• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Corsair Hydro Series H100i PRO

crazyeyesreaper

Not a Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 25, 2009
Messages
9,752 (1.78/day)
Location
04578
System Name Old reliable
Processor Intel 8700K @ 4.8 GHz
Motherboard MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
Cooling Custom Water
Memory 32 GB Crucial Ballistix 3666 MHz
Video Card(s) MSI GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X
Storage 3x SSDs 2x HDDs
Display(s) Dell U2412M + Samsung TA350
Case Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s) Samson Meteor Mic / Generic 2.1 / KRK KNS 6400 headset
Power Supply Zalman EBT-1000
Mouse Mionix NAOS 7000
Keyboard Mionix
Corsair is expanding their latest Hydro Series lineup with the H100i PRO. Geared towards a quiet operation, this latest revision replaces the ever-popular H100i V2. Packing magnetic levitation fans, RGB LEDs, and a boatload of features, this latest generation looks to go head to head with the best the competition can offer.

Show full review
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
3,187 (0.60/day)
Location
Czech republic
Processor Ryzen 5800X
Motherboard Asus TUF-Gaming B550-Plus
Cooling Noctua NH-U14S
Memory 32GB G.Skill Trident Z Neo F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC
Video Card(s) Sapphire Radeon Rx 580 Nitro+ 8GB
Storage HP EX950 512GB + Samsung 970 PRO 1TB
Display(s) HP Z Display Z24i G2
Case Fractal Design Define R6 Black
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster AE-5
Power Supply Seasonic PRIME Ultra 650W Gold
Mouse Roccat Kone AIMO Remastered
Software Windows 10 x64
Would the performance AND noise improve noticeably if the fans were swapped for something else?
 

crazyeyesreaper

Not a Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 25, 2009
Messages
9,752 (1.78/day)
Location
04578
System Name Old reliable
Processor Intel 8700K @ 4.8 GHz
Motherboard MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
Cooling Custom Water
Memory 32 GB Crucial Ballistix 3666 MHz
Video Card(s) MSI GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X
Storage 3x SSDs 2x HDDs
Display(s) Dell U2412M + Samsung TA350
Case Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s) Samson Meteor Mic / Generic 2.1 / KRK KNS 6400 headset
Power Supply Zalman EBT-1000
Mouse Mionix NAOS 7000
Keyboard Mionix
Not likely the Magnetic Levitation fans are honestly quite good you can read a review on them in the watercooling section. It seems the radiator and cold plate need further optimization that or a mounting system that can exhibit more force.
 
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
3,187 (0.60/day)
Location
Czech republic
Processor Ryzen 5800X
Motherboard Asus TUF-Gaming B550-Plus
Cooling Noctua NH-U14S
Memory 32GB G.Skill Trident Z Neo F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC
Video Card(s) Sapphire Radeon Rx 580 Nitro+ 8GB
Storage HP EX950 512GB + Samsung 970 PRO 1TB
Display(s) HP Z Display Z24i G2
Case Fractal Design Define R6 Black
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster AE-5
Power Supply Seasonic PRIME Ultra 650W Gold
Mouse Roccat Kone AIMO Remastered
Software Windows 10 x64
With only mild overclock, quiet operation can still be achieved though, can't it? OR if you delid.
Actually I'd be interested how it performed on say 2700X.
 

