Crackling sound in H100

[kemperkipie]

My Corsair H100 closed loop liquid cooler makes a strange crackling sound..

I don't hear it when I'm using my PC, because it's inside my case. But when I open up my case while it's running, it's pretty obvious something is wrong with my H100 pump.. I've read that more people have this issue, but I couldn't find a proper fix.

Does anyone know how to fix this?

 

[Lutfij]

the crackling sound would mean you may have an airlock. Removing the entire unit from your case and having the cooling block beneath the radiator and shaking the block sideways to remove/dislodge the air bubble. If the crackling yet persists and you are within warranty period - best shoot Corsair support a call and work out the kinks ie, RMA.

My 2 cents

 

[kemperkipie]

Thanks, I'll try that first option when I got the time for it should be next week or so

 

[rubix_1011]

It could be bubbles in the system that are cavitating at the pump which still would need the attention. If you are noticing temp increases, you really should consider doing this sooner rather than waiting. Any temp issues?

 

[kemperkipie]

No, temps fine..
i7 3770K @ 4,2 Ghz now
65 C at load (Prime95)
<30 C Idle

 

[rubix_1011]

Sounds like impeller noise, if your temps are fine...which they are. RMA or see if firmware update will correct it.

 

[kemperkipie]

Are there firmware updates for the cooler !!?? How could that be installed? It's not digitally connected, is it?

 

[kemperkipie]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M2wvU4MR-s

I had some time to record the noise today. Here's what I uploaded.

You can clearly hear the grinding noise all over the video, and when I hit the tubes, you can hear the bubbles...
At least, that's what I think it is.. When I first heard that noise, I thought it was leaking, and it scared the **** out of me.. But it hasn't leaked so far. At least not that I know of.

I'm planning on buying new fans for my H100, and placing it on a bracket instead of just letting it sit on my bottom fans soon. I'm going to remove the cooler from my case, tilt it upside down (I don't know, maybe it does something with the air inside)..
Any suggestions what I should do while I have it outside of my case anyway?

Thanks for the help so far

 

[Lutfij]

If you have the H100i, then there's an update to deal with the noise. If however you have the H100 - you're out of options but to RMA (if within warranty period)

The video seemed very troubling to me. You have a raven case and you have the rad mounted at the bottom. You may want to mount the rad horizontally above the pump/block. The Hxxx are very notorious for having that airlock/bubble/fizzing/whining issue. Google will reveal that you're not alone either.

Might also want to read through the watercooling sticky to understand how a pump basically works...and you'll understand which orientation is better for your unit.

 

[kemperkipie]

The problem is, I can't put the cooler anywhere else than on the bottom.... There's just no space for it elsewhere..

I wish I'd never bought that cooler after all.. but it's too late now.. Better If I just had an H80 or something.. Dual RAD just doesn't fit properly..

About RMA.. I really hate RMA.. I would have to use my stock intel cooler in the meantime, and my experiences with RMA overall are pretty bad.. Had my gaming mouse sent back last November, and it took them 11 weeks untill I got a new one.. My headset last summer also took 7 weeks.. I just don't want to lose a product for more than a week or 2 again.......

If there isn't a proper fix for it.. Is it harmfull for my cooler? If not I'll just ignore the noise.... it's inside my case, under my table anyway :/

 

[Lutfij]

Harmful - Yes

The noise as stated by Both Rubix and I are leaning towards the pump chamber being in a wreck.

A broken pump or a failed pump will mean no flow of the liquid within the rad - no heat dump and the chip will most likely be damaged due to the overclock(though 4.2Ghz may not say as much but the volts for that overclock will)

So the choice is your's really;
a| a broken pump with a damaged chip
or
b| an RMA process taking longer than a week but with a total piece of mind with your hardware(which I'm sure has been purchased with hard earned money) intact

I wish I'd never bought that cooler after all.. but it's too late now.. Better If I just had an H80 or something.. Dual RAD just doesn't fit properly..

*Knowledge pays dividends in more than 2 fold for an informed purchase and to that I also mean the H80(i) isn't even worth the other side of the coin.

 

[kemperkipie]

I think I'm going to contact Corsair over this problem, and link them the video..

Can you be more clear about:
"*Knowledge pays dividends in more than 2 fold for an informed purchase and to that I also mean the H80(i) isn't even worth the other side of the coin."

English isn't my main langauge, so can you explain it in an easy way ?

 

[Lutfij]

If you do a good amount of research, you'll quickly learn that these all-in-one coolers are actually under-performing for what you're paying for. I was first sold towards the H50 when I saw videos of the easy installs and the no-maintenance setup. After I had it in my rig - 20 mins went by until I wanted to slap myself with it

Fast forward a few years and I planned out my first official (custom) watercooling loop by reading through anything that was a watercooling sticky(surprisingly the sticky here is well stocked with info - good work Rubix). Did more research of the parts I wanted and needed for my setup and finally pulled the trigger---> courtesy AMS rig(in my sig if you'd like to know more).

I needed information to proceed on my long road ahead thus the knowledge I spoke of.

