H110i Setting fans to liquid temp

[boeing253]

Apologies if this has been covered in previous topics.

 

It was suggested I post the question here to help me find the answer.

 

Currently I run my H110i fans based off the CPU temprature (and I've always done this way), however my fans are quite loud and speed up/down rapidly when the CPU temp changes.

 

I would like to try setting the fans to change based off the Liquid Temprature as it was pointed out to me that there's no point having the fans vary in speed so rapidly when it's the Liquid your cooling not the CPU.

 

But I have no idea about the speed points I should set as I've always worked off CPU temp and increasing the fans points from that. So I would like some help to set the fan speed by the temprature of the Liquid.

 

Many Thanks

[DevBiker]

Hey there.

Yes, you should base your fan speed on your liquid temperature, not your CPU temperature. The fans blow air through the radiator to cool the liquid coolant, which in turn absorbs heat from the CPU (via the cold plate). CPU temperature will vary widely (you've noticed this) but the coolant temp won't; the liquid has a higher specific heat than air and so take longer to both heat up and cool down. That said, the liquid temperature will also tend to be more stable.

So ... you certainly don't want or need your fans to spin fast for every little blip in CPU temperature (blips will have little or no impact on liquid temperature). OTOH, after a long, intense gaming session, you'll want your fans spinning a bit longer to start cooling down the liquid after you've shut down the game.

Start with using one of the preset profiles for the fan speeds ... you should have "Performance", "Balanced" and "Quiet". Quiet, believe it or not, works pretty well for most folks with the stock fans (which it sounds like you have). If you're overclocked, you might want to look at Balanced. Performance isn't typically necessary.

If the noise of the fans still bothers you after doing this (which it probably won't), you might also look at the ML series of fans. They are very good ... at least as good as the stock fans (which are actually excellent for cooling a radiator, even if they are loud) ... and they are very, very quiet.

[DevBiker]

Oh ... and one additional comment ... you need to manage the ambient temperature of the air that's flowing through that radiator as well ... the cooler that the air blowing through the radiator is, the more efficient your cooling will be.

Your motherboard does have a connection for a temperature sensor. You can use something like this https://www.amazon.com/XSPC-XS-10KSEN-Wire-Sensor-10K/dp/B00CMR38LC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513318107&sr=8-1&keywords=2+pin+temperature+sensor+cable and tie your chassis fan speeds to your internal case temperature. You'll notice that your case will heat up, pretty significantly, when you are driving that GPU. Stressing just the CPU won't have an impact on system temp. This is also one of the big advantages of the Commander Pro ... it comes with 4 temp sensors that you can use to manage your fans speeds based on ambient temps.

[c-attack]

It's hard hard to give you specific set temperature points since your room and case environment play such a heavy role in the liquid temp number. Your perfect curve points for Winter are likely too loud for Summer if you live in a temperature climate. The 40C=100% fan speed line in the default profiles is based on a standard room temperature of 20-23C, but of course that doesn't always apply for many. Either way, there is nothing overly special about the 40C mark and you can pick your own threshold for noise and temperature.

 

As a general rule, most people will see idle coolant temperatures about 4-7C above the room temp and it is easy to see how your idle H110i Temp steps up or down based on your room temperature. Load coolant temps may be about +10C above that. On a straight CPU stress test, you might only see +6C. Surprising to some is they see higher coolant temperatures when gaming or under any kind of long duration GPU load. This is not due to increased CPU activity over a longer duration, but usually an increase in the case ambient temperature resulting from the extended GPU load. Presumably, your H110i is in the top of the 780 and exhausting or at least that is where I would put it. The 780T is big enough you might not see much difference in those load types.

 

The quick and easy way to set a temp scale is take your base idle coolant temperature, add 10C, and set that for the highest fan speed you can live with while using the PC. Save the last point for about +5C further down the line to let you know when you have left the normal operational zone. You won't need to notice the temps in Link. You will hear the fans first. If you want to do more tweaking, find your typical max H110i temp when under load. Again set that to a comfortable fan level for daily use. Then again slant the end of the curve upwards to let you know if things go out of bounds.

 

Most people use more fan speed than they really need. The fans do not need to be reactive and with a larger 280mm cooler you can keep things smooth and steady all the time. On my 5930K that pulls about 215W, I still only use 1300 rpm on a 280mm when benchmarking. Certainly less for daily use and there is no good reason for me to let the fans drift above 1000 rpm. You can experiment with fixed fan speeds when under load to see how much difference there really is between 800 rpm and 1000 (or whatever). Take note of the coolant starting value and assess on the delta between initial and peak values. +1C of coolant temp only equal +1C CPU temp, so fighting for a -2C reduction may not have much value when coupled with a noticeable noise increase. 140mm fans have a fairly linear return in terms of performance/rpm. At the lowest levels (sub 500 rpm, you will see much larger temperature deltas. Once you go past 600-700 differences become smaller and you can pick based on noise rather than temperature. Most people not living right on the thermal edge can get all the performance they need with 800-1000 rpm at load.

[boeing253]

Thanks for such a detailed answer c-attack, it has certainly cleared things up for me.

 

I'm going to try what the other member suggested first off and set the fan profile to Quiet and see how I go with that.

 

Also just to confirm your query I am indeed running the H110i exhausting through the top of the case.

 

I can always go up to balanced profile on the fans if I need to. It will be nice not to have such a rapid changing fan curve & noise.

[boeing253]

I forgot to mention, that where I live in summer the ambient room temp gets between 26c and 30c. In winter it goes the opposite and sit between 10c and 16c.

 

I'll see how quiet profile goes on coolant temp and adjust as needed.

[c-attack]

Yes, you can certainly start in Quiet mode with the control "Group" set to H110i Temp (coolant temp). Most people can stop there and leave it year round. However, when the tweak bug gets a hold of you, remember to watch the changes in H110i Temp to see if it there is any actual benefit. As the total system temps climb in Summer, it is easy to think you need the increase in speed. This is only true if you are approaching your personal limit for CPU or core temps. Most of the time I end up setting the top radiator fans to coordinate with the rear exhaust as part of the overall intake/exhaust ratio, rather than specifically for coolant temperature.

[boeing253]

Yes, you can certainly start in Quiet mode with the control "Group" set to H110i Temp (coolant temp). Most people can stop there and leave it year round. However, when the tweak bug gets a hold of you, remember to watch the changes in H110i Temp to see if it there is any actual benefit. As the total system temps climb in Summer, it is easy to think you need the increase in speed. This is only true if you are approaching your personal limit for CPU or core temps. Most of the time I end up setting the top radiator fans to coordinate with the rear exhaust as part of the overall intake/exhaust ratio, rather than specifically for coolant temperature.

 

Thanks very much c-attack, you have been great source of help. I'm going to change it when I get home from work.

 

I think I've got a pretty good setup for cooling, I have 2 x 140mm intake & 1, 140mm exhaust (all running off the built in fan controller at full speed) along with my H110i exhausting through the top of the case.

 

Will report back after Christmas with how I have gone.