# URGENT: Help is needed for Corsair H100i PRO RGB installation



## andiey (Nov 13, 2019)

Dear folks,
I have a Corsair H100i PRO RGB which has 2 120mm fans and 1 pump.
My motherboard is Asus ROG Strix Z390-F.

I have finished most part of my build. Now I am installation this AIO and I've found problem.

I have connected the two fans' 4-pin connectors to CPU_FAN and OPT_FAN headers on the mobo, thought that will give BIOS control over their speeds.
Then as I was about to stick the pump to the CPU I was noticing that there are several connectors and cables stemming out from the pump.

As you know, there is a splitter which splits two male 4-pin connectors. Then there is a separated 3-pin connector cable. Last one is a SATA cable, this one I understand it is supposed to be connected to the PSU for power so no problem with this one.

Then I check the manual and I have doubts. According to the manual, the splitter cable is supposed to connect up the two 4-pin PWM fans. Then it says connect the 3-pin connector to the CPU_FAN header on the motherboard.
It doesn't make sense to me. The 3-pin connector if connected to the CPU_FAN header, then what is going to be connected to the AIO_PUMP header on the mobo?  How do I keep track of the pump' speed?

Am I missing something here?


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## sneekypeet (Nov 13, 2019)

Connect as instructed, control via software. It works.


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## andiey (Nov 14, 2019)

sneekypeet said:


> Connect as instructed, control via software. It works.


Am I expecting that via iCue, I will be seeing the CPU fan speed as well as the AIO speed?


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## sneekypeet (Nov 14, 2019)

andiey said:


> Am I expecting that via iCue, I will be seeing the CPU fan speed as well as the AIO speed?



You will see that and a whole lot more.


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## andiey (Nov 14, 2019)

So I have to download the iCUE software after the hardware installation? If that is true, then in BIOS, I will only see the speed of CPU_FAN1?  But what is this speed referring to?  The speed of the PUMP or the speed of the FANs?

Had I known this confusing thing, I would have purchased other brand like the cooler master.  Besides, such installation is hard to hide the cables...so many of them!


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## sneekypeet (Nov 14, 2019)

I would assume it to be a pump speed. Even then, depending on the number of poles in the motor, you have to multiply the given number. However, at bios level, I would be happy to just know the pump is working.


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## andiey (Nov 14, 2019)

sneekypeet said:


> I would assume it to be a pump speed. Even then, depending on the number of poles in the motor, you have to multiply the given number. However, at bios level, I would be happy to just know the pump is working.



Thanks for your reply, m a bit desperate. I searched everywhere but found no useful information.
I guess my previous experience with H60 has led me to think that only 1 connection is required to connect the pump to the CPU FAN header.
The H100i PRO RGB is definitely different.

*So let me get this right: so the 2 PWM fans are "linked" up with something (which we need not to know what that is) inside the pump unit and the 3 pin connector hooked up to the CPU_FAN header on the motherboard will allow information regarding the fan's speed and the pump speed to be processed by the iCUE software, do I understand it correctly?

If yes, then I have a concern: does it mean that I have one less option to monitor (not change or control) the fan's speed and the pump speed via ASUS BIOS and its Xpert 4 monitoring software?

Just my personal comment, I feel this is very strange arrangement by Corsair. A normal thinking will lead one to connect the two PWM fans to the CPU_FAN and CPU_OPT headers for speed control. Then maybe the 3-pin (I believe it is the PUMP speed controller?) connected to another header maybe AIO_PUMP? As it is 3-pin, nobody can control its speed it will run at full speed by default. Had I know this particular Corsair product is so confusing and eliminate BIOS tweaking, I would have chosen to buy another brand, afterall my case is a Cooler Master. IT's just that Corsair has earned some goodwill in my heart over the years as I used it first generation H60 AIO.

Sent a question to Corsair forum, nobody answers*


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## newtekie1 (Nov 14, 2019)

The H100i Pro should also have a USB connector on the pump.  The fans that are plugged into the connectors coming out of the pump are controlled through the USB cable(the USB also controls the RGB).

The fan connector from the pump that plugs into the CPU Fan header only sends the pump speed to the motherboard.  It does nothing else.  This is necessary for two reasons.  One reason is that some motherboards will give an error and pause the boot process if nothing is detected on the CPU fan header.  The other reason is so that you can make sure the pump is running even in the BIOS, because it's more important the pump is running at that point than the fans.

