[SOLVED] H100i Pro RGB 240 - ML120 fan rattling and replacement suggestion

Jan 4, 2021
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Hi, I'm kind of new when it comes to AIO coolers, last year I bought a Corsair H100i PRO RGB 240mm which I believe comes with ML120 fans, it's been going great until a few days ago when one fan started making a ton of noise above 400RPM, when it does it's also much slower than the other fan, I'm talking like 500/900 when it rattles like mad but generally it's still around 25RPM slower even when the rattling doesn't occur (putting both on Fixed % they actually run at the same RPM so it might not matter) . Putting the fan on Zero RPM and then back on after a few minutes sometimes fixes, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes the sound only starts after it's been pushed into higher RPMs.

Is there any fix for this? Or should I replace it? What are some alternatives considering the AIO is cooling a i9-9900K (so it runs pretty hot)?
I've heard people recommend NF-F12, NF-A12, Artic P12 but even in those categories there are multiple ones and I'm not sure if replacing just one fan makes sense, and how a non Corsair fan would interact with iCue.

Thank you for any help.
 
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Solution
okay, on my unit fan number 1 always 50 or so faster than fan 2, so i guess that is a problem

Noctua - Stick to Chromax series fans as they should work with the Corsair fan controller, and hence Icue.
- https://forum.corsair.com/forums/showthread.php?t=193211

The Noctua Industrial F12 and A14 3000 RPM PWM versions have a PWM incompatibility with Corsair controllers. That is limited to the 3000 rpm version only, whereas the 2000 PWM industrial versions of both fans have been used for years without issue. However, just recently someone conveyed the same difficulty on the Platinum cooler with the 2000 rpm model, so it is possible the Platinum fan controller is different from other Corsair fan controllers. Thus far there is only...

Colif

Win 11 Master
Moderator
have you cleaned the fan? just curious as not sure how ML fans rattle given they run on magnets and have no moving parts internally. One of mine makes a noise at high revs but I probably just need to clean dust off it. Hard to see dust on a white fan.

Its possible they can rattle, I only had mine just over 4 months. Same AIO as you have.
 
Jan 4, 2021
5
2
15
have you cleaned the fan? just curious as not sure how ML fans rattle given they run on magnets and have no moving parts internally. One of mine makes a noise at high revs but I probably just need to clean dust off it. Hard to see dust on a white fan.

Its possible they can rattle, I only had mine just over 4 months. Same AIO as you have.

I've cleaned up everything this morning and it's been fine so far but I haven't tried pushing the fan RPM higher yet.
Edit: Nope, it started rattling again for some unknown reason and spinning more than 100 RPM slower than the other fan on idle. Set it to Zero RPM and then back on and the noise is gone and RPM back to normal.

Below is the RPM difference if I set both fan to Fixed % while the rattling occurs
mS9vYVv.png
 
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Colif

Win 11 Master
Moderator
okay, on my unit fan number 1 always 50 or so faster than fan 2, so i guess that is a problem

Noctua - Stick to Chromax series fans as they should work with the Corsair fan controller, and hence Icue.
- https://forum.corsair.com/forums/showthread.php?t=193211

The Noctua Industrial F12 and A14 3000 RPM PWM versions have a PWM incompatibility with Corsair controllers. That is limited to the 3000 rpm version only, whereas the 2000 PWM industrial versions of both fans have been used for years without issue. However, just recently someone conveyed the same difficulty on the Platinum cooler with the 2000 rpm model, so it is possible the Platinum fan controller is different from other Corsair fan controllers. Thus far there is only one report, but then most people likely do not strip the RGB fans off a Platinum and replace them with Industrial fans after paying for the extra hardware.

On the more positive side, there is no reason to use a 3000 rpm fan on a radiator of that size and density. It will have no return value in cooling past 2000 rpm and the optimal speed is likely well below that for your wattage. If you are determined to use black Noctua fans, the Chromax line is confirmed to work on the Platinum controllers. Other fans to be wary of with well documented PWM issues are the BeQuiet Silent Wings 2/3 and the EK Vardar PWM line.

https://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=193421

NF 14 = https://forum.corsair.com/forums/showthread.php?t=195648

I would expect the same things apply to the 120mm fans as well.

I don't know about the Artic fans, if I were to replace the fans on my AIO I too would use Noctua.

Wonder if you can rma the fan you have now and get a replacement from Corsair since its under a year old.
 
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Solution
Jan 4, 2021
5
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Thanks for the researches. I actually went with NF-A12x25 PWM which will hopefully work with ICue despite having no actual proof that they do, but I'd expect Corsair to update their stuff to be compatible with the most popular hardware.
Will report back.
 

Colif

Win 11 Master
Moderator
Last edited:
Jan 4, 2021
5
2
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Reporting back.
I installed the NF-A12x25 in place of the faulty ML120, it's perfectly recognized by ICUE, Zero RPM works, custom curve as well (with %RPM in accordance to the Noctua max RPM), and pushed to max RPM it's less noisy than the ML120 above 1000RPM, so much so that I ended up getting a second one.
I'll Rma the faulty fan and use them somewhere else.

Thank you all for your help.