Corsair iCUE H150i RGB Elite: Pump question

[FabledSomething]

Hi. So i got this today to replace a Noctua NH-D15 which really struggled to keep the I7-13700K below throttle temperature on ~260w loads. So I'm hoping this cooler is up for that task.

I have decided to not use the included fans that comes with this, as I'm a long time user of arctic fans and have very good experience with those, so the fans i have mounted on the radiator are 3x Arctic P12 PWM. The H150i Pump connects to a USB C cable which then get it's power from a SATA power cable. With only this cable connected, and none other, does the pump do the job as intended? running at full speed and nothing more to it?

My original plan was to NOT run those P12's through this included power cable, but directly from the Motherboard itself, so do i in this case even need to connect that one cable fan header that are attached to the pump cable assembly to the motherboard?

And, if I'm not planning to use iCUE software, i don't really care about RGB, my case is the Fractal Design Define 7 without window. Do i have to connect the Pump to one of those internal USB2 ports?

What is most important is this, does the pump get everything it needs from connecting that power cable to the sata port? Does it then run at full speed 24/7? I'm expecting it does, but i just feel i need to ask just to be sure.

Edited June 18, 2023 by FabledSomething

[c-attack]

That new USB-C multi connector is a bit different with everything bundled together, but the individual functions are the same as other coolers. 

 

The SATA cable is power and obviously required.

The 3 pin (1wire) fan connector is the tachometer. This is optional, but can be used to satisfy your MB’s cpu fan safety boot requirement. It will set off a bios level alarm if the pump doesn’t talk back at power on. It does not offer power or control. 

 

Triple fan connectors. Self explanatory but does out the fan control into the CUE software. The unit will run a pre-defined fan curve that reacts to coolant temp even with no software connection. If it has SATA power, it will do its job. 
 

USB-2 9 pin internal connector.  For communication with the software. No additional purpose. 
 

If you choose not to use cue and put the fans on the MB, you will loose a couple of things. 1) no pump RGB access. Hopefully you like rainbow. 2) more appropriate fan control. Fans on a radiator remove heat from the coolant stream. They do not need to react the momentary changes in cpu load or temperature. The cold plate on the pump is doing all the cpu cooling. Radiator and fans take out the waste heat once conducted into the water. Motherboard fan control is generally over-reactive in this regard. 3) Unable to control pump speed. It’s typically just a couple of fixed speeds and most users stick with the lowest setting. Your pump will start there. It may kick up to max if the liquid temp gets too hot from whole case temp increases while gaming. 
 

One possible way to do this is set it up as you intended, but do connect the usb internally. Download cue and set it not to start with windows. This will allow you to launch it then set a specific “hardware lighting” for the pump, then quit. That setting will be persistent until changed again. This also would allow you to do some health checks on the coolers performance if needed. The internal controller should be capable of controlling the P12 fans as well. 

Edited June 18, 2023 by c-attack

[FabledSomething]

Thanks for your reply. So the pump actually doesn't run at full speed all the time? it self regulates it's speed based on the heat from the liquid? OK then, i guess that doesn't concern  me i guess, as long as it's doing it's thing. The fans i have on the radiator combined with the case fans, are all run through MSI center, and using smart fan with CPU trigger, so the radiator fans are doing exactly what they're supposed to. I just need to run this setup this way because after i now removed my air cooler, i now need to maintain a positive air pressure with exhaust air through this radiator.

And thanks for the tip on the consistent RBG setup. My case is without a window so i might not even notice any RGB stuff, maybe through some cracks here and there 😆 But good tip in case i need to turn it off.

But it might be smart for me to add that 3 pin (1 wire) to my pump header on the motherboard then? it sounds like? It has no drawbacks i recon, and i don't use that pump connector for anything else anyways. I have the MSI Z790 Carbon WiFi Motherboard.

[c-attack]

18 minutes ago, FabledSomething said:

So the pump actually doesn't run at full speed all the time?

Some divergence on this. A few reviews indicated it was a one speed ~2050 rpm setting. However, the Guru3D review clearly shows the typical Corsair Quiet/Balanced/Extreme settings and is like the same pump from the Elite Capellix that runs 2100-2800 rpm. Minimal gains in moving from 2100 to 2800 for nearly all situations. Noise should be the guide. 
 