Personally, I don't like use iCue to control my fan speeds, I prefer the motherboard do it.  So I plug the two fans in to CPU_Fan and CPU_Opt so they'll both be controlled by the motherboard based on CPU temperature.  Then I plug the fan cable coming from the pump into one of the chassis fan headers so I can still monitor pump speed too.  I tuck that double fan connectors that comes out of the pump where you can plug fans into back somewhere out of the way and don't plug anything into them.

You don't have to use the iCue software.  Corsair is just giving people that option, because not every motherboard is going to have two CPU fan headers or a bunch of fan connectors so you have an extra to plug in the pump speed sensor.

It works either way.


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## eidairaman1 (Nov 14, 2019)

Connect as instructed


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## er557 (Nov 14, 2019)

I got this product, very straighforward, same as h100i v2, except the sata connector. Simply connect both fans to the double headers from the pump, connect the 4pin single to the cpu fan header on the mobo, do connect the provided micro usb cable to the pump and then to usb2 header on the mobo, then you will have full control via icue( i prefer corsair link). Connect the pump to the cpu via the appropriate screws as per your socket type, and you should be good to go.


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## John Naylor (Nov 14, 2019)

Follow the directions ... all of them.


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## Zach_01 (Nov 15, 2019)

I have the H110i, pretty much the same...
Connect the 2 fans to pump cables
The SATA pump to PSU
The side pump usb to internal usb header
Optional: conect the 1pin small header to MB CPU for other software to see pump speed as CPU rpm (dont need to, but...)
Install CorsairLink and set it up.
There are 3 profiles Performance/Balanced/Silent or make as many custom as you like for the fan speed curve and pump speed (low/high)
I have set a custom fan curve, pump always low (~2370rpm) and never high (2850rpm) and the fans are assigned to water temp and not directly on CPU temp.

I do not know if Link can control RGB or you need iCue for this.





Most likely you can control RGB from CorsairLink. Mine has just a Corsair logo on pump that you can control as you like


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## peterocc (Nov 22, 2019)

Good evening from Switzerland!

I'm experiencing the exact same issue as OP... Same board except the AIO is the h100i RGB Platinum SE.

Instructions say: 

connect SATA to power - Done
connect 3 pin to CPU Fan - Done
connect 4 pin to fans - Done
connect USB to USB Header - Done
connect thin dual cables to cooler? There is 1 thin cable (thin 4 pin and 3 pin) coming out of the block. Where do these connect or is simply ignore and tuck? 
Please help!


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## sneekypeet (Nov 22, 2019)

peterocc said:


> Good evening from Switzerland!
> 
> I'm experiencing the exact same issue as OP... Same board except the AIO is the h100i RGB Platinum SE.
> 
> ...



You missed a step in the instructions then. Connect fans on the radiator to the fan power leads from the head unit.

IIRC the H100 has four cables. There is the SATA lead, there is a pump tach lead (goes to motherboard fan header, the USB cable you have to connect, and the last lead should be to connect fans. Step 5 mentions all of this but the USB cable.


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## peterocc (Nov 22, 2019)

sneekypeet said:


> You missed a step in the instructions then. Connect fans on the radiator to the fan power leads from the head unit.
> 
> IIRC the H100 has four cables. There is the SATA lead, there is a pump tach lead (goes to motherboard fan header, the USB cable you have to connect, and the last lead should be to connect fans. Step 5 mentions all of this but the USB cable.



Thanks for replying. The USB Micro is connected as it controls power to the block. The PC boots for 40-60 seconds then powers off. 

The 2 male 4 pin cables are connected to the two 120mm fans on the radiator. 

The cable in question is this one. It comes from the block and has male 4pin and a male 3pin.


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## sneekypeet (Nov 22, 2019)

peterocc said:


> Thanks for replying. The USB Micro is connected as it controls power to the block. The PC boots for 40-60 seconds then powers off.
> 
> The 2 male 4 pin cables are connected to the two 120mm fans on the radiator.
> 
> ...



To me, those appear to be RGB control wires. On the SE model, do both fans have a single wire from them, or two?


