Corsair H100i review - Introduction

Introduction

Check it out, from the ground-up a re-design of the older series, with larger diameter tubes and more efficient copper cold plates -- yes the H100i All-inOne Liquid Cooler from Corsair has been released. The cooler with its 240mm radiator and two fans has had a small overhaul alright.

In the world of CPU coolers nothing ever stops developing. These days you can pick a hundred different heatpipe based coolers, many are shaped, formed and priced the same. The better heatpipe based coolers are good though. Next in line are LCS systems (liquid cooling), the entry level products are affordable, easy to install pre-fab liquid cooling kits. We've seen and tested many of them as Corsair, Asetek, CoolIT and so on all have interesting kits.

The bigger problem is cooling performance. The gear behind these kits are good yet the performance is often battling a small included 120mm radiator with thin tubing and lacking coolant levels due to missing reservoirs. To compensate FAN RPM goes up making a good looking product noisy again. With that in mind Corsair started to develop a new series H (for Hydro) coolers.

The product in specific is the Corsair H100i, an updated design cooling block with internally regulated control for pump and fans. Next to that what's interesting is that this product is based on a dual 120mm radiator. 

A cooler series that is easy on the eyes and has a relatively tool free installation, the Corsair H100i is compatible with Corsair's LINK software. You hook up the LCS unit towards a USB port and then software allows you to program, customize and monitor this H100i Liquid Cooling solution. 

So without further ado, let's have a peek at the Corsair H100i and then head onwards into the review.