Corsair H100i GTX review

Taking AIO Liquid cooling to your GTX performance level

Corsair H100i GTX review

We ensure that you review the innovative Corsair Hydro Series H100i GTX Series Liquid cooler. An all-in-one liquid CPU cooler for cases with 240mm radiator mounts. This updated revision CPU cooler is compatible with Corsair's LINK software. This enables you to program, customize and monitor this all-in-one liquid cooling solution on your processor. Armed with two SP120L PWM fans as well as a nice 240mm radiator the performance must be really good, along with Corsair's LINK integrated, it is possible to monitor temperatures, adjust cooling performance and customize LED lighting completely from your desktop.

You know, on earth of CPU coolers nothing ever stops developing. These days you may pick a hundred different heatpipe based coolers, where many are shaped, formed and priced exactly the same. The better heatpipe based coolers are wonderful though. Next in line are LCS systems (liquid cooling), the basic products are affordable, very easy to install pre-fab liquid cooling kits. We've seen and tested a lot of them as Corsair, Asetek, CoolIT etc all have interesting kits.

The bigger dilemma is cooling performance. The gear behind these kits are perfect yet the performance is usually battling a smaller included 120mm radiator with thin tubing and lacking coolant levels on account of missing reservoirs. To compensate FAN RPM comes up making a good-looking product noisy again. With that in mind Corsair did start to develop a new H series (for Hydro) coolers.

The product we test in specific could be the Corsair H100i GTX, an updated design with new cooling block and regulated control for pump and fans. Next to that what's interesting is the product is based on a 240mm radiator giving it a large amount of cooling expanse. It is a cooler series that is certainly easy around the eyes and has an relatively tool free installation. Next to some really good performance, the Corsair H100i GTX is compatible with Corsair's LINK software. You get together the LCS unit towards a USB port and so the software lets you program, customize and monitor this very easy to install Liquid Cooling solution. And hey inside new RGB concept, the brand at the top of the water-block could be configured with a color of your choice.

So without further ado, let's possess a peek on the Hydro Series Corsair H100i GTX and after that head onwards in the review.

Features

Corsair announced the all-in-one Hydro Series GT and GTX, the company’s most sophisticated liquid CPU cooler, as well as a new Hydro Series HG10 N780 Edition GPU cooling bracket for NVIDIA GeForce 700 Series graphics cards. Actually three products are actually launched recently, here an instant overview.
The Hydro Series H100i GTX liquid CPU cooler pairs two 120mm fans that has a 276x125x30 millimeter radiator to supply CPU cooling inside the most processor-intensive applications or quiet operation if your PC is idle. The H110i GT also incorporates a new generation, high-efficiency cooling block that has a striking facelift with logo inserts on the market and radiator. Integrated Corsair Link support provides monitoring and customization of built-in logo lighting, fan speed, pump speed. As with all Hydro Series CPU coolers, the H100i GTX is very self-contained, requires no maintenance or filling.

1.     276mm x 125mm x 30mm aluminum radiator
2.     Two SP120L 120mm high static pressure fans
3.     Corsair Link support for customization and monitoring
4.     Sleeved wide diameter, low evaporation rubber tubing
5.     Support for Intel LGA 115x, 1366, 2011 and AMD AM2, AM3, FM1, FM2
6.     5-year limited warranty
7.     MSRP: $109.99

The included fans are custom-designed for high static pressure air delivery with minimum turbulence and noise. They’re PWM controlled, so that you can customize the fan speed to get the optimal balance of cooling and noise.


Package contents

1.     Hydro Series H100i GTX Liquid CPU Cooler
2.     Mounting kit for many modern CPU sockets
3.     Two SP120L High Torque 120mm Fans
4.     USB cable for Corsair Link Integration
5.     Fan and radiator mounting screws
6.     Thermal compound (pre-applied)
7.     Quick Start Guide

Compatibility

•     Intel LGA 1150, 1155, 1156, 1366, 2011 and 2011-3
•     AMD sockets FM1, FM2, AM2, and AM3

Technical specifications

1.     Radiator dimensions: 276x125x30
2.     Fan dimensions: 120mm x 25mm
3.     Fan speed: 2100 +/- 10% RPM
4.     Fan airflow: 113 CFM
5.     Fan static pressure: 3.99mm-H2O
6.     Noise level: 43dB(A)

"The user-selectable fan control and Corsair Link Digital compatibility gives performance enthusiasts the energy to customize their cooling performance and manage fan noise by deciding on the amount of cooling they require," concluded you can actually rep. A quick search shows prices of roughly 125 EUR to the H100i GTX here within the Netherlands. But let's check out the product, in depth.