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## peterocc (Nov 22, 2019)

sneekypeet said:


> To me, those appear to be RGB control wires. On the SE model, do both fans have a single wire from them, or two?



Each fan (Corsair LL120) has 2 wires. One is unmarked female 4pin, the other is labeled RGB. 

I connect the unmarked female 4pin to the thicker male 4pin coming from the block and the RGB wire goes into the Corsair Commander unit. 

This mystery cable has had me up the past 2 nights and this dream build has become my nightmare.


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## er557 (Nov 23, 2019)

what is the big problem? connect as instructed in the manual. also, having the pc boot and shutdown means overheating, the pump fails to touch the cpu firmly enough, check your socket screws first.


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## peterocc (Nov 23, 2019)

er557 said:


> what is the big problem? connect as instructed in the manual. also, having the pc boot and shutdown means overheating, the pump fails to touch the cpu firmly enough, check your socket screws first.



thanks for replying. 

i pulled the block off the CPU this am and cleaned and reapplied thermal paste. I also removed the nvme drives, GPU and then tested. Still powered off after 40 secs. I then pulled the RAM and tested and the PC stays on. I’m at a complete loss now. the block powers on as the lights are on and I can water moving through the tubes. 

i had to step out but will continue testing when I return in a few hours.


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## er557 (Nov 23, 2019)

did the pc work at all before the aio?, did you connect all psu cables like 8 pin, 6 pin, try other psu? go into bios when pc is on to check temps before it shuts down!


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## erixx (Nov 23, 2019)

Manual is telegraphic style, bad concept.

Corsair likes since ages to route all cables of all kind (fans included) to 1 center (pump) (plus wants you to use their USB controlled software.
It is not the only way to connect this.
Plus the RGB cables... can go to RGB headers on your mobo, if present.


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## andiey (Nov 26, 2019)

peterocc said:


> Thanks for replying. The USB Micro is connected as it controls power to the block. The PC boots for 40-60 seconds then powers off.
> 
> The 2 male 4 pin cables are connected to the two 120mm fans on the radiator.
> 
> ...


I never see this one on my unit?? 

SHM


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## Kovoet (Nov 26, 2019)

er557 said:


> I got this product, very straighforward, same as h100i v2, except the sata connector. Simply connect both fans to the double headers from the pump, connect the 4pin single to the cpu fan header on the mobo, do connect the provided micro usb cable to the pump and then to usb2 header on the mobo, then you will have full control via icue( i prefer corsair link). Connect the pump to the cpu via the appropriate screws as per your socket type, and you should be good to go.


Totally agree about link. Link is much better than iCue, so much easier to use.


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## peterocc (Nov 26, 2019)

Ended up the additional cables are ARGB connectors and not necessary so I tucked them away. 

The automatic shutdowns were the result of RAM (Corsair Vengeance Pro DDR4-3200) clockspeed being too high for the motherboard (ASUS ROG Strix Gaming-F) to support out of the box. I had to downclock the speed to 2133 until I could update the BIOS. It then was able to support 3200.


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## kapone32 (Nov 26, 2019)

This is 


andiey said:


> Dear folks,
> I have a Corsair H100i PRO RGB which has 2 120mm fans and 1 pump.
> My motherboard is Asus ROG Strix Z390-F.
> 
> ...



The same as most AIOs. The splitter cable you install to the 2 fans and use the CPU_OPT header (it allows boths fans to spin at the same RPM). The pump unit you install to the CPU Header. The SATA port is most likely to provide power to the pum in the absence of 2 CPU headers. Using the board's software or Corsair LInk will allow you to see and control the pump speeds.


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## andiey (Nov 28, 2019)

I m impressed by the fans. They revolve at over 2000 rpm when things get hot. I ve chosen the Balanced profile.  It's like a vacuum cleaner.  But it doesn't bother me.


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## WHOFOUNDFUNGUS (Dec 4, 2019)

RE:OP My experience: Corsair Link and Corsair RGB = Horrendous nightmare. I have learned my lesson and for that reason I refuse to buy anymore Corsair products. There is nothing that Corsair makes that other companies don't make that is equal to or better and so much Corsair product is over-priced. IMO Corsair is resting on their laurels and living off the name, which is a shame because once upon a time, back in the day, Corsair made excellent product. My Corsair HX1000i PSU is proof of that. Alas, this is not the only problem with them. If you have a problem they're not likely to offer remedy. Corsair is not all that dedicated to customer satisfaction. Perhaps it is because I live in Canada, but this has been my experience with them. I just thought I'd pass it on.


