My H100i Lifespan?...

[xSOSxHawkens]

Hey Guys,

So I am starting to wonder if I should be thinking about an AiO replacement. I have a first generation H100i (v1) that was purchased used by me in late 2015 and has been in daily use for going on 4 years by me. I have no idea how old or heavily used the AiO was prior to my purchase. It is inspected and cleaned on every maintenance of the machine and has shown no signs of wear or tear (rubber is all still good, no drying or cracking).

The system is run on a mix of 24hrs daily (partially loaded) and/or a good 8-16hrs heavy use with 6-8hrs turned off, depending on if I shut down at night. Point is that the pump is regularly allowed to come to a stop for extended times and then restarted on cold boots regularly.

The machine is also moved regularly (read 4-6 times yearly) and when doing so is strapped into the back seat of a car and moved ~ 3 hrs each way to the friends house and back to mine. This is done as smoothly as possible with all parts in place and has so far been done without any damage.

My biggest concern at this point is the pump. I have been told that first gen pumps are notorious for failure, especially when they are allowed to stop completely regularly (such as mine) or when they are moved regularly (again, such as mine).

To be clear, as of now, I have no valid reason to suspect the pump is near failing. There have been no indications of such and it runs strong on the daily. My temps are all within reason, and the coolant temps have not changed much over my going on 4+ years of ownership. I keep the fan curves locked to the coolant temp not the CPU temp, so I have a good idea of when/if the liquid inside gets hot.

So, the big question then is,

When do I need to start being worried about failures?

AND

When do I need to start being worried about possible coolant levels being too low due to evaporation loss over time?

[tacoshy]

Nobody know - if it is faulty you normally have indicators like overheating, louder pump noice...
but also could happen right out of the blue. Unlike that it starts leaking but it proberly will be just dead then.

[Raoul]

If your pump hasn't failed and works good enough to keep your temps in a good range then no need to worry IMO I think the pump would fail a lot sooner than the rad and liquid from what I know unless it's a specific issue with the v1
Some AIOs will last a decade without issue and Corsair H100 series is pretty good in this respect.

[tacoshy]

Well Corsair iontroduced the H100i series:

2010 with Asetek 3rd Gen. Pump
2012 with Asetek 4th Gen. Pump
2015 with Asetek 5th Gen. Pump
2018 with Asetek 6th Gen. Pump

also with H100i Platinum series they use a CoolIt Pump and ML RGB fans.

Logn story short, Corsair never used 1st and 2nd Gen Asetek Pumps, and not all AIO are the same even if the have the same name. Highly depends on the manufacturing date.

[xSOSxHawkens]

I know that they generaly have a good reputation...

I also know I mentioned what I had, its age, and what I do with it to a local PC Repair shop owner and he about freaked. Made it out as if I am one of the luckiest alive that mine has not yet failed, especialy as its a V1 revision.

Specifically he mentioned that the Asetek pumps were known to have a high rate of failures and mine was more than overdue to experiance one.

Hasnt spooked me too much, as I have faith in my hardware, but it has caused enough concern that I am asking around to get an idea on what the general feel is of an H100i V1 going on at least 5 years use...

[bear]

Pumps only have a certain amount of life even if you can take them apart for maintenance which you cant. Why would you risk your hardware over such a low ticket item?

[xSOSxHawkens]

Originally posted by bearwithme:

Pumps only have a certain amount of life even if you can take them apart for maintenance which you cant. Why would you risk your hardware over such a low ticket item?

Dont exactly feel like I am risking anything...

My hardware seems to be fine, and it is more than cool enough.

From what I have been told (and from what I know first hand of Intel CPU's) if it *were* to fail I would not have any damage done. Between the passive cooling (minimal) from the block and the fact that Intel chips will heavily thermal throttle past 90C, if it were to fail completly during use the system would just slow to a crawl and I would have to buy and replace at that time.

Dont see any reason to, specially since it seems most people think that the lifespan of the device in question is still within reasonable limits.

[tacoshy]

Yes if the pump fails, the liquid will overheat and as such the CPU will not be cooled anymore. Then the core temperature rises and the CPU will throttle and after that commences an emergency shut down.
All that will happen befor any damage to the CPU itself is done.

Der8auer released a video where he removed the cooler in an 8700K to show this.

