Corsair Hydro Series H110i GTX 280mm Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

Pros: CORSAIR QUALITY = The “little things” that make the experience rich & enjoyable: -Straightforward/intuitive mounting options with gun-metal/black chrome components, a personal favorite -Powered by SATA plug rather than putting a strain on the header power -Monitored via USB + fan header using Corsair Link software -They went to the effort to give it great styling, even though it may hardly ever be seen -Not only are their fans very quiet & reliable, but they have given them a unique look as part of their overall styling -Corsair's customer service, in the rare times I have had to use it, has been consistent over the 10+ years I have been using their products.

Cons: -Not so much a con as something to consider: This thing is BIG and will require a roomy case that either has specific mounting options or it may require some serious “modding.” I don’t personally see either option as a con, but thought I would mention it… -The Corsair Link software is good, but could benefit from a "status icon" viewing option when running in the system tray, which I could see happening on a future update.

Overall Review: Quoting my Newegg review of the Corsair Graphite 730T case, “I was first introduced to the BFG back in late 90’s when Doom II first hit the scene… I have now been introduced to the BFC” I installed the H100i Cooler into the 730T Case, which should make the title for this review more clear. My original title for this review was “Possible overkill, definite performance” and, although it very much applies, it wasn’t much in the way of a “hook.” I touched on the size element of this cooler in the Cons section, so that should suffice. A cooler this size is made to cool the top-end processors and, if coolers have thoughts, mine probably thought to itself “This job is not worthy of my blade” (fan blades, of course – loosely quoting Goemon from the anime classic Castle of Cagliostro). I say this because it is cooling an AMD FX-6300 moderately overclocked to 4GHz. I ran Prime95 for 5 hours to test stability and the cores never went above 35°. An old audio adage goes something like this… More amplification gives you higher definition at lower volumes. It seems to somewhat apply here, from the aspect of the quality of the experience. Even though it isn’t the best and the fastest processor, it serves its function well, is mission-critical and it is nice to know that my processor “lives in a cool place” all of the time – idling at around 15° and generally staying in the low 20s. I installed the Corsair Link software, which gives you full monitoring of the pump RPM, the 2 fans and the cooler temp, as well as the motherboard-related temps & fan RPMs. It does its job well and my one critique of the software, albeit minor, is in the cons section. Overall, I didn’t believe I could be more of a Corsair fanboy than I already was, but they continue up the bar on impressing me! The dual fans remained quiet during the Prime95 testing, but some of that was because they never breached the middle temp range. I give this H110i cooler 5 eggs for its sheer awesomeness.

Pros: Anyhow, I got this for my main system because I wanted the best and for my budget. It's really easy to install, just make sure you have plenty of room in your case to handle this thing on the inside. It's way better than a heat-sink/fan for cooling and with this, you can easily install 4 memory modules, unlike one of those tower heat-sinks and which can cost as much as this liquid cooler.

Cons: While you can hook it to your internat USB 2.0 port for use of the iLink software, it certainly needs works, the software is a bit glitchy, I used it for a couple of weeks but I wasn't really that happy with it, so I uninstalled it and been using it w/o it, no problems.

Overall Review: Although the pump can make a bit of a humming sound at a times but then is whisper quiet, it's great and better solution than air cooling. The two 140mm fans are very quiet, I got them on silent mode but with the use of the Asus software, then can be a bit loud when the system is at 100% load, as the Asus software control pushed them to a speed of almos 1900rmp when the CPU hits full load, it's a system optimization feature and not because the CPU is getting too hot.

Pros: This worked right out of the box. Installation was simple on my 5820K, easily mounted the radiator in the case, and the pre-applied thermal compound was a nice touch. I'm able to run my 5820K at 4.3 GHz (stock is 3.3 GHz) with almost no fan noise. The adjustable color LED logo is a nice touch - was able to match my black/red theme perfectly.

Cons: The Corsair Link software is complete junk. I had to install it 2 times to get it to work...and it is VERY buggy...for instance: I connected the radiator fans to the cooler block as instructed in the manual. Set the Corsair Link software to "quiet mode". Randomly (and I mean randomly) the fans would spin up to full speed (which is loud). I set them to manual control with Corsair Link, and they would still spin up to full speed at random. I connected the fans to a CPU fan header on my motherboard, and now control their speed with my bios. Nice and quiet...all the time.

