Corsair H80 Self-Contained Liquid CPU Cooler Review

Rob Williams · 08-24-2011, 01:23 AM

We mentioned in a recent chassis article that having the best of both worlds where cooling and noise is concerned is difficult, but as Corsair's H80 proves, the same can't be said about CPU coolers. In fact, for both those aforementioned reasons, the H80 might have just become the best CPU cooler we've ever tested.

Check out Ryan's in-depth look at Corsair's H80 CPU cooler and then discuss it here!

Doomsday · 08-24-2011, 11:07 AM

If this becomes available here, I am sooooooooo gonna get it!!!! Awesome!!

Rob Williams · 08-24-2011, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doomsday

If this becomes available here, I am sooooooooo gonna get it!!!! Awesome!!

No kidding! I don't regret getting the H60 per se when I upgraded this build, but after seeing the performance of this beast, and realizing I have a six-core... what was I thinking? Should have waited

Kayden · 08-24-2011, 01:40 PM

Those are some fantastic temps. I have no prob recommending that sucker to anyone who want something with WC efficiency but doesn't want to go all out. Now, if my MCEPC had a 120mm fan outlet I would consider it, but since I don't not something I can contemplate unfortunately.

I will say this my rig will keep my CPU at 28c @20c ambient. At load I will hit around 38 to 43c depending on what I am doing. Of course my cost is much higher and not many want to go the route I did.

TheCrimsonStar · 08-24-2011, 03:24 PM

Wow...that's amazing. Might look into that after I get another car. lol

Optix · 08-24-2011, 04:53 PM

Like I said, my reaction was a four letter word when I came back and checked the maximum temperature. I figured it would be more in line with the gradual improvement that is found when starting at the H50 and going up to the H70.

We haven't been able to get an Antec sample in yet but I'd love to get them, if not for a review but just for some comparison numbers considering CoolIT and Asetek have been in the all in one cooling game longer than anybody else.

Thermaltake has launched their own all in one liquid cooler as well and there was one shown at CES in January from Cooler Master. I'd be over the moon happy to see the one from Cooler Master because I don't know if it's designed in conjunction with any of the aforementioned companies.

If it's designed in house, it will give us a chance to see another competitor.

Doomsday · 08-24-2011, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Williams

No kidding! I don't regret getting the H60 per se when I upgraded this build, but after seeing the performance of this beast, and realizing I have a six-core... what was I thinking? Should have waited

This is something all PC hardware loving dudes suffer from!

08-25-2011, 10:05 AM

How are you going to test an enthusiast cooler on a mainstream processor?

Test this $90 cooler on a 2500k or 2600k if you're going to test it at all. Of course it's going to be quiet... the stock cooler will be pretty quiet too with an i5-2400.

Optix · 08-26-2011, 07:22 AM

I was wondering when someone would call us on that, and you're right, the H80 would be louder when cooling a chip at 4.8Ghz pushing 1.3v+ through it instead of a mainstream model at 3.8Ghz with 1.25v.

Fan noise is only one part of the equation though. What's the primary function of a cooler? To cool. Do we see noticeable differences between coolers even when running a rather tame test system? Yes, and more so with the H80 than any other cooler so I believe that our setup is sufficient.

What I would like to remind you is that even with the fans on the lowest setting the chip topped out at 43 degrees while overclocked and put under full load. This is better than what a stock cooler could even hope to do. I feel confident that even if the H80 was slapped on a K-series chip that is put under more stress, the fans likely wouldn't spin up to 100% simply based on the cooling ability of the cooler overall. This thing is is just flat-out designed well.

If you're pushing 1.4-1.5v through the chip, sure, the fans will ramp up a bit but if you're doing that you should probably be looking at a custom loop.

Rob Williams · 08-29-2011, 01:34 PM

When we created this test suite, we had to work with what we had. In a future iteration, should we start over from scratch, we'll be sure to have a hotter CPU in there to cool. I am still confident in our results, however, as Optix mentions, there is still good scaling going on. If all CPU coolers seemed to peak out the temperatures all the same, it'd be a problem. But as it stands, we are still seeing improvements with better coolers.