[Revelene]

Complain to Corsair that they no longer properly support it in the latest software. They'll give you the latest generation version of the H100i to replace it.

Their software constantly forgets about older versions and support gets lost, resulting in loss of functionality that it once had. They'll say to use an older software version, but let them know that their software so graciously let's you know how out of date you are, each and every time you login.

I did it before with version one and they replaced it with a GTX. Doing it again because, yet again, I've lost a little functionality. Newest software simply doesn't detect the GTX. Heh.

[xSOSxHawkens]

Originally posted by Revelene:

Complain to Corsair that they no longer properly support it in the latest software. They'll give you the latest generation version of the H100i to replace it.

Their software constantly forgets about older versions and support gets lost, resulting in loss of functionality that it once had. They'll say to use an older software version, but let them know that their software so graciously let's you know how out of date you are, each and every time you login.

I did it before with version one and they replaced it with a GTX. Doing it again because, yet again, I've lost a little functionality. Newest software simply doesn't detect the GTX. Heh.

Im still using corsair link and turned off the notifications.

Is their newer software better?

[Revelene]

Originally posted by xSOSxHawkens:

Originally posted by Revelene:

Complain to Corsair that they no longer properly support it in the latest software. They'll give you the latest generation version of the H100i to replace it.

Their software constantly forgets about older versions and support gets lost, resulting in loss of functionality that it once had. They'll say to use an older software version, but let them know that their software so graciously let's you know how out of date you are, each and every time you login.

I did it before with version one and they replaced it with a GTX. Doing it again because, yet again, I've lost a little functionality. Newest software simply doesn't detect the GTX. Heh.

Im still using corsair link and turned off the notifications.

Is their newer software better?

I have no idea if it is better or not.

[mintik]

Hi,
I just wanted to ask if you have replaced your H100i by now or still using it?
I myself run a H100i manufactured in may 2013. It is still going but I'm thinking of replacing it before it causes me problems. 9 years is a long time for an AIO.

[Cyber2B]

If it aint broke, dont fix it.

Your computer is problem free still, no point is potentially creating an issue that was nonexistent in the first place.

Especially during this poopshoot market, I would hesitate to buy any computer product.

[xSOSxHawkens]

Originally posted by mintik:

Hi,
I just wanted to ask if you have replaced your H100i by now or still using it?
I myself run a H100i manufactured in may 2013. It is still going but I'm thinking of replacing it before it causes me problems. 9 years is a long time for an AIO.

Mine ran well until mid last year (Q2/3 2021). At that point I think the pump failed with perhaps a broken impeller. The pump motor still works (audibly), it still has liquid, and the fans still run, with pump RPM registering in Corsair software, but the temps on the chip went through the roof. It was trying to move liquid, but nothing (or not enough) was moving.

I also think the temps has started to degrade in terms of how cool it kept things for the last year or so of its life. I got *much* better temps that even the year before failure once I replaced.

Replaced it with an Arctic Freezer II 240 for 80 bucks. Highly recommend!

[xSOSxHawkens]

I wouldnt replace it till it fails, but when it does the chip will thermal throttle and you will (likely) be fine. At that point so long as you have a stock cooler on hand for a week or two while you wait on the replacement its no biggie (I waited a bit longer with the rig on a stock cooler, but its all the same haha)

[r.linder]

Originally posted by xSOSxHawkens:

Originally posted by mintik:

Hi,
I just wanted to ask if you have replaced your H100i by now or still using it?
I myself run a H100i manufactured in may 2013. It is still going but I'm thinking of replacing it before it causes me problems. 9 years is a long time for an AIO.

Mine ran well until mid last year (Q2/3 2021). At that point I think the pump failed with perhaps a broken impeller. The pump motor still works (audibly), it still has liquid, and the fans still run, with pump RPM registering in Corsair software, but the temps on the chip went through the roof. It was trying to move liquid, but nothing (or not enough) was moving.

I also think the temps has started to degrade in terms of how cool it kept things for the last year or so of its life. I got *much* better temps that even the year before failure once I replaced.

Replaced it with an Arctic Freezer II 240 for 80 bucks. Highly recommend!

My MSI CORELIQUID 360R's pump died after less than 4 months of use, so I got the newest H150i.

Guess MSI's idea to copy NZXT didn't work out so well for them, or their customers. Pretty sure it was their first AIO in general too.