Upgrading fans on the H100i GTX

WarmachineAaron · 22 Jun 2015 at 16:29

Noise level wise if i remove the stock SP120L fans from the H100i GTX and add four SP120 QUIET editions in push/pull, wired straight into molex not using the cpu fan header at all what would noise levels compare?
Reason i ask is that im sick to death of Corsair link, its a piece of ****.
And i dont wanna go the route of a fan controller because i dont like running the temp probes in myself

ttaskmaster · 22 Jun 2015 at 16:54

The QE fans would be MUCH quieter... however, your performance would also drop notably.
I'd suggest considering SP120 Performance Editions (noisy, but not as much as the stock fans), Noctuas, EK Varders, or NB Noiseloop fans instead.

With the fan controller - You wouldn't need to use the probes if you didn't want to. You can check the CPU temp through HWMon or whatever choice of software you preferred and just the FanCon to turn them up/down depending on activity at the time.

I also thought CorsairLink was optional and that the H100i could still alter fans by itself like the older H100?

WarmachineAaron · 22 Jun 2015 at 17:35

4 quiet editions in push/pull would be worse performance than the two stock fans both pushing? My radiator is in the top of my 750D, exhausting.

According to corsair link i've got the pump running full at 2940 rpm and the fans running at 780rpm. I have it set to the balanced profile but it doesnt seem to make any difference, Corsair link randomly doesnt do anything.
It's never change fan speeds by temp either.
My i5 sits average of 33c idle and 45-50c while gaming which im happy with, 80c on p95 stress tests *edit thats at 4.4ghz*

Kelt · 22 Jun 2015 at 17:43

Running SP120LED's on my Triton, and they're excellent at cooling and quiet.

ttaskmaster · 22 Jun 2015 at 18:04

WarmachineAaron said:
4 quiet editions in push/pull would be worse performance than the two stock fans both pushing?

The stock fans with Hydro Series coolers are massively powerful, but seriously noisy. Something like 2350rpm. That's about 35dB.
The QE go to 1450rpm at 23dB. However, they only manage about 40% of the Performance Edition static pressure.

By comparison, the Noctua NF-F12 fans would probably be a decent balance between noise and performance (2.6 StatPress at 23dB, whereas the SP QE only does 1.2 StatPress at the same volume).

If PWM is your thing, I believe you can get a FanCon that alters fan speed based on either CPUFan reading, or the CPU temp itself. Not very up on PWM myself, though. I prefer everything as manual as poss.

Robzere31 · 22 Jun 2015 at 18:58

I replaced the stock fans with 2x 120mm Alaska Piranha air rippers. here
Very pleased with the outcome, quiet & good performance. Managed to get them when they were on offer at £5 each.

dacads · 22 Jun 2015 at 19:08

Robzere31 said:
I replaced the stock fans with 2x 120mm Alaska Piranha air rippers. here
Very pleased with the outcome, quiet & good performance. Managed to get them when they were on offer at £5 each.

Or 3 for a tenner
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-004-AK

Although Akasa Apache is probably a better bet in terms of noise

MrMD · 22 Jun 2015 at 19:18

Noctua F12's are amazing but for some people the price is a bit high for 'just a fan'

Apaches are a great buy atm for under £7 each for rad fans

Greybeard · 23 Jun 2015 at 08:49

WarmachineAaron said:
Noise level wise if i remove the stock SP120L fans from the H100i GTX and add four SP120 QUIET editions in push/pull, wired straight into molex not using the cpu fan header at all what would noise levels compare?
Reason i ask is that im sick to death of Corsair link, its a piece of ****.
And i dont wanna go the route of a fan controller because i dont like running the temp probes in myself

What kind of problem are you having with Corsair Link?

WarmachineAaron · 23 Jun 2015 at 09:31

To start with it wouldnt change fan RPM to match cpu temp, now it doesnt do anything.
I've spent so much time in the last week googling and searching forums for people with similar problems and have pretty much given up

Greybeard · 23 Jun 2015 at 10:49

WarmachineAaron said:
To start with it wouldnt change fan RPM to match cpu temp, now it doesnt do anything.
I've spent so much time in the last week googling and searching forums for people with similar problems and have pretty much given up

Assuming that you were using the latest version of C link, did you make sure that the fans were under CPU temp group? by default they are going to be under Coolant temp and its probably the reason why they are not reacting to your CPU temp.

WarmachineAaron · 23 Jun 2015 at 11:38

Theres no way of moving them to any other group except the cooler temp group

Greybeard · 23 Jun 2015 at 12:18

When you click the fan connected to your pump (H100i GTX), there's a configuration panel that will pop up on the right hand side of the UI. There you will see a group option where you can select the group you want that fan to belong to.

ttaskmaster · 23 Jun 2015 at 14:35

MrMD said:
Noctua F12's are amazing but for some people the price is a bit high for 'just a fan'

I figured if this was worth doing, it was worth a few extra quid for the high end fans.
Had I known the cheaper Noctua Redux ones were coming, I'd possibly have bought those instead.

MrMD · 23 Jun 2015 at 15:26

ttaskmaster said:
I figured if this was worth doing, it was worth a few extra quid for the high end fans.
Had I known the cheaper Noctua Redux ones were coming, I'd possibly have bought those instead.

They are worth it IMO,i decked out my WC rads in F12's,was pricey but the performance and noise levels are fantastic,

The redux fans are no good for radiators,only for case/airflow fans

WarmachineAaron · 23 Jun 2015 at 15:37

Greybeard said:
When you click the fan connected to your pump (H100i GTX), there's a configuration panel that will pop up on the right hand side of the UI. There you will see a group option where you can select the group you want that fan to belong to.

Nope, as i said the only group available to put the fan in is the "H100i Cooler Temp"

ttaskmaster · 23 Jun 2015 at 16:55

MrMD said:
The redux fans are no good for radiators,only for case/airflow fans

Aw knackers... I thought they'd done the F series in Redux as well. Just the S12s and P14s.
That said, the P14s should still be pretty good on rads...

Greybeard · 24 Jun 2015 at 19:41

WarmachineAaron said:
Nope, as i said the only group available to put the fan in is the "H100i Cooler Temp"

That's a little odd, there should be an option for "CPU temp"

Can you see your CPU temp in Link? It's probably not seeing it to begin with, hence why the option is not available.

WarmachineAaron · 25 Jun 2015 at 16:07

haszek · 25 Jun 2015 at 17:19

MrMD said:
They are worth it IMO,i decked out my WC rads in F12's,was pricey but the performance and noise levels are fantastic,

The redux fans are no good for radiators,only for case/airflow fans

Another vote for Noctua F12, haven't tried any others so can't compare but I wasn't looking after setting up those. Very good performance with lower speeds.