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Question about Corsair H115i Platinum


TioDrakul

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I bought a H115i platinum for my new setup and I was thinking about something really important: Is it possible for me to use the H115i without installing iCue?

 

Is that I consider a really bad idea® to let "user level software" control the speed of the pump and the fans, I always prefer to leave that responsibility to the BIOS and I can do that with my current Corsair H110. I'm wondering if I could control the new H115i in the same way (the fans would be connected to the motherboard CPU_FAN via splitter and the water pump would be directly connected to an appropriate power connector).

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I am not sure why you think the BIOS has a better concept of coolant temperature vs ambient intake temp than the more programmable desktop cooler software. It can’t even read coolant temperature.

 

However, if you never install iCUE, the cooler’s firmware will manage the fans in accordance with its programming and sensors. You won’t have any control over the fans or lighting. It will work, but it is a rather expensive cooler to toss aside both of those features.

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I am not sure why you think the BIOS has a better concept of coolant temperature vs ambient intake temp than the more programmable desktop cooler software. It can’t even read coolant temperature.

 

However, if you never install iCUE, the cooler’s firmware will manage the fans in accordance with its programming and sensors. You won’t have any control over the fans or lighting. It will work, but it is a rather expensive cooler to toss aside both of those features.

 

I know, I know. Is because iCue is a disaster waiting to happen (see all the horror histories here and into the Net) and I actually have no interest in RGB effects or monitoring all the time the cooler, I bought this model because I don't have any more good option without RGB effects unless I decide to make a custom watercooler and pay a lot more for it.

 

I was hoping that I could adapt my current Corsair H110 for service but besides not having the proper bracket (the new machine will be socket AM4) it already have a few years of use so I had to look for a successor as close as possible.

 

 

P.S: About fan control I want to simply plug them into CPU_FAN as it is my current configuration (I have a distributor for this), I'm just afraid if the pump itself would require iCue to be started (not the RGB itself, this I do not intend to leave working)

Edited by TioDrakul
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The pump will run and make any emergency speed adjustments necessary, but you won't have control over this. The cooler receives its power via SATA from the PSU. You cannot throttle it down with BIOS controls.

 

Be aware the Platinum series comes with RGB fans and a built in RGB controller in the unit -- and you're paying for this. The Pro model does not have these things natively and will come in at a lower price. If you are coming from a 4930K, be prepared for the active and dynamic nature of the current processors. This will cause a lot of fan speed changes when not needed if CPU temp is the control variable.

 

You can run your fans from motherboard headers or other controllers. If the new MB has a temp sensor, you can run that to the exhaust side of the cooler to get approximate coolant temperature. This would be a much better control variable than CPU fan.

 

The better approach for most of this is to install iCUE, then set it and the corresponding services not to run on start up. That lets you set it up how you want, utilizes the native coolant control, and gives you the option of setting the pump speed and RGB ring color, then exiting.

Edited by c-attack
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The pump will run and make any emergency speed adjustments necessary, but you won't have control over this. The cooler receives its power via SATA from the PSU. You cannot throttle it down with BIOS controls.

 

I know I would be unable to vary the speed of the pump, I hope I can use it exactly the way I do with the current H110 (full pump speed or "cruise" speed all the time)

 

Be aware the Platinum series comes with RGB fans and a built in RGB controller in the unit -- and you're paying for this. The Pro model does not have these things natively and will come in at a lower price. If you are coming from a 4930K, be prepared for the active and dynamic nature of the current processors. This will cause a lot of fan speed changes when not needed if CPU temp is the control variable.

 

I know too. I expected not to have to buy a unit with RGB but the H115i pro is inferior. Temperature fluctuations are not a problem because I simply set high and low limits for when fans should speed up or down (or fan speed curve in the new hardware)

 

The better approach for most of this is to install iCUE, then set it and the corresponding services not to run on start up. That lets you set it up how you want, utilizes the native coolant control, and gives you the option of setting the pump speed and RGB ring color, then exiting.