crazyeyesreaper

Not a Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 25, 2009
Messages
9,752 (1.78/day)
Location
04578
System Name Old reliable
Processor Intel 8700K @ 4.8 GHz
Motherboard MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
Cooling Custom Water
Memory 32 GB Crucial Ballistix 3666 MHz
Video Card(s) MSI GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X
Storage 3x SSDs 2x HDDs
Display(s) Dell U2412M + Samsung TA350
Case Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s) Samson Meteor Mic / Generic 2.1 / KRK KNS 6400 headset
Power Supply Zalman EBT-1000
Mouse Mionix NAOS 7000
Keyboard Mionix
As noted in the review with a delid the 8700K is not nearly as hot at which point the Hydro Series will not hit those noise levels. That said typically delidding is limited to enthusiast sector majority of buyers will run the CPU as is. (thus why I test that way) However all units are also tested with maximum cooling performance in mind. As such the majority of AIOs tested offer the same or slightly better performance at lower noise levels. In my charts anything below 40 is for the most part silent (ambient noise is likely louder etc) anything below 45 is quiet enough to be heard but should not prove annoying. Beyond 45 dBA and into the 50 dBA range thats loud enough to be a problem. That said I do use an open test bench. You can likely factor in a 1-2 dBA drop when using a fully enclosed case with no sound dampening material (test and verified with a Phanteks Enthoo Luxe) difference in noise was 1 to 2 dBA vs open bench. Running the CPU stock noise levels do not dramatically increase like they do with the CPU pushed to 4.8 Ghz.

There is also the fact Ryzen CPUs use a soldered IHS (APUs use tim like Intel) meaning better heat transfer and thus more efficient heat removal and lower noise levels to go with that.
 
Joined
Nov 24, 2017
Messages
853 (0.37/day)
Location
Asia
Processor Intel Core i5 4590
Motherboard Gigabyte Z97x Gaming 3
Cooling Intel Stock Cooler
Memory 8GiB(2x4GiB) DDR3-1600 [800MHz]
Video Card(s) XFX RX 560D 4GiB
Storage Transcend SSD370S 128GB; Toshiba DT01ACA100 1TB HDD
Display(s) Samsung S20D300 20" 768p TN
Case Cooler Master MasterBox E501L
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC1150
Power Supply Corsair VS450
Mouse A4Tech N-70FX
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores BaseMark GPU : 250 Point in HD 4600
Corsair need to improve AMD mounting. Old mountaing was better.
 
Joined
May 4, 2012
Messages
412 (0.09/day)
Processor Intel i7 10700K
Motherboard Gigabyte Z490 Aorus Pro AX
Cooling Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4
Memory DDR4 Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200MHZ (2X16GB)
Video Card(s) Palit GTX1080ti Super JetStream 11GB
Storage Trandscend 370s 256GB / WD Caviar Black 2+1TB
Display(s) Acer XB270HU 144hz Gsync
Case Phanteks Eclipse P600S White
Audio Device(s) Sound Blaster ZXR
Power Supply Corsair RM1000X 1000W 80 Plus Gold
Noctua is impressively cool, quiet and cheap. I would probably go with air cooling in my next built.
 
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
3,187 (0.60/day)
Location
Czech republic
Processor Ryzen 5800X
Motherboard Asus TUF-Gaming B550-Plus
Cooling Noctua NH-U14S
Memory 32GB G.Skill Trident Z Neo F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC
Video Card(s) Sapphire Radeon Rx 580 Nitro+ 8GB
Storage HP EX950 512GB + Samsung 970 PRO 1TB
Display(s) HP Z Display Z24i G2
Case Fractal Design Define R6 Black
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster AE-5
Power Supply Seasonic PRIME Ultra 650W Gold
Mouse Roccat Kone AIMO Remastered
Software Windows 10 x64
That's what puzzles me the most. It appears that the AiO coolers are barely better (sometimes not at all) than air ones. How is that possible? I always imagined liquid cooling was lighting years ahead in performance compared to the classic.
 

