As a market started to focus more and more direction AIO (All-in-One) cooling, many Brands are investing in development and the AIO market grows almost every month with new product update. One of those updates came from Corsair AIO liquid cooler series, it’s called H100i GTX.
Corsair is well known for its number of AIO coolers already presented in past and this time they have focused also on the design and overall look. The H100i GTX features new pump cover with USB connection to get access with your Corsair Link-Software. CPU block has the traditional rounded form as well as other Corsair AIO coolers.
Braided tubing is very sturdy and is almost unpossible to kink. This gives it very elegant and unique overall look. The tubing is going staight out of the block and can rotar little bit. Some users may like or prefer this kind of connection as well as we do. On one side of the block cover is USB port for connecting the USB cable to your MB. Thus you can control the fan and pump performance after installing Cirsair Link Software which can be downloaded from Corsair website. The copper contact area is mirror polished as always to get the best performance. The block cover with corsair logo is removable and features RGB LED so you can change any color you like using the Corsair Link software.
There is little play between standoffs and backplate, so do not try to overtighten them. It was little bit harder to mount the CPU block on, because of the sturdy tubing, especially in smaller cases we can see users to struggle.
Radiator features higher fin density to further improve the performance and is well made. The production quality is very solid. The silver plate on the side of the radiator is removable, so you can change is for other colors or paint it if you wish it match your color theme. Two SP120L PWM fans are optimal choice between operation noise and performance, which are pretty silent even at mid-loads.
We were not able to use the Corsair Link Software at a time we got our test sample. But with the last update the software finally worked perfectly.
Package contents
- Hydro Series H100i GTX Liquid CPU Cooler
- Mounting kit for all modern CPU sockets
- Two 120mm High Torque Fans
- Fan and radiator mounting screws
- Thermal compound (pre-applied)
Technical specifications
- Radiator dimensions: 276mm x 125mm x 30mm
- Fan dimensions: 120mm x 120mm x 25mm
- Fan speed: 2435 +/- 10% RPM
Compatibility
- Intel™ LGA 1150, 1155, 1156, 1366, 2011, 2011-3
- AMD™ sockets FM1, FM2, AM2, AM3
Test methodology:
To ensure that the results from one review to another are comparable, the Testing Methodology will be the same throughout all reviews, otherwise we will make a note if somethings changed and keep it separately from other results.
All testing was done on test Bench-table with a room ambient temperature of 22- 23°C and if temperature changes we will add delta T °C to the results.
Warm Up:
Before testing we run 10 minutes of Prime95 followed by 30 minutes of idling. This warm up period was done at stock CPU core frequency. For noise testing we ensure the PSU fan is isolated or using fanless PSU. We mostly do fan noise test over night so we have our room as silent as possible.
We take values at IDLE and full load – where all fans are running at their maximum RPM.
Testing System 1:
Testing System 2:
For testing we used OCCT software and between each test we leave the PC at least 15 minutes to rest so that the temperature went back to the IDLE state. Followed by overclocking with help of Easy Tune Software (for Gigabyte mainboard) or for ASUS mainboard (BIOS CPU Ratio only). Each test lasted for 15 minutes. If the temperature of any CPU core exceeded 85°C the test was automatically turned off and the value of the results we have marked as “failed”. The resulting temperature in the tables are the average temperature of all cores. The results of the tests are influenced by many factors such as: the amount of thermal paste, pressure between the processor and CPU block, humidity, thermal conductivity of thermal paste, etc.. Therefore this results should be considered as indicative only.
For this test we use it’s own thermal paste provided by manufacturer.
Test results System 1:
Conclusion:
There are couple small things, we have to mention, which have caught our attention. There is still little play between the standoffs and the backplate when installed on 1150 socket. We don’t see any point of it. So, do not try to overtighten the standoffs. Second thing is, due to very sturdy tubing there’s a little bit of challenge to install the block on CPU. As you keep holding the block with one hand trying to fix it with screws, which are exceptionally big and heavy, you may end up with searching for screws fallen down even though we’ve used magnetic screwdriver. Plan your final position of the radiator well before you mount it as the tubing doesn’t let you to bend it too much. Also keep in mind, there are fan power cables and USB connection cable if you plan to use Corsair Link software. The USB cable is long enough, so you should not have any issues to connect it to any internal USB port. The fans at maximum RPM produced about 45db(A) of noise (measured distance 30cm), which was pretty noticeable for sensitive ears. We have to admit that under mid-loads and silent mode, these fans are really nicely quiet, without any disturbing buzz. As much as we love the overall design, our sample just did not convince us in performance. But is the rest of it worth the price of €159 the Corsair is asking for it? We recommend for users who plan higher overclocking to try to push the Voltage as low as possible, so you get lower temperatures. During our overclocking we let the system to choose the Voltage itself. Which of course is the reason for higher temperatures. Nevertheless, we can see that Corsair is on its way to bring users something better in future as combination between GTX and maybe GT version.
Special Thanks to Intel and Jeni Kommunikation for supporting us with Intel products for testing.
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