Antec Kühler 920 H2O making tapping noises

Coltaine · February 2, 2014

So this is the first time I've installed a closed loop CPU cooler thing, I've had it sitting on my shelf for a while and finally decided to take the time out of my day to install it. I'm not sure if it's quieter than the stock cooler or not tbh, the rest of the case is barely audible and the radiator fans are quiet too. I did a quick and dirty test by stopping the fans with my finger for a second(yeah not the best way, but whatever).

Anyway, here's a sample, recorded on my phone holding it inside the case.

(If you wonder what the sound around the 10 second mark is, that's me inhaling a bit sharply through my nose.)

Um yeah, the pump is running at 2850 rpm, I can't seem to adjust it in any way through the dashboard thing regardless of what option I put it on, it sounds like a vaccuum cleaner when I ramp the fans up to full.. So is this a normal thing for these? I mean I did just buy it because I had some leftover money in my budget.

EDIT: Motherboard is an ASUS Crosshair V Formula, AMD FX8150 CPU, case: Cooler Master Storm Trooper.. If you need more there's more specs on my profile

tryphaa · February 2, 2014

Maybe a noisy pump? If the phone was right next to it, its just pump noise.

edit: i forgot, is it super loud even with the side panel on?

Chriz6097 · February 2, 2014

It sounds similar to the issue corsair H100i users were having with their pumps but that was apparently fixed with a firmware update. But its definatly the pump.

Coltaine · February 2, 2014

Maybe a noisy pump? If the phone was right next to it, its just pump noise.

edit: i forgot, is it super loud even with the side panel on?

Well, right now I'm sitting about 2.5 meters away and I can definitely hear it with the sidepanel on. It's the only thing I can really hear unless I turn up the case fans.

It sounds similar to the issue corsair H100i users were having with their pumps but that was apparently fixed with a firmware update. But its definatly the pump.

Hm, I did download the latest software from Antec's site, and yeah I had it eliminated to the pump. I tried tapping the pump with my finger but it didn't really help, not any noticeable vibrations either.. So I think it's spinning too fast and causing cavitation, or it's just poorly designed with the same results.

tryphaa · February 2, 2014

Well, right now I'm sitting about 2.5 meters away and I can definitely hear it with the sidepanel on. It's the only thing I can really hear unless I turn up the case fans.

Hm, I did download the latest software from Antec's site, and yeah I had it eliminated to the pump. I tried tapping the pump with my finger but it didn't really help, not any noticeable vibrations either.. So I think it's spinning too fast and causing cavitation, or it's just poorly designed with the same results.

Is the pump connector in the cpu fan header? If it is, it should be adjustable. Lower the rpm, and see if the noise is still noticeable.

Edit: #postnumber100

Coltaine · February 2, 2014

Hmm, apparantly it's really sensitive to having the pump "upside down".. Guess I'll try to put it so the logo is the right way up and see if that helps... This'll make the hose routing a great deal more tricky... Oh well.

EDIT: Hmm, seems to be a common enough problem with these things, I'll leave my case lying flat on the floor for a while and then put it back up to see if that helps, I think it's slightly less noisy now than it was when I had the hoses up top(which IMO would make more sense than having them on the bottom for air bleeding), also apparently it goes away after running it a few hours, I've only had it installed for 2 hours or so.