[SOLVED] Corsair H100 cooler + 600T Graphite case + M/B clearance problem

[mrjoltcola]

UPS just delivered my new ASUS Maximus M/B and Corsair H100 cooler today. I'm replacing the ASRock M/B and Corsair H60 cooler.

My party just got rained out, I'm not able to fit the radiator fans + H100 radiator around the RAM or 8-pin plug. In exhaust configuration, the radiator fans for the H100 don't clear. It isn't so much the height of the RAM, but the placement close to the top of the M/B. I would post a pic, but last time I tried the forum would not let me.

Secondly, I prefer to mount the fans in intake configuration, because my comparisons with the H60 showed drastic temperature advantage for intake+push mode with cold air across the radiator vs the exhaust+pull setup. The test was with my 2600K @ 4.8Ghz, and I'm planning on bumping to 5.0Ghz with the new setup. With the H60, I'm still heat limited.

My options, theoretically, are:

1) Mount the fans in pull configuration inside the case. Radiator on top, fans below. The downside is the fans are designed for high static pressure across the radiator fins for best cooling, so going with pull might make a tiny bit of difference, though it won't be as drastic as the H60 (Again the H60 is a special case, air-flow is critical with it).

2) Mount the fans in the top compartment of the 600T case. I tried this. The top metal grill causes a good bit of turbulence noise in this setup. The cooling is great (43C at load with 2 fans, 45C with 1 fan).

The instructions with the cooler only show the fans mounted inside the case.

The ASUS board and the ASRock have near identical RAM placement, so it isn't specific to this motherboard.

Pretty frustrating considering what I paid for the case, and that I bought all Corsair components (besides M/B) expecting compatibility.

Now I'm reconsidering, whether I should exchange the H100 for the H80 cooler, which works with a standard square radiator on the back (same footprint as H60), unless you guys can help. With 2 M/Bs and 2 coolers, I surely don't want to purchase something else, I need to make what I have work.

I could try low-profile RAM (these are 1866Mhz sticks) but by the looks of things, even the low-profile won't completely fix things, it would only give me a bit more room.

What I'm seeing online is a few folks moving the radiator / grill forward (assuming facing the left side of the case) away from the M/B. One guy mounted his vertically by the drive cage.

Anyone else out there done it with this case / cooler combo?

 

[mrjoltcola]

Update. Trying to mount the fans outside the case in the compartment above, under the mesh. If I can get the screw clearance right, looks like it may work.

 

[Un4given01]

Thanks for this info, was looking at the 600T, might have to stay away seeing i want to get the H100.

 

[mrjoltcola]

Installed now and up and running. Fans are in push config inside the top compartment.

Temps are great.

Downside is it is noisy. The fans are extremely noisy when the top grate is on. When removed, they are much quieter.

Honestly, I'm not sure what I plan to do now. The noise level is unacceptable. I'll be on the phone with Corsair tomorrow to discuss options. I'm dumping more $$ into this rig than I wanted. (Now have 2 coolers and 2 motherboards). I'll say one thing, the ASUS Maximus Extreme IV motherboard is just a work of art when powered up it looks like Christmas. And the UEFI BIOS is awesome.

The H60 was very quiet, but could not cool past 4.8Ghz, so the only options in Corsair line are H80 & H100. I can either try a different case so the H100 is setup optimal, or try the H80 which pulls/pushes through the back. Or try Antec Kuhler 920.

The 600T is a beautiful case, and well built, just needs about 3/4in on the top above the motherboard to clear those fans.

 

[Idontcare]

That sucks

I've got similar "so where am I gonna put this thing" issues with my Black Pearl at the moment.

The Black Pearl flips the mobo, so your PCIe slots are on top. This makes the push/pull fan sandwich run into the video card.

I suspect I am going to end up ghetto zip-tying the radiator and fans to the side-case grill. It would be best for cooling, but the least aesthetically pleasing solution.

 

[mrjoltcola]

I had a negative experience with Corsair support, but the resulting frustration prompted me finally to a solution.

I opened a support ticket with Corsair, and after 14 hours of no callback, I called them. The first guy agreed that the 600T case wasn't optimal for the H100 cooler, requiring the fans to be mounted in the overhead compartment, and suggested either exchanging for an H80 cooler (single 120mm footprint), buying a different case, or mounting the radiator+fan assembly vertically on the drive cages. I liked the H80 idea, considering I already spent money on the H60 before the H100 and am starting to feel like a Corsair collector.

So he transferred me to customer service, who after 10 minutes of explanation of the problem wanted to "confirm" with support, but didn't see any history on the ticket, so we went back to tech support, but with a different tech (Dropped handoff lesson - support people should log the activity immediately). The second guy disagreed with the first guy, apparently, and told me they had never experienced or heard of problems with the 600T + H100. I argued with him, suggesting he search Youtube and some forums, and also noted that the instructions had no wording, and listed an incorrect mounting configuration, to which he claimed "we can't put instructions for each case we sell", to which I asked "Why not? It is a small piece of paper with no actual wording?". Anway, that point was moot, since I'd already "solved" the mounting problem, and the problem at hand was noise & vibration.

What neither of us realized was the noise and vibration was something he had never experienced, because he obviously had never tried the fans facing downward for an intake config. After accidentally hanging up on them after total of 1hr on the phone, I decided to try flipping the fans, and *poof* the noise was gone. Apparently the downpressure from the fan combined with the grill above it having near zero clearance caused the problem. So now I'm running an exhaust setup and getting "reference" temps that are about +2C higher than intake. It runs max 56C @ 4.8Ghz load, max 61C @ 4.9Ghz load. I'm too afraid to try 1.5V so I don't know whether 5Ghz is realistic. In any case, 1.475V required for 4.9Ghz is just high enough for me.

I'm finally done, and growing tired of tinkering with it. I'm not happy with Corsair's handling of my issue, most of which was just customer education, easily avoided with a proper instruction guide. The moral for other readers is if you want turnkey perfect installation of the H100, don't buy the 600T, or just be prepared for an imperfect install, because Corsair isn't going to guarantee it'll work to your expectations. I still love Corsair as a brand, high quality and good warranty period.

$110 cooler + $320 motherboard + tons of aggravation and still didn't make 5Ghz stable. Newegg TV's "5.2 on air" is to blame, otherwise I never expected to get 4.9 even.

I think the H100 may be nearing overkill for all but the ultra-cherry Sandy Bridge chips, as most seem to max out before they overheat. H80 is a cleaner install, and is probably 95% efficient as the H100.