the pot and the heavier particulate wound up at the pump strainer where it can cause an issue.

 

This may be resolvable through simple means if there isn't too much of it. Easiest first attempt is to turn the case over on its side while the pump is running to try and dislodge the blockage. You may need to let it stay that way for a little while, then shut it down. While off, put the case back upright and start normally. If that does not work, you may need to try the very unscientific method of taking the pump head off the CPU, then shaking it firmly and carefully. This of course will require you to re-apply TIM and such before remounting. No guarantees with either method and definitely hit or miss. If there is too much particulate, it may be difficult to clear it all away from that area.

 

You may also want to log a ticket with Corsair Tech support (link at top of page). If things are not correctable, you can replace it under the terms of the warranty. Obviously this is not supposed to happen any time you take your cooler down to clean or swap fans.

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I unistalled it again, and tried to slowly move the h100i around to dislodge anything if there was a blockage. It does seem to be running more like normal now, but with the HD120's i'm seeing 6-8 degree difference in idle now, though luckily the fluid inside the h100i is 10 degrees lower, and the fans aren't ramping up anymore.

 

I'm pretty annoyed at corsair for having this issue coming up so regularly and doing nothing to solve it. I had a previous quality control issue with them with a keyboard I had. For such a massive company you'd think they would sort out these problems before they ship to such a massive scale.

 

I'm also disappointed that the fans perform worse then the stock fans on the h100i. I know it is partly my fault for buying them without doing thorough research, but I definitely saw plenty of people say they were using them on radiators. Surely aftermarket fans designed for radiator use, should always perform better then stock. It makes no sense to me, despite the RGB lighting, that these perform worse then the stock fans and yet cost so much.

 

Thanks for your suggestions though, much appreciated!

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You really shouldn't be seeing that kind of difference between a SP120L and a HD120 at the same speed. At moderate speed, the HD120 might even be better on a radiator. I am wondering if there is lingering flow restriction. I would be a minor miracle for it all to settle nicely in some corner. As for the issue itself, it seems to be concentrated around H100i v2/H115i coolers. It is not a common issue across the brand and most likely related to manufacturing choices or practices. I change the fans on my H110 monthly and it has been taken down and re-fitted 40 or 50 times. Those two coolers are made by the same OEM and likely on the same production run. I doubt Corsair is very happy about it either, but when working with a patent holder, you don't necessarily have total leverage. I think everyone is looking forward to seeing the new coolers when they arrive.

 

Technically, the HD series are a hybrid between pressure orientated (7 thick, flat blades) and maximum airflow (9-11 thin, steeply raked blades). On a radiator this becomes something of a trade off. The static pressure fan (SP120L) is very good at moving air when at low speed, whereas the high flow AF120-like fan is massively hindered by the radiator resistance. The faster you run the fan, the less this matters. Because of the blade design, the SP120(L) will not be able to achieve the high peak CFM as the airflow, but when on the radiator they often almost balance out at the higher speeds. A 60 cfm fan might move 35 cfm at 1500 rpm and the 45 cfm pressure fan may move just about the same. Over-detailed stat analysis is silly because there is no temperature difference between 30 and 35 cfm. It just isn't that sensitive on larger surface area radiators. A small H60 like 120mm would be more likely to show differences. Even though the peak is the same, the static pressure fan moves more air at the low speeds and thus becomes the better choice (usually). The downside is the static pressure fan will usually be louder in terms of air noise. I don't like the stock fans much at all. They have a sound quality I have never appreciated, so I would consider the HD series to be an improvement in every aspect. Both the HD and ML series are this hybrid design. Once again, you get decent high speed airflow suitable for case fan duty, are not completely blocked on a radiator,, and likely have a better noise profile than any static pressure fan at all speeds. I just took mine off a little H60 like radiator that has to manage the 300W from my GPU. That is far an above any level of heat your CPU can produce. If I only see 3C max difference between HD and ML, you should only see a fraction of that when both fans are at identical speeds. The latent advantage a ML fan has is that 2400 rpm speed, but I think most people find that a bit much for any kind of sustained use.

 

I think you should put the ticket in with Corsair regardless of your intent. At least it is a more definitive way to let them know how many units have this issue. Also, since the fans real job is to help move heat off the radiator and not cool the CPU directly, make sure you are evaluating based on H100i v2 coolant temp deltas and not just peak CPU temp value. There are too many other factors that influence that.

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Ok so based on what you said about some sort of lingering flow restriction, I took to a less technical solution and I started gently tapping the entirety of the tubes while it was running to see if I could dislodge anything.

 

Lo and behold, the temperatures on my CPU dropped to more previous ones that I was seeing before the upgrade, so you were definitely right. What I'm still seeing is jumps every now and then, like at times there is a blockage which causes the temps to rise sharply, but then they return to normal. Have others found lingering issues once they solved-(ish) the problem?

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Tapping is just fine, as is rocking the case back and forth or anything else that works. Unfortunately, this is something of a permanent condition that can rear its ugly head anytime. Obviously moving it around is likely to stir things up, but even when you don't the particles are in the stream and may move on their own. Since this is not supposed to happen at all, I would contact Corsair and see what they say. Whether or not the RMA makes sense for you is another matter, but this puts it on the table as an option.
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It definitely seems to be a continuing issue for me, despite it only being a day. I can gain literally 20 degree difference if I let it run for a while and then tapping it to shift the blockage while under the same load.

 

I may RMA, but honestly last time I did, corsair just said I need to pay for postage back to them and they would either fix or send me a new one, but not refund the postage. That's a disgrace in my books as it's their own product that is faulty. I'll probably just see if the retailer I got it from will take it back and send me a new one, but it sounds like even if they do, I might just have the same issue down the road.

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