CORSAIR Hydro Series H100i Extreme Performance Water/Liquid CPU Cooler. 240mm

Pros: -This product is one of the top rated CPU coolers on the market – it cut my CPU temps in half

-Liquid cooled setup with minimal installation problems – see cons

-Software (Corsair Link) has a graphical display where you can control LEDs, arrange different computer components, such as GPUs, CPUs, HDs, and fans around a case and read their temperatures in real time. Software also has a widget that can be displayed on the Windows desktop.

Cons: -The ‘one size fits all’ mounting brackets became a bit of a nightmare for me during installation. I adjusted the screw threadings in the mounting bracket to fit the back of my ATX motherboard. However, when I used the provided screw-adapters to tighten the mounting bracket to the motherboard, I noticed there was about 1-2mm of ‘wiggle-room’ between the bracket and the motherboard. This meant that the CPU and water block would also have about 1-2mm of wiggle room which was completely unacceptable because the water block would effectively not be touching the CPU. After searching online, I found that people had a similar problem and remedied it by using washers or o-rings to fill the wiggle room between the motherboard and the mounting bracket. I ended up using 2 rubber o-rings (from a previous keyboard mod) per each of the 4 mounting holes (8 o-rings total) to create a tight seal between the mounting bracket, motherboard, and screw-adapters.

-Several days after I ordered this product, Newegg updated this product's page to show that the H100i GTX is a newer, improved, version. I guess I didn't do my due diligence in research :(

Overall Review: -The motherboard that I installed this CPU cooler on is an ASUS Z77 Sabertooth, the case is a Corsair 650D, and the memory is Corsair Vengeance 2x 8 GB

-My rig has an i7-3770k which was idling ~60-70C with the stock Intel cooler. It reached temperatures of over 90C running benchmarking utilities such as prime95. The temperatures above 80C made me seek out an after-market cooler. I didn’t like the idea of a 2-3 lbs. air cooler hanging off the motherboard PCB, so I went with a water cooler with a radiator.

-After installing the H100i, the i7-3770k idles at ~30-50C and reaches a maximum temperature of ~65C during benchmarks.

-I used the thermal paste that came with this product

Pros: Cools decently when it worked. (i7 4770K @ 4.5 idle at 28C load at 74C ambient room temp is 29.)
Has an LED on the Pump/CPU Block.
Nice tubing.
Didn't leak.

Cons: PITA to install and mount.
Pump failure within 3 weeks of ownership.
Link Software is worthless.

Overall Review: So disappointing. I've owned and used the H50, H70, H80 and now this... and this is by far the biggest let down ever.