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## andiey (Dec 5, 2019)

Corsair products are overpriced?
Well...yes, I agree with that comment.  I think Corsair cases are overpriced in the sense that they don't deliver that kind of quality that other brands like be Quiet! and Fractal Design do. For instance, be Quiet! Pure Base 500 is a GREATT GREAT case.  Corsair doesn't have any good airflow nor silent case in their product range.

Theirr earlier products are better?
Yes, definitely. I have the Hydro series H60 bought in 2013. It's still functioning very very well.  It keeps my 3570K very cool even at overclock whereas the new H100i PRO RGB is in fact not that good. The CPU bracket is made up of plastic - VERY VERY bad. I just found out that might be the reason that the pump is not making good contact with the CPU leaving my new 9600K at high temperature. And there is two scratches on the surface of the copper base of the pump.

I believe people are generally more inclined to USA made products avoiding Made in China or even Made in Taiwan.  Corsair has that advantages. I hope they work harder especially in their Forum. They are very slow and somehow not responding to queries.


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## EarthDog (Dec 5, 2019)

andiey said:


> Corsair doesn't have any good airflow nor silent case in their product range.


Sure they do. Look. 



andiey said:


> I just found out that might be the reason that the pump is not making good contact with the CPU leaving my new 9600K at high temperature.


?????????

You posted threads saying how great the thing is...sorry "spectacular".....https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/spectacular-cooling-system.261597/

EDIT: I'm also pretty sure it is made out of metal... both AMD and Intel's brackets.


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## Zach_01 (Dec 5, 2019)

For sure mine is metal bracket cause it mounts upon the block/pump magnetically, and I'm pretty happy with the performance of H110i from day 1. Installed July 2017 on my previous OCed FX3870.
For Intel socket I think it requires a back plate bracket (included). At mine it is also metal but seen some footage of H100i Pro RGB it looks to me that the included back plate could be plastic... Not sure tho, color and texture could fool me...


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## peterocc (Dec 5, 2019)

Mine is metal on the Platinum RGB SE so not sure what you got mate


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## WHOFOUNDFUNGUS (Dec 5, 2019)

andiey said:


> Corsair products are overpriced?
> Well...yes, I agree with that comment.  I think Corsair cases are overpriced in the sense that they don't deliver that kind of quality that other brands like be Quiet! and Fractal Design do. For instance, be Quiet! Pure Base 500 is a GREATT GREAT case.  Corsair doesn't have any good airflow nor silent case in their product range.
> 
> Theirr earlier products are better?
> ...



As a matter of principle I would not buy a Corsair product unless Corsair offered me a $200.00 voucher to remedy the loss I had to take with the Commander that I purchased from them. I'm not telling anyone not to buy Corsair but for me, it's a matter of principle. Yup. They were very, very slow with responding to me also and when I finally got my answer the answer was clear: No remedy. So it's nuthin' for nuthin' and Corsair gets nuthin' from me. I don't recommend them in my videos and I don't recommend them to my clients. I'm sure they still make a good PSUs and good PC Cases. I can't even say they make good RAM anymore by the comments I've read in this forum. My extreme performance DDR2 RAM still runs great. I've never had a client come back with bad Corsair RAM. All 128 GB of my Corsair DDR4 Dominator RAM in my work station works excellent and I'm not sorry I bought it. Then again, I don't think Corsair actually assembles the RAM. That's probably a job they outsource to China. Which, might explain why this sudden unanticipated drop in quality control with RAM and other Corsair products. Maybe Corsair should consider making America great again?


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## andiey (Dec 5, 2019)

EarthDog said:


> Sure they do. Look.
> 
> ?????????
> 
> ...


I was too early to say that, now I regret what I commented about how good it was. It definitely has flaws



Zach_01 said:


> For sure mine is metal bracket cause it mounts upon the block/pump magnetically, and I'm pretty happy with the performance of H110i from day 1. Installed July 2017 on my previous OCed FX3870.
> For Intel socket I think it requires a back plate bracket (included). At mine it is also metal but seen some footage of H100i Pro RGB it looks to me that the included back plate could be plastic... Not sure tho, color and texture could fool me...


