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

alright its all hooked up and my system boots fine although, my temps didn't seem to change from my air set up. here is an example;

with the H100 on idle it hovers around 31-34 degrees Celsius but when i run prime95 it jumps up to 57-60 degrees Celsius. did i do something wrong? also my bios fan settings are;
CPU Q-FAN CONTROL ENABLED
CPU FAN PROFILE TURBO

CHASSIS Q-FAN CONTROL ENABLED
CHASSIS FAN PROFILE TURBO

on the Haf 922 there is one main intake fan at front, i have a side intake fan for the motherboard, and i have one exhaust fan in the rear of the case, the fans on the radiator are setup to exhaust out. i have to be doing something wrong. the fan controller works fine each time i press the buttons to change the settings. i have the fan controller connected to the 3-pin cpu-fan connector and i have the pump connected to a white molex 4-pin connecter.

temps.jpg
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Try having the rear exhaust being an intake instead to blow fresh air into the radiator. That is how I have my system set up right now.
 
thanks! i am experimenting with both this week. i'm gonna see how the rear exhaust fan works as an intake so i have 3 intakes total with the 2 push fans on the radiator.

also some clarification and an apology; as it turns out the 920 i7 apparently run hot, however, i am actually doing 15% better than most and even the advertised cooling that Corsair suggests i should be at. the 920 i7 clocked at 3.8GHz is suppose to be running at 66 degrees Celsius under load and i have yet to reach 55 degrees after 1 hour with prime95.

i can attribute the temps to fan setup i have now. it didn't occur to me that the reason i am reading about temps in the low 20's and upper 40's is that those people are actually running a push pull configuration as oppose to the standard two fan push setup. :D so i'm doing really well according to my temps. i don't know if i can run a push/pull setup because i'm pretty sure i don't have enough room however, i will experiment with a 200mm fan on top of my case sometime this week and see how it handles as a pull fan on top of the two 120mm that come with the radiator.

also the temps i am seeing are under the lowest possible setting of the fan controller :cool: which is awesome! because i can't hear a thing and that's what i wanted most. noise reduction. now i'm gonna see if i can get 4GHz, but not until i see if i can't setup a push/pull or if the top mounted 200mm fan doesn't work first.
 
Anyone having pump noise
Check your 12v is actually 12v and not around 12.2v like me
If it is more the pump speed is controlled by voltage.
If it is too high the rpms is to high and it rattles.
I have soldered a diode as suggested in the corsair forum thread
To lower the voltage by 0.5v.
I can report it works and now is completely silent with no
change in temps!
If anyone is experiencing any kind of noise check it out 50p fix!
 
colemanuk said:
Anyone having pump noise
Check your 12v is actually 12v and not around 12.2v like me
If it is more the pump speed is controlled by voltage.
If it is too high the rpms is to high and it rattles.
I have soldered a diode as suggested in the corsair forum thread
To lower the voltage by 0.5v.
I can report it works and now is completely silent with no
change in temps!
If anyone is experiencing any kind of noise check it out 50p fix!
Click to expand...

Holy cow, that sounds like something I really want to try.

I built a system for someone with an H100 and went through three units to get to one that either had good fan pin outs and the second one had horrible grinding that didn't go away after what was considered proper "break in". For payment, the client let me keep the one that had the grinding to RMA as additional payment for services provided. The one I received back has a slight humming/grinding noise that isn't nearly as intrusive but still annoying enough to look into this.

The problem is I haven't used a solder gun in a while :( Also, I don't have a multimeter to confirm the voltages. The pump reports an rpm around 2,110 which is normal from what I have read but if I could get it down to 2,000 or even 1,990 I think the humming may go away or down enough just like you said. I will search for the link but do you have it handy?
 
Kenworth said:
Holy cow, that sounds like something I really want to try.

I built a system for someone with an H100 and went through three units to get to one that either had good fan pin outs and the second one had horrible grinding that didn't go away after what was considered proper "break in". For payment, the client let me keep the one that had the grinding to RMA as additional payment for services provided. The one I received back has a slight humming/grinding noise that isn't nearly as intrusive but still annoying enough to look into this.

The problem is I haven't used a solder gun in a while :( Also, I don't have a multimeter to confirm the voltages. The pump reports an rpm around 2,110 which is normal from what I have read but if I could get it down to 2,000 or even 1,990 I think the humming may go away or down enough just like you said. I will search for the link but do you have it handy?
Click to expand...

