Corsair Hydro Series H50 CPU Water-Cooling Kit Review

Cooling/Water Cooling by leeghoofd @ 2009-08-02

*Updated with AMD Phenom Temp Results* Corsair gets their feet wet again, after close to 3 years they have introduced another water cooling product, the previous one being the Nautilus 500 back in 2006. This time around they’ve also opted for an all-in-one kit, but build inside the case, fitted onto the exhaust fan, a case with 120mm exhaust is a requirement, a large wallet is not! The Corsair H50 will be introduced at price of ~€/$70 which is pretty much on par with high end air cooled heatsinks out there! So can an all-in-one kit impress us? Let´s find out!

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Introduction & In the Box

Introduction

Corsair gets their feet wet again, after close to 3 years they have introduced another water cooling product, the previous one being the Nautilus 500 back in 2006. This time around they’ve also opted for an all-in-one kit, but build inside the case, fitted onto the exhaust fan, a case with 120mm exhaust is a requirement, a large wallet is not! The Corsair H50 will be introduced at price of ~€/$70 which is pretty much on par with high end air cooled heatsinks out there!

So can an all-in-one kit impress us? Let’s find out!

In the box

The kit I received was a reviewer’s sample. So the final package might differ. I am not going to spill any words nor piccies on the box as it was dull white, no fancy artwork, just white. The H50 unit is neatly packed and protected in a 2 piece blister. Since the kit is preassembled there aren't many parts in the box. The cooling unit, brackets and some screws, that's all folks. Even my granny is fully qualified to put this thing together.

Madshrimps (c)


The H50 is based on Aseteks LCLC, the latter standing for Low Cost Liquid Cooling. Though Corsair has redesigned the pump and cold plate for better performance. Corsair claims it can beat the almighty Thermalright eXtreme by 5 - 10°C on an I7 setup. A pretty hefty claim if you ask me. As you can see TIM is already preapplied, but we will test the unit also with some MX2 to see if there's any gain in performance.

Madshrimps (c)


Inside the retail box you’ll find mounting gear for Intel S775/1366 as well as AMD AM2/AM3, they’re working on making a Core i5 (S1156) bracket as well, so platform compatibility will be no issue, you’ll be able to re-use the cooling unit if you switch systems.

Madshrimps (c)

Madshrimps (c)


2 above photos are for the S775 CPU lineup. There's some adhesive tape on the backplates so it sticks to the motherboard and doesn't fall off in case you should dissemble the unit when everything is neatly installed in the case. Installation is a breeze and done in under 5 minutes. Fit the back plate, slightly screw on the bracket. Then slide in the pump/cooling unit and turn it till it's locked. Then screw down the bracket screws till you can't anymore. Last but not least, 4 more screws for mounting the radiator, hook up the appropriate connectors and voila you are part of water-cooled crowd from now on !

Madshrimps (c)

Madshrimps (c)


Socket 1366 has got slightly taller screw and a stiffer spring setup, to get more pressure and therefore better contact.

Madshrimps (c)
The AM2/3 Bracket


Madshrimps (c)


The whole unit in all it's glory. The tubing is pretty stiff, but still can be bend in any position you like. For those that want to fit this unit in front of their case : tubing length is about 28cm. Meaning you can approximately install the Rad at 20-25cm measured from the center of the cooling unit

Madshrimps (c)


Pumps electronics, the small heatsink is very welcome, as it tends to get very hot once the pump is running

Madshrimps (c)
Other side with Bleeding hole


Madshrimps (c)
The copper cooling plate where the water removes the heat, small series of fins to increase total surface area
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Comment from Jaco @ 2009/07/28
What type of cooling fluid is used ?
I know the waterblock is copper , but the radiator is aluminium.
Comment from leeghoofd @ 2009/07/28
I think the fluid mixture itself is top secret... I tried to refill the unit and it didn't even take 70cc to fill her up, it's pretty impossible to get it done properly, unit still mixed loads of air and is in fact wasted... will let her run ( without no cpu to see what happens with the fluid )
Comment from 2Cb @ 2010/04/24
Hey Leeghoofd,

Which is the best push pull setup for this cooler in your experience? Having the push fan blowing air into the case or out of the case (assuming the case airflow is adapted correctly)?

Thanks
Comment from jmke @ 2010/04/24
Quote:
Having the push fan blowing air into the case or out of the case
if your case is located in a "hot" area at the rear, closed environment or inside a PC furniture, you might get better results by placing a good in-take fan at the front and having the push/pull setup blow air outside the case.
if however you can get fresh air at the rear of the case, having the fans pull in cool air will give you the advantage
Comment from leeghoofd @ 2010/04/25
Indeed much depends on the way the rig is setup, case ventilation etc...

I never got the acclaimed 10 °C difference with the TRUE, I even tried theunit outside of the case, temps stayed +/- the same.

For max performance : sucking air in via the rear hole as advised by Corsair, but for max ventilation it would require to add a top fan to get rid of the trapped hot air in the case

There's a cool thread on Overclock.net, there are zillions of mods that make the unit even better :

Official Corsair H50 hydro series owners

 

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