Application to Control AIO Liquid Coolers

[Pudgie]

Hi All,

I was wanting to know if there is a software program out in the wild that was written specifically to control AIO liquid coolers ONLY?

Not the software that most AIO manuf's write to not only control their product but to essentially take control of the rest of your box.

I have just bought & installed a Corsair H80i V2 Extreme Performance 120MM AIO liquid cooler for my CPU & all is working very well.....w\ the 1 exception of CosairLink 4 software wanting to hook into ALL of my mobo's BIOS-level cooling control & causing issues (I've managed to mostly stop CorsairLink 4 from interfering for the time being by not setting up ANY of it's sensor notification & leave it in the background just so that I can see the H80i's coldplate temps, its PWM fan controlled speeds & the liquid pump's speeds--which is ALL I want to see from it--I want to stick w\ the Asus BIOS-level Fan-Q Control system & use the Asus Probe II monitoring\control software to hook into the BIOS control to control it from the OS side BUT Corsair didn't include a way to disable THEIR part of their software that would allow a USER to do what I want to do).

I would appreciate any info on this that is known.

 

PS--After running all vers of CorsairLink software & seeing that all older vers were essentially identical to Asus Probe II software w\ the exception of the latest vers which can detect the H80i V2 itself (coldplate temp, fan(s) RPM's & pump RPM's), my graphics card (Fury X's GPU temp & fan RPM's) & the mobo sensors\fan headers (this part is where the problems are coming from) & testing Asus Probe II controls to control the H80i V2 fan thru the CPU FAN_1 header (the pump RPM's can't be read thru CPU FAN_1 header...only powers the pump) & seeing the CPU load temps come in even lower than they were w\ the Artic Freezer I30 air cooled CPU HSF (by avg of 3*C...not much difference here but when it comes to noise.......... ) I came to the conclusion to just delete the CorsairLink software & let the mobo control the fan speed of the H80i (assuming the pump speed is a constant 1800 RPM as noted w\ the CorsairLink 4 software) & pull the pump USB cable (outside of accessing the H80i readouts only good for the LED under the Corsair name in pump housing). Hope Corsair fixes this in the future.

 

[Chalenge]

Pudgie, I don't mean to knock your topic off track, but I have to ask why you are using an AIO? Just a year ago, not sure exactly when, a squad member asked me about these things and I ordered a few and compared their cooling with a good copper heat sink. Copper won easily. Full disclosure I did hand lap the copper finish down to 2microns and I used arctic silver 5, but even if I had not gone to that extent I think copper would win handily.

AIOs sound cool, but I think you can do better rather easily. So, why?

[Bizman]

Since you asked for any info on the subject, I accompany Chalenge in this.

Recently our leading PC mag tested three AIO liquid CPU coolers against a Noctua NH-15 and they all fell behind both in cooling and noise level, especially when stressed 100%. The competitors were Silverstone TundraTD02-LITE, Lc-Power LC-CC-120-LiCo and Antec Kühler 950. As you notice, yours was not included. However, if you take a look at http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cooling/2014/04/03/antec-k-hler-h20-950-review/2 you'll see a similar pattern in the table. Liquid just isn't any cooler and as you've noticed, it can have control issues.

[Chalenge]

Well, now that you brought up Noctua I have to add that they have some very highly finished mating surfaces already. You could probably get away with using a Noctua without lapping at all.

[Pudgie]

Pudgie, I don't mean to knock your topic off track, but I have to ask why you are using an AIO? Just a year ago, not sure exactly when, a squad member asked me about these things and I ordered a few and compared their cooling with a good copper heat sink. Copper won easily. Full disclosure I did hand lap the copper finish down to 2microns and I used arctic silver 5, but even if I had not gone to that extent I think copper would win handily.

AIOs sound cool, but I think you can do better rather easily. So, why?