Chloefile

S.T.A.R.S.
Joined
Dec 16, 2012
Messages
10,877 (2.64/day)
Location
Finland
System Name 4K-gaming
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
Motherboard Gigabyte B550M Aorus Elite
Cooling Custom loop (CPU+GPU, 240 & 120 rads)
Memory 32GB Kingston HyperX Fury @ DDR4-3466
Video Card(s) PowerColor RX 6700 XT Fighter
Storage ~4TB SSD + 6TB HDD
Display(s) Acer 27" 4K120 IPS + Lenovo 32" 4K60 IPS
Case Fractal Design Define Mini C
Audio Device(s) Asus TUF H3 Wireless
Power Supply EVGA Supernova G2 750W
Mouse Logitech MX518 Legendary
Keyboard Roccat Vulcan 121 AIMO
VR HMD Oculus Rift CV1
Software Windows 11 Pro
Benchmark Scores It runs Crysis remastered at 4K
Would the performance AND noise improve noticeably if the fans were swapped for something else?
That would be pretty stupid, since ML fans are great. I have two of those on my 240 rad, and they're just great.
 
Joined
Nov 3, 2013
Messages
2,141 (0.56/day)
Location
Serbia
Processor Ryzen 3600
Motherboard X570 I Aorus Pro
Cooling Deepcool AG400
Memory HyperX Fury 2 x 8GB 3200 CL16
Video Card(s) RX 470 Nitro+ 4GB
Storage SX8200 Pro 512 / NV2 512
Display(s) 24G2U
Case NR200P
Power Supply Ion SFX 650
Mouse G703
Keyboard Keychron V1 (Akko Matcha Green) / Apex m500 (gateron milky yellow)
Software W10
So basically if you don't care for RGB, get the Celsius S24. It's better in every way.
 
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
3,187 (0.60/day)
Location
Czech republic
Processor Ryzen 5800X
Motherboard Asus TUF-Gaming B550-Plus
Cooling Noctua NH-U14S
Memory 32GB G.Skill Trident Z Neo F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC
Video Card(s) Sapphire Radeon Rx 580 Nitro+ 8GB
Storage HP EX950 512GB + Samsung 970 PRO 1TB
Display(s) HP Z Display Z24i G2
Case Fractal Design Define R6 Black
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster AE-5
Power Supply Seasonic PRIME Ultra 650W Gold
Mouse Roccat Kone AIMO Remastered
Software Windows 10 x64
So basically if you don't care for RGB, get the Celsius S24. It's better in every way.
That's not really what that one's review makes you think.
 

Chloefile

S.T.A.R.S.
Joined
Dec 16, 2012
Messages
10,877 (2.64/day)
Location
Finland
System Name 4K-gaming
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
Motherboard Gigabyte B550M Aorus Elite
Cooling Custom loop (CPU+GPU, 240 & 120 rads)
Memory 32GB Kingston HyperX Fury @ DDR4-3466
Video Card(s) PowerColor RX 6700 XT Fighter
Storage ~4TB SSD + 6TB HDD
Display(s) Acer 27" 4K120 IPS + Lenovo 32" 4K60 IPS
Case Fractal Design Define Mini C
Audio Device(s) Asus TUF H3 Wireless
Power Supply EVGA Supernova G2 750W
Mouse Logitech MX518 Legendary
Keyboard Roccat Vulcan 121 AIMO
VR HMD Oculus Rift CV1
Software Windows 11 Pro
Benchmark Scores It runs Crysis remastered at 4K
So basically if you don't care for RGB, get the Celsius S24. It's better in every way.
Expandable AIO with aluminium rad, meh.
 
Joined
Nov 3, 2013
Messages
2,141 (0.56/day)
Location
Serbia
Processor Ryzen 3600
Motherboard X570 I Aorus Pro
Cooling Deepcool AG400
Memory HyperX Fury 2 x 8GB 3200 CL16
Video Card(s) RX 470 Nitro+ 4GB
Storage SX8200 Pro 512 / NV2 512
Display(s) 24G2U
Case NR200P
Power Supply Ion SFX 650
Mouse G703
Keyboard Keychron V1 (Akko Matcha Green) / Apex m500 (gateron milky yellow)
Software W10
That's not really what that one's review makes you think.
I don't really understand what you are getting at. S24 has better temps, runs a lot quieter, is cheaper. Has 9.5 and a "Highly Recommended" reward here on TPU vs this one with 8.5 and no reward. (reviewed by the same guy)

Expandable AIO with aluminium rad, meh.
Both have aluminium rads, what's your point. Expandable or not, out of the box, without any tinkering, it works better than this Corsair.
 
