HardwareHeaven.com

HardwareHeaven.com

 fade
Looking for the skin chooser?
 
 

  • Home

  • Hardware reviews

  • Articles

  • News

  • Tools

  • Gaming at HardwareHeaven

  • Forums
 

Go Back   HardwareHeaven.com > Forums > Editorial Discussion > Reviews & Articles Discussion
Reload this Page

Liquid Cooling Roundup January 2013 @ HH

Register FAQ Members List Social Groups Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read


Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old Jan 24, 2013, 09:11 AM   #1
HH Administrator
 
craig5320's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Manchester, UK
Posts: 9,168
Rep Power: 492
craig5320 is godlike in his statuscraig5320 is godlike in his statuscraig5320 is godlike in his statuscraig5320 is godlike in his statuscraig5320 is godlike in his statuscraig5320 is godlike in his statuscraig5320 is godlike in his statuscraig5320 is godlike in his statuscraig5320 is godlike in his statuscraig5320 is godlike in his statuscraig5320 is godlike in his status
System Specs

Liquid Cooling Roundup January 2013 @ HH
Liquid Cooling Roundup January 2013 featuring Corsair H55, CM Seidon 120M and Antec Kuhler 620 v4

"Today we take a look at three entry level liquid cooling solutions. They are the Seidon 120M from Cooler Master, Corsairs H55 and the Antec Kuhler 620 V4. All are aimed at the £45-55 ($60-70) price point but which offers the best performance, features or ease of use?"
__________________

HardwareHeaven on Facebook
craig5320 is offline   Reply With Quote


Old Jan 26, 2013, 03:37 PM   #2
Get off my lawn!
 
Erroneus's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Denmark
Posts: 13,565
Rep Power: 152
Erroneus has a reputation beyond refuteErroneus has a reputation beyond refuteErroneus has a reputation beyond refuteErroneus has a reputation beyond refuteErroneus has a reputation beyond refuteErroneus has a reputation beyond refuteErroneus has a reputation beyond refuteErroneus has a reputation beyond refuteErroneus has a reputation beyond refuteErroneus has a reputation beyond refuteErroneus has a reputation beyond refute
System Specs

Re: Liquid Cooling Roundup January 2013 @ HH
Any fan issues with that Corsair H55? People are having huge issues with H100i, which Corsair tried to fix with a firmware update, but pulled it back as it was bricking units all over the place.
Worst of all, Corsair provides no information about it, so people have no idea if they should wait for a stable firmware update or RMA their unit and hope to get a new one, which has the fixed firmware already on.

I would personally stay away from Corsair, until they show how they are going to fix this H100i facade.
__________________
Erroneus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Jan 27, 2013, 12:57 AM   #3
Administrator
 
Veridian3's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Cloaked
Posts: 5,322
Rep Power: 221
Veridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his status
Re: Liquid Cooling Roundup January 2013 @ HH
No issues with the fan on the H55 but it is quite different to the H100i, especially with the enhanced functionality of the i range. Quite surprising that they haven't been communicating well though, usually someone on their forum keeps people involved/updated.
Veridian3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Jan 27, 2013, 10:18 AM   #4
Get off my lawn!
 
Erroneus's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Denmark
Posts: 13,565
Rep Power: 152
Erroneus has a reputation beyond refuteErroneus has a reputation beyond refuteErroneus has a reputation beyond refuteErroneus has a reputation beyond refuteErroneus has a reputation beyond refuteErroneus has a reputation beyond refuteErroneus has a reputation beyond refuteErroneus has a reputation beyond refuteErroneus has a reputation beyond refuteErroneus has a reputation beyond refuteErroneus has a reputation beyond refute
System Specs

Re: Liquid Cooling Roundup January 2013 @ HH
Good to hear.

Yeah it's a bit disappointing, but it's very quiet from them at the moment. I have a friend which right now are stuck with a H100i which sounds completely awful, because he can't get it updated and another friend which got his updated, but that just introduced other problems (he didn't specify).

They are properly working on a solution which doesn't brick units and doesn't introduce new problems, but the lack of communication is an issue. People starts to fear they have to RMA their unit to get a working one, which would suck for many.
__________________
Erroneus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Jan 27, 2013, 10:39 AM   #5
mkk
HardwareHeaven Extreme Member
 
mkk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Sweden
Posts: 4,992
Rep Power: 244
mkk is godlike in his statusmkk is godlike in his statusmkk is godlike in his statusmkk is godlike in his statusmkk is godlike in his statusmkk is godlike in his statusmkk is godlike in his statusmkk is godlike in his statusmkk is godlike in his statusmkk is godlike in his statusmkk is godlike in his status
System Specs

Re: Liquid Cooling Roundup January 2013 @ HH
Quote:
Originally Posted by Erroneus View Post
Worst of all, Corsair provides no information about it, so people have no idea if they should wait for a stable firmware update or RMA their unit and hope to get a new one, which has the fixed firmware already on.
Reminds me of their handling of SSD firmwares. I've had to dig deep to find info in the past.
mkk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Jan 27, 2013, 02:41 PM   #6
HH Assassin Guild Member
 
IvanV's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 7,070
Rep Power: 551
IvanV is godlike in his statusIvanV is godlike in his statusIvanV is godlike in his statusIvanV is godlike in his statusIvanV is godlike in his statusIvanV is godlike in his statusIvanV is godlike in his statusIvanV is godlike in his statusIvanV is godlike in his statusIvanV is godlike in his statusIvanV is godlike in his status
System Specs

Re: Liquid Cooling Roundup January 2013 @ HH
I always find watercooling interesting, even if it's not my thing.