The parts I bought in my custom loop were also through alot of research and the sort of temps I'm seeing on my overclock came from that information thus the dividends.

Now,
The H80 is a single 120 rad in a thicker format than an H50 but if you've read the watercooling sticky - you'll understand that a single 120 rad isn't the road you'd want to drive on for ~$100 couple that with the fact that the pump is weak and isn't really good for any additional blocks or radiator space.

If you tossed a coin to a beggar, you usually see two sides to that coin tossed - thus "the other side of the coin" reference

* sorry this thread has moved from a CLC issue to a thread about custom watercooling cooling to philosophy...sorry mate

 

[diellur]

I'm in work so can't access Youtube to have a listen, but check what the voltage on your 12V rail is...some PSUs put out 12.3V, and that causes the H100 to develop a rattle. You can either solder in a diode that adds some resistance to the line and drops what the pump sees to 12V, or get a fan controller and a cable that allows you to connect the pump to it (I can dig that out for you). I control my H100 of a fan controller and by dropping it slightly below 100%, the rattle vanished.

 

[Lutfij]

The H100 has a pump that runs off a mobo header and is advised by Corsair to have it at full speed(ie no voltage or rpm manipulation) if any manipulation is performed you damage the pump.

 

[diellur]

No, it doesn't. It runs off of a molex as the H100 can also run 4 fans, so a header wouldn't provide enough power for the maximum possible load. The header connection is so that the mobo doesn't pitch a fit when it doesn't detect a connected fan, and provides an RPM reading.

If the PSU is the type that provides 12.3V, it'll fractionally over-run the H100 pump, hence the rattle. Do a Google (I did, when I discovered this issue) and you'll see it's a well-documented issue. The OP may have a different issue, I don't know if Corsair have subsequently resolved this snag, but it's definitely worth checking out.

Using a fan controller/diode will actually bring the H100 back into spec. I know from personal experience that the extra .3V can cause this...I had a PSU which provided 12V exactly and had no issue. That PSU subsequently failed and I replaced it with another branded PSU that outputted 12.3V, and the issue surfaced on the same H100.

 

[Lutfij]

sorry, I didn't look into the power connectors for that unit. I own a H50 and right up until the H70 they powered off a mobo header at a full speed.

Hmm, interesting, I would've assumed the pump would get damaged if run at a lower rpm - but alas I followed diellur's pointers
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?p=21888934 (but one of many links)

OP could try your suggestion before he takes our last resort into account.

Once again, I apologize for that H100 post

 

[diellur]

No apology necessary...I can see why you'd think I was barking mad and could end up giving advice that would damage the OP's equipment. +1 for digging around for the info...here's hoping it helps the OP!

 

[kemperkipie]

http://xfxforce.com/en-gb/Products/Power-Supply/XFX/Pro-Series/ProSeries-1050W-PSU.aspx

This is my PSU, I can't really tell what I should look for..

Anyway, I got the pump connected to my motherboard's CPU fan connector. It's controlled by my CPU's Temp I guess. I have an Asus Sabertooth Z77 with all kinds of thermal sensors, and if I put a normal CPU-air cooler on my CPU, I could set different speeds (in %) to different temperatures.

Is my pump running slower because it thinks it's cool and sets the "fan speed" (at least, that's what my mobo thinks) to something like 30%?

What should I check for?
Haven't had a response from Corsair yet.


(If it could be usefull, this is my full build with a list of components on a dutch site)

 

[diellur]

Go into the BIOS...it'll tell you what voltage is on your 12V rail there. The H100's connection to the motherboard doesn't control pump speed, it just gives an indication to the PC of what the pump RPM is...useful for monitoring, and also lets the PC know that the CPU has cooling.

Let us know what your BIOS says your voltage is...that'll be one thing ticked off at least.

 

[kemperkipie]

I took a pic of my bios where it shows.. At least, I think that is what you mean. It also shows that my mobo is thinking it's controlling my CPU fanspeed..

 

[diellur]

I wouldn't worry about what the mobo thinks re the fan...it can't do a thing to it, but doesn't have the functionality to realise it.

You're definitely not getting 12.3V, either...it is 12.1, but I'm not sure if that would cause the rattle. Possible, I guess...if you have a fan controller you could try dropping the voltage slightly. Otherwise I think you're back to the RMA option, I'm afraid.

 

[kemperkipie]

No fan controller
and no response from Corsair so far

 

[diellur]

If you register and post on Corsair's forums, Ramguy usually turns up to help out...I've had to RMA to Corsair a couple of times (as I use a lot of their kit, law of averages) and I've found them to be excellent.

 

[kemperkipie]

I've requested RMA, and they were very easy and basically said: "Send us your cooler, and we'll send you a new one".. I finally took it out of my system last week, and decided to send it Wednesday.. Unfortunately I was a bit to late, so it was send on Thursday. It took 1 day to be send to their company, and they send back a new one the same day! I got the trace-code today, and it will be delivered on Monday..

What a great support from this company!
Thanks for helping me out, and convincing me to send it back!