Hi Chalenge,

No problem. Since using my AMD Radeon R9 Fury X vid card (which is using an AIO to cool it) & see how well it is performing w\ this graphics card I got the itch to try an AIO on my CPU. I have read all the reviews and have seen the results and have noted that there are some air cooled HSF's out there that can rival\exceed AIO's in cooling and noise (my Artic Freezer I30 CPU HSF is an example of 1 as this HSF was specifically designed to cool Intel I7 Sandy Bridge CPU's up to the vaunted Intel I7 3960X Extreme Edition CPU back in the day...why I bought it when I initially built the box I'm currently using back in 5-12). So just like you have done I looked at them all and picked out this Corsair H80i V2 AIO to use on my box (my gen1 CM Storm Scout case wasn't designed w\ full water cooling in mind and since I already had the rear case fan mount being used by my vid card's radiator\fan I also picked up a 5.25" bay cooling fan mount from FrozenCPU to mount the Corsair's radiator\fan in my unused 5.25" bays in my case w\ fan blowing out the case thru the radiator) to see how well it works. Sometimes I just want to experience things for myself on my box just to gain the practical experience and knowledge regardless, ie why I bought the Plextor M6E Black Edition 512Gb PCI-E SSD when I didn't "need" to, why I bought the SoundBlaster X7 USB DAC-AMP when I didn't "need" to, also why I bought the Sapphire Radeon R9 Fury X vid card when I didn't "need" to. I can go on here but everything isn't all about price\performance or best value or epeen status to me but practical knowledge and experience in computing w\ new computer technologies along w\ attaining the best performance available to run the games that I play is something that I place a high value on and don't mind spending money to get\experience it but I also do know that there are others who are like-minded as I am and is why I posted concerning this topic. I have long perceived that you are of a like mind Chalenge and every time you post something you confirm this to me in your postings & this 1 is no exception. You might have talked me out of doing this had I posted before I bought it..........but then again maybe not, but I do value what you have to say as I do know where you're coming from when you do have something to say.....and it isn't pie in the sky reasoning.

 

Since you asked for any info on the subject, I accompany Chalenge in this.

Recently our leading PC mag tested three AIO liquid CPU coolers against a Noctua NH-15 and they all fell behind both in cooling and noise level, especially when stressed 100%. The competitors were Silverstone TundraTD02-LITE, Lc-Power LC-CC-120-LiCo and Antec Kühler 950. As you notice, yours was not included. However, if you take a look at http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cooling/2014/04/03/antec-k-hler-h20-950-review/2 you'll see a similar pattern in the table. Liquid just isn't any cooler and as you've noticed, it can have control issues.

Hi Bizman,

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2016/02/11/arctic_cooling_liquid_freezer_120_aio_cpu_cooler_review/1#.VtYBCaPSm6I

I had just noticed this review at HARDOCP after I had bought the Corsair H80i V2 120mm AIO & had installed it in my box.

In this review on HARDOCP this AC Freezer 120mm AIO outperformed several larger well-known 240mm-280mm dual fan AIO's and as for noise they show only the single fan AC Freezer I30 air cooled HSF (the 1 that I have) was quieter than the dual fan AC Freezer 120mm AIO and this includes the Noctua's. You will also note that the Corsair H80i V2 isn't included in this review as well. My take on this is due to this AIO being a newer Corsair 120mm variant the reviewers haven't gotten around to it yet.

From my numbers as recorded in Asus Probe II's sensor recorder software this Corsair H80i V2's cooling performance at stock CPU clocks on my Intel I7 4820K CPU match up very well to the AC Freezer's 120mm AIO's performance numbers as given in this review (H80i V2 is .2*C warmer at idle & 7*C cooler at full load) but I'm only using 1 Corsair SP102 120mm cooling fan on this Corsair H80i V2 120mm AIO instead of both (it does come w\ 2 PWM controlled fans) as the AC Freezer 120mm AIO is shown to be using. The high end temp advantage of my Corsair unit may be due to the case fan arrangement in my box (using 2 Rockfish 120 mm PWM fans set up as intake fans, 1 in lower front of case, 1 in lower side window mount w\ upper side window 120mm fan mount plated over to restrict air flow thru it & 1 top 140 mm non-PWM (3-pin) case fan turning a flat 769 RPM using the Asus Q-Fan PWM mobo fan control set up in Silent Mode which turns the 2 Rockfish fans at 819-820 RPM providing more than adequate airflow into my case to feed BOTH AIO's in my case. My Fury X's fan used to turn at 45%-50% to maintain GPU load temp @ 60*C (have set up GPU fan profile in MSI AB to maintain GPU temps here to optimize AMD's PowerTune 2.0 power loading to GPU clock speeds...I have a copy of AMD's engineering white paper on how PowerTune is supposed to do what it does and now know why Hawaii runs hot--by design--the mistake AMD made was w\ the original cooler choice and fan setting profile in Power Tune to maintain the GPU temp consistently below the 95*C threshold when it 1st debuted) before replacing the lower front case 140mm non-PWM fan w\ the 120mm Rockfish PWM fan & flipping around the lower side mounted Rockfish 120mm PWM fan from exhaust to intake (did this as I noted the CPU full load temps on initial install of the Corsair H80i V2 were hitting 53*C-55*C as well so I figured that there was an airflow issue within my case), now w\ this configuration my Fury X is hitting 60*C-61*C w\ fan speed at the lowest setting of 30% & my CPU now hitting 40*C-43*C under full load stock turbo cache clocks @ 3.9 Ghz (running the AH Beta as it really pushes my box) but I can't determine if the CPU fan RPM that I see thru my Asus control is the actual PWM fan RPM or the pump's RPM w\ this Corsair H80i unless I have Corsair's CorsairLink 4 software loaded. If Corsair had just stuck to either using their software to control the onboard pump stuff on the H80i V2 AIO only OR written into their software the OPTION to disable the section of control that a user doesn't want to use (software can hook into the mobo, CPU, GPU or the H80i pump by user discretion) OR provided another pump control cable that would plug into a mobo 4-pin PWM header instead of a mobo USB header to allow the mobo to control the pump\PWM fan(s) then this would be good. This is the only issue w\ AIO manuf's control software that I have, they think that users should use their software over the mobo supplied software. Not always the case as depending on the mobo manuf their control software may be superior to the AIO manuf's software and work better w\ the sensors that the mobo manuf used in the mobos. This is why the AIO manufs should only concentrate on controlling the pump side of these only or allowing the mobo control to control them IMHO. Until Corsair came up w\ this latest vers of AIO control software what they were offering was essentially the exact same as the mobo folks were offering and was of no value to a user over the mobo control until now IF they would have written it to provide user choice to choose which part of it a user wanted to use w\ their product.

