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
Introducing Corsair’s Hydro Series: H60, H80 and H100
Closed-loop liquid CPU cooling solutions are gaining popularity as more and more vendors are carrying their own variation. We've even seen both Intel and AMD announce the inclusion of liquid-coolers for their upcoming processor lines. Today we're going to take a look at the Corsair Hydro Series H60 High Performance, H80 High Performance, and H100 Extreme Performance liquid CPU coolers. Corsair has teamed up with CoolIT Systems this time around. They have previously partnered with Asetek for other Hydro Series products (H40/H50/H70/H70 Core), but our focus here is on the H60, H80, and H100.
The Corsair Hydro Series of liquid CPU coolers aim to give you the power of liquid-cooling in a compact, easy to install package, without the complexity of traditional water-cooling kits. They are designed to be a closed-loop solution with no maintenance required at all. But just how well do these Corsair liquid-coolers perform against the current cream of the crop air-coolers? After all, Corsair is targeting the high-end air-cooling market with these cooling solutions, both in price and performance. First, let's take a look at the specs for the units being tested today.
| Corsair Hydro Series Specifications | |||
| H60 | H80 | H100 | |
| Radiator Dimensions | 120mmx152mmx27mm | 120mmx152mmx38mm | 122mmx275mmx27mm |
| Fan Dimensions | 120mmx120mmx25mm | 120mmx120mmx25mm (x2) | 120mmx120mmx25mm (x2) |
| Fan Speed | (+/- 10%) up to 1700RPM |
(+/- 10%) up to: 1300RPM (Low), 2000RPM (Medium), and 2500RPM (High) |
(+/- 10%) up to: 1300RPM (Low), 2000RPM (Medium), and 2500RPM (High) |
|
Fan Airflow / dBA, Static Pressure |
74.4 CFM / 30.2 dBA, 3.2mm/H20 |
46-92CFM / 22-39 dBA, 1.6-7.7mm/H20 |
46-92 CFM / 22-39 dBA, 1.6-7.7mm/H20 |
| Cold Plate / Radiator Material | Copper / Aluminum | Copper / Aluminum | Copper / Aluminum |
| Tubing | Low-permeability for near-zero evaporation | Low-permeability for near-zero evaporation | Low-permeability for near-zero evaporation |
| Intel Sockets | LGA 775, 1155/1156, 1366, 2011 | LGA 775, 1155/1156, 1366, 2011 | LGA 775, 1155/1156, 1366, 2011 |
| AMD Sockets | AM2, AM3 | AM2, AM3 | AM2, AM3 |
| Warranty | Five years | Five years | Five years |
| MSRP | $79.99 | $109.99 | $119.99 |
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dagamer34 - Monday, November 7, 2011 - link
Seems that even the lowly H60 is good enough that I should replace the stock fan in my HTPC.**USA** - Monday, November 7, 2011 - link
See: "Corsair H100 Install in 600T case" for effective cooling with push/pull fan configuration.KingstonU - Monday, November 7, 2011 - link
Great review! Been looking for a review to cover these exact topics on comparing pros/cons of high end air-coolers to mainstream water coolers. Thanks!I can see now that the only downside of the high-end air cooling solution compared to these is the weight off the motherboard, but has any motherboard actually failed under the load of one of these heavy air coolers? I supposed you could also just your case on it's side and problem solved.
Beenthere - Monday, November 7, 2011 - link
The HSF back plate is there to distribute the load, so the mobo isn't over-stressed.ajtyeh - Monday, November 7, 2011 - link
any users that have done this? it looks like there may be room for 4 screws to attach an equivlant fanDeath666Angel - Monday, November 7, 2011 - link
Yes, you can use an H60 with 2 fans, but since the radiator is still much more narrow you don't get the same results @ same fan rpm. :-)noeldillabough - Monday, November 7, 2011 - link
I know this must exist, is there a such thing as a case that is covered with fins with liquid channels? We could hook up our videocards and cpu to the loop.Then we'd only hear the noise of the pump; or am I mistaken? Seems like a no brainer but perhaps cost prohibitive.
I've always been scared to do a water cooling system, because of leaks, but I don't see the advantage of this closed loop system quite yet. How reliable are current open loop systems and how much plumbing knowledge do i have to have to get it working safely? I'd love to use it on a dual cpu dual vdeocard setup (four blocks)
Beenthere - Monday, November 7, 2011 - link
You can always build extreme H2O units but why bother when refrigeration systems are far superior and easy.Mjello - Monday, November 7, 2011 - link
I don't remember if it was zalaman who launched a commercial product a few years ago. But that was a tower exactly as you describe. Where the sides was cooling. And heatpipes attached to the sides from the cpu.Anyways. You can do that with h100 and a PII X4 3 Ghz stock speed. If you mount the radiator outside like I did. The temp goes up when you turn off my 900 rpm fan but the system isn't overheating. I'll just check the temps for you for fun ;). Give me half an hour
ggathagan - Monday, November 7, 2011 - link
Yeah, Zalman produced two fanless cases (TNN-500 and TNN-300) that used heatpipes to conduct the heat from internal components to the case.That was different from what noeldillabough is talking about; where you are, in essence, making a case out of radiators.
That would be too cost prohibitive and too complex, especially if you factor in the delicacy of such a case.
Radiator fins and water channels have to be thin to be efficient, and that spells disaster without some sort of protection.
Adding that protection to the outside of a case would add even more complexity and create a nightmare as far as being able to ship it without fear of damage.
There's also the issue of weight to consider and we haven't even started on what customer support would be like.
Zalman still makes the Reserator, which is an external cooling system along the lines of what you mentioned.