H150i Elite Capellix cables question

So I have a 570x case and I am now building a new system with i 9 10900k and i want to oc it to 5.1ghz and after digging up I’ve found the h150i xt and the elite AIO coolers.

I already have 1 hd120 fan in the rear case, 2 140hd in the top and 3 120hd in front. I want to do a push and pull config with the 3 fans that come with the cooler and with my 3 hd120 fans. Also I own two fan hubs, one lighting node pro and one commander pro.

The thing is after seeing a lot of reviews i really am confused about all of the cables and to where each one goes, so if someone can help me I have few questions.

1) with which one should i go, the elite or the xt version? Who would have better cooling performance? If they are the same, then i would just go with the elite due to the rgb fans.

2) If i go with the elite, i saw it comes with the commander core. So that is where i should connect the 3 ML’s fans and rgb connectors to, and the other 6 hd fans to an hub which goes right to the commander pro?

3) is the ML fans on the pull config have smart rpm set? I mean that they can see the cpu temp and the icue would choose automatically the best rpm from 0-2400.

I know I’m asking for a lot but i really want to sort thing out in my head before i purchase anything so it wont turn on me later. If someone can please explain to me where i connect each and every cable to so that everything will be synced and connected well in iCue, i will appreciate it.

1) In terms of performance, there are no miracles. Cooler A is never 10C better than Cooler B of the same size. This is something you should choose based on your aesthetic preferences. I think the Elite is interesting and it would be my preference.

2) Commander Core - 6 ports for fan speed control. 6 ports for fan RGB control. You will still need your current lighting controller for the HD. That leaves 3 extra fans for speed and lighting control. There are other solutions like a PWM control + hub + LNP to solve both, but if you have a Commander already that will take care of both issues. Having two Commanders in the 570x might be a little tight, but PWM hub + LNP really isn't any smaller.

Within that you then group the fans between the two lighting controllers. That could be 6 HD on 1, 3 ML-Elite on the other. The 6 radiator fans on 1, top/rear on the other. Also, it does not have to be the same for lighting and speed control. It would be tempting to use the 6 HD as a unit for lighting, but at the same time put the 6 radiator fans on the same Commander for consistent speed control. No matter what, you have this covered on hardware and have different options. It will work.

3) Commander Pro uses RPM as the control (vs PWM %) and I assume the Commander Core is the same. This means you can put different max speed fans on the same curve and when the program tells it to run 1000 rpm, they all run 1000 rpm. No 50% of max types of calculations to make. Regardless, you can set individual fan curves, so it is possible to set Curve 1 for the HD side and Curve 2 for the ML-Elite side.

The H150i (XT or Elite) will use coolant temp as the control variable (not CPU temp). This is how the cooler really works and the fans and pump are shedding the waste heat conducted in by the CPU. You can force it to use CPU temp as the control, but I advise against it. Either way, all Commanders have a sensor drop down list that includes everything in the Corsair system. That includes coolant temp (H150i Temp), RAM temp, motherboard temp, CPU temp, and on. You can see those now on your Commander in the sensor panel of any custom curve.

1) In terms of performance, there are no miracles. Cooler A is never 10C better than Cooler B of the same size. This is something you should choose based on your aesthetic preferences. I think the Elite is interesting and it would be my preference.

 

2) Commander Core - 6 ports for fan speed control. 6 ports for fan RGB control. You will still need your current lighting controller for the HD. That leaves 3 extra fans for speed and lighting control. There are other solutions like a PWM control + hub + LNP to solve both, but if you have a Commander already that will take care of both issues. Having two Commanders in the 570x might be a little tight, but PWM hub + LNP really isn't any smaller.

 

Within that you then group the fans between the two lighting controllers. That could be 6 HD on 1, 3 ML-Elite on the other. The 6 radiator fans on 1, top/rear on the other. Also, it does not have to be the same for lighting and speed control. It would be tempting to use the 6 HD as a unit for lighting, but at the same time put the 6 radiator fans on the same Commander for consistent speed control. No matter what, you have this covered on hardware and have different options. It will work.

 

3) Commander Pro uses RPM as the control (vs PWM %) and I assume the Commander Core is the same. This means you can put different max speed fans on the same curve and when the program tells it to run 1000 rpm, they all run 1000 rpm. No 50% of max types of calculations to make. Regardless, you can set individual fan curves, so it is possible to set Curve 1 for the HD side and Curve 2 for the ML-Elite side.

 

The H150i (XT or Elite) will use coolant temp as the control variable (not CPU temp). This is how the cooler really works and the fans and pump are shedding the waste heat conducted in by the CPU. You can force it to use CPU temp as the control, but I advise against it. Either way, all Commanders have a sensor drop down list that includes everything in the Corsair system. That includes coolant temp (H150i Temp), RAM temp, motherboard temp, CPU temp, and on. You can see those now on your Commander in the sensor panel of any custom curve.

Thank you so much!

Just so I’ll get it straight, the Pump cable and the ML’s Leds and fan control cables go right into the Commander Core which will connect to a usb 2.0 header on the Commender pro or the motherboard and will connect to the psu through sata cable. The pump also has a tach cable which connects to the cpu_fan header on the motherboard. As for the 6 HD120, the LED cables will go to the LED hub which will connect to an LED channel on the Commender pro, and the other 6 fan control cables will go to the 6 fan control ports on the commander pro. The commander pro will connect to a Sata on the psu and to a usb2.0 on the motherboard. Is all of this correct?

I have two more questions. Feel free not to answer as you helped me a lot already :)

1) do you think i should stay with my HD fans or replace the hd with ML or QL fans? Do you think QL fans with the 3 ML on the rad would be a nice combo and will sync nicely on ICUE?

2) is all of this still possible and relevant if I were to replace the 6 HD fans with 6 ql/ml fans?

1) Yes, I think you have it. Every device will need a SATA power connection for power and every device will need a USB 2 connection to talk with the software. You should be able to use the passthrough USB ports on the original Commander to handle the others. I'll need to look at the pictures again, but I think part of that proprietary cable on the H150i Elite is the AIO and Commander Core will share the USB connection from the Com Core.

2) I have a soft spot for the HD fans. Those were the first ones I got, I like the clear frames, and they do white better than any other fan. Should you get new fans? Only i you want to change the appearance. I am not sure I would say any of the fans look exactly like the others, so it depends on how particular you are with color matching. HD fans are almost pastel at times. QL and LL are very cool. ML is the most neutral. I am not sure I would buy more ML-RGB (4 LED) until I knew if they were going to sell ML-Elite (8 LED fans like those on the cooler) as a retail product. I also find it difficult to recommend buying LL if you can get QL for the about the same price. The QL offer the most preset programming patterns, but then some people hardly use those or stick to the same 1-2. I would look at videos to see if you can get a better feel for what you are interested in.