Corsair H55 Help!
Corsair H55 Help!
I recently purchased a Corsair H55 and spent two hours setting it up because the instructions were confusing. Once installed, I ran a Prime95 test and found high idle temps in the 20s and maximum load at 52°C for an I5-4460. (I got this cooler from a friend). Are these temperatures normal? Should I connect my pump to the CPU fan header 1 and the system fan (which I already have), or could this cause damage? I’ve heard that running the pump at full speed all the time can cause overheating. Please let me know what to do. Thanks.
Avoid doing it that way. Corsair's instructions recommend placing the pump on the cpu_fan header only. This is to handle pump failure by causing the system to stop or fail to boot, as it will sound like no CPU fan is running. The likelihood of this occurring is very low. Having the CPU fan controlled through a system header gives no control, since it depends on system temperature rather than CPU temperature. The best approach is to follow Corsair's advice but use SpeedFan to adjust the headers so sys_fan responds to CPU temperature, or run it normally with cpu_aux managing the pump (which stays at 12V for most systems) and cpu_fan handling the fan. Either way, the CPU fan must be controlled by its own control address, not a system one. As for the pump...
The majority of CPUs can handle temperatures up to 70 degrees, which is acceptable
Ensure your CPU fan is connected to the appropriate header on your motherboard for optimal performance.
Avoid doing it that way. Corsair's guidelines recommend connecting the pump only to the cpu_fan header, which will activate if the pump fails, causing the system to stop or fail to boot. The likelihood of this scenario is minimal. Using a system header gives no control over the fan, as it depends on the overall system temperature rather than CPU temperature. The optimal approach is to follow Corsair's advice but use SpeedFan to adjust headers, ensuring the sys_fan responds to CPU temperature and setting cpu_fan to 100% or using Cpu_aux for the pump. Alternatively, stick with standard installation and rely on built-in monitoring tools like Windows or fan software for alerts. A pump malfunction typically takes a short time to impact temperature, giving you enough warning before shutdown. Regardless, the CPU has a thermal safety limit and will reduce speed or shut down if overheated, so both methods remain safe. My H55 pump is connected to Cpu_aux, the fan runs on cpu_fan, and it operates smoothly—silent at idle, 900rpm max, nearly silent at 33°C, and stable at 70°C during testing.