CORSAIR Hydro H40 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

Pros: After reading everyones instruction problems I couldnt believe anyone could have a problem with installation.I owned 3 and installation was clear and easy for both Intel and AMD.The insrction go step by step very easy just look at it close and pay attention and quit trying to blame Corsair for you not reading and paying attention to detail.Ive ran one for over 4yrs and its still going strong.

Cons: There is no CONS unless you count not reading instructions,thinking it will install itself.

Other Thoughts: I realy couldnt believe Corsair customer support would say there is a problem with instructions because its very plain and simple.

Pros: Keeps my cpu at 15 celcius at idle and under 30 at full load on a FX 6100. Awesome works amazing

Cons: Had to take motherboard off of the chassis to put the backplate on and took about an hour to install

Pros: Price. The price is excellent for a water cooled unit. It was fairly easy to install and ran quiet with the exception of the corsair AF fan.

Cons: Where do I start? I've had corsair products for years and never had one quite like this. The cooler ran my CPU HOTTER than the stock one. This kit is built for intel because I was extremely confused with the instructions with my ASUS AMD board and CPU. Corsair quality that I usually expect failed to have any sort of presence in this cooler. I'm sorry Corsair. I have given good reviews of Vengeance ram and cases but I just can't give this cooler a good rating.

Other Thoughts: Overall, I would still give Corsair a chance on their other coolers. h70, h80, h60, and even h100. This one though, should be skipped for now.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear IceClone.tk,

We're sorry for the confusion, but the H40 will fit with modern AMD and Intel sockets. Since you're having issues with the cooling unit please contact our Tech Support. We would be more than delighted to assist you.

Thank you,
Corsair Customer Support

External Link(s):

Corsair Tech Support|

Pros: Easy install
-20c from stock temps
compatibility

Cons: Hard tubes not friendly with side window fans.
loud fan
no dust cover included for rad.

Other Thoughts: stock temps around 58C on my Phenom IIX4 quad this cooled 20c off my cpu for about a year and a half, the Quality of this unit seems to fade with age, im now at the point where im wondering when i will have to replace it. as of this year 2012 im at 51c Loads again, i have owned this for about 2-3 years.

Pros: I have a Phenom II 940, which runs pretty hot. Under a SilenX low profile cooler at stock speeds 125W TDP it would reach 61 degrees C in Prime95. With this cooler, and a second fan attached to the radiator, I've overclocked it to 3.6 Ghz and 160W TDP, and it loads out at 52 degrees C in Prime95.

Cons: None, for the price. I remember the H50 being close to this price, with a copper contact plate. I purchased mine from a different site on sale.

Other Thoughts: Pump is a little noisy, but nothing too extreme. I suggest adding a second fan for better performance.

Pros: -Easy to install
-Quiet
-Kept my 3.4 GHz Ivy Bridge processor very cool.
-Looks pretty sweet in a HAF X with a Sabertooth Z77

Cons: It was silent for the first few days, but it started clicking like an aquarium pump as if there were air bubbles in it, and if there are suddenly air bubbles in it then it must be leaking coolant somehow and I'm not going to trust this thing in my new $2200 machine.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear BoJaN,

We're sorry for the noise coming from the pump, feel free to fill out an RMA request on our Support Page and we'll be more than happy to replace the cooler for you.

Thank you,
Corsair Customer Support

External Link(s):

Corsair Customer Support page|

Pros: I purchased this because the Intel cooler that came with the I5-3570 was worthless. Load temps hovered in the 85C range with arctic silver. The H40 lowered load temps to a reasonable 66C. I am on stock clocks and voltage. That may seem a little high to some of you but my case is a tightly packed micro-itx case with a GTX 580. The pump doesn't make any noise (so far) and the included fan is nice and quiet.

Cons: The tubing could be a little bit more flexible.

Other Thoughts: Easy install. Good Directions.

Pros: Quiet fan and was easy to install. I have installed previous liquid cool systems and while it wasn't difficult it wasn't easy either, this was a breeze. You also don't get the same results as a more robust LC system but for programming, photo editing, and video games this system does it job. I don't OC or run heavy algorithmic programs so I can't attest to any heavy pressure but its better then my old heatsink and fan combo for a nice price.

