Corsair iCUE LINK H170i LCD

[Pocahawtness]

I am just about to build a new PC.

Cooling will either be the Corsair iCUE H170i ELITE CAPELLIX XT, or the Corsair iCUE LINK H170i LCD Liquid CPU Cooler. 

At the moment they are both the same price.

The system I am building has six fans already, and I have a number of Commander Pro's, so the plan is to use one of those for fan control. I assume that the Commander Pro will work with an additional Commander Core or LINK Hub? 

The LINK hub would probably be better for me, since it's a bit tedious trying to fit another Core/Pro in the case.

Having said that, are there any other considerations? My main interest in life is performance and noise. I am not really concerned with LINK, since I will not add any more LINK items.  I also, actually, don't care about the LCD, but that just happens to be part of the deal at my local store!

 

 

 

 

[c-attack]

On 11/12/2024 at 5:27 AM, Pocahawtness said:

assume that the Commander Pro will work with an additional Commander Core or LINK Hub? 

Yes. No blocks or mutually exclusive options in CUE. You can have three Commanders and two Link hubs and each one is a separate controllable entity. My personal preference would be for a Link controlled AIO if you already have 2 active Commanders of any type. We have seen some issues with usb stability when 3+ Commanders are used and it sometimes requires a workaround like a USB 3->2 adapter or USB A type to the MB rear IO. This is a solvable issue if your preference is the Elite Capellix. 
 

Counterpoint to this is if you have all QL/LL/ML/SP/AF or any of the 2 wire RGB fans, the Elite Capellix is part of that ecosystem and it gives you further rgb and speed control options on the required Commander Core controller. With the CUE Link H170i that will be a separate physical system and its QX fans will only work on the Link hub. You can move other fans to the radiator, connect them to a Commander, and this will work when CUE is running and the controller can fetch data from the link hub. However, when you quit CUE you’ll sever the data link and the Commander with those radiator fans will need a hardware level variable to keep things under control (not maxed out from lack of data). For most Commanders that is the temp probe wire. Placed near the radiator or case rear exhaust does a decent job simulating coolant temp. 
 

Absent all control factors and fan choices, my preference would be for the CUE Link unit. The thread discussing disapproval with Elite Capellix pump tone is very long. There isn’t a corresponding Link AIO thread. Most other problems have alternative paths. Pump noise rarely does. There also are some other flaws that affect Elite Capellix units and they come up on a regular basis. Most of them are fatal and require replacement. 

[Pocahawtness]

On 11/14/2024 at 7:09 PM, c-attack said:

Yes. No blocks or mutually exclusive options in CUE. You can have three Commanders and two Link hubs and each one is a separate controllable entity. My personal preference would be for a Link controlled AIO if you already have 2 active Commanders of any type. We have seen some issues with usb stability when 3+ Commanders are used and it sometimes requires a workaround like a USB 3->2 adapter or USB A type to the MB rear IO. This is a solvable issue if your preference is the Elite Capellix. 
 

Counterpoint to this is if you have all QL/LL/ML/SP/AF or any of the 2 wire RGB fans, the Elite Capellix is part of that ecosystem and it gives you further rgb and speed control options on the required Commander Core controller. With the CUE Link H170i that will be a separate physical system and its QX fans will only work on the Link hub. You can move other fans to the radiator, connect them to a Commander, and this will work when CUE is running and the controller can fetch data from the link hub. However, when you quit CUE you’ll sever the data link and the Commander with those radiator fans will need a hardware level variable to keep things under control (not maxed out from lack of data). For most Commanders that is the temp probe wire. Placed near the radiator or case rear exhaust does a decent job simulating coolant temp. 
 

Absent all control factors and fan choices, my preference would be for the CUE Link unit. The thread discussing disapproval with Elite Capellix pump tone is very long. There isn’t a corresponding Link AIO thread. Most other problems have alternative paths. Pump noise rarely does. There also are some other flaws that affect Elite Capellix units and they come up on a regular basis. Most of them are fatal and require replacement. 

Great.

I bought an H170i Link and am intending to use it with a Commander Pro.  I got it at a good price, which is more important than waiting for the very latest tech to come out.

I don't mind the fans are maxed out, but once, when icue failed it left all the fans off. My processor almost exploded.

Edited November 26 by Pocahawtness