Wiring / installation of the H100X Elite

[skypuppy]

I don't really care about the pretty, flashing/glowing/throbbing lights.  So:

Where, or where, does one find hints, clues, breadcrumbs about which wires do what during initial installation times? 

1. The pump body has TWO wires coming off it, each with 3 lines, supposedly for connecting to motherboard "CPU" or "Pump" fans?  Does it matter which goes where?  I must assume it does, as logically, one triplet powers the pump (at 12vdc?) and the other powers the LED's (at 5vdc)?  How does one tell which is which, short of building a test rig (which I don't have?)

2. Same question and assumptions regrading the 2 radiator fans. 

 

NOTHING is labeled.  NOTHING gives any clue, especially about voltages or current requirements/limits.  What's a poor boy to do???

Thanks.

[LeDoyen]

does the quick start guide help? 

https://www.corsair.com/corsairmedia/sys_master/productcontent/WW_H60x_H100x_RGB_ELITE_SERIES_QSG_AB.pdf

I wonder if they include a paper version of it in the box

[skypuppy]

Thanks, LeDoyen.  I printed that after I started the installation since not much is included in the box (for over $140.)  Sadly, none of the wiring connections are detailed in that "documentation."  So here I sit, still, after two weeks, still trying to figure out what should be simple installation.  I have 3 of the Corsair AIO from previous installations but all of them were simple and installation took less than hour each.  This new H100x, not so much.

On the plus side, your link led to a Corsair "trouble report" so I used that.  We'll see if it works or not.

Edited March 30, 2023 by skypuppy

[c-attack]

The 3 pin cable from the pump is the tachometer wire.  This reports a speed to the motherboard to satisfy its safety feature and will set off a BIOS alarm if the pump does not talk back on start up.  This should go on CPU_FAN and not any faux headers like AIO_Pump or W_Pump.  

 

The 4 pin cable with a splitter is for fan control.  This unit does not have an internal fan controller and you connect both fans to the motherboard chassis fan or other control header.  You can pair the two together and there is no reason for individual control.

 

What is not detailed in the manual is how power is delivered to the pump.  It will be one of these two ways:

1) If there is a flat SATA connector that is hardwired to the pump, that is the power delivery.  Most AIOs get their power this way these days, but since it offloads fan and RGB power, it is possible it does draw power from the motherboard and the manual is wrong about the 3 pin being a "tach cable".  

2) There is no SATA connector and when you look at that 3 pin cable for CPU fan you see three wires and 3 real connector pins.  That means power and ground are on that line as well.  If this is true, then you need to go into the BIOS and set CPU_FAN to 100%, full speed, disabled, or whatever language the BIOS uses for locked at maximum.  In theory this is what those AIO_Fan headers are for (automatically locked at 100%), but then you still need to disable the CPU fan warning system while not getting the benefit of it.  CPU Fan and OPT generally do not work well for general case or water cooling fan control.  They are programmed for a small to medium air cooler and are very reactive to changes in CPU temp.  You do not need that and it's now how water cooling works.  

 

The real tricky bit is going to be the RGB.  There are a few threads going of H60x and H100x owners discussing the included "ARGB cable" and connecting to the motherboard.  There seems to be a lot of difficulty with this.  If you have pre-existing corsair rgb fans and they have their own controller, use that for the RGB control for the new fans unless they are of a substantially different type.  That still leaves the pump and it appears that must go to the motherboard ARGB header unless you have a Commander XT, which 2 users reported was able to control the pump RGB.  

[skypuppy]

The 3 pin cable from the pump is the tachometer wire.  This reports a speed to the motherboard to satisfy its safety feature and will set off a BIOS alarm if the pump does not talk back on start up.  This should go on CPU_FAN and not any faux headers like AIO_Pump or W_Pump.  

================================

Ok,  wired and connected to cpu-fan

================================

The 4 pin cable with a splitter is for fan control.  This unit does not have an internal fan controller and you connect both fans to the motherboard chassis fan or other control header.  You can pair the two together and there is no reason for individual control.

-------------------------------------------------

You mean the 4-pin from the pump body?

