Corsair H100 Extreme Perf. Liquid CPU Cooler Review @ [H]

Bah..early word is theres no getting this thing in the Antec 1200. Looks like I'm going with the H80.:rolleyes:
 
As it has the exact same innereds as va 650D, it'll depend entirely on your mobo and its 8pin placement as well as the heatsinks.
 
Haf 932 should be jusdt fine. The corsair cases have less room between the top and mobo tray.
 
I just got a Fractal Arc Midi case. I'll probably be ordering this on newegg very soon!
 
Just got mine Tuesday and installed last night in Thermaltake Level 10GT.
Installation instructions VERY lacking. Only pictures and no explanation of what standoffs to use. There are parts included that the directions completely ignore so I have to assume they are not needed and if they are there is no way to know. A few printed WORDS would have been nice.

Mounting Bracket for Intel on my Asus P67 Sabertooth is loose even with standoffs installed TIGHT. Hard to know if contact is tight as the mounting system uses a standoff and no sort of spring clamp or other tension device.

Temps seem kinda high, 48C at idle in the Asus BIOS. And that was with fans on full bore 12v hooked directly to MB header and not connected to cooling block. Once connected to cooling block, fans run much slower and thus quieter.

For Thermaltake Level 10GT PUSH/PULL is a full go. PLENTY of room.
Now I just need to figure out why my temps are MUCH higher than the H70 it replaced.
 
i really dont know what temps should be tbh

stock phenom II x4 3.2ghz 1.35v im sitting at 32c idle 41-41.5c full load.
 
800D has plenty of room for Push/Pull ( was a little worried for a moment bout the top cable routes but it worked out fine.
 
Zarathustra[H];1037596394 said:
Even if it hadn't worked, you could always get a hack saw :p
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Hahaha, I wouldn't want to do that to the prettiest case I've ever owned... I'm glad it didn't come to that
 
messerchmidt said:
royal PIA with the h100 getting it to properly contact my 920 on x58-ud4p and my temps are still not as good as they could be. need to work on this stupid thing...ugh

mayve its the bottom plate on the mobo under the socket that casuing issues?
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Hmm I have a gigabyte ex58-ud4p and had no trouble installing it. The back plate was from a xigmatec darkknight fan though...it's glued on. Which means I didn't use the corsair backplate.


Riddleofsteel said:
Some discouraging feedback so far. Hopefully no snags with my HAF 932.
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I have a haf 932 and there's PLENTY of room for a push/pull setup. :) That's one of the reasons I didn't order a 650D case to go along with the H100.
 
@ Eizen, thank you. I need to install this thing soon. Debating getting a separate fan controller and different fans.
 
Would it fit in the top fan bay of a NZXT Vulcan? And instead of using those two noisy 120mm fans, use the 200mm case fan?
 
Riddleofsteel said:
@ Eizen, thank you. I need to install this thing soon. Debating getting a separate fan controller and different fans.
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If I may, I recently got this fan controller, and I am very happy with it.

It comes with a PWM wire you can connect to the CPU fan header on the motherboard, and use the BIOS smart fan control to dynamically raise and lower fan speeds depending on CPU temps, but it also has an override, so when you want more (or less) airflow than the smart control is giving you, you just press the override button and control up to 6 fans independently.

It looks pretty sleek too.

I've used some of the other fan controllers with built included thermal probles, and I've never liked them, as th eprobes fall off (and cant be used to accurately measure CPU and GPU temps).
 
Fits in 800D with push/pull, as it should :D Plenty of room.

2011-08-04_20-13-40_918.jpg
 
Zarathustra[H];1037597082 said:
If I may, I recently got this fan controller, and I am very happy with it.

It comes with a PWM wire you can connect to the CPU fan header on the motherboard, and use the BIOS smart fan control to dynamically raise and lower fan speeds depending on CPU temps, but it also has an override, so when you want more (or less) airflow than the smart control is giving you, you just press the override button and control up to 6 fans independently.

It looks pretty sleek too.

I've used some of the other fan controllers with built included thermal probles, and I've never liked them, as th eprobes fall off (and cant be used to accurately measure CPU and GPU temps).
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Oh, I've heard good things about the Rheosmart models. Your good impression of it cements me wanting to order one. Do I need any longer temp sensor cables, or any cable at all? Also, I am thinking of getting two fans for it to use instead of the stock ones. I don't think a push/pull (4 fan) setup will fit in my Haf 932. Thanks again for the help.
 
Would be nice if the review showed what the highest stable CPU overclock was on each heatsink.
 
Riddleofsteel said:
Oh, I've heard good things about the Rheosmart models. Your good impression of it cements me wanting to order one. Do I need any longer temp sensor cables, or any cable at all? Also, I am thinking of getting two fans for it to use instead of the stock ones. I don't think a push/pull (4 fan) setup will fit in my Haf 932. Thanks again for the help.
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Why wouldn't it? The HAF 932 is a full tower case.
It does, I installed it as a push/pull. No pics because I have to RMA my h100.
 
eizen said:
Why wouldn't it? The HAF 932 is a full tower case.
It does, I installed it as a push/pull. No pics because I have to RMA my h100.
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I guess I will start with only two fans for now and switch to four later. Unless its easier to do them all at once. I have a few spare non-genuine Yates to use, but I think they might be loud.
 