Overall Review: I gave this 4 eggs versus 5 as the Corsair Link software is junk. If Corsair had not advertised this as part of a major feature of the product, I would have given 5 eggs. Also - I wish the radiator was copper versus aluminum...the thermal transfer would be much better than the great it already is. But, the copper would cost them more.

Pros: Keeping a stock 4790k at 27-31c idle, doesn't hit 50c after 6 hours of P95 in a closed room. Pump is quiet, which helps since this was for someone who didn't want a loud computer. Setup was quick and easy, took less than 5 mins.

Cons: The fans - Corsair makes SP140's now and this does not come with them. What it DOES come with are, I am left to believe, are fans from a leaf blower modified to fit a 140mm fan body. They move very little air under 35% fan speed, and quickly go from silent to loud climbing 5% at a time until you go full-leaf-blower at 100%.

Overall Review: Built a computer for my cousin, and he wanted this for his CPU. Overkill by no short order because his CPU is stock, but since he's paying for it, I'm not going to argue. The stock fans are horrible and even using them as exhaust fans out of the top of his Corsair 450D, they're annoyingly loud and we'll be making a 2nd order for a few parts, including 3 AF 120 Silent Editions to replace his leaf blowers. Using two Corsair AF120's with the AIO mounted to the front(yes, I know I should us SP's, this wasn't the original idea) but it's working like a charm due to the negative pressure in the case from all the exhaust fans. For the $120 he paid for it, I'm not complaining.

Pros: my h80i couldn't keep up with a 9590 but this one easily does.stress tests 50c with fans on low,35c with fans on high max temps.looks awesome,not that loud when on high.cant hear it on any other setting

Cons: corsair link is iffy

Pros: Keeps my CPU temps low! Got it on sale for $99, which makes it that much better. Quiet fans and as they are 140's, they don't have to spin as hard to move a good amount of air across the radiator.

Cons: None.

Overall Review: Keeps my i7 5930k temps low. Previously using the CoolerMaster hyper 212 Evo, my CPU temps would be 37c idle, and would peak at around 61c while playing BF4. With this Corsair H110i GTX, my temps idle at 26c and peak at 39-41 while playing BF4. I can also say that MGS V never rises above 32c. Overall, it seems to have dropped my CPU temps by an average of 15c. Since my case is set up in a way that the cooler is front mount, blowing into my case, I would imagine you could shave an additional 2c off of the average.. but I have not tested that theory. Well worth the cost of this purchase and I would do it again.

Pros: -Easy to Install with clear directions -Cools like a champ! -Super Quiet -No mess, very very low risk liquid cooling -Thermal paste is pre-applied -Very attractive pump head and braided hoses

Cons: -Some of the wires are too short to hide really well -Thermal past can be easily smudged after pump head is out of packaging

Overall Review: This is a great CPU Cooler! I stress tested an i7-6800K (not OCed) using Intel Extreme Tuning Utility right after I finished the build and the CPU temp never crept over 35C. It also looks great in a windowed case with the braided black hoses and lit pump head aside from a very minor quibble with how hard it is to hide the wires coming off of the pump head because of their length. A first time builder could easily install this unit in a matter of minutes thanks to the design of the mount and the very clear instructions. Others have complained about noise... I have found it to be nearly silent when mounted in a Corsair Graphite Series 760T case. Maybe it is louder in some other cases. IMPORTANT: After removing the pump head from its packaging, pay attention to how you grab it. The thermal paste could easily be smeared by a wandering thumb. It's great to have it pre-applied, just as long as you don't forget it's there.

Pros: Installation is very simple. Aesthetics are excellent. It almost makes me wish I went and got a windowed case.

Cons: The fans are very loud. Compared to other coolers in this price range it's a shame that Corsair couldn't compete with noise. Adding another company's silent fans is an option, but it adds significant cost to an already expensive cooling solution. The instructions are Ikea-like. A few more sentences per step would've gone a long way.

Overall Review: If the backplate seems excessively loose during installation, DON'T WORRY. I made the mistake of wasting an hour watching youtube videos of people's loose backplate solutions only to find out after it was all assembled it's very snug.