Matt colour so you are confused, it is definitely plastic because I am using it H100i PRO RGB.


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## Zach_01 (Dec 5, 2019)

andiey said:


> Matt colour so you are confused, it is definitely plastic because I am using it H100i PRO RGB.


For my model I'm 101% sure its metal cause I have it in my hands...

This is H110i's Intel front bracket and back plate/bracket on my desk right now. Both are metal.



Maybe you need to add some washers to the back bracket's 4 corners to tighten the mount.

1) How are your temps? Idle, midle load/gaming and full load.
2) OCed? What is your max power consumption reading at HWiNFO sensors mode?


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## andiey (Dec 5, 2019)

Zach_01 said:


> For my model I'm 101% sure its metal cause I have it in my hands...
> 
> This is H110i's Intel front bracket and back plate/bracket on my desk right now. Both are metal.
> View attachment 138509
> ...


Yours are 110i, mine is H100i PRO RGB, I think that's why. They cut cost.  I also read the same from Corsair forum. As I said before, things in the old days tend to have better quality. Those cost-cutting horse-shit really bug us all, don't you ever think do!?

(1) Temp is not good, I read my 1 thread in this post, and noticed that st stock speed, the idle temperature is higher (I am of course, referring to the max temp values). I guess it is because I reinstalled the pump yesterday with 3rd party thermal paste, called Thermaltake TG-2.  Actually I did the same to my old 3570K when I revamping it.  I made mistake yesterday, I pasted too much. It is thicker than that I did to my 3570K.  You can hardly be accurate with covering the die with thermal paste. I am not that skillful myself.

I once heard that thick thermal paste will hinder heat transfer and by extension, heat dissipation. I am considering doing it a second time...just hesitating. I watched a video showing the 9600K @ 5GHz runs at only 50's.

(2) I cant read iCUE's indication of the 850i, it has Power in and power out, do I add them up? BTW, Power In and Power Out differs adn dont add up to 100%. I am now not in the mood of overclocking the die. I just want to get that cooler CPU temp back as I got initially.   I have really put the whole rig into use yet to be honest.  Need to settle all these temperature thing first.


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## oxrufiioxo (Dec 5, 2019)

Not sure where you seen those temps but with an h115i a better cooler you'd be hitting 80c with around 1.35v with that CPU at 5ghz in a real avx workload. Non avx should be 65-70c depending on ambient.


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## andiey (Dec 5, 2019)

Keep hearing AVX, how the hell do I tell whether my system's AVX is on or not man???!!!!


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## INSTG8R (Dec 5, 2019)

andiey said:


> Keep hearing AVX, how the hell do I tell whether my system's AVX is on or not man???!!!!


It’s would be a BIOS setting under CPU features I’d imagine


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## oxrufiioxo (Dec 5, 2019)

andiey said:


> Keep hearing AVX, how the hell do I tell whether my system's AVX is on or not man???!!!!



Avx is an instruction set your CPU uses. cinebench R20 uses it. Aida 64 extreme cpu/fpu uses it/prime 95 uses it.

Your CPU uses substantially more power when running it so it's popular when stress testing.



INSTG8R said:


> It’s would be a BIOS setting under CPU features I’d imagine



There is a bios offset that some people use to run a lower frequency when an avx workload is run. A good example would be using 5ghz for gaming but 4.8 during avx.


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## INSTG8R (Dec 5, 2019)

oxrufiioxo said:


> Avx is an instruction set your CPU uses. cinebench R20 uses it. Aida 64 extreme cpu/fpu uses it/prime 95 uses it.
> 
> Your CPU uses substantially more power when running it so it's popular when stress testing.


And something that’s gaining traction in more applications so turning it off may actually be detrimental.


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## Zach_01 (Dec 5, 2019)

andiey said:


> (2) I cant read iCUE's indication of the 850i, it has Power in and power out, do I add them up? BTW, Power In and Power Out differs adn dont add up to 100%. I am now not in the mood of overclocking the die. I just want to get that cooler CPU temp back as I got initially.   I have really put the whole rig into use yet to be honest.  Need to settle all these temperature thing first.


