Corsair Hydro Series H70 CPU Water Cooling Kit Review

Installing the H70

Corsair provides all that is needed to mount the H70 up to all the Intel LGA sockets and the AMD AM2/3 sockets.

The Hydro Series H70 also has new retention brackets from that of the Hydro Series H50 we tested last year. The top bracket is metal not plastic; the lower plate is still plastic. This time there is a universal mount for all the Intel LGA sockets and a separate mount for the AMD camp. With the H50 there was a different mount for each socket and LGA1156 was not in the mix.

The rest of the mounting gear consists of plastic adaptors for the top plates, barrel nuts, and sticky backed pads.

In each of the top rings there are slots; in these slots different adaptors are put in depending on the socket you have. The single hole adaptor is for the AMD and Intel LGA775 sockets. The double hole is for the Intel LGA1156 and 1366 sockets. These just snap into the slots in the top ring.

The barrel nuts go in the backing plate. They sit in pockets and with the flats on them you don’t need any wrenches.

With the retention plates in place and loosely attached then you can put the board back in the case. Then install the pump/cold plate on the processor, then the radiator and fans on the back of the case. Sounds harder than it really is, and if you have a smallish case get a buddy to hold the radiator for you while you put the pump/cold plate in place. It can be done, but it is easier with a third hand to keep it from sliding into something that it shouldn’t or scratching up the side of your case.

Here we have the H70 installed into the system. Now, before you fire up the email to tell me I have the fans installed backwards, it is true, I do. Yes, Corsair says for best performance install the fans as intake rather than exhaust (like I have it). I did it this way for two reasons: one, force of habit. The second reason is I will be testing it both ways.

The wires for the fans and pump are more than long enough to get to where they needed to go for my motherboard. Actually, with the inline fan speed reducers the Y splitter the cable is a little long but was easily tucked out of the way. Same for the pump power wire. The hoses were just right — no kinking or twisting — for a nice flow.

Looking straight into the side of the radiator you can get a real feel for the space the H70 takes up. For both fans the distance off the back of the case is 3.8 inches.