-------------------------------------------------

 

What is not detailed in the manual is how power is delivered to the pump.  It will be one of these two ways:

1) If there is a flat SATA connector that is hardwired to the pump, that is the power delivery.  Most AIOs get their power this way these days, but since it offloads fan and RGB power, it is possible it does draw power from the motherboard and the manual is wrong about the 3 pin being a "tach cable". 

================================= 

No SATA connector

=================================

 

2) There is no SATA connector and when you look at that 3 pin cable for CPU fan you see three wires and 3 real connector pins.  That means power and ground are on that line as well.  If this is true, then you need to go into the BIOS and set CPU_FAN to 100%, full speed, disabled, or whatever language the BIOS uses for locked at maximum.  In theory this is what those AIO_Fan headers are for (automatically locked at 100%), but then you still need to disable the CPU fan warning system while not getting the benefit of it.  CPU Fan and OPT generally do not work well for general case or water cooling fan control.  They are programmed for a small to medium air cooler and are very reactive to changes in CPU temp.  You do not need that and it's now how water cooling works.  

 

The real tricky bit is going to be the RGB.  There are a few threads going of H60x and H100x owners discussing the included "ARGB cable" and connecting to the motherboard.  There seems to be a lot of difficulty with this.  If you have pre-existing corsair rgb fans and they have their own controller, use that for the RGB control for the new fans unless they are of a substantially different type.  That still leaves the pump and it appears that must go to the motherboard ARGB header unless you have a Commander XT, which 2 users reported was able to control the pump RGB.  

=============================================

Which lines control the power to the AIO fans (not the pump body?)  The fans have one four line connector that has nothing printed/stamped on it, and another four line connector that has a "1", "TKG", and "2510" in raised letters.  They give me no clue.  The connectors are different, different sizes and different latching mechanisms.  Wish I could post pictures.

 

[c-attack]

Ok, no SATA which likely means the manual is wrong and that “3 pin” that connects to cpu fan is power and the tachometer wire. 
 

Yeah, unfortunately the H60x/H100x Elite are a more limited release series targeted for certain markets. I can’t find a professional review or pictures to get a better look. No wiring pictures on the product page. 
 

The manual suggests there is a 4 pin PWM splitter cable. Typically this would have a single 4 pin motherboard fan connector and then it would split into a 4 pin and 3 pin connector for the two fans. The missing pin is deliberate so the extra fan does not report back to the motherboard. One fan leads. The other follows. 
 

If there is another cable coming out of the pump, that must be the RGB cable. Corsair RGB cables are flat, but since this one is designed for motherboard ARGB it could be the chunkier type like the below. 5v RGB is 3 wire but uses the same connector as 12v 4 pin but with a blocked or missing 4th hole/wire. 
 

 

What I am curious about is how the above would ever connect to a Commander XT. It would need a traditional flat Corsair RGB fan cable or an adapter that bridges the two. That would make the most sense to have a standard Corsair flat RGB cable that then connects to a special receiver connector on the 3 way RGB cable for the motherboard. 

[skypuppy]

What's the difference between "addressable LED header" and "RGB LED header?"  More importantly, which ones are used on this AIO unit?  My motherboard has pins for both things but I don't know which to connect them to.  These are the LED's on the radiator fans.  I just might be able to power up this beast when I find this out.  Phew!   They are 4 pin headers but no clue as to their required orientations.  <heavy sigh>

Aside: on a whim, I did a web search for "1 TKG 2510" and lo and behold, the TKG comes up with some small amount of docs for the FAN connectors!!  Amazing luck, that.  So, I connected the radiator fans to the motherboard that was, as fans.  Didn't think I'd ever find anything as abstruse as "TKG 2510" but there it was!  And while I would rather use a splitter cable for the radiator fans, this ARGB cable has zero clue (surprise!) about what it does, either, so I'm just gonna hook them up directly on the mobo.

Thanks again, guys.

Very BAD marks to Corsair for such poor (nonexistent!) documentation with this unit.  It was the AIO recommended to me by Corsair tech support guys.  

[c-attack]

1 hour ago, skypuppy said:

What's the difference between "addressable LED header" and "RGB LED header?"  More importantly, which ones are used on this AIO unit? 

