The Corsair H80i GT and H100i GTX AIO Coolers Review
by E. Fylladitakis on November 16, 2015 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Corsair
- Liquid Cooling
- Corsair Link
Testing Results, Low Fan Speed (7 Volts)
Shifting gears, let's take a look at performance with the fan speeds lowered and the fans fed at just 7 Volts.
| Core Temperature, Constant Thermal Load (Low Fan Speed) |
The H100i GTX continues to impress us when its fans and pump voltage is reduced down to 7 Volts. Once again, it displays the best low load performance of all AIO coolers. The high load performance also remains excellent, outpacing even Corsair's own H110 that is using a 280 mm radiator. Otherwise Cooler Master's models outpace the H100i GTX under heavy loads and on the average thermal resistance, but their noise output is about 8 times higher.
Not unexpectedly, the H80i GT fares better that most other similarly sized coolers when the supply voltage is reduced to 7 Volts. The low load performance is a little weak but it improves as the load increases, competing with much larger radiator AIO coolers under heavy loads. The average thermal resistance of the H80i GT is significantly better than that of similarly sized coolers and comes closer to the performance of 240/280 mm radiator coolers.
Ultimately neither the H100i GTX or the H80i GT are actually quiet when operating at 7 Volts, however the noise levels are comfortable for everyday use. The primary improvement, in our opinion, is that the whining noise of the pump is now nearly imperceptible. Even though that kind of noise would not raise the dB(A) figures by a significant amount, its high pitched frequency would be intolerable to the majority of users.
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HollyDOL - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
Great cooling, but it needs to get at least 10dB quieter to be comfortably usable, 48dB is way too much to be comfortable for me. Can't claim I have any idea how to reduce it that much though (except having luck with better pump than the one with whinning noise as mentioned in review).../wishful thinking:
Tbh, house air condition systems imho could already provide bayonet plugs for PC water cooling, let the noise and heat go where it doesn't hurt :-)
GreenMeters - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
An AIO cooler that's too loud, too expensive, too bulky, and under-performs to much cheaper, much quieter, much smaller traditional HSF? Color me shocked. Stupid bling for stupid people.Black Obsidian - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
These AIO coolers only under-perform traditional HSFs that are themselves quite expensive and bulky, so the situation is not quite as black-and-white as you suggest.jabber - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
Still got a H50 in the cupboard. Having switched to non-homebrew PCs recently its been waiting for a new project.ikjadoon - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
I agree with the other commenters: can we see what the overall noise/performance is like compared to very high-end air coolers, like the NH-D15, the NH-U14S, the PH-TC14PE, etc.?MrTeal - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
If you can, it would be very interesting to see how the EK Predator or Swiftech H240x does on your testbench relative to the AOI coolers.thestryker - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
I would love it if AnandTech would get their hands on both of the EK Predator models. I've heard their pump noise is a lot better, not to mention expandable (the 360) and refillable.Pissedoffyouth - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
I'm thinking I might use one of these with one of those Broadwell APU's in a really tiny case. Should be able to overclock the iGPU massivelymaximumGPU - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
And that is why i switched back to air cooling, couldn't stand that pump noise!Eagle1848 - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
I bought the H100i GTX for my last build a couple months ago in a Define R5 Chassis (Has sound dampening). I cannot hear any part of the system outside the case and I can barely hear it if I stick my head inside the case on balanced mode. Performance mode you can of course hear it even outside the case. But then again that also puts it at 100%. And I can pretty much guarantee that with a mid to high end graphics card, you won't be able to hear this over whatever noise the graphics subsystem is putting out. The only part I ever hear is my GTX 970 spinning up.