Review on 🌬️ Corsair iCUE H150i Elite Capellix Liquid CPU Cooler: Enhancing Performance and Cooling Efficiency by Michael Patilla

There are a number of issues and frustrations associated with using this cooler with a Z390e gaming motherboard (and possibly others ROG Strix motherboards). If you try to POST after the installation, you will get a "CPU_FAN" error, which prevents the PC from starting Windows. This is because the dirty 3-pin pump connector on the motherboard is NOT WORKING. Due to a compatibility issue, Mobo does not recognize the connection to an AIO pump, no matter where you plug it in (whether on the "AIO_PUMP" or "CPU_FAN" pins). The only solution is to manually disable "CPU_FAN" monitoring in BIOS. However, this is dangerous as it disables the CPU overheat protection. Therefore, you need to constantly monitor your CPU temperature to make sure the pump hasn't failed. Unfortunately, the problems don't end there. If you disable CPU fan monitoring, the pump will report "Pump Failure" error in iCUE software. This is a "false positive" and doesn't really mean that the pump has failed (this is caused by a CPU_FAN issue). Nasty problems that result from this: First, the fans connected to the "Commander Core" rotate to 100% by default. It's VERY LOUD (even with noise canceling headphones). Like someone vacuuming right next to you. Also, due to the "pump error" error, you CANNOT change the speed. As a result, you stay at 100% fan speed 100% of the time. Second, the standard RGB flashes red every second. Like the fan speed, you cannot change this either. While this might be a minor issue, it's still annoying. Another wake-up call for all mobile device owners: According to Corsair customer support, this is a known issue for the last 3 months and there have been some updates as of 11/10/20. So, in addition to all these problems, there is some uncertainty as to whether this problem will ever be solved. It's such a shame because this pump really is as good as others have said. The CPU temperature on my 9900kf is 3 degrees cooler (25-29 degrees) compared to my previous Thermaltake AIO pump. However, for me the problems and dangers (due to disabling failover) do not outweigh this benefit.