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
3,187 (0.60/day)
Location
Czech republic
Processor Ryzen 5800X
Motherboard Asus TUF-Gaming B550-Plus
Cooling Noctua NH-U14S
Memory 32GB G.Skill Trident Z Neo F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC
Video Card(s) Sapphire Radeon Rx 580 Nitro+ 8GB
Storage HP EX950 512GB + Samsung 970 PRO 1TB
Display(s) HP Z Display Z24i G2
Case Fractal Design Define R6 Black
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster AE-5
Power Supply Seasonic PRIME Ultra 650W Gold
Mouse Roccat Kone AIMO Remastered
Software Windows 10 x64
I don't really understand what you are getting at. S24 has better temps, runs a lot quieter, is cheaper. Has 9.5 and a "Highly Recommended" reward here on TPU vs this one with 8.5 and no reward. (reviewed by the same guy)
First of all, the review scores here are a joke. Virtually everything gets 9,5 or above.They mean absolutely nothing.
Second, this review states the S24 has similar performance. That barely means it's better. When you open that review, the peformance is clearly concluded as falling behind the rest. SO, it's barely better "in every way".
 
Joined
Nov 3, 2013
Messages
2,141 (0.56/day)
Location
Serbia
Processor Ryzen 3600
Motherboard X570 I Aorus Pro
Cooling Deepcool AG400
Memory HyperX Fury 2 x 8GB 3200 CL16
Video Card(s) RX 470 Nitro+ 4GB
Storage SX8200 Pro 512 / NV2 512
Display(s) 24G2U
Case NR200P
Power Supply Ion SFX 650
Mouse G703
Keyboard Keychron V1 (Akko Matcha Green) / Apex m500 (gateron milky yellow)
Software W10
Scores do mean a lot when they come from the same reviewer.
Regardless of the conclusion, and what's said in it, charts are what's relevant. They have no personal opinions, everything is black on white.
And in charts, S24 has lower temps across the board while being much quieter and around $15 cheaper.
It's a superior product, either "barely" or by a lot. I dont care about the rest, I care about comparison with H100.
And btw, S24 written review was done on 6700K, this one on 8700k
But hey, whatever gets you going...
 

Chloefile

S.T.A.R.S.
Joined
Dec 16, 2012
Messages
10,877 (2.64/day)
Location
Finland
System Name 4K-gaming
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
Motherboard Gigabyte B550M Aorus Elite
Cooling Custom loop (CPU+GPU, 240 & 120 rads)
Memory 32GB Kingston HyperX Fury @ DDR4-3466
Video Card(s) PowerColor RX 6700 XT Fighter
Storage ~4TB SSD + 6TB HDD
Display(s) Acer 27" 4K120 IPS + Lenovo 32" 4K60 IPS
Case Fractal Design Define Mini C
Audio Device(s) Asus TUF H3 Wireless
Power Supply EVGA Supernova G2 750W
Mouse Logitech MX518 Legendary
Keyboard Roccat Vulcan 121 AIMO
VR HMD Oculus Rift CV1
Software Windows 11 Pro
Benchmark Scores It runs Crysis remastered at 4K
Both have aluminium rads, what's your point. Expandable or not, out of the box, without any tinkering, it works better than this Corsair.
My point is that why should anyone get an expandable AIO which has an aluminium radiator. You know, copper and aluminium in the same loop, have fun expanding it..
 
