Here's the skinny. Corsair AIOs include basic instructions that are so generic they'll apply to any mobo made. Corsair recommends installing the pump to the cpu_fan header for 1 simple reason, the pump will usually fail before the fan and mobo's have a failsafe to protect the cpu. Mainly, if there's no rpm registered on the cpu_fan header, the pc won't boot or shuts down immediately. So if the pump fails, the pc is supposed to shut down. However, on basic AIOs this leaves temp control at the mercy of a sys_fan header, which has different temp setups from a cpu. Most cases don't ever reach past 40°C whereas cpus can easily hit 70°C. The h100i doesn't use the cpu_fan header for temp control, it uses the USB cable and Corsair Link software, so with that method, as long as 'something' is plugged into the cpu_fan header, all good. Personally, my system is contra recommended, the rad fan is on cpu_fan and the pump is on cpu_aux which is a non-controlled straight 12v so I have temp regulation, volume and speed control of the fan and still have max pump performance, which is what most AIOs need, not a variable speed pump. You will absolutely need something plugged into cpu_fan or the pc will not boot. Having a dedicated header for cpu_pump just sets basic AIOs up same as mine, but being an advanced AIO, your actual power is supplied differently, but still needs to read the tach wire as having actual rpm, thereby the mobo assumes there is a working cooler attached to the cpu.
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