Cons: None so far

Pros: I made a review soon after I received delivery on the Corsair H40 pointing out it's strengths and weaknesses. You should be able to find it below.

-Even cooler than when first installed, to be honest, this was expected, I'm used to waiting a week or so for thermal paste to burn in completely, but the drop was quite dramatic after doing proper burn in sessions. Possibly as much as 10 degrees in both idle and load temps, mind you it's difficult to tell as I've been overclocking like crazy so my temps are out of whack for testing purposes.

-The pump noise I was getting right off the bat was very easily remedied by installing a voltage down step, just plug the cable from the pump into a fan speed controller and decrease it to about 90%, the noise vanishes magically, not sure why. Before you go saying it's 10% less effective remember your radiator cooling amounts to more effective cpu cooling than the flow rate of the water itself.

Cons: -The fan still bites, no quick fix for that, it might move it's advertised 82 cfm but if it does it blows it out in a cone pattern seriously reducing static pressure, I'm currently using it (rubber mounted as to not void my warranty!) as a mass airflow case fan, works great for dropping overall temps a degree or two, some of you might have a problem with the fan "humming", this is due to air turbulance of the air going into the fan, put a thin dust filter infront of it (which should be done regardless) and the noise is reduced dramatically, does reduce airflow a bit though, hence why I say thin dust filter.

And again, I put a 130 CFM fan on the rad this reduced my temps by quite a bit. you can apparently get 220 CFM delta fans, mind you they put out a ridiculous 60+ decibels, but you can work something out.

Other Thoughts: All in all, I'd have to say (especially with the easy quick fix on the pump voltage regulation) it's worth buying if you want to run a hot system but are losing your sanity due to the noise levels of your current fans.

The quick fixes I outlined in my review will not void your warranty, voltage can only damage the components if you try to overvolt it, which I must say would be much harder to do than under volting it as it's already running off the highest voltage setting at stock, and the fan filter... it's a fan filter, if the fan can't handle a filter on it it's not a fan worth using for anything except a paper weight.

Pros: This is a 2 part review, one covering quality the other covering functionality.

Part 1 - Robust design and materials

Part 2 - Despite other peoples reviews this actually is quite effective, I ran OCCT linpack tests comparing my old heat sink, which was not stock but was not top notch either, and the H40. With a small OC with my old HSF I was seeing temps in excess of 64-66 degrees C on my PD820 after a 25 minute burn with 90% of 8GB of memory used, with the H40 it never exceeded 51 degrees C on the same processor and same linpack settings BUT with a slightly >higher< clock (236 FSB vs 233 FSB on the HSF set up.)

Cons: Kay here comes the flip side, theres a few minor beefs in here docked 1 egg for each section.

Part 1 - Pumps making a sound that is suspiciously similar to the sound an aquarium pump makes, if these pumps are okay with small amounts of air in them then this wont affect it... however if they are the type that require complete submersion in fluid it'll be a goner in no time, thank goodness for the RPM sensor so I can watch it die if it does.

Part 2 - The fan that's included is basically a case fan, very low CFM minimal functionality, however in terms of mounting, any old 120mm Fan will do, in my case I had an old Nidec Beta V laying around that pushes 130CFM through it and is PWM capable (thank goodness, it screams at 50ish decibels running full throttle), this seemed to yield much better results, so if you want to try getting cooler temps with this unit try a higher flow rate fan.

Other Thoughts: All in all I would say this is an alright purchase, I'm using this on a mATX motherboard and I'm sure some of you know they have extremely limited area for mounting cpu cooling, this water cooler was definitely a nice alternative and space saver.

If you are mounting on a 775 socket it's good to note the instructions tell you to insert the little plastic inserts into the hold down bracket the wrong way, the holes in those inserts should be towards the center of the bracket, not the outside. If your not sure what I mean then just gently set the inserts in the hold down bracket and do not click them into place (a pain to get back out again) and try to line them up with the metal inserts coming up through your mobo from the back plate, once your sure they will line up properly then click them into place.