Corsair H100

TheDarkWraith · 06-22-12, 09:14 AM

Why is it that PC hardware manufacturers are now releasing bug ridden/unfinished/untested hardware just like PC software manufacturers have been doing for some time now

Case in point: Corsair's H100 CPU water cooler. Installed it last night into a first gen Antec 1200 case (had to do a little surgery to the case to get it to fit correctly on the back fans). Fired up computer and everything was great for the first 10-15 mins then an audible noise starts emanating from the pump. The noise comes and goes now and it's REALLY annoying as it can be heard over everything else.

Being the engineer that I am I pulled out my mechanic's stethoscope to take a listen to see if I could identify the source of the problem. It's clearly evident that the noise is impeller cavitation - the impeller is spinning way too fast.

Did a Google search to verify my findings and it appears that many others are experiencing the same problem. Why is a manufacturer allowed to sell these products when they know they have a design problem?

Took a standard 1N4007 diode and placed it in series with the +12VDC supply to the pump to drop the voltage to the pump by 0.65VDC thus decreasing it's speed. This was the only way to lower the speed of the pump as the unit does not come with any way to control it's speed. In theory this should decrease the impeller cavitation since it would now be spinning slower. Fired up computer and voila - noise problem eliminated

Why is it that an ex-Nuclear/Electrical engineer can diagnose/find a fix to this problem but the manufacturer cannot

My only worry now is how long this band-aid fix will last

EDIT:

I should clarify that I had to install the radiator with tubes pointing down as that's the only way I could get it to install on the back fans (with some case surgery). That makes me wonder if that is somehow decreasing head pressure to the inlet of the impeller? The tubes of the radiator are lower (height wise) to the pump. Two-thirds of the total radiator sit higher than the pump so I would think that the volume of water contained in that 2/3rds would be ample head pressure to the pump's inlet.

06-22-12, 09:14 AM	#1
TheDarkWraith Black Magic Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 11,962 Downloads: 147 Uploads: 5	Corsair H100 Why is it that PC hardware manufacturers are now releasing bug ridden/unfinished/untested hardware just like PC software manufacturers have been doing for some time now Case in point: Corsair's H100 CPU water cooler. Installed it last night into a first gen Antec 1200 case (had to do a little surgery to the case to get it to fit correctly on the back fans). Fired up computer and everything was great for the first 10-15 mins then an audible noise starts emanating from the pump. The noise comes and goes now and it's REALLY annoying as it can be heard over everything else. Being the engineer that I am I pulled out my mechanic's stethoscope to take a listen to see if I could identify the source of the problem. It's clearly evident that the noise is impeller cavitation - the impeller is spinning way too fast. Did a Google search to verify my findings and it appears that many others are experiencing the same problem. Why is a manufacturer allowed to sell these products when they know they have a design problem? Took a standard 1N4007 diode and placed it in series with the +12VDC supply to the pump to drop the voltage to the pump by 0.65VDC thus decreasing it's speed. This was the only way to lower the speed of the pump as the unit does not come with any way to control it's speed. In theory this should decrease the impeller cavitation since it would now be spinning slower. Fired up computer and voila - noise problem eliminated Why is it that an ex-Nuclear/Electrical engineer can diagnose/find a fix to this problem but the manufacturer cannot My only worry now is how long this band-aid fix will last EDIT: I should clarify that I had to install the radiator with tubes pointing down as that's the only way I could get it to install on the back fans (with some case surgery). That makes me wonder if that is somehow decreasing head pressure to the inlet of the impeller? The tubes of the radiator are lower (height wise) to the pump. Two-thirds of the total radiator sit higher than the pump so I would think that the volume of water contained in that 2/3rds would be ample head pressure to the pump's inlet.