I just installed my h100 into a Lian Li Lancool K68. K68 is not made to be hold a double120mm sized rad where the top fans are (the top fans measure 140mm each on the K68, not 120), but you can get it on there with a little effort. Push fits easily into the case, but push/pull gets tight on the motherboard.

I'm liking my temps in push, however. On high setting, small FFT does not go above 67c - a significant improvement from my megahalems, which would run into the 80c temp range on all cores. That was in a push/pull with AP-15s maxed out. It was mounted properly, but maybe a heatpipe got bused over the years, who knows.

Anyway, bottom line: If you're getting temps in the 60s or 70s c on your current setup, the h100 will be more or less a sidegrade. If you want to relieve some space in your case, and you have a compatible area to install the h100, it's a pleasing aesthetic upgrade.
 
pretty sure the fan controller on my H100 broke already, it doesnt light up where the 3 speeds are, and only one fan spins and the other sits there doing nothing lol.....

i have the fans plugged into the cpu and opt cpu headers for now.

poop.
 
Wildace said:
pretty sure the fan controller on my H100 broke already, it doesnt light up where the 3 speeds are, and only one fan spins and the other sits there doing nothing lol.....

i have the fans plugged into the cpu and opt cpu headers for now.

poop.
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Mine broke as well except no fans spin along with the no lights part.
I'm going to send it back for an exchange.
 
I'm loving mine. Although I'm just using stock clocks, it fits way better than my H212+. Lots of space due to my 4x vengeance RAMS with fins getting in the way. On the lowest fan setting, i can barely hear anything and yet it is equivalent if not a little bit better than the H212+ in push/pull.
 
messerchmidt said:
royal PIA with the h100 getting it to properly contact my 920 on x58-ud4p and my temps are still not as good as they could be. need to work on this stupid thing...ugh

mayve its the bottom plate on the mobo under the socket that casuing issues?
Click to expand...

I got my H100 in Friday morning and looked it over pretty well. It will be installed on an X58-UD4P in a 700D case I have had sitting around unused for the last 6+ months.

Like another poster, I am going to try to use my current backplate (from a Mugen II) instead of the Corsair hardware. Scythe figured out how to have high clamp loads without worrying about board warpage, and I think it will be a bit more elegant than the Corsair solution.*

*- I am not an engineer, so I could be wrong.
 
Axon said:
I just installed my h100 into a Lian Li Lancool K68. K68 is not made to be hold a double120mm sized rad where the top fans are (the top fans measure 140mm each on the K68, not 120), but you can get it on there with a little effort. Push fits easily into the case, but push/pull gets tight on the motherboard.

I'm liking my temps in push, however. On high setting, small FFT does not go above 67c - a significant improvement from my megahalems, which would run into the 80c temp range on all cores. That was in a push/pull with AP-15s maxed out. It was mounted properly, but maybe a heatpipe got bused over the years, who knows.

Anyway, bottom line: If you're getting temps in the 60s or 70s c on your current setup, the h100 will be more or less a sidegrade. If you want to relieve some space in your case, and you have a compatible area to install the h100, it's a pleasing aesthetic upgrade.
Click to expand...

thanks a lot. yesterday I went to a local store just to see if the H100 would fit in the Lian Li PC-B25F which has the exact same top as your case. the best I could think of was to screw the fans into the radiator while keeping the top plate between them. can you please post some pictures of how you did it.
 
Thanks for the review, I as well have been waiting forever to see some actual comparison testing.
Well done.
 
firas said:
thanks a lot. yesterday I went to a local store just to see if the H100 would fit in the Lian Li PC-B25F which has the exact same top as your case. the best I could think of was to screw the fans into the radiator while keeping the top plate between them. can you please post some pictures of how you did it.
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Fortunately, it's just as simple as stripping out the 140 mm fans and installing the 120s as you said. It's almost as if you were setting up the rad for push/pull - strip off the plastic top portion of the case and expose the 140mm fans. Yank them out. The 120s will go where the 140mm fans once were. The aluminum frame of the case will be between the corsair fans and the radiator. Line up the rad with the corsair fans AND the case frame (it's quite obvious when you take a look at it), and install the long screws. Don't bother with the washer screws unless you want the case fans underneath the radiator.

That's it. You just have to make sure you line the fans and the radiator up properly with the frame of the case. I'd post some pics, but I'm at my girls place.

Another thing that was odd - I noticed that, when I replaced the plastic shell on top of the fans, the fan noise got significantly worse. Irritating.
 
Axon said:
Fortunately, it's just as simple as stripping out the 140 mm fans and installing the 120s as you said. It's almost as if you were setting up the rad for push/pull - strip off the plastic top portion of the case and expose the 140mm fans. Yank them out. The 120s will go where the 140mm fans once were. The aluminum frame of the case will be between the corsair fans and the radiator. Line up the rad with the corsair fans AND the case frame (it's quite obvious when you take a look at it), and install the long screws. Don't bother with the washer screws unless you want the case fans underneath the radiator.

