Corsair Hydro Series: H60, H80 and H100 Reviewed
by Jared Bell on November 7, 2011 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Corsair
- Water Cooling
Cooler Installation
Mounting the H60 and H80 radiators is similar except the H80 provides a minor challenge due to its thicker size and having a second fan to install. After all is said and done, it doesn’t pose any real problems. Just make sure to take your time and don't over tighten the screws or you may end up bending the fins on the radiator. Most cases should support either the H60 or the H80 without too much trouble, assuming the case has a mounting point for a 120mm fan. I didn't have any filament problems, and thanks to the low profile of the CPU block, I don't see any issues with the second fan hanging slightly over the CPU block if needed.
The H100's 2x120mm radiator design and 275mm overall length may pose problems depending on your choice of case. You're going to need ~52mm of clearance to install the H100 in its default configuration and a whopping ~77mm if you opt for a push/pull setup. This is of course assuming you have a case that supports 2x120mm fans with the correct 15mm spacing for the radiator/fans.
I even had trouble installing it in Corsair's own Graphite 600T case. Everything fit properly, but I had to install the radiator inside the case and then install the 2x120mm fans inside the lid where the removable panel is. This may not seem like a problem because the 600T was essentially designed this way; however, the top cover is so restrictive it caused temperatures and noise levels to rise. For testing purposes, I had to leave the top cover off in order not to skew the results. Corsair's new Carbide Series 400R/500R looks to be H100-ready, allowing you to install the radiator on top with the fans inside the case. I can't speak from experience with any other cases for the H100, but if your case meets the clearance and spacing requirements, you shouldn't have any issues.
The installation procedure for the water block is the same for each unit we tested. I think it's a welcomed design improvement over the H50 and H70. Since the water block comes preinstalled with the Intel mounting brackets, AMD users will have to remove them and install the included mounting brackets for AMD CPUs. Also, AMD users do not have to worry about installing a backplate because these kits make use of the backplate already installed on your motherboard. The backplate for Intel CPUs has adjustable mounting holes that slide to easily fit any of the supported CPU sockets.
After securing the backplate with the double sided screw mounting posts, securing the water block is as easy as tightening four thumb screws. Previously with the H70, I had issues lining up the water block properly which led to multiple mounting attempts before good contact was made. With the H60, H80, or H100 blocks, I was able to make good contact on the first try. This was later verified with multiple mounts as described in the testing procedures. Just make sure to take your time and tighten the thumb screws in order as recommended in the manual.
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Mjello - Monday, November 7, 2011 - link
If you don't mind temps howering in the 70C-75C range the h100 can do it passive mounted externally in a horisontal position in a 25C room.Just did an hour of LoL. It wont do prime95 for more than 10 min. however. So heavy loads is a nogo passive. And a silent fan doesn't make any noice so i'll switch mine back on. Was a fun experiment though.
double0seven - Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - link
"We could hook up our video cards and CPU to the loop."This part doesn't make logical sense. If you "hooked up" multiple heat generators to a coolant loop, only the first one would get cooled.
ggathagan - Monday, November 7, 2011 - link
Page 3, last sentence of the 1st paragraph: I didn't have any filament problems....I'm guessing fitment is the word you intended.
Hey, someone has to pick at this stuff...
fixxxer0 - Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - link
what was the ambient temp of the room on average? just curious to see what your actual temps were...compudaze - Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - link
Ambient temps were 22.2C - 24.8C with an average of 23.8C.medi01 - Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - link
It's been a while, that most power hungry part of the system is a graphic card.What a pity they don't make water cooling solution for them.
I don't quite get why on earth I would install this thing, if I still have to care what to do with graphic card heat.
kg4icg - Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - link
Cool IT does make a sealed solution for video cards.http://www.coolitsystems.com/index.php/products/gp...
Sabresiberian - Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - link
It's good to see these coolers get to the point where they are really good, even if the cost is a bit high still. I think pretty soon, liquid coolers will be the thing to use in all but inexpensive systems.I'm not sure the H100's price is too high; it depends on what a serious overclocker wants, and whether it allows more room than something like the Silver Arrow. Adding another 2 fans will make even more difference (and add to the cost), which will give more of a performance edge to it. Theoretically, anyway, air flow through the radiator may not be the limiting factor in the system.
I use the CoolIT Eco on one of my rigs (similar to the H60). It's a decent cooler, but the main reason I used it was because I needed a lower profile solution with my Antec Skeleton "case", and these type coolers really work great for that. Of course, you are just moving the space issue to a different location, since there's the radiator to deal with, but that's not an issue with the Skeleton since I just made a bracket to hang it off a side.
;)
Googer - Wednesday, November 9, 2011 - link
Shame corsair didn't show off the "Corsair Link" kit and demonstrate its abilities. I guess they don't want to sell too many of those $100-129 (USD) kits. Sounds like the Bob's Rug Syndrome (GTE)http://www.ricklatona.com/2008/06/01/the-bobs-rug-...
Drekkyk - Wednesday, November 9, 2011 - link
I tried the H60, but at 4.5 Ghz the temp was 8 degrees C hotter than my Cooler Master Hyper 212+. under load and at idle. What I really noticed was how much slower the temp reduced when going from full load to none. I really wanted to like it, I even tried remounting, ensuring thermal compound was applied correctly, etc. I used the same compound for both coolers. My case is a Haf-X with plenty of airflow.