H115i Pump Speed?

Can someone confirm what pump speed the H115i operates at?

 

I believe it's 1900 RPM for the 'Quiet' setting and 2800 RPM for the 'Performance' setting?

 

If this is the case the pump noise should be much quieter than the H110i GT which has a 'Quiet' RPM of 2350.

My H115i reads ~1950 at low speed (quiet mode) and ~2900 in performance mode. I cannot hear the pump itself in either mode and I have relatively quiet fans in my system.

 

Also, I do not notice any performance difference by running in low speed -- at least not in the stress tests I have ran. Perhaps if I let the tests run for hours there might be a difference, but I do not notice it in every day use. I suspect you would need a high wattage CPU (like the AMD FX) for it to put enough heat into the system for a higher pump speed to matter.

There does seem to be a bit of variance in the pump speeds and +-5% appears pretty common between different H115i units. However, I would not read into this as 1950 pump speed is quieter than 2300. The pump should be below your noise floor on anything except a case parked next to your head and the fans should cover it at low to moderate speeds. Whether or not the pump sounds "noisy" does not appear to be tied to one model of the other, but some do come off the line that way. You should make your decision between the models based on other factors. As stated above, you should be able to run the low pump speed on either cooler all the time without a loss of performance. The higher speed might be more beneficial during long duration stress testing, folding, rendering, etc.

I already have the H110i GT and I've also had the H105 which has a much lower pump RPM, so I know from personal testing that pump speed is directly related to noise output. This is self explanatory and shouldn't really need explaining.

 

Use SIV (System Information Viewer) to test this yourself. When I reduce the pump manually from the 'Quiet' setting (2350) to 1900 RPM, it goes from quiet but audible from 1.5m away, to very nearly silent.

 

I'm going to buy the H115i for sure since 400 RPM is a big difference.

You are welcome to do whatever you like, but comparing the three different motors of the H105, H110i/GT, H110GTX/H115i and assuming sound equivalencies based on RPM is an error. This is not the same as reducing the speed on your current unit and experiencing a reduction in perceived volume. Do you have abnormal noise (buzzing, hissing, grinding) with your current H110i? If so, then that is an issue and it should be replaced. If not, you are trying to become to the first person to ever state the H115i was quieter than their H110i. The above was cautionary advice based on the past experiences of other users. You can certainly make this determination for yourself.

Here is one of the features of the H115i according to Corsair's product page:

 

Improved coldplate and pump design: Everything’s been tweaked to make the v2 line our best yet. The new design operates more efficiency for both lower temperatures and less noise.

 

Now it's true that pump noise isn't solely based on RPM speed, but it is a principle factor, and as I've said already, I have actually tested this using multiple Corsair products with manual RPM tweaks. Less RPM = Less noise.

 

Also, I've noticed that many people claim products are 'silent' or 'inaudible' when they're clearly not. For every AIO I've owned, there have been many who claimed this. This is the result of a number of reasons. It's possible my hearing is just much better than the average users, or my tolerance for noise is lower. It's also possible that most users don't have their fans at silent RPMs (<650 RPM), which I do. When I say 'silent', I mean you literally cannot hear it even if you listen for it from 1.5 metres away (the distance from where I sit).

 

For most people this might seem dumb, but for me i'ts a big difference, and one worth at least trying. Don't really care about the money loss.

I am probably one of the more critical listeners around. It is reflected in both the absurd cost of the audio equipment in my house and the more than 250+ different fans that fill a library size bookcase in my office. Most of them were collected and categorized with acoustic issues in mind. I don't criticize anyone for collecting and trying a multitude of different products or zealously pursuing a certain tone from their system. I didn't use the word silent in describing the H110i or H115i. I said below the noise floor. The fans on both units set the mark a bit on the high side. I am not suggesting you are too sensitive. I am concerned you won't be happy with the switch.

 

Be careful of the marketing language used with the H115i. There is a substantial backstory on the existence of this cooler, why there are two competing coolers from Asetek and CoolIT in the same product bracket, and the recent and unexpected name change from H110 GTX to H115i. We'll never know what agreements were made and how things settled up in that dispute. Marketing is marketing. There are a fair number of complaints about pump noise on both the new units and they fill these pages. I have no doubt your H105 is quiet than either, as is my older H110. I hold on to mine dearly.

 

I am sure the H110i pump is quieter when reduced to ~1900 than it was at 2350. The question then is why switch to the H115i at the same speed? If we stick with the idea of like noise at like speed, than there is no gain by switching. If you are hoping to get the H115i and further reduce the pump speed into the 1500 range, I do not know if it will work. There are definite differences in the firmware between products. Only RedRay can tell you where the limitations are for this with SIV. If you are disappointed in the H110i and prefer the look of the H115i, than just do it. That feeling does not need to quantified.

I can only get my H110i GT to use a 1900 RPM pump profile via SIV. Unfortunately that program doesn't work properly with the H110i GT - if you configure the program to use a custom pump curve with Windows startup, it simply turns off the pump completely. I did speak with Red Ray about this and he couldn't find a fix sadly.

 

I could just manually set the pump to <1900 RPM every time I login but I'm lazy. :p: I also like the simple 'quiet' and 'performance' modes which I frequently toggle between in Corsair Link.

 

Your advice is good and your points are sound, I'm just in a unique position where I really want to get my system to be inaudible from the distance I sit at, and unfortunately, the only noise I hear is the pump at 2350 RPM. I do a lot of word processing and reading and I really value silence while I'm working, especially in the evenings.

 

Anyway I'll just have to see if the H115i makes a difference. For me, it's at least worth trying.

Ok, now I understand the obstacle and I would probably roll the dice on the H115i as well, rather than a second H110i. I still wonder about H110i though. The pump buzz really should not pierce the soundscape, even at very low fan speeds. I've been through this on a bad unit before and it is maddening. Hopefully this works out for you.