Had I saw the review on the AC Freezer 120mm AIO before I pulled the trigger on this Corsair H80i V2 AIO I would have definitely gotten the AC Freezer 120mm AIO as I do have an account at Amazon (where I got my Sapphire Radeon R9 Fury X vid card from and is the reason why I have an Amazon account as Newegg was ALWAYS out of Fury X stock at the time...Newegg doesn't carry this new AC Freezer 120mm AIO yet and is why I missed it as I check Newegg quite often vs Amazon....may have to change this going forward).

Am now also going to get a couple of good 140mm PWM case fans to replace my top case fan & lower front case fan....was looking at the Noctua industrial vers of the popular NF-14A retail series on FrozenCPU's site as these are capable of moving a massive 269.3 m3\hr airflow @ 3,000 RPM but at a max noise level of 41dB(A). Very impressive and they go for only $29.99 ea. There is a 2,000 RPM vers as well but they cost more and show to be out of stock at FrozenCPU.

Tis why I also like to read your postings Bizman as you tend to use fact-based info in your postings as I also try to do in mine to support what I post. Always looking to learn something.

 

Well now y'all know the gist of what makes ole Pudgie tick, good or bad is in the eyes of the beholder...............

 

[Pudgie]

I had a LOT more to post on this topic but I ran into the BBS's character limit of 10,000 characters so I had to "edit" my own post to get it below this limit and still be coherent.

Which I'll admit can be a chore..............

 

 

[Chalenge]

I know what you mean. I didn't write anything much except legal descriptions (survey talk) from about 1982 until eight or nine years ago. Returning to school taught me how to write, again, and also that no one wants to read what I write. So I try to keep it as brief as possible. Also, because I have got a few years of school I know how much I don't know, so I don't claim to be an expert on anything other than me. . . and the P-51. 

[Bizman]

--- taught me how to write, ---. So I try to keep it as brief as possible. ---

That, sir, is something I appreciate very much, especially since English isn't my native tongue. Short simple sentences and paragraphs are much easier to read. 

Hi Pudgie,

having said that, I just had to take my tape measure: The lines on this BBS being 19" long on my screen, it's quite hard to follow a long paragraph. Narrowing my browser to 1/3 of my screen width would be a workaround, but that would affect viewing large images on some posts. 

[Pudgie]

Update:

After doing some snooping around w\ Corsair's CL4 software I finally figured out a method to build a custom profile for this AIO to set the pump speed in quiet mode (1800 RPM), set up a custom fan speed control curve using the AIO cold plate temp then set up the LED color scheme then save it then use the CL4 software to flash this profile to the onboard AIO firmware memory so the AIO will operate as I want it to w\o the Corsair CL4 software being loaded.

I can now use the Asus Probe II software to monitor the CPU temp to know if the Corsair H80i V2 AIO is working & can start up the Corsair CL4 software periodically to check it further when needed or modify the profile & reflash AIO firmware as needed.

Got this handled now. Corsair H80i V2 manual provides no help on this at all and the Corsair forums have no change log listed on this CL4 software so no guidance is provided anywhere so beware.

Corsair H80i V2 AIO is maintaining the exact same CPU temps as reported earlier but is whisper silent now just like the AIO on my Fury X is using the fan profile I set up in MSI AB for it.