Yeah, just like the other guy said, the way easier way is to buy a fan controller and then you just have to turn the knob slowly to tune it to silence. Why Corsair doesn't actually include something simple and cheap like a 5 cent variable resistor knob or some other diode adjustment is beyond me. They would have saved a lot of RMAs.
 
Spare-Flair said:
Yeah, just like the other guy said, the way easier way is to buy a fan controller and then you just have to turn the knob slowly to tune it to silence. Why Corsair doesn't actually include something simple and cheap like a 5 cent variable resistor knob or some other diode adjustment is beyond me. They would have saved a lot of RMAs.
Click to expand...

Is there any point in rmaing these things? I thought the pump noise was widespread and well known to be corrected only by tweaking the voltage are there units out there that operate silent and full rpm?
 
Is it even worth it to pick this up? All I have been hearing are issues after issues.

For myself I will be mildly overclocking and now I'm seriously considering the 212 EVO over this. Not that there is anything wrong with it just that I would prefer a reliable, maintenance free, ready to go and work correctly water cooler :p
 
Mine works just fine. Ive always ran it in push/pull and works excellent. No pump noise or anthing so far. Dont run my computer 24/7 though either. Not sure if four fans hooked up to the h100 controller decreases the pump voltage and cause less noise. Ive been very please with mine though. The 212 EVO is a better value by all means though.
 
Quick question: Does the water ever need to be replaced, or does it go bad in any way?

I have a Coolermaster Aquagate currently, and its been good to me. Had it for around 4 years. Changed the fluid once a few months ago. Not that the performance was bad, but I just figured I'd be pro-active and not wait for my CPU to burn. But the whole process was a serious PITA. Don't want to have to do that again.
 
The H100 is a sealed system, so there's no way to change out the fluid and no need to.
 
Is using the stock thermal paste decent enough, or is it better to use something else? Not sure for how long old paste is good for, I think the only stuff I have that's under 2 years old is some IC Diamond I got for free.

NM - ended up just going with the stock stuff.
 
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Can anyone confirm if the H100 will fit in the Silverstone TJ-07? I've tried searching all over but could not find any confirmation. Thanks.
 
I've been wanting one of these for a while. I haven't seen this review before, now I really want to go buy one.
 
colemanuk said:
Anyone having pump noise
Check your 12v is actually 12v and not around 12.2v like me
If it is more the pump speed is controlled by voltage.
If it is too high the rpms is to high and it rattles.
I have soldered a diode as suggested in the corsair forum thread
To lower the voltage by 0.5v.
I can report it works and now is completely silent with no
change in temps!
If anyone is experiencing any kind of noise check it out 50p fix!
Click to expand...

what diode did you use? different people are using different diodes. i run mine with the 2 stock fans and it runs at 2163-2246 rpms.

1N5817-18
1N4001-7
 
I had an issue where the 4th screw won't aligned with the rad, both fans experienced this problem. Corsair was nice enough to RMA this unit for me.

Update: This issue has been resolved. Corsair RMA'd me a new unit and was able to mount on top of my 600T SE with no issues.
 
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Hey guys i have been following this thread since page 7 and i want to add some input on using 2x COUGAR CF-V12HPB instead of the stock corsair fans. The Cougar fans are quieter at max speed when compared to the stock noisy corsair fans. The big con that i have been reading everywhere is the whining mechanical sound the cougar fans make when mounted horizontal. I have been using these fans for 2 weeks and they have great so far and I have not noticed or hear a mechanical grinding noise coming from them.
 
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I keep wanting to use the H100, but no cases seem to like it. I'd like a 140mm version of the H80 alot more, tons of Lian Li cases use that size, even for the exhaust ports. Heck, how bout a 2x140. The P80N says hello. So does the X2000F (mounted in front).
.
 
Hi, I have never seen the NH-D14 directly compared with the H100. Has anyone ever tested these two against one another? Does anyone know which one and by how many degrees difference you would expect it to win out?
 
interesting how subjective this thing seems to be. took my i7 920 c0 in a 500r to 4ghz. i love it. seem super quiet to me on high. of course i have a 7970 in there at the moment. :) 500r+h100=oc'er bliss.
 
Melded H100 (CPU) and Kuhler 620 (GPU) together with some spare parts for my wife's computer - she's interested in Portal 2 and Minecraft (!!)

