Corsair H100i review

#4461201

sverek

2012-11-23 09:47

Thanks for review! very tempting kit, would love to get it for next rig.

#4461273

FoXkill

2012-11-23 12:23

I wonder weather using the 3770K is the best choice, as it is well documented that the heat problems are because of poor heat transfer from the silicon die to the IHS. Therefore any cooler will yield less than optimal results, because its not at fault for the poor temps...

#4461289

BLEH!

2012-11-23 12:56

How does it compare to the NH-D14?

#4461292

Hilbert Hagedoorn

Administrator

2012-11-23 12:59

I wonder weather using the 3770K is the best choice, as it is well documented that the heat problems are because of poor heat transfer from the silicon die to the IHS. Therefore any cooler will yield less than optimal results, because its not at fault for the poor temps...

You know prior to testing I've been battling that very same question. But the fact remains that Ivy Bridge is what people buy -- and as such you want to know how these coolers perform on it. We could use a Core i7 2600K instead, but these already are EOL. We could also use a 1000 EUR 6-core Core i7 3960X processor but again ... how many people do actually buy these processors ? The vast majority of our readers will purchase the Core i7 37x0 series -- so this is what most of our readers are really interested in hence we took the top 4-core SKU -- it's just that Intel made things very complicated with their poor heat transfer design.

#4461301

Dazz

2012-11-23 13:11

Think you could test this on a bulldozer processor, i am curious since there are so few reviews out there testing hetsinks and water cooling on such processors. I have seen people get 5GHz overclocking on them with the H100. However the i100 reviews are few and far between.

#4461320

GeniusPr0

2012-11-23 13:42

You know prior to testing I've been battling that very same question. But the fact remains that Ivy Bridge is what people buy -- and as such you want to know how these coolers perform on it. We could use a Core i7 2600K instead, but these already are EOL. We could also use a 1000 EUR 6-core Core i7 3960X processor but again ... how many people do actually buy these processors ? The vast majority of our readers will purchase the Core i7 37x0 series -- so this is what most of our readers are really interested in hence we took the top 4-core SKU -- it's just that Intel made things very complicated with their poor heat transfer design.

IB also naturally just runs hotter. It's not JUST the TIM. And btw, my 3770K sucks and needs 1.3v+ for 4.6Ghz.

#4461330

PinchedNerve

2012-11-23 13:58

I have the H100 & a 3770k. My temps were slightly higher vs. your baseline running prime 95 with my Mobo's default turbo mode hitting 4.1 ghz & the middle fan mode running. I would guess the middle fan mode is balanced. I did hear some fans speed up but I didn't investigate which fans sped up so I don't know if it was the radiator fans or not. Apparently I bought this right before the H100i was released. Is the major difference between the H100 & H100i a smarter fan controller & how the fans are manually adjusted?

#4461338

IPlayNaked

2012-11-23 14:14

I have the H100 & a 3770k. My temps were slightly higher vs. your baseline running prime 95 with my Mobo's default turbo mode hitting 4.1 ghz & the middle fan mode running. I would guess the middle fan mode is balanced. I did hear some fans speed up but I didn't investigate which fans sped up so I don't know if it was the radiator fans or not. Apparently I bought this right before the H100i was released. Is the major difference between the H100 & H100i a smarter fan controller & how the fans are manually adjusted?

I think the biggest difference is the tubing. The new tubing is more flexible.

#4461354

SLI-756

2012-11-23 14:28

Throw a couple of noctua f 12s on this coupled with some of the best TIM money can buy and you'd see up to a -5C load temp difference i'd imagine, or around -3 when highly OCed.

#4461355

Mraz

2012-11-23 14:28

Will there be a h80i review, cuz I'm really wondering would it be worth upgrading from H80 to H80i?

#4461375

cowie

2012-11-23 14:41

I hope they fixed the h100i so the block top/cover does not fall off, it breaks the plastic sides off so easy on the h100.

#4461534

hallryu

2012-11-23 18:35

Not had time to read the whole thing yet, how does it compare to the old H100?

#4461554

Taint3dBulge

2012-11-23 19:04

Wow great review.. Im going to be getting a new water cooler soon, but not sure if I want this, or the Thermaltake CLW0217 Water 2.0 Extreme... Is there ever going to be a review on the Thermaltake? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106190

#4461712

TheSarge

2012-11-23 23:30

Too bad it's not a quad fan (push-pull) configuration. That would make it a must-have for me.

#4461719

hallryu

2012-11-23 23:34

Too bad it's not a quad fan (push-pull) configuration. That would make it a must-have for me.

Just put two more fans on it. That's what I did with the H100. :thumbup:

#4461780

buddybd

2012-11-24 00:55

Good review. Noticed a small grammatical error here: "After installing free to download LINK software you may monitoring efficiency, temperatures, control the fan RPM a large range of variables really."

#4462807

Athlonite

2012-11-25 15:00

this little bit in the review made me ROFL lots :funny: "We now see Core i7 3770K @ 4600 GHz with 1.3 volts" :3eyes: Really that would have to be the all time world record for the next twenty or so years wouldn't it I mean when is the last time you saw a CPU doing 4.6THz (yes that's TeraHertz) it just make the mind boggle at what you get upto during a review Hilbert it truly does 😉

#4462809

Athlonite

2012-11-25 15:04

oh and Nice review but I'm with Dazz can we see some results for AMD CPU's please either of the 81xx/83xx CPU's will do

#4462854

sykozis

2012-11-25 16:30

I wonder weather using the 3770K is the best choice, as it is well documented that the heat problems are because of poor heat transfer from the silicon die to the IHS. Therefore any cooler will yield less than optimal results, because its not at fault for the poor temps...

Yes, 3770K is the best option in this case. Heat will move more quickly to a cooler surface so, if it can keep the temperature of a 3770K under control, it will be as or more effective on other processors that don't have the same thermal issues.