I cannot detect either AIO's pump or fan noise over my case fans & my case fans are set up in Asus Fan Xpert to run in Silent Mode.

Good to go.

 

[Masherbrum]

Case fans for my Corsair 750D are Prolimatech Blue Vortex 14's.   Quiet and move a lot of air.   87cfm @ 18.1db.  Two up front and two up top.

I have a pair of Lepa PWM 120's (30.61-81.45 cfm @ 8-18db) on my H80i.   I have yet to feel the need to overclock any component and never had to use Corsair link, except to change the color of my pump LCD.

Not to mention, my pc is very quiet and cold for being less than three feet from my right ear.   

[Gman]

I have the Noctua D14 and D15 in two systems, and the best Swiftech AIO cooler in another.  The Noctuas work as well, if not better in terms of cooling overclocked CPUs than the vaunted Swifttech one does.

The only issue IMO is they are big and ugly as hell, so many that like to show off their PC internals with whizzy LEDs, good cable management, and so on, are put off by a giant hunk of ugly heat sink wrapped in 2 ugly beige fans.  It's an aesthetic issue IMO, as the air coolers in all my tests and all I've read typically beat the more expensive AIO liquid things.  Plus there is NO risk of leaks, and the failure rate is FAR less, as there are no pumps to worry about. 

It used to be that high performance RAM heat sinks were too high for the Noctua fans, but no longer, they've largely fixed that.

My DH14 has been running since fall of 2012, and is still working like new - Swiftech is only 1.3 years old, and is making cranky noises already, in the least used PC of the bunch.  I can also buy 2 Noctua top end coolers for the price of the Swifttech, and even the cheap AIO from Corsair and Cooler Master are still 30 to 40$ more than the best D15.

The AIO aren't "bad" or anything, they work well for the $ IMO, it's just that the Noctua work better for the $ typically.  The trade off is they are huge and ugly.

[Masherbrum]

I have the Noctua D14 and D15 in two systems, and the best Swiftech AIO cooler in another.  The Noctuas work as well, if not better in terms of cooling overclocked CPUs than the vaunted Swifttech one does.

The only issue IMO is they are big and ugly as hell, so many that like to show off their PC internals with whizzy LEDs, good cable management, and so on, are put off by a giant hunk of ugly heat sink wrapped in 2 ugly beige fans.  It's an aesthetic issue IMO, as the air coolers in all my tests and all I've read typically beat the more expensive AIO liquid things.  Plus there is NO risk of leaks, and the failure rate is FAR less, as there are no pumps to worry about. 

It used to be that high performance RAM heat sinks were too high for the Noctua fans, but no longer, they've largely fixed that.

My DH14 has been running since fall of 2012, and is still working like new - Swiftech is only 1.3 years old, and is making cranky noises already, in the least used PC of the bunch.  I can also buy 2 Noctua top end coolers for the price of the Swifttech, and even the cheap AIO from Corsair and Cooler Master are still 30 to 40$ more than the best D15.

The AIO aren't "bad" or anything, they work well for the $ IMO, it's just that the Noctua work better for the $ typically.  The trade off is they are huge and ugly.

While I have enjoyed the H80i, I have been considering the D-15, just to avoid any issues in the future.    G, is the D15 pretty quiet?   

[Gman]

Karaya, it's a coin flip IMO.  IF the pump in the AIO gets old, or was just a noisy one from new, I'd say the Noctua is a bit quieter.  You can get MB/software/fan controllers/bios to mess with fan RPMs, but I mostly don't mess a whole lot with this, just a bit.

The Noctuas I have, all have been bullet proof, it's just the...ugliness.  I should take out the fans and paint them or just buy some nicer looking ones, as beige is hands down my least favorite color, and with the heat sink being so ungodly large and ugly on its own, having 2 big ugly as hell beige fans on them don't do any favors to a nice looking case.  I wish you could buy the Noctuas without their fans tbh, or at least wish they would offer better looking options.  Heck, maybe they do and I've just not seen them. Corsair/Swiftech AIO sure look a lot better, that's for certain.

[Bizman]

---beige is hands down my least favorite color, and with the heat sink being so ungodly large and ugly on its own, having 2 big ugly as hell beige fans on them don't do any favors to a nice looking case.---

+1, and another reason to avoid windowed cases.

[Chalenge]

Yeah, if I was worried about looks I might have taken it another step further and built my system into a desk with forced, filtered air flow. I think Linus did something like that on his YouTube channel, once or twice. There have been some really brilliant designs floating around on the Internet lately.