RGB Fans on CPU Rad

I think I finally found out how to set up RGB fans with commander pro and the lighting hub but now I am unsure how to set up my RGB fans on my corsair h115i pro radiator. I think I saw people were saying to keep the fans and pump plugged into the motherboard CPU_Header so that it automatically increases fan speed if CPU gets warm but then how do I control the fans and the lights?

For the 115i Pro, they are going to be 140mm, which means that it's either the LL, HD or ML series. These are all PWM so the best thing to do is to plug them into the controller on the pump. This will allow you to control the fan speeds based on the pump temperature. You can then set your fan curves, your lighting, and other settings in Link or iCue. You will need an RGB Fan Hub and Lighting Node Pro.

 

The PRO series coolers do have a connection to the CPU_FAN header. That provides a tach signal to the motherboard so you don't get a CPU Fan warning on boot.

 

You won't find folks on this forum telling you to plug them into the CPU header or controlling them from CPU temp except in very, very rare circumstances. So I'm not sure where you are getting that. It's the only option for some cooler but it's not the ideal option for the Corsair Hydro series coolers.

 

I suggest that you review the FAQs linked in my signature. There's a TON of information and guidance for both the coolers and the RGB.

So I plug the fan control wire from fan into the pump controller and the rgb wire from fan into the lighting hub?

So I plug the fan control wire from fan into the pump controller and the rgb wire from fan into the lighting hub?

 

Yuppers. And the Lighting Hub into a Commander Pro or Lighting Node Pro.

OK, its fine rgb fans

But, is recomended put case fans (with rgb) on the watercooler radiator?

On a 110i v2, i can put which fan models on this watercooler without losing much performance ?

OK, its fine rgb fans

But, is recomended put case fans (with rgb) on the watercooler radiator?

On a 110i v2, i can put which fan models on this watercooler without losing much performance ?

 

By "Performance", what do you mean? Is it raw cooling performance or more of a balance between cooling performance and noise?

 

I think the best overall balance between noise and raw performance, in the RGB fans, is going to come from the ML series fans. The HD fans will give you slightly higher airflow but they are noisier than the ML fans. The LL fans have the lowest airflow, but are also quieter than the HD fans.

 

At the end of the day, however, we're talking about a difference of 2-3 degrees C in coolant temperature - at most. It won't be much. And, even though the ML fans have lower "specs" than the stock fans, what you need to realize is that you get diminishing returns on performance at higher fan speeds with significantly increased noise. There is only so much heat that the radiator can dissipate regardless of the airflow through the fins. The temperature of the air flowing through the radiator has a greater impact on your cooling capacity than the actual speed of the radiator fans.

Any of them. Most fans in the RGB series are a "hybrid" blade design, in between the polarized AF (airflow) and SP (static pressure designs). The stock SP140L that come with the H110i are actually rather open and with moderate rake. This gives it a massive airflow potential at very high speeds, but most of us don't like to run our fans up near 2000 rpm. By comparison, the the ML, HD, LL series are a little flatter, sometimes with fewer and wider blades, and as a result may give you better results at the low and moderate speeds most people tend to use. The stock fans on that unit are not my favorite simply for acoustic reasons. I would take any of the above first. The ML in particular are fantastic radiator fans and a low speed, non-LED model comes on the new coolers. Either way, the difference between a ML140x2@1300 rpm and HD140x2@1300 rpm is negligible to 1C. The only notable difference is the ML are the quietest of the lot. particularly when inverted.

By "Performance", what do you mean? Is it raw cooling performance or more of a balance between cooling performance and noise?

 

I think the best overall balance between noise and raw performance, in the RGB fans, is going to come from the ML series fans. The HD fans will give you slightly higher airflow but they are noisier than the ML fans. The LL fans have the lowest airflow, but are also quieter than the HD fans.

 

At the end of the day, however, we're talking about a difference of 2-3 degrees C in coolant temperature - at most. It won't be much. And, even though the ML fans have lower "specs" than the stock fans, what you need to realize is that you get diminishing returns on performance at higher fan speeds with significantly increased noise. There is only so much heat that the radiator can dissipate regardless of the airflow through the fins. The temperature of the air flowing through the radiator has a greater impact on your cooling capacity than the actual speed of the radiator fans.

