Corsair H170i Elite Capellix review - Introduction

Corsair H170i Elite Capellix: 420mm LCS 

Corsair has a refresh of liquid coolers, this round the Corsair H170i Elite Capellix edition is put on our test bench where we can check out the behavior of the triple-fan 420mm model. Corsair has paired the kit with their very best ML 140 RGB Series magnetic levitation PWM fans, including an iCUE compatible fan/RGB HUB and Capellix RGB lit pump.

Corsair has paired the kit with their very best ML 140 RGB Series magnetic levitation PWM fans as well as including a fan/RGB HUB and all-new Capellix RGB. The cooler is hugely silent and certainly brings in proper cooling capacity. The Elite Capellix liquid lit cooler has a 360mm radiator tied to it with analogous a threefold of 140mm fans; yes correct .. 140mm. These are RGB magnetic levitation PWM fans and are controlled by hooking them up towards the included FAN/RGB NODE (compatible with ICUE), allowing you to customize and monitor this all-in-one liquid cooling solution for your processor. The Corsair iCUE app will also allow you to customize LED lighting directly from the software. New on the pump is a multi-zone LED system with individually (addressable) LEDs bringing RGB towards that next level with nice and bright Capellix technology.  These days you can pick a hundred different heatpipe based coolers, where 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, NZXT, Cooler Master, and so on, all have interesting kits. 

Capellix

Individually addressable Capellix RGB LEDs can be spotted, all nicely fitted under that top cap on the cooling block, but there's more to it, though. Of course, you will be allowed to control the LEDs in relation to color and animation with Corsair iCUE software. This kit will revert to the most popular setting at defaults, a sweet-looking rainbow of colors in a wave-style lighting effect, illuminating your PC with 50 shades of RGB (yes, that is a pun). The Capellix LEDs are integrated directly into a PCB layer with an SMT solder process. Capelli LEDs use merely a 0.2mm³ surface area where that value normally is 2.8mm³. Capellix LEDs are also brighter (up to 60 percent) light while using less power (40% less at similar brightness). In a nutshell, that is Capellix, and you can see why Corsair is fond of them. The H170i Elite Capellix is an updated design based on the previous models, yet with a revised performance cooling block and regulated control for pump and fans. Next to that, what's interesting is that this product (for this review) is based on a 420mm radiator, which gives it less cooling surface area, yet still was very powerful in cooling. It is a cooler series that is easy on the eyes and comes with a relatively tool-free installation. The unit will offer good performance, not exceptional as the key for this release are low noise levels. While we cannot recommend it for reasons we'll explain later, you could even select an optional 0-DBA mode. As long as the coolant stays under 40 Degrees, C the fans do not spin. So without further ado, let's have a peek at it and head onwards into the review.