CPU_FAN vs AIO_PUMP (Need to decide which goes to which)

[zihanzzz]

Hi,
I am completely new to building PCs and I have the following configurations:

Asus STRIX Z270E Motherboard (with the following headers: CPU_FAN, CPU_OPT, 2xChassis FAN, AIO_PUMP, H_AMP_FAN)
Corsair H115i Liquid Cooling (one connector coming out of the pump)
Corsair Carbide 600C Case (It has three AF140L case fans)

How should I plug my wires to those headers?
Mainly, the cable coming out of the pump, should it go to CPU_FAN or AIP_PUMP? I've searched around and there seem to be different opinions. Which one is better?

Also, my case has three fans, and I think two of them are going to Chassis fan headers, how about the third one? Should it go to CPU_OPT or H_AMP_FAN? Does it matter?

Thanks. I would really appreciate if you can tell me the solution. If there are tradeoffs, please do let me know as well.

 

[amtseung]

It doesn't matter which fan header you stick anything into, as long as you remember which one is which. Motherboards will often throw an error on post, saying "CPU FAN ERROR" or something of that nature if it detects that nothing is plugged into the CPU_FAN header. We used to stick the AIO pump wire into the CPU_FAN header to shut up the cpu fan error message while having a way to monitor pump speed without corsair link, back when link was a completely buggy steaming heap of _____ and required a slough of registry edits just for link to be able to recognise your device, which had to be redone every time there was a Windows update. The new link is a lot better. At least it effing works.

Back on topic, I believe AIP_PUMP was intended for proper PWM pumps like a PWM D5 or DDC, although, in essence, all fan headers on newer motherboards are just plain old standardized PWM headers anyway It matters not where you put them, again, as long as you remember what you plugged them into. I'd be more worried about cable management in a good-looking case like the 600C than coordinating components with labelled headers.

From a personal example, I've never stuck anything into the CPU_FAN header on my motherboard for as long as I've owned it, and I've never seen the CPU fan error message on this board either. And half of the fan headers I refuse to use because they're in horrible locations and really far away from any cable cutouts or routing options. I mean, why is there a fan header directly below my CPU socket, near the rear IO? I have nothing I want to plug into it, and I definitely don't want to drape cables all over my motherboard. My pump goes straight into the PSU via molex.

TLDR plug them wherever it leaves the cabling least exposed. Just remember what you plugged where so you can go into BIOS and control fan curves. All fan headers, unless it's an Apple product or some ancient relic, are all either PWM headers or 3pin voltage-control headers, without exception.

 

[Kunra Zether]

For an aio liquid CPU cooler you are going to want to plug the pump into the CPU fan header. This is important so that if the pump fails the PC will warn you so that you don't burn up your CPU. Now all the other fans can just plug into any fan header on the mother board or into the psu.

This is important after you finish hooking everything up you need to go into your bios and set the CPU fan profile to Max. The reason why is that you don't want the pump to keep changing speeds up and down and such. They are designed to run at Max consistently. Other wise you can damage the pump and it will be louder when operating probably making grinding noises.

I hope this has been of some help to you.

 

[Brett_Uk]

my h115i has the single wire plug pluged into the cpu header(only moniters fan speed) and other wires are connected were manual says, the usb to control it and the sata power to the power supply, the mother bored controls nothink, custom setup in the link 4 softwere for me and it keeps my 7700k in check lol

 

[zihanzzz]

For an aio liquid CPU cooler you are going to want to plug the pump into the CPU fan header. This is important so that if the pump fails the PC will warn you so that you don't burn up your CPU. Now all the other fans can just plug into any fan header on the mother board or into the psu.

This is important after you finish hooking everything up you need to go into your bios and set the CPU fan profile to Max. The reason why is that you don't want the pump to keep changing speeds up and down and such. They are designed to run at Max consistently. Other wise you can damage the pump and it will be louder when operating probably making grinding noises.

I hope this has been of some help to you.

Thanks for your answer. You made an interesting point about the pump speed. If I plug my pump's wire into CPU_FAN header, are you saying that my pump speed (not the speed of my fans connected to the pump) is going to be controlled (by turning to MAX in BIOS)? I never thought about pump speed. But if this is the case, I will definitely plug my pump into CPU_FAN.

One follow up question, my case's front panel has a three speed fan controller (slow, normal, fast). I am guessing if I plug my two case fans into Chassis fan header, then their speed can be controlled by the controller. However, I have a third case fan, where should it go so that its speed is also going to be controlled by the fan controller?

Thanks!!

 

[gomerpile]

It doesn't matter which fan header you stick anything into, as long as you remember which one is which. Motherboards will often throw an error on post, saying "CPU FAN ERROR" or something of that nature if it detects that nothing is plugged into the CPU_FAN header. We used to stick the AIO pump wire into the CPU_FAN header to shut up the cpu fan error message while having a way to monitor pump speed without corsair link, back when link was a completely buggy steaming heap of _____ and required a slough of registry edits just for link to be able to recognise your device, which had to be redone every time there was a Windows update. The new link is a lot better. At least it effing works.

Back on topic, I believe AIP_PUMP was intended for proper PWM pumps like a PWM D5 or DDC, although, in essence, all fan headers on newer motherboards are just plain old standardized PWM headers anyway It matters not where you put them, again, as long as you remember what you plugged them into. I'd be more worried about cable management in a good-looking case like the 600C than coordinating components with labelled headers.

From a personal example, I've never stuck anything into the CPU_FAN header on my motherboard for as long as I've owned it, and I've never seen the CPU fan error message on this board either. And half of the fan headers I refuse to use because they're in horrible locations and really far away from any cable cutouts or routing options. I mean, why is there a fan header directly below my CPU socket, near the rear IO? I have nothing I want to plug into it, and I definitely don't want to drape cables all over my motherboard. My pump goes straight into the PSU via molex.

TLDR plug them wherever it leaves the cabling least exposed. Just remember what you plugged where so you can go into BIOS and control fan curves. All fan headers, unless it's an Apple product or some ancient relic, are all either PWM headers or 3pin voltage-control headers, without exception.

This does matter which plug we put this in, specially for the use of AI software use for tuning of fans and pumps. Asus rog for example uses tpu 1 or 2, 2 is for water cooling. When we use dual intelligent processors 5 to tune in our fans, the tuning for water pumps uses the proper voltages to regulate pump speed. We should not use fan plugs for a water pump, there is a difference in the way AI software uses its power for fans and pumps. This is why MB have a water pump plug that is controlled by the bios and AI software. Fan software can be anywhere for 1 volt to 3.3 in most fans, some are 5 volts. I recommend always using the proper plug for the proper device.
Case fan plug for case fans
ext for anything that uses 3.3 volt fans
Water pump for water pumps without a fixed loop
Aio with a fixed loop Separate water pump water supply.
Cpu for Cpu fans
All these are tuned in by AI bios and software, this makes a huge difference in constant cooling and power savings.
Example if we use cpu fan plug for the water pump the AI dual intelligent 5 will treat the water pump as a fan. Water pump is not a polarity fan.