![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Tuesday , July 26, 2011
- Author:
- Marc Adams
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
Corsair H100 Extreme Perf. Liquid CPU Cooler Review
Corsair comes back to liquid processor cooling with a unit more tuned towards enthusiast needs. Low profile water block and pump unit and a dual length 240mm radiator with two 120mm fans. Let's how well it works when compared to other coolers we already know well.
Conclusion
If you’re never supposed to bring a knife to a gun fight, then Corsair showed up with a tank. The H100 pounded on its competition at every turn. The performance Hydro Series™ H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler offers is simply amazing. If I had to name one fault with the H100 it would have to be its compatibility. I am not referring to CPUs though, but rather with cases. Using four fans offers loads of cooling capacity but it makes the unit so large that it simply won’t fit in some midsized chassis’. Installing the unit is only slightly more involved than most water coolers and it leaves ample space around your CPU socket. Let’s check our final gauge to see if the price is as extreme as the performance.
Price/Performance
The charts below show the cost you will pay for each degree in temperature reduction the heat sink gives you over the stock cooler. The two areas that influence this chart are cost of the heat sink and its performance. An expensive cooler that gives you superior performance will be rated as average here since its cost hurts its rating. Conversely, a poor performing heat sink that costs next to nothing will be rated as average since its performance will hurt its ratings. We ideally look for low cost and high performance. All prices were gathered by doing a very quick search of the web for each cooler and listing it here sans S/H and tax (these can vary widely from region to region).
As an example, if a cooler outperforms the stock cooler by 10C and costs USD $5.00 it would be listed in our chart as $.50. You would pay fifty cents for each degree of better performance over the box cooler.
The Bottom Line
If the H100 has an Achilles’ heel than it’s the price of entry. As the second most expensive unit listed, the H100 would have to perform even better than it already does to bring its price ratio closer to that of the KUHLER 920 or Corsair’s own H70. This is why we include this data. While the unit earns high marks for its performance, its price will no doubt deter many potential customers.
Also, I only listed the H100 in its push configuration due to the fact that this is how the unit is sold. The additional two fans do help to improve performance but whether or not you need to purchase two additional fans will vary from user to user. And of course we do realize that many of you will be setting up push/pull configurations.
With its ease of installation and top tier performance, the Corsair Hydro Series™ H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler earns our Silver Editor' Choice [H] Award.
