Question Corsair H100i Pro XT pump noise at Quiet( loudest) and Balanced (faint).....

[unicorn2015anahiem]

I just bought and installed the cooler, on my i5 8400, and Z370-F Strix.

Powered by Sata, plugged into CPU_FAN for the feedback, installed USB and instaled iCUE 3.28.70.

When i run the pump at Quiet, it has like bubbling noise.... which produce the loudest noise with side panel removed. on ' Balanced ', it was a lot less noticeable with and without side panel, and finally , with ' Extreme ' on the pump, it doesn't make any noise at all..

Could it be something is loose inside?

and if i do the following :

Orientation = laying on table ( pump facing the ceiling )
Quiet, Balanced and Extreme , no bubbling noise.

Orientation = Upright, pump facing wall ( and how a desktop casing, mine's Cooler Master Maker 5 )
Quiet = Loudest
Balanced = faint
Extreme = Quiet

Somethings wrong or just bubble?
Already run for hours already.

 

[Nivz0r]

This is weird lol, on low rpm a lot of noise and extreme is silent haha should go the other way around I guess.
There are many videos out there for disabling noise for the pump, one of them is shaking the radiator, try it. Let us know.

 

[unicorn2015anahiem]

This is weird lol, on low rpm a lot of noise and extreme is silent haha should go the other way around I guess.
There are many videos out there for disabling noise for the pump, one of them is shaking the radiator, try it. Let us know.

I tried to dismount the radiator and with one fan running , one don't so i can grab the radiator without strucking my finger ( it hurts ) and shake it around clockwise, anti-clockwise.... and vertically, horizontally, it didn't help much.

The funny thing is, like i described above, when i lay my tower pc horizontally on table, so the pump logo facing the ceiling, all pump profile it super silent. as soon as i lift it back on the case's feet ( vertically ) , the Quiet mode started making noise. Faint on Balance.. Extreme no noise...

i am very dumbfounded , what's actually wrong in the pump? Propeller damage? some screw in the pump during manufacturing? some loose dirt? some propeller washer-thingy that left out? What do you think?

i tried watching Gamer Nexus on the disassembling H100i pump which is CoolIT , the propeller is held with magnet, like a fan does.. it doesn't look like it has room to move around.

one more thing, does leaving the pump running on ' Extreme ' mode in iCUE bad? it's the only mode that's quiet.

I was told by the store i bought it from it's normal for AIO to have ' bubbling noise '.

 

[rubix_1011]

There isn't an issue running the pump on extreme...I'm not a proponent for using PWM curves for liquid cooling pumps...leave that for the radiator fans.

What you are experiencing is cavitation of the pump and likely air in the line. Every AIO has some air due to never being filled 100% full. If you can shake an AIO and hear sloshing sounds, this means there is air to move and displace with the coolant. If it were 100% filled, you could not 'slosh' because there would not be any air to displace.

Interesting enough, the steps of tilting and shaking the radiator as well as shaking the tubing is usually what corrects this issue, but running at 100% for some period of time (or forever) might be another part of the result. You may find that running at full speed/performance over time will correct this for lower pump speeds (if you wish), although if you're trying to use the default 'performance' curves in iCUE, I believe the diagrammed method in the documentation is to control Pump+Fans together unless you define their curves separately as your own custom config.

Air needs to collect in an area where it will not be pulled through the pump impeller, that place (unfortunately) is the radiator because AIOs do not have a reservoir as this is normally where this occurs.

The fun part about all of this? If you happen to take your PC to a LAN or move it about after you have 'fixed' this issue...you will need to do it all over again if the air in the cooler has dislodged and moved back into the coolant stream and into the pump.

 

[unicorn2015anahiem]

I see.. then i will leave it at ' Extreme ' mode, which it doesn't make noise.... Some says it will take weeks to month to fix itself... that involves tilting the radiator....

I also set the fans on fixed RPM so it won't run high and low during ' Balance '. i think it's the temperature that drives the cooler to ramp up/down the fans which make it annoying.

 

[rubix_1011]

Yes, that's called a fan curve, it is based on CPU temps or some other threshold that is defined based on the settings you have at hand.

It shouldn't take 'months'..........that's absurd as it should maybe take a handful of minutes or maybe a few hours if you don't take an active approach to resolve it. Yes, it helps if you tilt the radiator and tap the tubing while the CPU is running...this can help get things moving.

 

[unicorn2015anahiem]

I tried set the pump on Quiet, lay in horizontally ( Pump facing the ceiling ) and it is noisy... again... after running Extreme for over a day.