"Power In" is what the PSU draws (watts) from wall and "Power Out" is what the PC draws/asks (watts) from PSU. The defference of those 2 is lost by the transformation of AC current to DC current and that lost power is dissipated as heat by the PSU. The greater the efficiency of the PSU the lower is the "lost" power transforming into heat. (literaly energy/power can never be lost... but can change forms through transformation)

Your Corsair PSU is (*i*) and all Corsair (*i*)s have digital monitoring capability. You can also see all the PSU function conditions in HWiNFO sensors only mode. It slightly differs from iCue report, but there you can see the lowest, max, and avg power draw.


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## andiey (Dec 5, 2019)

Zach_01 said:


> "Power In" is what the PSU draws (watts) from wall and "Power Out" is what the PC draws/asks (watts) from PSU. The defference of those 2 is lost by the transformation of AC current to DC current and that lost power is dissipated as heat by the PSU. The greater the efficiency of the PSU the lower is the "lost" power transforming into heat. (literaly energy/power can never be lost... but can change forms through transformation)
> 
> Your Corsair PSU is (*i*) and all Corsair (*i*)s have digital monitoring capability. You can also see all the PSU function conditions in HWiNFO sensors only mode. It slightly differs from iCue report, but there you can see the lowest, max, and avg power draw.


Thanks!! 

In other words, despite my old 3570K is now an APU without Gfx Card and (i) PSU, I can still obtain reports with those info, that's great. Thanks for the pointer.

I have got the results for the 3570K.

The peak temp of all 4 cores are 63, 66, 65, 65.

I dare not run this on the new 9600K, it may damage my new CPU!


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## WHOFOUNDFUNGUS (Dec 5, 2019)

WTG Zach. You done did a good thing!


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## EarthDog (Dec 5, 2019)

andiey said:


> Thanks!!
> 
> In other words, despite my old 3570K is now an APU without Gfx Card and (i) PSU, I can still obtain reports with those info, that's great. Thanks for the pointer.
> 
> ...


Like was said in your other thread, it won't damage the CPU. ALso, the GPGPU test isn't the right one. you want to run the AIDA64 stress test


LOL @ the WEI in your sig WHO...


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## WHOFOUNDFUNGUS (Dec 5, 2019)

EarthDog said:


> Like was said in your other thread, it won't damage the CPU. ALso, the GPGPU test isn't the right one. you want to run the AIDA64 stress test
> 
> 
> LOL @ the WEI in your sig WHO...



Hey, it was my very own first 7.9's across the board. (Not that that's saying much.) I'm too lazy to change it. I should get my daughter to make me a signature. lol


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## John Naylor (Dec 5, 2019)

andiey said:


> Corsair products are overpriced?
> Well...yes, I agree with that comment.  I think Corsair cases are overpriced in the sense that they don't deliver that kind of quality that other brands like be Quiet! and Fractal Design do. For instance, be Quiet! Pure Base 500 is a GREATT GREAT case.  Corsair doesn't have any good airflow nor silent case in their product range./QUOTE]
> 
> Corsair doesn't actually **make** many things ... PSUs ... nope   ,,, Cooling products ... nope


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## sneekypeet (Dec 5, 2019)

As to the slump in Corsair and their products, price, quality, all that jazz compared to days of old.

This is what happens when a company gets bought by a major player, they want returns first and foremost. IMHO, it is all a cash grab to please the stock holders. Take it as you will, just one man's take on what has happened over the last decade or so.


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## andiey (Dec 6, 2019)

sneekypeet said:


> As to the slump in Corsair and their products, price, quality, all that jazz compared to days of old.
> 
> This is what happens when a company gets bought by a major player, they want returns first and foremost. IMHO, it is all a cash grab to please the stock holders. Take it as you will, just one man's take on what has happened over the last decade or so.


To whom Corsair belongs now?


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## EarthDog (Dec 6, 2019)

andiey said:


> To whom Corsair belongs now?


A quick trip to google says Eagle Tree Capital.



			who bought corsair - Google Search


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## WHOFOUNDFUNGUS (Dec 7, 2019)

And who on earth is Eagle Tree Capital??/


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