Windows 10: Some Weirdness with a Corsair H100i Pro AIO Cooler - And Some Advice

I just completed a new Ryzen build and had to buy a new liquid cooler since my old Cooler Master Seidon didn't fit the new AM4 socket. I chose the Corsair H100i Pro RGB. I've got a nice pair of Corsair VOID headphones that I like very much and overall have been quite happy with Corsair products.

Installing the cooler was without drama and I fired up the PC and the fans and pump were spinning. OK, I thought. Then I realized that my headphones no longer worked. I plugged and unplugged them and they didn't come on, but I had noticed the LEDs on the ear parts were lit during boot. They were no longer lit now. I opened the iCue software to see why it wasn't working and nothing was detected. Not the AIO, nor the headphones. I also noticed that the fans for the AIO were not spinning very fast and the CPU was relatively warm. I checked the pump's USB connection and it was solid, so was the connection for the headphones. I had always used USB 2.0 ports for the headphones and the AIO is made to plug into a USB 2.0 port. Everything was working, but not working at the same time.

Cutting to the chase, after much head scratching, I took my phone charger cord and plugged it into the pump, fed it out the back of my case into a USB 3.1 port. Still no joy. So I reinstalled the iCue software and my pump appeared. I was able to set the profiles and everything cooled off, but my headphones didn't work yet. Replugging the pump to a USB 2.0 port made the pump go away again, so I thought to plug the headphones into a USB 3.1 port. Presto it all worked!

This may be some weirdness with my ASUS 470-F Strix Gaming motherboard, but my H100i does not work with USB 2.0 ports as expected.

So, bottom line, if you are having trouble getting your H100i running in iCue and the rest of your Corsair USB devices disappear, plug the stuff into USB 3.1 ports.

I hope my cautionary headache helps someone, because this isn't on the Corsair help site.

:)

 

AIO Water Cooler - Pull air into case or exhaust air out of case

My Cooler Master H500M with two front 200mm fans, one rear 140mm fan, and an AIO Corsair H115i AIO cooler (with two 140mm fans) at top pushes air through the radiator and exhausts out the top of the case.

My Phanteks Enthoo Luxe case has one front 200mm fan, one rear 140mm fan, and a Corsair H100i AIO cooler (with two 120mm fans) pushes air through the radiator and exhausts out the top of that case as well.

In short I always push air through the radiator and exhaust at top.

 

Need a new case for H100i

Along with ne6togadno's suggestions, I'd add the Phanteks Enthoo Pro to the list. Super happy with mine and it will fit your H100i cooler just fine (it fits my H110 just fine).