 

Hmm ... So I could use iCue only at the moment I want to make a configuration, then turn it off completely and the cooler controller would remember the configuration done without relying on the help of iCue? I'll think about it, thanks

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I expected not to have to buy a unit with RGB but the H115i pro is inferior.

 

 

 

Hmm ... So I could use iCue only at the moment I want to make a configuration, then turn it off completely and the cooler controller would remember the configuration done without relying on the help of iCue? I'll think about it, thanks

 

 

I am not sure how you to came to that conclusion about the Pro series. People complained the Pro didn't come with RGB fans and required a separate RGB controller. Well, that would make it cost a lot more. So here it is. However, a 280mm of similar size is a 280mm of similar size. There are no miracles in cooling. Also, if you thumb through these pages in the cooling section, you may find quite a few posts where people disagree with that assessment. Some people have definite opinions as the OEM of one vs the other, however I find that changes and needs to be assessed with each model. The Pro series has a very good track record for reliability.

 

Yes, both Pro and Platinum are perfectly capable of running the designated settings without the software running. The LED setting will stay, although the choices are limited to the presets versus a million different lighting combinations like with the software. But you can also set it to static 0,0,0 and that is off and it will stay that way. Pump and fan speeds (when linked to the internal coolant sensor) will also stay. No special action needed. It automatically saves to the device as long as H115i Pro/Platinum Temp is the sensor value.

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I am an old-school developer, I don't feel comfortable with a cabinet that looks like a carnival car as it seems to be the current fashion... My computer case isn't even on the desk or somewhere where you could see such light effects (it's too big to fit on the desk anyway). And as a developer I've learned to appreciate the wisdom of K.I.S.S., so I prefer the hardware to take care of itself rather than it relying on software that can crash when least expected and with unpredictable consequences.
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  • 2 weeks later...
The pump will run and make any emergency speed adjustments necessary, but you won't have control over this. The cooler receives its power via SATA from the PSU. You cannot throttle it down with BIOS controls.

 

Be aware the Platinum series comes with RGB fans and a built in RGB controller in the unit -- and you're paying for this. The Pro model does not have these things natively and will come in at a lower price. If you are coming from a 4930K, be prepared for the active and dynamic nature of the current processors. This will cause a lot of fan speed changes when not needed if CPU temp is the control variable.

 

You can run your fans from motherboard headers or other controllers. If the new MB has a temp sensor, you can run that to the exhaust side of the cooler to get approximate coolant temperature. This would be a much better control variable than CPU fan.

 

The better approach for most of this is to install iCUE, then set it and the corresponding services not to run on start up. That lets you set it up how you want, utilizes the native coolant control, and gives you the option of setting the pump speed and RGB ring color, then exiting.

 

 

Hello, i installed the hardware and after some experimentation i finally understood why you said it would be better to monitor the coolant temperature... It's because I found out that Ryzen is wild, his temperature fluctuates like crazy! I even thought that the cooler was defective (how could it allow 10ºC increases in less than a second?), But after some research it seems to me that this behavior is normal for a Ryzen.

 

iCue is working so far (I only enable it to set the pump and fan speed as you suggested), but I'm guessing I'll have to connect the other system fans to the same controller if I want them all to respond consistent with the cooler temperature (my splitter allows it, it distributes the PWM source control signal to all connected fans but the power comes directly from the PSU on a separate cable).

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Ok, I think I found a good compromise. Using a powered fan splitter, I plugged the splitter signal cable into the pump controller so the pump controller unknowingly is providing the pwm signal to all fans in the case and the power to them is now coming directly from the PSU in a separate cable (the splitter have two cables: One for control signal, another for power).

 

So now the pump controller thinks it is only controlling one fan (the splitter) but in fact it is controlling all fans of the case, and now when the controller decides that it is necessary to increase the radiator fan speed all other fans follow and thus prevent heat from accumulating in the case.

 

http://www.swiftech.org/images/products/detail/PWM-SPLITTER-SATAx600.jpg

Edited by TioDrakul
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