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.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
47 Comments
View All Comments
hapkiman - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
I recently used the H80i GT in a new Skylake i7 6700k build and I am very happy with it. Very happy! It is quiet as a mouse and was relatively easy to install. I have a large Corsair Air 540 case, so the size of the unit was not an issue for me. I'll have to say that I am still old school and don't trust that factory TIM they pre-apply. I always remove it with alcohol and apply a pea sized dollop of MX-4 on the CPU die before mounting the water block. I am amazed everyday when I use this rig that it idles so cool. Right now RealTemp shows 14/13/12/15 (C). Absolutely great cooler. One thing you didn't realty talk too much about was the Corsair Link software. This software caused a slew of issues for me, including crashes, lockups/freezes, and a dozen errors in my Event Viewer. I uninstalled and reinstalled the software until I finally got fed up with it and completely uninstalled it and detached the USB cable from the pump. The cooler works great as I already stated, and I can still control the fans in my BIOS so no biggie I guess, but this Corsair Link leaves something to be desired. It's buggy and not worth the headache to have a multi-colored logo on the pump.HollyDOL - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
What was your ambient temperature (give or take) while you measured those temperatures? Because 12-15°C sounds more like a peltier+compressor cooler...hapkiman - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
Ambient in my office is about 21C or around 70F. I know - my best friend didn't believe me either and he came aND SAW.hapkiman - Monday, November 16, 2015 - link
Oops soory cut off answer there. It has to be a combination of this cooler working great, an extremely cool running processor, and my basement office staying cool 24/7. It's about 75F outside right now and my office is still around 20-21C and my idle temps are 15/13/12/13 C. It is AWESOME!HollyDOL - Tuesday, November 17, 2015 - link
I rather suspect there is something wrong with your measurement tool (does CoreTemp64 show same values?), otherwise you are 6-9 degrees below ambient (which shouldn't be possible without forced cooling). Such a temperature difference quite rings water condensation warning bells, depending on humidity and air flow around cpu block.maximumGPU - Tuesday, November 17, 2015 - link
Yeah sorry to burst your bubble but there must be something wrong with the measurement as HollyDol suggested. You cannot have lower temps than ambient with an AIO!Beararam - Tuesday, November 17, 2015 - link
Real temp is drunk. At the risk of being redundant, no AIO is going to get you below ambient. Not possible.hapkiman - Tuesday, November 17, 2015 - link
Ok - so I rechecked with AIDA 64 Sensor Panel and it shows temps a little higher, but still very good. Real good. Still below 20C. The digital thermometer on my wall next to a window reads 20C.17/18/15/16 on Aida 64 Extreme sensor panel.
hapkiman - Tuesday, November 17, 2015 - link
http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k561/hapkiman/...HollyDOL - Wednesday, November 18, 2015 - link
okay, that's officially weird. I'd be tempted to put thermometer on cpu block to get alternate readings. And, if it is still that low, sell that cpu back to Intel for lots of $$$.