08-24-2011, 01:23 AM	#1
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,231	Corsair H80 Self-Contained Liquid CPU Cooler Review We mentioned in a recent chassis article that having the best of both worlds where cooling and noise is concerned is difficult, but as Corsair's H80 proves, the same can't be said about CPU coolers. In fact, for both those aforementioned reasons, the H80 might have just become the best CPU cooler we've ever tested. Check out Ryan's in-depth look at Corsair's H80 CPU cooler and then discuss it here! __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.

08-24-2011, 11:07 AM	#2
Doomsday Tech Junkie Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: KHI, PAK Posts: 1,539	If this becomes available here, I am sooooooooo gonna get it!!!! Awesome!! __________________ PSU: Corsair AX850 - Case: Cooler Master HAF X - CPU:Core i7-2600k - Cooler: Cooler Master V6 GT - Motherboard: Asus Z68 Maximus IV Extreme Z - Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8 GB-1600Mhz - GPU: AMD MSI R6970 Lightning - HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB, Seagate 2TB Barracuda Green - SSD: Intel 520 Series 120GB - K/B: Razer Lycosa Mirror - Mouse: Logitech G700 - MouseMat: Steel Series 4HD - LCD: Samsung 2333SW 23" - Speakers: Creative Inspire M4500 4.1 - Headset: Logitech G35 7.1 "Do not look at a man's prayers nor his fasts, rather, measure him by how well he deals with others, the compassion he shows his fellow man, his wisdom and his integrity" - Umar Ibn Al-Khattab

08-24-2011, 01:40 PM	#4
Kayden Techgage Staff Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: CA Posts: 709	Those are some fantastic temps. I have no prob recommending that sucker to anyone who want something with WC efficiency but doesn't want to go all out. Now, if my MCEPC had a 120mm fan outlet I would consider it, but since I don't not something I can contemplate unfortunately. I will say this my rig will keep my CPU at 28c @20c ambient. At load I will hit around 38 to 43c depending on what I am doing. Of course my cost is much higher and not many want to go the route I did. __________________ Koolance PC4-1036BK Liquid Cooled Aluminum Full Tower Case (Upgraded to displace 1320watt of heat) - Koolance 360 ver 1.2 CPU Water Block - PrimoChill ICE Non-Conductive Fluid - Asus P6X58D Premium - Intel I7 950 - Evga GTX580 FTW Hydro Copper 2 x2 in SLI - Tt SMART M1200W PSU - Mushkin Enhanced Radioactive 12GB 1600 XMP - Klipsch 5.1 THX Cert Speakers - Sata II OCZ Vertex 4 128GB, Kingston 120GB SV300, WD 2TB, 320GB & 1TB - Cyborg RAT 7 MMO Mouse - Logitech G19 - Logitech G13 Gameboard - 1-over-3 Viewsonic's VA2448M-LED 24-Inch for Nvidia Surround - Ergotech Triple Horizontal LCD Monitor Arm Desk Stand

08-24-2011, 03:24 PM	#5
TheCrimsonStar Tech Monkey Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Strawberry Plains, TN Posts: 816	Wow...that's amazing. Might look into that after I get another car. lol __________________ Intel Core i5-2500k @ 3.3GHz ASUS Sabertooth P67 Corsair XMS 1600 8GB (2 x 4GB) XFX Radeon HD 6970 Corsair CMPSU-850TX 850W Corsair H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler Windows 7 Professional (x64)

08-25-2011, 10:05 AM	#8
Unregistered Guest Poster Posts: n/a	Uhhhh How are you going to test an enthusiast cooler on a mainstream processor? Test this $90 cooler on a 2500k or 2600k if you're going to test it at all. Of course it's going to be quiet... the stock cooler will be pretty quiet too with an i5-2400.

08-29-2011, 01:34 PM	#10
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,231	When we created this test suite, we had to work with what we had. In a future iteration, should we start over from scratch, we'll be sure to have a hotter CPU in there to cool. I am still confident in our results, however, as Optix mentions, there is still good scaling going on. If all CPU coolers seemed to peak out the temperatures all the same, it'd be a problem. But as it stands, we are still seeing improvements with better coolers. __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.

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