That's it. You just have to make sure you line the fans and the radiator up properly with the frame of the case. I'd post some pics, but I'm at my girls place.

Another thing that was odd - I noticed that, when I replaced the plastic shell on top of the fans, the fan noise got significantly worse. Irritating.
Click to expand...

great thanks, I thought the 120mm cooler fan holes would be smaller than the holes in the case. a friend is waiting me to build this PC for him and I think I'll make the order very soon. maybe you replaced the plastic shell with something that vibrates?

I'm also planing to order the H100 for my self along with these:
LIAN LI PC-V354B
i7-2600K
ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z
Corsair AX850
Corsair Vengeance (2 x 4GB) 1600 CL8
will keep my GTX 285 & Creative Titanium HD

now I want the motherboard to automatically control the speed of the 4 fans (PWM) because taking off the 8 screws and removing the side panel to reach the speed control button on the CPU block everyday when I start the folding client will be a pain.

after some research I found that my options are:
- the Corsair Link. expensive and too much for my needs.
- 5.25"/3.5" Drive Bay fan controller. won't fit in this case.
- PCI Fan Controller. I don't know if it will be compatible with the Corsair fans but the only one I found is the Sunbeam PL-RS-PCI which support up to 3 non-pwm fans (3-pin).
- PWM splitter cable like this one (motherboard PWM header to 5 PWM fans) or this one but I guess this means that I will not be able to use the cooler stock fans and get another 4 PWM fans.

I didn't find a fan controller like the Corsair link (no need to use a drive bay or PCI slot) that splits the motherboard PWM header to 4 standard 3-pin fans :( any ideas?

edit:
from a Corsair guy:
The tach signal going from the pump to the CPU_FAN header is for the pump only and provides no control over the unit itself. It is not required to plug the H80/100 fans into the pump unit. You can plug them into the MB if you would like to have the MB control the fans or a separate fan controller altogether. The fan headers on the pump of the H80/100 only give control via the built in fan controller or with the addition of the Corsair Link suite which moves control from the pump housing to your desktop.
Click to expand...
I think for now my best option is to connect the 2 Corsair fans to the PCI controller (or find a non-PCI one) and using another 2 low RPM fans without controlling there speed.
 
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I tried out some shin etsu and AS5 to see which would give me better temps

Here are the Shin-Etsu X23-7783D results


Here are the AS5 results



Also note its a fresh application of the AS5 so it hasnt had a chance to burn in yet. ill check the temps again in a few days and see if its improved with the AS5

Ambient temps right now is 80f or 26.6C

PhenomII X4 955BE 4.1GHz 240MHz Bus 2400MHz HT Link
1.4vcore 1.2v FSB/NB
1600mhz DDR3 1.5v

The OPT2 Temp sensor is located between my 2 6870's
The OPT3 Temp sensor is located in the middle of the 4 sticks of DDR3

It looks like the AS5 might be beating out the Shin etsu but just barely seems about a .5-1c difference in favor of the AS5

Application method for both was the same dot method.

Im a little suprised to be honest i expected the shin etsu to perform a little bit better than the AS5.

The Shin Etsu was about 1-2c better than the stock paste that came with the H100
 
What fans are you guys using for push/pull?
I don't think the coolermaster are compatible when plugged into the corsair fan controler.
 
Personally, I think OC3D had a much better review. Things I would have liked to see.
-A review of what popular cases are compatible with the H100 using push and pull or just push or pull.
-A comparison with high end air coolers and normal water cooler kits
-An analysis of different push/pull fan configs

From what I hear, a push stock, pull AP-15 on medium setting is the best performance/noise level, but I guess that's subjective.

In the meantime, I'll wait to see what (probably Antec) WaterChill 2011C can do.
 
caldera said:
-A review of what popular cases are compatible with the H100 using push and pull or just push or pull.
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i think any case that supports it internal with push only can also support it for push/pull.

youll just have to decide if you want the 2 pull fans on the outside of your case or not.

pretty much most standard mid towers can only fit the push setup, and pull fans outside ont he top of the case.

228864_195130967218051_100001634476393_575977_3638746_n.jpg


here is my h100 using push/pull, the pull fans are outside the case. i only had to cut ouy a little spot on the hex pattern so the power cable would fit through.
 
Wildace said:
i think any case that supports it internal with push only can also support it for push/pull.

youll just have to decide if you want the 2 pull fans on the outside of your case or not.

pretty much most standard mid towers can only fit the push setup, and pull fans outside ont he top of the case.

here is my h100 using push/pull, the pull fans are outside the case. i only had to cut ouy a little spot on the hex pattern so the power cable would fit through.
Click to expand...

These midtowers need to have a 240mm rad slot and the room to accommodate them. A lot of them do not. Also, I don't think it's a good idea to have those two fans on top like that with no cover/grill; that's an accident waiting to happen.
 
I'm using Gentle Typhoons as my pull, the stock Corsair's for Push. They're silent on low, barely audible on medium (which is where I have it set).
 
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