Final words and conclusion

Much much like the H110i GT this H100i GTX is showing more muscle when compared with its predecessor, it can do show excellent performance with regard to cooling - specifically in overclocked conditions. As you have had the capacity to notice in the results, we started by using a new test-platform that's more representative anno 2015. The reality remains which the Core i7 4970K is definitely such a nasty processor to cool down. Regardless we must build is a result of scratch again and more than time more comparative results are going to be added. The new test platform uses the Core i7 4790K and that we test it within a default setup (clocks) and overclocked at 4600 MHz with 1.3 Volts. Now the 1.3 Volts is just not needed for the overclock, 1.2 Volts would have been sufficient as well. However we inject more voltage to discover how the cooler behaves, and that we know with certainty that a great many of you are overclocking your 1.3 Volts. That does however convert it into a tough task for any cooler to manage.

We are actually pleasantly surprised from the Corsair H100i GTX, the cooling performance is basically nice and on par with high-end cooling, cooling capacity is unquestionably impressive with obviously any good proper overclock.

Aestethics & Design

The overall looks are certainly tasteful in terms of I am concerned, a completely black design using the subtle shades of grey allow it to become an appealing product towards the eyes. It is easy to install with all the mounting system, and factory filled up with coolant in the closed loop. The black design is likely to make this kit look nice in any PC. It simply is an excellent alternative to heat-pipe coolers using the added benefits for being fairly quiet whilst offering pleasant looks. No skills are important other than the necessity for ten minutes to set up the kit. Added benefit should you use LINK is perhaps you can change the hue of the Corsair logo embedded in to the cooling block, to the RGB color. We can visualize that with an ASUS ROG themed motherboard you'd change that to red, perhaps orange or green through an accompanying Gigabyte motherboard along with perhaps yellow by having an MSI XPower series motherboard. As subtle as that LED is, it truly does bring a 'finished' feel on your final PC build and color theme.

Pricing

The Corsair H100i GTX will likely be introduced at 119 USD. We expect roughly similar prices inside EU, but that will depend on the VAT with your country along with the USD to EURO differential. I think it's really a fair sum of cash as this cooler offers tremendously. It is silent (if kept at default settings), at the default settings it really offers fabulous cooling performance. The extra bonus is found inside the LINK functionality also as the RGB lighting system. But make no mistake, the performance and features are perfect for a 240mm rad based product as of this price level. Let me also remind you that you could easily spend 200/300 EUR on tubing, radiators, cooling blocks, reservoirs etc.

It's pretty cool ....

I haven't any hesitation recommending you the Hydro series Corsair H100i GTX, it is a darn good performing product with nice looks, thick sleeved tubing plus the comfort of RGB color selection. If we solely zoom in at performance then for the AIO kit this is one of the better performing ones available and in its default configuration it remains as a very silent product. The product is quite user friendly to fit and joined with its apperance and nice performance may buy a product that's spot on money wise. You'll have an abundance of extra ability to overclock. If you are thinking about the temperatures you have often seen at 1.3 Volts, well remaining under 70 Degrees C using a Haswell processor in this class is nice. You will likely n't want 1.3V for 4400~4600 MHz. Overall the cooler manages really well while using tested Core i7 4790K processor we fired off in internet marketing, as well as if you need 1.30 Volts; the idea will offer enough cooling performance and this remains a troublesome task for any cooler. A small additional bonus may be the LED lit Corsair logo which you'll want to color to the RGB preference with all the help of LINK software. LINK itself is something which belongs inside category either hate or love, nothing is in-between. But hey it is an option that lets you monitor and customize your cooling, this is a plus in our books.  The one remark I have to make is always that there is a fair level of wires leading out and in to the cooling block. So design wise there's more cable spaghetti clutter to handle.

Overall one more words might be short, we shall recommend the Corsair H100i GTX with no hesitation. The cooling performance is quite good for a program of this class, combined with all the aesthetics, ease of installation plus the RGB coloring logo with LINK functionality we are able to recommended this puppy for certain.