If you have your cpu-fan slot open, connect the 3 pin tach wire there. It won’t work give you the safety warning on AIO-Fan, W-Pump, LC-Pump, or any chassis fan header, but will report a speed. On most boards CPU fan has special behaviors more appropriate for cpu air coolers and. It is less appropriate for radiator or general case fans that don’t need to change speed every 2-3 seconds. That makes it the best choice for the tach if you don’t need it for fans since you also get the pump fail warning. 

Edited June 18, 2023 by c-attack

[FabledSomething]

Yeah i see. Damn, things ain't getting any easier. I just need maximum amount of cooling, when the i7-13700k is drawing 260w, not even the mighty NH-D15 stood a chance, it just gave up instantly. Are you saying that running iCUE also gives me the option to run the pump at a higher speed not built in by default?

 

Well the cpu fan header is where i was going to add those Arctic P12's though, but i don't need to actually, they can be connected to a sys fan header instead, i can just "reroute" any of the fans to react to the cpu and not ambient heat for example, so it should work the same, they are all 4 pin.

Edited June 18, 2023 by FabledSomething

[c-attack]

1 hour ago, FabledSomething said:

Are you saying that running iCUE also gives me the option to run the pump at a higher speed not built in by default?

 

No, I am saying you will be lucky to measure 1C of difference between 2100 and 2800 RPM on the pump.  There isn't going to be much cooling difference at between those speeds and flow rate is rarely a limitation on AIO coolers.  However, you can hook up the USB internal, install the CUE software, set it to Extreme on the pump, quit the software, and it will stay at the maximum speed until you change it.  

[FabledSomething]

OK 😊. Thanks you for your help.

yeah seems like i need to install that software and do some tweaking, might as well have it connected then anyways, as i don't need one of those usb 2 ports for anything else. Now I'm also starting to consider a negative air pressure again, as well, because making sure I'm always at positive is quite difficult it seems.

Edited June 19, 2023 by FabledSomething

[c-attack]

For estimation purposes, the radiator restricted fans will only move about 50-60% of their free air specification compared to an unrestricted fan. So if you’re 3x120 front intake vs 3x120 radiator  + 120 rear exhaust, you’ll always be positive intake if all fans are running the same speed. When in doubt, give the more aggressive curve to the front and rear that need to move the most air.
 

The  radiator top fans don’t need to be super aggressive in a 360mm radiator and can max out at 1300 rpm. With a 300W load (more than you will generate), the difference between 1300 and 1800 rpm is 2-3C in coolant/cpu temp. That’s a big jump in noise vs small cpu change. In more realistic conditions like gaming, you’ll max the cpu wattage out at 150W which makes that a 1-1.5C difference and not very relevant. What’s more common is users run the top radiator fans too hard and suck a lot of gpu waste heat through the radiator. This elevates the coolant temp and cpu temp beyond what it should be and you’d rather the waste heat went out the back. 

[FabledSomething]

29 minutes ago, c-attack said:

For estimation purposes, the radiator restricted fans will only move about 50-60% of their free air specification compared to an unrestricted fan. So if you’re 3x120 front intake vs 3x120 radiator  + 120 rear exhaust, you’ll always be positive intake if all fans are running the same speed. When in doubt, give the more aggressive curve to the front and rear that need to move the most air.

Yeah the case fans are actually arctic p14 PWM 140mm. and they move about 30% more air than the 120mm. And thanks for the predictions on air being slowed down by the radiator itself. I have been doing some math on this and made a lot of different curves to try and predict what speeds i need to run my fans at. It's quite the puzzle. Now I'm even considering doing something I've never done before. And that is to drag air in from rear and front, and out in the top.

reason for this is that then i will get cool air directly onto the VRM and chipset coolers, which is fantastic.

I will have to buy custom made dust filters for this though., as there is no rear filter on my case. I can also pull air into the case via top through my radiator, and then exit air in the front of the case, but that might cancel out the rear fan. I don't know. The way pc cases are designed is a bit tricky. The hottest and most important components are at the back, where heated air usually exits. That should be where air enters.

