We tested the original H80 only at two presets, as the Quiet preset either occasionally caused our setup to BSOD or lockup. The two air coolers are tested in their original configuration. Keep in mind that they are practically inaudible with their boxed fan. However these silent fans have their impact on the cooling performance.

First up are the Idle tests, this not with speedstep enabled in the bios, but with the hexacore i7-3960X humming along at 4500MHz. To facilitate the analysis of the charts we also split up the graph with the H80(i) and the H100(i) in seperate rankings. Making it far easier to compare the results of the different presets and particularly the performance with the previous version.

At idle we spot a big difference with the 120mm H80 versions. The newer Static Pressure Air series fans are amongst the improved block design and thicker tubing responsible for far cooler idle temperatures. Very nice to see that even at Quiet preset the new H80i allows the CPU to operate at similar temps then the far noisier presets of the previous Hydro80.

With the H100i the differences are less pronounced, but again at Quiet preset the new I series are far cooler then their predecessors. Time to launch the Prime95 software for some custom 12-12K set with 12 cores performing crunching action !

While running at full load, the new H80i can clearly differentiate itself from it's predessor. However it must be mentioned that our H80 unit already has served us quite well. Succesfully completing  a gazillion hours of prime torture testing, this while reviewing cases. It could well be that it's performance isn't as crisp as a new unit would be. But the new H80i version cools better and the generated noise is at a different level then it's older brother. The latter is one of the biggest drawbacks for these nifty little cooling units: the performance is there if you can accept the dBA they create.

The H100i too is far more efficient in dissipating the heat of our OC'ed i7-3960X CPU. The Quiet mode being close to 6°C cooler is a serious improvement. Once we cranck up the fan speeds, the difference becomes less. Yet a temperature drop of about 3-4°C is a huge leap forward. Again the same remark as with the H80 versions, the new fans and profiles are far less noisy, which makes these all in one liquid cooling units an even bigger pleasure to work with.

Below is a small chart for the H80i and H100i regarding the tested profiles. The balanced profile is appropriately named, Providing serious cooling performance at medium fan speeds. Quiet mode is perfectly suitable for modest overclocks and even has close to no issues cooling our hexacore CPU. Default mode is surprisingly efficient in cooling, but the load RPMs are pretty maxing out the fans. With the LINK software, the end user can create his own profile according his own specific needs.

We spot directly that the H80i unit runs slightly higher rpm for the preset default fan mode. Logic as the FAN rpm is linked to the temperature of the cooling fluid. The Quiet and Balanced mode seems to have an RPM limit build in. So those that want to opt for silent operation and have the room to install the 240mm H100i version, is the right way to go.

We retested the coolers with Gelid Extreme Thermal paste and got very similar performance. With a slight advantage (0.5°C ) for the 3rd party thermal grease. Making us conclude that the pre-applied thermal paste is of high quality.