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
Corsair is a company that expanded furiously during the past decade, diversifying into several segments of the market. What once was a manufacturer of computer memory-related products today produces a great number of computer hardware and peripherals, from RAM modules and SSDs to cooling solutions and gaming peripherals.
Most of Corsair's users are probably unaware that one of the first attempts Corsair made to diversify was towards high performance cooling solutions. The company first entered the market of liquid cooling back in 2003 with the HydroCool 200. Even though the product also bear Delphi's logo, it was not terribly successful at the time due to its size, cost, and complexity. Corsair however did not give up and retried several years later with the release of the Hydro AIO series. The simplicity and relatively low cost made their liquid cooling solutions popular quickly.
Today, the AIO liquid coolers are amongst Corsair's most popular products. We had a look at several of their liquid coolers a year ago, in our mega roundup review of AIO coolers. In this review, we are going to have a look at their latest and most advanced 120 mm fan coolers, the H80i GT ($90) and the H100i GTX ($105). Both essentially are improved versions of the popular H80 and H100i respectively, featuring both aesthetic and performance upgrades.
Packaging & Bundle
Corsair supplies all of their advanced Hydro coolers in similarly sized and designed cardboard boxes. Essentially, the only thing that changes is the picture of the product and the color theme. The design is simple but elegant and attractive, with enough information printed on the box and in several languages. Inside the box, the coolers are well protected into a custom cardboard insert.
The bundle of both coolers is essentially identical, with the exception of the manual. Inside each box we found the necessary mounting hardware, an internal USB header cable and two identical fans. The fans are the SP120L PWM, fans designed for high static pressure and with a maximum rated speed of 2450RPM. There are no data regarding the fan's engine type but, assuming that they are based on the SP120 fans which Corsair retails, they should be using a hydraulic bearing as well.
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Beararam - Tuesday, November 17, 2015 - link
"cause you clearly don't know what inaudible and loud really means""Anything above 20 dBA is rightfully considered loud."
The whispers! Stop the whispers, my ears are bleeding! Oh the pain!
Maybe you need to walk around with earmuffs on.
samsp99 - Wednesday, November 18, 2015 - link
Is undervolting the fans the right approach for pwm based fans? i would have thought that using the control software would be the way to control the rpm for better noise control?This may not work for your standardized tests though.
Bansaku - Wednesday, November 18, 2015 - link
I am a Corsair fanboy, I will admit it with. Every aftermarket components from fans to case to keyboard is Corsair. However, I have never been impressed with their AIO coolers. Every model I have tried over the years have all resulted in NOISY pumps after a few days. In the case of the H115 it literally took one stress test under load for the pump to start clicking.I have been using my Zalman CNPS20LQ for years with my i7 3770K (push/pull with 2x Corsair SP120) and it's performance has remained constant since day one. Pump is whisper quiet, and my own tests put it between the H80 and H100i (which I have purchased to replace the Zalman but ended up returning).
MamiyaOtaru - Thursday, November 19, 2015 - link
CPU watercoolers seem so anachronistic to me (like BTX mobos) now that GPUs are using far more powerHollyDOL - Saturday, November 21, 2015 - link
Personally I switched to watercool due to noise levels back in C2D + 8800GT days... having one pump sitting in a "foam" to cancel vibrations and big passive radiator outside the chasis = computer silent enough to have it crunching numbers over night and sleep just next to it. And I am still completely happy with the solution. Today it cools my i5-2500K and GTX580 and most likely will be cooling next machine when time comes and money allows...6SpeedRobbyG - Saturday, November 21, 2015 - link
Can anyone confirm the H80i GT will fit in my Cooler Master Elite 130?hkuspc40 - Sunday, November 22, 2015 - link
Not that you would have known but the Corsair Link software is a mess. They've done a lot to clean it up but it still has major issues. You can check their forums if you don't believe me. I believe it's also why you can't find their LED lighting kits or commanders anymore. I'm happy with my H100i but was pretty disappointed with the software.