Trying tapping the tubing now.... update: didn't work...

 

[rubix_1011]

Are these the only things you are attempting?

Are you rotating the case to re-orient the tubing and radiator? Are you moving the tubing a lot or simply lightly tapping it? Are you tapping the pump top?

Without really knowing what you are hearing, I cannot even be certain what you are encountering. Maybe its just easier to RMA the cooler and get a new one.

 

[unicorn2015anahiem]

Yes, i moved the tubing a lot, my case is Maker 5, and the top fan/radiator bracket is removeable, and i take it out with the radiator still attached, rotating it in all angle, and i can hear slushing sound, but the noise in Quiet mode didn't stop there.

 

[unicorn2015anahiem]

Are these the only things you are attempting?

Are you rotating the case to re-orient the tubing and radiator? Are you moving the tubing a lot or simply lightly tapping it? Are you tapping the pump top?

Without really knowing what you are hearing, I cannot even be certain what you are encountering. Maybe its just easier to RMA the cooler and get a new one.

Would you like to watch a video or a recording?
* the shop i bought from doesn't want to entertain an RMA , simply saying it's bubble... can bubble really last that long inside the pump?

 

[rubix_1011]

Sure, post a recording with audio if you like.

If the shop you bought it from will not take a return, it's time to find a different shop. This sounds like a questionable practice and they would lose my business.

You should be able to RMA it directly through Corsair, going around the need to return it to the place of purchase (if needed).

 

[unicorn2015anahiem]

Sure, post a recording with audio if you like.

If the shop you bought it from will not take a return, it's time to find a different shop. This sounds like a questionable practice and they would lose my business.

You should be able to RMA it directly through Corsair, going around the need to return it to the place of purchase (if needed).

Uploading it now, please wait for me. I would like you to hear it and say a thing or two.

 

[unicorn2015anahiem]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/102FE00ni75RUm8vhmfObwBo3Km49uWNX/view

here's the video , you can download it since it's stil processing.... and start of the video is Balance, about 00:18, is when i set it to Quiet.... it has the grinding-like noise and it's very irritating.

Youtube :

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ItUL7iN5VY&feature=youtu.be

 

[rubix_1011]

Not what I expected to hear, and its barely audible, but distinguishable. That isn't bubbling from air, this sounds more like bearing or impeller noise. Air or bubble noises are mostly more of a gurgling, popping and hissing noise...this is rattling and grinding. It's consistent. Most noises in liquid cooling are irregular due to how often air happens to make it (or not make it) into the impeller.

This needs to be replaced. If the shop you purchased from will not take it back, then let them know you won't be doing business with them again. You can RMA through Corsair by following their warranty information on the website.

I've worked with a lot of AIOs, including this one, and I haven't personally heard them make that noise for me...but I have heard audio like this from users posting videos of their problems.

Yeah, of the tips I mentioned, it likely isn't going to make that go away as there is something else going on. Since this is a new cooler, I also wouldn't be surprised if it got more prevalent over time.

 

[unicorn2015anahiem]

Not what I expected to hear, and its barely audible, but distinguishable. That isn't bubbling from air, this sounds more like bearing or impeller noise. Air or bubble noises are mostly more of a gurgling, popping and hissing noise...this is rattling and grinding. It's consistent. Most noises in liquid cooling are irregular due to how often air happens to make it (or not make it) into the impeller.

This needs to be replaced. If the shop you purchased from will not take it back, then let them know you won't be doing business with them again. You can RMA through Corsair by following their warranty information on the website.

I've worked with a lot of AIOs, including this one, and I haven't personally heard them make that noise for me...but I have heard audio like this from users posting videos of their problems.

Yeah, of the tips I mentioned, it likely isn't going to make that go away as there is something else going on. Since this is a new cooler, I also wouldn't be surprised if it got more prevalent over time.

I see... so it is indeed something wrong with the impeller.... I will keep trying to make them RMA it.. if they won't, i will RMA through Corsair.

 

[rubix_1011]

I can't tell for certain what it is, but it doesn't sound like air bubbles heard when an AIO cavitates (or normal watercooling does the same).

This noise sounds much more mechanical like an unbalanced impeller or bearing issue. The steps you took would eventually eliminate bubble and air noises, but does not correct your noise issue. Both of these indicate something more than just air in the lines to me.

A pump should never make more than a very faint 'hum' when operational, regardless of the speed/performance setting. I would almost compare a liquid cooling pump to the noise level of a traditional platter hard drive. Fans, by comparison, are many, many magnitudes louder than either of these should be.