Antec 300 case, Yate Loon SL fans, Scythe fan controller. E6600, HD5850, Asus P5K, 4GB RAM. Leak tested yesterday/today, going to do some cable management and install Windows tonight.

TkkNk.jpg
 
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Well, I've been WC'ing for years......latest setup was with a Thermochill 120.3 rad, dual DDC2 pumps, a Koolance 370 cpu block, GT 1800 fans. But I moved my setup into a mATX case, a PC Labs QMicra V2, and had just no room to reassemble the above pieces inside.

So, I bought one of the H100 setups and have been rather impressed. The pump's quiet (who can hear anything over the fan on a reference 7970?) I replaced the Corsair fans with two Gentle Typhoons and have them running off a fan controller which works very well.

I'm quite satisfied with the setup, just wish Corsair had gone with a copper/brass radiator instead of the aluminum one they chose to run with.....would've made the anti-corrosion fluid unnecessary that's used.

Outside that, no problems at all. And it keeps my OC'd 2600k (4.6GHz on 1.3V) under 60C while gaming, the most stressful thing the computer does.


Now, if I could only find a way to get rid of a pair of DDC2 pumps w/XSPC top, a Thermochill 120.3 rad (original version), a Swiftech Apogee HD block and Koolance 370 block. :)
 
NeoDiNardo said:
I keep wanting to use the H100, but no cases seem to like it. I'd like a 140mm version of the H80 alot more, tons of Lian Li cases use that size, even for the exhaust ports. Heck, how bout a 2x140. The P80N says hello. So does the X2000F (mounted in front).
.
Click to expand...

Lots of newer cases support the H100 just fine. You can fit two very easy in the Switch 810 and Cooler Master Cosmos II cases. Both are highly adjustable and will work with just about any number of water cooling systems you want.
 
chronicfx said:
Hi, I have never seen the NH-D14 directly compared with the H100. Has anyone ever tested these two against one another? Does anyone know which one and by how many degrees difference you would expect it to win out?
Click to expand...

A little late but there are a few comparisons out there that include the D14 and H100. The new Phanteks is the tallest hawg at the trough right now but that thing is freaking huge and swallows up half the space in your case. The H100 is right behind it in 2nd place usually by only 1-2 degrees and the D14 comes in 3rd by a few more C.

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/thermaltake_frio_advanced_extreme/4.htm
 
Tried this CPU cooler a few days about and it ran 5-7 degrees cooler than my last model, the H60.
 
I feel like my Noctua NH-D14 has the same performance or outperforms the H100 even though the fans are ugly.

But then again, the Corsair h100 has a much sleeker look.
 
Well according to that Overclocker's Club review I linked, the D14 does win at loaded stock speeds. But when overclocked, the H100 barely pulls ahead.

Im trying to get 8150 as high as I can and Ive reached my Hyper 212's limit at 4.35. I was going to go with the D14 but those extra 2 degrees would be HUGE!
 
Been noticing my temps creeping up ever so slightly. Still barely popping up over 50, not overclocked. Is this normal? Summer heat? Or should I look to re-apply thermal paste (what's everyone using now?) or perhaps I should adjust the fans? Right now, the radiator is on the roof of the case pulling in from the outside and blowing out the back...
 
Nasty_Savage said:
Been noticing my temps creeping up ever so slightly. Still barely popping up over 50, not overclocked. Is this normal? Summer heat? Or should I look to re-apply thermal paste (what's everyone using now?) or perhaps I should adjust the fans? Right now, the radiator is on the roof of the case pulling in from the outside and blowing out the back...
Click to expand...

Could be summer heat, is your ambient higher? What paste are you using? You might also want to consider switching to exhaust and compensating with an additional intake since heat rises. Also, what fans are you using?

To answer your question, I use MX-4.
 
Is it worth getting the H100 cooler? My H50 see,s to be defective and thinking about upgrading
 
This H100 is the perfect compliment to the ANTEC P280. I have this combo and it's amazing.

Quiet, OC my 3770k to 4.5GHz and it sits at high 60s low 70s under prime for hours on end. Amazing stuff really.
 
At 4.7GHz temps rises into the 80s, but that's only cause I have to give it an extra bit more Vcore to keep it stable.

I run it daily at 4.5 and it stays nice and cool.
 
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