RGB LED Header refers to a "12v analogue RGB system".  This was the original type and all LEDs in the chain are like one long strip of the same color.  You can choose the color, but generally they will all do the same thing at the same time.  These types of devices have 4 wires and 4 connectors at the pin.  It looks just like the picture above but with the 4th pin/hole.

 

Addressable LED/RGB Headers also known as Digital RGB (D-RGB) is type of LED control where you can set each individual LED to it's own pattern/color.  The controllers are more complex and the system uses 3 wires to delivery the power and control.  All Corsair devices are 5v addressable, with a couple of odd exceptions.  You never want to connect a 5v D-RGB device to a 12v RGB header.  It will not end well for the device.  The pump LEDs are most definitely 5v D-RGB and will connect to that header on the MB.  The intent is the pump + fan 1 + fan 2 connect on the RGB cable to the motherboard.  You then control it with your MB RGB software suite.  As mentioned, there are several users posting problems about this.  No clear reason identified yet.  

[LeDoyen]

actually...

 

If there's a problem with the rgb, even when wired correctly, have a look at that thread.

[skypuppy]

Is there any indication / documentation that show whether the LED (strip?) is 5 or 12vdc?  In the mobo docs, some are labeled as 5v and some as 12v, while others have no indication of voltage levels.  Of course, the mobo doc says that, "Caution: Never install the RGB LED cable in the wrong orientation; otherwise, the cable may be damaged."  Steel Legend, p46 RGB_LED1 and shows 4 pin LED connector with +12v, G, R, B connections.  That said, there are some clues from p47 where they show 3 of the 4 pins, with pin 3 always NC.  They imply that the ARBG LED's are 12v, at least for LED's 1, 2, and 3.

[skypuppy]

I don't care if the LED's come on or not, I just don't want to hurt the mobo or CPU by not connecting things correctly or leaving incomplete circuits AIUI that can cause problems as well.  <sigh>  Don't get me wrong.  If I can have pretty blinky lights with fancy or random patterns, that's fun for a few minutes, too, but is extremely low priority overall.

So, I can connect the Corsair radiator fan LED's to the "addressable" connections without risk?

 

Btw, not using the Corsair "ARGB" at all as it makes zero sense to me, even after all this research you guys and I have done.

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by skypuppy
note for weird cable

[LeDoyen]

On the motherboard side the 4 pin connectors are ALWAYS 12V (analog RGB)

the 3 pins connectors ( 4 pins with one unpopulated) are ALWAYS 5V ARGB.

Corsair gear is also always ARGB, with the exception of a couple of references of old fans.

Corsair fans that have 4 pins are a bit special because ARGB normally has +5v, ground and data IN. Corsair fans also have a data OUT pin, to be passed to the next fan's data IN. that's so they can be connected in series and be individually controllable. they basically work like strips, where the data is passed from one fan to the other in a long daisychain.

The RGB cable that comes with the H60 and H100X are wired to connect the pump block and fans leds in series on a 5V ARGB header of your motherboard.

If you connect a corsair fan RGB cable direct to a motherboard ARGB header, in theory it should not work, since the data OUT pin from the motherboard ends up plugged in the data OUT connector of the fan. That's why you have to use the adapter cable. Besides, they are just the wrong sockets for the plug; they just happen to have the same pin spacing.

[skypuppy]

Oh, Lord help me!

 

[LeDoyen]

was it too much ? ^^

Good thing is, it cools even without the help of LEDs 😛 contrary to popular belief !

[c-attack]

On 4/1/2023 at 5:10 AM, skypuppy said:

So, I can connect the Corsair radiator fan LED's to the "addressable" connections without risk?

No one has reported damage so far. The pump lighting simply won’t come on when connected to the Corsair supplied motherboard ARGB adapter. It must be in the “#1” connector and it has 16 LEDs, so your MB program must generate at least that many in its RGB control program. Even if it did work, most users will want their fans all together on one controller if you have other Corsair RGB fans with the same LED count (8). That way they they can do moving patterns with each other and like a cohesive group.