The Corsair H80i GT and H100i GTX AIO Coolers Review
by E. Fylladitakis on November 16, 2015 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Corsair
- Liquid Cooling
- Corsair Link
Testing Results, Maximum Fan Speed (12 Volts)
We'll start off our testing with our fans running at their maximum fan speed and normal operating voltage (12V).
| Core Temperature, Constant Thermal Load (Max Fan Speed) |
The Corsair H100i GTX is having a field day when the fans and the pump are running at their maximum rated speeds. It displayed the best low load performance of every AIO cooler we have ever tested and heavy load performance comparable to that of the best 280 mm radiator coolers available. Meanwhile the average thermal resistance is just 0.0732 °C/W, which is also the best that we have recorded to this date and outpacing even Cooler Master's super loud 280 mm offering, the Nepton 280L. It can be noticed that the performance difference over the H100i is relatively small, but it is distinctive and enough to place the H100i GTX at the top of our performance charts.
On the other hand, the H80i GT did not fare as well as it displayed middling low power thermal performance. The performance slightly improves as the load increases and eventually it outpaces most of the similarly sized coolers. However, it falls significantly behind the 140 mm Nepton 140 XL and all of the 240/280 mm radiator coolers. For having two powerful 120 mm fans, the H80i GT could fare a little better.
The high performance of the H100i GTX has a significant downside however: noise. That noise does not only come from the two very powerful fans, but from the pump as well, which is making a clearly perceptible whining noise while operating at its maximum speed. It is not the loudest AIO cooler that we have ever tested but 48.7 dB(A) are way above what we consider a comfortable limit.
As the H80i GT is using the same fans and pump, the noise figures were expected to be similar. The H80i GT is actually slightly quieter, but the difference is imperceptible to the human ear. Otherwise it's worth noting that despite the use of two fans, the H80i GT actually is not louder than most other high performance 120 mm radiator fans. But the 140 mm models seem capable of significantly greater thermal performance or similar thermal performance at much lower noise levels.
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HollyDOL - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
Great cooling, but it needs to get at least 10dB quieter to be comfortably usable, 48dB is way too much to be comfortable for me. Can't claim I have any idea how to reduce it that much though (except having luck with better pump than the one with whinning noise as mentioned in review).../wishful thinking:
Tbh, house air condition systems imho could already provide bayonet plugs for PC water cooling, let the noise and heat go where it doesn't hurt :-)
GreenMeters - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
An AIO cooler that's too loud, too expensive, too bulky, and under-performs to much cheaper, much quieter, much smaller traditional HSF? Color me shocked. Stupid bling for stupid people.Black Obsidian - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
These AIO coolers only under-perform traditional HSFs that are themselves quite expensive and bulky, so the situation is not quite as black-and-white as you suggest.jabber - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
Still got a H50 in the cupboard. Having switched to non-homebrew PCs recently its been waiting for a new project.ikjadoon - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
I agree with the other commenters: can we see what the overall noise/performance is like compared to very high-end air coolers, like the NH-D15, the NH-U14S, the PH-TC14PE, etc.?MrTeal - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
If you can, it would be very interesting to see how the EK Predator or Swiftech H240x does on your testbench relative to the AOI coolers.thestryker - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
I would love it if AnandTech would get their hands on both of the EK Predator models. I've heard their pump noise is a lot better, not to mention expandable (the 360) and refillable.Pissedoffyouth - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
I'm thinking I might use one of these with one of those Broadwell APU's in a really tiny case. Should be able to overclock the iGPU massivelymaximumGPU - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
And that is why i switched back to air cooling, couldn't stand that pump noise!Eagle1848 - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
I bought the H100i GTX for my last build a couple months ago in a Define R5 Chassis (Has sound dampening). I cannot hear any part of the system outside the case and I can barely hear it if I stick my head inside the case on balanced mode. Performance mode you can of course hear it even outside the case. But then again that also puts it at 100%. And I can pretty much guarantee that with a mid to high end graphics card, you won't be able to hear this over whatever noise the graphics subsystem is putting out. The only part I ever hear is my GTX 970 spinning up.