I thought that the partial transparency on the CoolerMaster, although not as apparent on the other photos as on the review header, made it look a little cheap and I was quite a bit surprised when it got the highest mark for build quality. I'd try to get rid of that if I were them.
IvanV is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Jan 27, 2013, 05:24 PM   #7
Administrator
 
Veridian3's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Cloaked
Posts: 5,322
Rep Power: 221
Veridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his status
Re: Liquid Cooling Roundup January 2013 @ HH
The transparent top doesn't reduce the build quality. Certainly it might not appeal to some on a style level but "in the flesh" it isn't too noticeable and the entire pump/bracket assembly is a step above the other coolers... certainly not an area they have skimped on when trying to minimise cost.
Veridian3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Jan 27, 2013, 05:43 PM   #8
best drunk with milk
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 6,029
Rep Power: 470
blibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his status
System Specs

Re: Liquid Cooling Roundup January 2013 @ HH
I suspect the similar temperatures are due to motherboard PWM control, and that the Corsair H55 in fact offers significantly superior performance at any given noise level - which is surely the object of interest, and which surely merits a significantly higher "performance" score than the other units.

That said, if reliability is a concern, then that's not to be sniffed at, especially when there are some very nice air coolers in this price bracket.
__________________

Donate the spare computing power of your PC to help to cure Alzheimer's, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease and cancer: Fold for HH!
blibbax is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Jan 27, 2013, 06:15 PM   #9
HH Assassin Guild Member
 
IvanV's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 7,070
Rep Power: 551
IvanV is godlike in his statusIvanV is godlike in his statusIvanV is godlike in his statusIvanV is godlike in his statusIvanV is godlike in his statusIvanV is godlike in his statusIvanV is godlike in his statusIvanV is godlike in his statusIvanV is godlike in his statusIvanV is godlike in his statusIvanV is godlike in his status
System Specs

Re: Liquid Cooling Roundup January 2013 @ HH
Quote:
Originally Posted by Veridian3 View Post
The transparent top doesn't reduce the build quality. Certainly it might not appeal to some on a style level but "in the flesh" it isn't too noticeable and the entire pump/bracket assembly is a step above the other coolers... certainly not an area they have skimped on when trying to minimise cost.
That is how I understood the review. What I meant to say was that it was a detail that had made me doubt the build quality of the product when I'd first seen the picture, before having read the actual text. In other words, it's a visual detail I don't really like and which, I think, might detract from the first impression of the product that a potential customer might get.

EDIT: Although I do guess that this may be highly subjective.
Last edited by IvanV; Jan 27, 2013 at 06:24 PM.
IvanV is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Jan 27, 2013, 08:13 PM   #10
Administrator
 
Veridian3's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Cloaked
Posts: 5,322
Rep Power: 221
Veridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his status
Re: Liquid Cooling Roundup January 2013 @ HH
Quote:
Originally Posted by blibbax View Post
I suspect the similar temperatures are due to motherboard PWM control, and that the Corsair H55 in fact offers significantly superior performance at any given noise level - which is surely the object of interest, and which surely merits a significantly higher "performance" score than the other units.

That said, if reliability is a concern, then that's not to be sniffed at, especially when there are some very nice air coolers in this price bracket.
The coolers just happen to perform at a similar level (not too surprising given the Antec and Corsair are based on the same design). Letting the motherboard control the coolers would have not been the right choice in a cooler review.
Veridian3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Jan 27, 2013, 09:17 PM   #11
best drunk with milk
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 6,029
Rep Power: 470
blibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his status
System Specs

Re: Liquid Cooling Roundup January 2013 @ HH
So were they just set at maximum fan speed?
__________________

Donate the spare computing power of your PC to help to cure Alzheimer's, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease and cancer: Fold for HH!
blibbax is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Jan 27, 2013, 10:52 PM   #12
Administrator
 
Veridian3's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Cloaked
Posts: 5,322
Rep Power: 221
Veridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his status
Re: Liquid Cooling Roundup January 2013 @ HH
Yup.
Veridian3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Jan 27, 2013, 11:12 PM   #13
best drunk with milk
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 6,029
Rep Power: 470
blibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his status
System Specs

Re: Liquid Cooling Roundup January 2013 @ HH
Fair enough then, I retract my previous statement. However, I do still feel like noise is, for many people, one of the (if not the) most important priority when picking a cooler. If I turned down each cooler in turn to the point where it was acceptably quiet, the Corsair might be the only one producing acceptable cooling performance.
__________________

Donate the spare computing power of your PC to help to cure Alzheimer's, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease and cancer: Fold for HH!
blibbax is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Jan 27, 2013, 11:16 PM   #14
Administrator
 
Veridian3's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Cloaked
Posts: 5,322
Rep Power: 221
Veridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his statusVeridian3 is godlike in his status
Re: Liquid Cooling Roundup January 2013 @ HH
If noise is your main concern then without doubt I would say go with a Noctua fan, although as the review says I feel that the Corsair fan is low enough noise in its stock config.
Veridian3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Jan 27, 2013, 11:39 PM   #15
best drunk with milk
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 6,029
Rep Power: 470
blibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his statusblibbax is godlike in his status
System Specs

Re: Liquid Cooling Roundup January 2013 @ HH
It'd be interesting to see how they compared with the same fan. I suspect it'd be much closer.
__________________

Donate the spare computing power of your PC to help to cure Alzheimer's, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease and cancer: Fold for HH!
blibbax is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

« Previous Thread | Next Thread »
Thread Tools