Joined
Nov 3, 2013
Messages
2,141 (0.56/day)
Location
Serbia
Processor Ryzen 3600
Motherboard X570 I Aorus Pro
Cooling Deepcool AG400
Memory HyperX Fury 2 x 8GB 3200 CL16
Video Card(s) RX 470 Nitro+ 4GB
Storage SX8200 Pro 512 / NV2 512
Display(s) 24G2U
Case NR200P
Power Supply Ion SFX 650
Mouse G703
Keyboard Keychron V1 (Akko Matcha Green) / Apex m500 (gateron milky yellow)
Software W10
Expandability is there as a gimmick, like all the other manufacturers have done before and after. "We have it", but everyone knows that a handful of people at best are going to do it.
 

crazyeyesreaper

Not a Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 25, 2009
Messages
9,752 (1.78/day)
Location
04578
System Name Old reliable
Processor Intel 8700K @ 4.8 GHz
Motherboard MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
Cooling Custom Water
Memory 32 GB Crucial Ballistix 3666 MHz
Video Card(s) MSI GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X
Storage 3x SSDs 2x HDDs
Display(s) Dell U2412M + Samsung TA350
Case Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s) Samson Meteor Mic / Generic 2.1 / KRK KNS 6400 headset
Power Supply Zalman EBT-1000
Mouse Mionix NAOS 7000
Keyboard Mionix
Expandability is there as a gimmick, like all the other manufacturers have done before and after. "We have it", but everyone knows that a handful of people at best are going to do it.

The Expandability thing is kinda moot from the point of actually expanding the unit. However if said unit is expandable then it is also serviceable meaning the end user can clean it / refill it and generally perform proper care of the unit if they so choose. This results in a longer life with optimal performance.
 
Joined
Mar 18, 2015
Messages
2,960 (0.90/day)
Location
Long Island
I stopped reading at the word "aluminum". Expandability is the only word in the reviews that draws interest.

1. Still mixes aluminum radiator and a copper block violating the 1st rule of water cooling.

2. Nothing indicating that low pump flow problem has been addressed.

3. Low thermal conductivity of aluminum still requires extreme speed fans.

4. Still provides "premium air cooler" like performance at extreme noise levels and costs 33% - 167% more

On the plus side ...

1. You can change the coolant when the corrosion inhibitors reach the end if their useful life in 18 - 24 months. Won't eliminate corrosion but hopefully can keep it from getting this bad....

https://martinsliquidlab.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/corrosion-explored/

Expandability is also modularity which has been a boon allowing those afraid of jumping into water cooling the opportunity to jump in w/o fear and then taking it further when comfort level rises. But here, expanadability just means is ya can dump the cheap aluminum rad and get a copper one.

Since dropping on the scene with the Swiftech H series, they continually have had trouble keeping up with demand. All it is ... is a set of Swiftech's custom loop components, pre-assembled at the factory .... all copper rad and block , 1.0+ gpm pump, great fans, PWM spliiter that handles up to 8 fans. Pop off a tube, add a GPU waterblock and ya good to go.... add a extra rad if ya want.

Look at the H100i here (22:55) ... where the Swiftech tops it by a whopping 9C and the H100i needs to be almost 4.6 times as loud to get that close.

https://martinsliquidlab.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/corrosion-explored/
 
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
3,187 (0.60/day)
Location
Czech republic
Processor Ryzen 5800X
Motherboard Asus TUF-Gaming B550-Plus
Cooling Noctua NH-U14S
Memory 32GB G.Skill Trident Z Neo F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC
Video Card(s) Sapphire Radeon Rx 580 Nitro+ 8GB
Storage HP EX950 512GB + Samsung 970 PRO 1TB
Display(s) HP Z Display Z24i G2
Case Fractal Design Define R6 Black
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster AE-5
Power Supply Seasonic PRIME Ultra 650W Gold
Mouse Roccat Kone AIMO Remastered
Software Windows 10 x64
So what is the perfect cooler then?
And do you think the engineers are stupid, and would design something that breaks in less than two years, meaning everyone would RMA the thing? (which probably isn't happening too)
Look at the H100i here (22:55)
Where?
 
Last edited:
Top