The Corsair H150i Pro RGB AIO Cooler Review: The Quiet Giant
by E. Fylladitakis on August 16, 2018 8:00 AM ESTThermal Resistance VS Sound Pressure Level
During our thermal resistance vs. sound pressure level test, we maintain a steady 100W thermal load and assess the overall performance of the coolers by taking multiple temperature and sound pressure level readings within the operating range of the stock cooling fans. The result is a graph that depicts the absolute thermal resistance of the cooler in comparison to the noise generated. For both the sound pressure level and absolute thermal resistance readings, lower figures are better.
This graph clearly reveals the strength of Corsair's H150i Pro RGB, which is the delivery of good thermal performance at very low noise levels. Coolers that match the noise levels of the H150i Pro RGB deliver significantly inferior thermal performance, whereas coolers that can offer the same levels of thermal performance are significantly louder. The only product that can match the thermal performance of the H150i Pro RGB at low noise levels is Alphacool's massive Cool Answer 360 kit, a much larger and greatly more expensive product. One can also notice that the H150i Pro RGB reacts poorly to high fan speeds, with the noise figures increasing significantly for a minimal impact on the cooler's thermal performance.
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qlum - Thursday, August 16, 2018 - link
looking at this review I see the nepton 280l still performs well enough. I replaced the fans on mine with corsair ml ones I at least know that did not have any negative impact on thermals in my case.oRAirwolf - Thursday, August 16, 2018 - link
I would love too see a review of the Alphacool Eisbaer 420mm.WatcherCK - Thursday, August 16, 2018 - link
I wonder if/when Corsair will star producing motherboards or graphics cards, two OEM products they dont appear to manufacture.... given their (to my untrained eye) high production quality their end product would be good kit... (and yea I figure motherboards and graphics cards are the most complex components to create after the CPU/GPU...) and would give them full component integration :)Hxx - Thursday, August 16, 2018 - link
as much as i love corsair products but for the love of God if youre willing to spend $170 then why not get EKs aluminum kit or save up for a copper liquid cooling system. 170 seems such a waste for an aio. these should be 60/70 at most $100 for the more sophisticated onesOxford Guy - Thursday, August 16, 2018 - link
I don't think you've kept up with inflation. $60–70 isn't realistic at all.Stuka87 - Friday, August 17, 2018 - link
1: An AIO is super simple, plug and play.2: You cannot build a custom loop for anywhere close to $170.
3: Custom loops require maintenance. An AIO you install it, and then let it do its thing for the next several years.
Allan_Hundeboll - Monday, July 20, 2020 - link
Custom loops don't need a lot of maintenance.I purchased a diy asetek water chill about 20 years ago. I have replaced the fans and the water lock and 2 years ago the pump died. I top up the water roughly every 2nd year and have change the water 4-5 times during the systems impressive lifetime.
Definitely the best Pc investment I ever made!
EGA999 - Friday, August 17, 2018 - link
My new build has an 8086K cooled by a Noctua NH-D15. All 5 case fans are Noctua. 8086K is OC'd to 5.0 MHz - all cores - at 1.280 Vcore. Idles at 33c. Prime95 stable for 1 hour - never over 85c. Who needs an AIO?vMax65 - Friday, August 17, 2018 - link
My 8700K overclocked to 5GHz at 1.3v does 28 to 30 Degrees in Idle (Living in UK) and does not exceed 80 degrees in Prime95... I am using the Corsair H150i Pro...Why do people use AIO's? Many reasons and for me having tried the Noctua in the past was how difficult it was to get at things when making changes and having something that heavy hanging of the CPU just wasn't for me. The H150i Pro is also super quiet and does a stellar job of cooling a overclocked CPU with minimum fuss.vMax65 - Friday, August 17, 2018 - link
And my lowest temp at idle today is 25 degrees!!!!