Corsair Hydro Series H100 CPU Water Cooling Kit Review

Corsair Hydro Series H100

Corsair began selling the Hydro Series H100 water cooling kit back in July and it quickly became the company’s flagship liquid cooling solution to keep your CPU nice and cool. It also marks the first time that Corsair released a cooling unit that uses a dual 120mm radiator for even better cooling performance. With the use of a 240mm radiator it does limit the number of cases that it can be used in and adds to the cost, but Corsair wanted to bring a kit out for die hard gamers and enthusiasts!

One could make the argument that the Corsair Hydro Series coolers have been at the top of many users’ short list of options for self-contained water cooling kits since the Hydro Series H50 was released back in 2009. The H50 had a thin 120mm radiator, single fan, and a CPU water block with an integrated pump and cold plate. The whole unit was sealed so no maintenance was needed on the users part. In 2010 the H50 got a big brother, the H70; it had a thicker 120mm radiator, new low profile pump/cold plate design, and came with dual 120mm fans. Then in April of this year Corsair released the H60. The H60 was an update to the H50. The H60 had the thin 120mm radiator, single 120mm fan, a new pump/cold plate design, and a new mounting system. In July of this year they released the H80 and H100. The H80 is the update to the H70. The H80 had a thick single 120mm radiator with dual 120mm fans. We looked at the H80 back in July and it topped our charts. Now we get to give the H100 a look and put it through the paces on our test bench.

The Corsair Hydro Series H100 is different from the Hydro series coolers before it because it has a 240mm radiator rather than a 120mm radiator. The H100 features the new pump housing with a speed selector switch for switching between Low Noise, Balanced, and Performance modes like we saw on the H80. It comes with two 120mm fans that are rated at 1300~2600 RPM @ 22~39 dBA and it can support up to four 120mm fans for a push pull configuration. The H100 supports all current Intel LGA sockets, and even the upcoming LGA2011 socket. The H100 also supports AMD AM2 and AM3 sockets.

Like the H80 the H100 is Corsair Link ready. Corsair Link is a modular hardware and software system that allows the end user to monitor and control fans and lighting in the system.

Corsair has also increased the warranty period for the H80 and H100. They now sport a 5 year warranty. The past Hydro Series coolers only had a 2 year warranty.

Features of the Corsair Hydro Series H100

• Pre-filled, closed-loop system is easy to install
• Copper CPU cooling plate for maximum cooling performance
• Integrated pump and reservoir is sealed for zero maintenance and improved leakage protection
• Full 240mm radiator for outstanding heat dissipation
• High-performance twin 120mm fans, and ability to support quad 120mm fans for push/pull airflow.
• Mode selector switch let you customize your fan speed for low noise or high performance.

Specifications of the Corsair Hydro Series H100

• Model: CWCH100
• Radiator

• Dimensions: 122mm x 275mm x 27mm
• Material: Aluminum
• Cold Plate Material: Copper
• Tubing: Low-permeability for near-zero evaporation
• Fan

• Dimensions: 120mm x 120mm x 25mm
• Speeds (+/- 10%): up to 1300 RPM (Low Noise), 2000 RPM (Balanced), and 2500 RPM (High Performance)
• Airflow: 46 – 92 CFM
• Noise: 22 – 39 dBA
• Static pressure: 1.6 – 7.7mm/H20
• Compatibility

• Intel LGA 775, 1155, 1156, 1366, and 2011
• AMD sockets AM2 and AM3
• Warranty: 5 Years