 

 

 

By performance I meant basically about the temperature, by the difference between stock fans and the rgb fans, especialy in "static pressure", I thought it was a bigger difference than 2-3 ºC.

 

ML series was my choice, by stetic and specs.

 

Thanks a lot

By performance I meant basically about the temperature, by the difference between stock fans and the rgb fans, especialy in "static pressure", I thought it was a bigger difference than 2-3 ºC.

 

ML series was my choice, by stetic and specs.

 

Thanks a lot

 

Well, if you are going by static pressure, then the HD fans are actually the "best" - they have the highest static pressure of any of the RGB fans. But the specs only tell a small part of the story.

 

And yes, you really are only looking at 2-3C difference, at most, in coolant temps.

 

That said, the ML-RGB fans are an excellent choice; there's a reason that they are the default fans for the new Pro series of coolers.

By performance I meant basically about the temperature, by the difference between stock fans and the rgb fans, especialy in "static pressure", I thought it was a bigger difference than 2-3 ºC.

 

ML series was my choice, by stetic and specs.

 

Thanks a lot

 

No, if we could make that kind of ground by cranking up the fans, everyone would still be running AC Delco turbines and the like. It is definitely diminishing returns as you scale up. The largest measured differences are going to be at the lowest fan speeds where air flow is the constraining performance factor. Most any fan is functional at moderate speed and thus it is more about aesthetics and noise.

 

On my H115i Pro and a 8700K clocked at 5.0Ghz, the largest coolant delta I can make, even at lower fan speeds, is about +6C with ML140 RGB fans at 1150 rpm. This means I can never reduce the CPU temp by anything more than 6C with any fan at any speed. In reality, nothing will get you back to perfect 0C efficiency and the heat has to be carried around the loop to drop heat. The most heat you can probably drop is about 2C per pass through the radiator. You can get a feel for this by running a 100% stress test and then watch what happens to H115i Temp when you cut the power. The first 2C will drop off almost instantly, by then it takes longer for the remainder. Often you have raised the temperature of the local area by the some amount and the coolant can't drop below the local case temperature. This a rather long way of suggesting you are fighting for peanuts. If I strap some industrial 4000K fan on my radiator, I can probably lower the coolant delta by 2C, maybe even 3C at that lofty speed. That seems like a bad trade to lower you CPU temp from 58 to 56C. On the other hand, you won't see those kinds of differences between a fan that runs 1200 rpm and one that runs 1350. It just won't matter.

In my custom loop that I am using 120mm's, I opted for the HD-120s over the LL-120s for the greater static pressure improvement. Though compared with the 140mm, they don't seem to preform as well in static pressure for the size, compared to the 120mms and the difference is less between the LL-140s and HD-140s:

 

HD-1X0/LL-1X0

140mm: 1.85mmh20 vs 1.52mmh20

120mm: 2.25mmh20 vs 1.61mmh20

 

When it comes to cooling, it is all about the transfer of heat from one place to the other. If there is a bottleneck in one place, then having a faster fan might not help.

 

In all the benchmarks I have reviewed I have come to the following conclusion:

 

Lower FPI <~11 (Fin Per Inch) Radiators: Outperform all other radiators at low fan speeds

Medium Density FPI ~16: Best balanced performance for different fan speeds

High Density FPI ~24: Preform best in higher speeds fans

 

It looks like your radiator has an upper medium to high density. With all those fins you might have some issues with slower fans being able to push through those fins. Most AIO do tend to be thinner and use higher FPI to make up for their thickness. I think that is why I see so many higher RPM/static pressure fans included with AIO. It looks like the SP140L might have come with that and going from almost 4mmh20 to 1.52mmh20 or 1.85mmh20, I think you might notice a difference in noise and radiator performance. I can't say off hand how much less performance though you could always try to find some benchmarks.

 

 

 

Food for thought:

 

A good benchmark example of how a 30FPI preforms worst in benchmarks at low rpms, okay at medium speeds, and best at high speeds: http://www.xtremerigs.net/2015/07/30/koolance-hx-cu1020v-360mm-radiator-review/5/

 

Keep in mind that 30FPI is really over kill and 8FPI more than your radiator.