Edited June 19, 2023 by FabledSomething

[LeDoyen]

there are 120 and 140mm filters that mount on fans directly. you can slap one of those on your rear fan if you like :

https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=APwXEdfl_jDksrq9rX_Hsa-JhysIOx1Y4g:1687182896080&q=120mm+fan+filter&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwifm8SJvs__AhU3T6QEHbK5BwsQ0pQJegQIBxAB&biw=1641&bih=1195&dpr=1

 

[FabledSomething]

6 minutes ago, LeDoyen said:

there are 120 and 140mm filters that mount on fans directly. you can slap one of those on your rear fan if you like :

https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=APwXEdfl_jDksrq9rX_Hsa-JhysIOx1Y4g:1687182896080&q=120mm+fan+filter&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwifm8SJvs__AhU3T6QEHbK5BwsQ0pQJegQIBxAB&biw=1641&bih=1195&dpr=1

 

Thanks 🙂

yes i actually already bought one. After i made my post i did some googling and ended up buying the Silverstone ff143b magnetic dust filter. It is ultra fine mesh, fragile but with very little air resistance. Now i can have air come in from front and back, and exit through the radiator at the top. Going to be interesting to see what the temps will be like.

With this setup i will have four 140mm fans drawing air into the case and three 120mm blowing out on top with radiator in the way. So i guess that negative pressure will almost be impossible now. Even when the 120mm runs at full speed. I will try this setup first and see what happens.

[LeDoyen]

maybe you'll be able to feel air exiting the PCIE brackets on the back, that's an easy way to know.

Everyt build is different, but in my case i found the back intake to help quite a lot as it brings fresh air right under the rad. Easy to test too since you can turn it off and on and see the difference

[c-attack]

7 hours ago, FabledSomething said:

that is to drag air in from rear and front, and out in the top.

This works in theory for cpu only loads. However, if there is any gpu load in play, you will be poisoning the well — or rather super heating it. So while this can work in a build where cpu is the only priority, if true then you’d be better off using the cpu radiator as intake, even if that means rear and front exhaust. Changes in ambient temperature often exceed the usual delta T from cpu wattage making it the larger variable to manage. 

[FabledSomething]

2 hours ago, c-attack said:

This works in theory for cpu only loads. However, if there is any gpu load in play, you will be poisoning the well — or rather super heating it. So while this can work in a build where cpu is the only priority, if true then you’d be better off using the cpu radiator as intake, even if that means rear and front exhaust. Changes in ambient temperature often exceed the usual delta T from cpu wattage making it the larger variable to manage. 

 

yeah i have been thinking about this as well. The graphics card is ASUS RTX 4090 TUF, it's HUGE. It actually almost reaches the front mounted fans, so there will be a lot of air coming in from the front hitting it with this configuration. But of course if the temp on the card goes too high i will need to experiment with other air flow patterns.

I can either have the radiator in the front or top in either push or pull configuration. One of the most likely setups is of course front mounted rad with pull, and then exhaust at rear and top. This will be a classic build, but then I'm back at negative pressure again. *Sigh*

[klausbn]

On 6/18/2023 at 9:55 PM, FabledSomething said:

Hi. So i got this today to replace a Noctua NH-D15 which really struggled to keep the I7-13700K below throttle temperature on ~260w loads. So I'm hoping this cooler is up for that task.

I have decided to not use the included fans that comes with this, as I'm a long time user of arctic fans and have very good experience with those, so the fans i have mounted on the radiator are 3x Arctic P12 PWM. The H150i Pump connects to a USB C cable which then get it's power from a SATA power cable. With only this cable connected, and none other, does the pump do the job as intended? running at full speed and nothing more to it?

My original plan was to NOT run those P12's through this included power cable, but directly from the Motherboard itself, so do i in this case even need to connect that one cable fan header that are attached to the pump cable assembly to the motherboard?

And, if I'm not planning to use iCUE software, i don't really care about RGB, my case is the Fractal Design Define 7 without window. Do i have to connect the Pump to one of those internal USB2 ports?

What is most important is this, does the pump get everything it needs from connecting that power cable to the sata port? Does it then run at full speed 24/7? I'm expecting it does, but i just feel i need to ask just to be sure.

it's a piece of BIIIP i never buy corsair watercooling again, it's s.it with asus z790 series motherboard the worst ever and i have tried alot, best yet is deepcool simple and does it's job great.