A few Corsair H115i Questions

[Interitus]

Just picked up an H115i for the PC and tossing around a few thoughts in my head before I install. Want to get everything squared away plan-wise beforehand as I don't have any place local to go pick up parts like adapters, cables etc. Done a bit of googling, but just looking for some specific confirmation or thoughts. So if anyone has any input on the following, I would greatly appreciate it.

Relevant Info:

I am currently using a Phanteks Enthoo Luxe case.

I bought the H115i for future platform OC considerations and the fact that my Thermalright Venomous-X is aging and getting a little scuffed up etc., so this is more of an appearance or "cool-looking" purchase than a max possible OC tool.

Questions:

1) Is there any real downside to running 3-pin non-PWM fans on the radiator other than lack of board header control? This is an aesthetic preference of mine because my case is color-matched. I currently run my fans off a Lamptron FC-5 controller. I also have other temperature check measures in place, so alerts are not really necessary. My case will allow for push/pull on the radiator, so I can do that to keep the appearance uniform from inside the case and looking down into the case from the top. I understand that my fans might not be as good as the included ones for a rad, but I'm not exactly running a bleeding edge OC here. As long as I can control the pump somehow (Corsair Link, board header etc.) I'm fine with manual fan control on the rad.

2) The H115 comes with the USB cable for Corsair Link that has to be attached to a board USB header. I'd really like to avoid running an unsightly cable to the USB board header as there's no real clean way for me to route it. From what I've read, it looks like you can set the preferences for the unit and then ditch Corsair Link after that. Will this approach work to set pump speed, LED color, etc. and then allow me to remove the cable? The LED isn't a deal breaker, so if I can just set the pump preferences and remove the cable, I'm fine with that.


Thanks for taking the time to read all of this and for any suggestions or advice.

 

[Interitus]

For anyone that might come across this later, I got the cooler installed today.

I haven't tried to remove the Corsair Link cable yet as I'm still fiddling with settings and profiles, but the cooler seems to be doing well in push/pull with less than optimal fans. I run the orange Xigmatek XLF-F1453's, which are anything but good rad fans, but they're doing the job just fine for what I need.

I currently don't have an ambient reading, but the room should be around 74*F or 24'ish C.

Under AIDA64 CPU stress @ stock on a 3570K - cores are around 50*C, water temp is about 32*C.

This is with the Xigmateks running at 7'ish volts off the Lamptron controller, about 750RPM. H115 is set to Quiet pump mode. It's a little clicky sounding on performance in a quiet PC.

One thing to note is that you will need to source a second set of longer screws to mount in push/pull. The H115 only includes one set of long screws (fan side) and one set of short screws (rad mount side).

 

[YBS1]

2) The H115 comes with the USB cable for Corsair Link that has to be attached to a board USB header. I'd really like to avoid running an unsightly cable to the USB board header as there's no real clean way for me to route it. From what I've read, it looks like you can set the preferences for the unit and then ditch Corsair Link after that. Will this approach work to set pump speed, LED color, etc. and then allow me to remove the cable? The LED isn't a deal breaker, so if I can just set the pump preferences and remove the cable, I'm fine with that.

Yes, you can ditch the cable and uninstall the Corsair software if you wish. I can't remember off the top of my head if that disables the lighting effects or not though. I don't think it does in terms of solid color, but it might disable temperature based color changing or "breathing effects".

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Yes, you can ditch the cable and uninstall the Corsair software if you wish. I can't remember off the top of my head if that disables the lighting effects or not though. I don't think it does in terms of solid color, but it might disable temperature based color changing or "breathing effects".

If that's the way the Corsair Link works, it is a good thing, and I can't criticize the OP's concerns. How might I do that? It's really a matter of personal priorities, but following KISS and PPPPP principles. Why worry about routing an internal USB cable, if it would capture the full features of fan and pump control from the cooler and the motherboard?

But of course, if it works like the ASUS Suite components, being able to remove the software still follows KISS. If the H115i has a processor of its own that follows motherboard sensors, I wouldn't want to remove the USB cable. A standard USB 2.0 internal cable has maybe five conductor wires. Just find a spare someplace, splice in five segments of a desired common length, and do a nice neat soldering job on the splices totaling ten repetitions of the task. Does anyone remember if there is any shielding on such a cable? I don't think so.

You should even be able to order a patch-cable/adapter with the appropriate plugs on either end. It's just a lot of trouble finding an outfit that sells exactly what you need, but it would likely be chump-change.