What is the best way to connect my water loop system to the Dark Hero VIII

[Madmaxneo]

I recently changed out my MB from a Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite Wifi and I couldn't be more happier with this Asus Dark Hero board. It has so many great features and options that it brings back memories of my Rampage IV black Ed MB.

My water loop consists of: A Swiftech H240X (w/upgraded MCP50X pump about 2.5 years ago) that cools my CPU and my GPU with an additional 280mm rad. 

I have always connected the H240X to the CPU fan header using it's 8 way splitter with the rad fans connected to that splitter. With this board I decided to get rid of the Swiftech 8 way splitter and connect every thing to the MB. But I am unsure if I should use the AIO pump header or continue using the CPU fan header. The pump is apparently supposed to run off of 1 amp current max and 12 watts of power max, so either the CPU fan header or the AIO pump header will do. The only difference between the two is the CPU fan header is Q fan controlled and the AIO pump header runs at full speed all the time. 

I asked Swiftech support and he said they always recommend the CPU fan header, but they've never worked with a MB with an AIO pump header for testing this 10 year old H240X unit.  He said they recommend PWM control because the pump can run at lower speeds just fine and it will run quieter with a PWM controlled header.

My questions in this are:

1. Does the AIO header allow for variation in pump speeds or does it always run the pump at max power?

2. Would there be any benefit in temps if I did use the AIO header for the pump instead of the CPU fan header?

[Silent_Scone]

Hello,

1. See header amperage below. By default, both the W_PUMP+ and AIO_PUMP header will operate at full speed. Both headers are fully PWM adjustable from within Q-FAN.

 

2. CPU-FAN cannot be assigned to a source, for instance, if you were looking to use one of the Water_in/Water_out  sensors on the motherboard to control pump speed based on loop temperature. So you're restricted to control based on CPU Package, which likely isn't a concern for you as the unit does not have this functionality.

 

[Madmaxneo]

Ok, so then are you saying it doesn't matter which header I put the pump into?

[Silent_Scone · Accepted solution]

In your case it shouldn’t do, no. It’s best to follow the cooler manufacturers instructions regardless