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[O/C]Corsair Hydro Series H50: Is It High-End Air?

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mdcomp

Classic Administrator
Joined
Nov 23, 2001
Corsair Hydro Series H50: Is It High-End Air?
by muddocktor

I have seen it talked about on the forums that the Corsair Hydro Series H50 low cost water cooling system is equal or better than high-end air, with some heated discussions taking place at time from people arguing for or against that statement. So, since Corsair was kind enough to send us an H50 system for testing, I decided to see if the H50 can equal some of the best air cooling solutions on the market.

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HOnestly... Im not sure who was arguing otherwise... its in all the reviews anyway that it doesnt beat out high end air!
 
Probably me ED. Still, after all the testing mudd did (thanks mudd!), it looks like the H50 is right on par w/ highest end air.

Ive said all along the stock H50 fan is garbage and the cooler cant compete vs. high-end air w/ it. However, install a good fan or a push/pull setup and its right up there if not better. The Noctua D14 has a push/pull setup stock, with 64cfm/56cfm or something like that fans. If you look at the chart, a couple S-Flex "F" fans on the H50 is right on par with the high end air coolers.

IMO, I still believe the H50 w/ quality aftermarket fans is just as good as high-end air. I have 2 high speed Deltas (38mm) on mine running at 5v and w/ my overclock in my sig, I load at 64c in LINX (57c in P95/Daily gaming) w/ a 24c ambient temp.

I previously had a TRUE w/ the same fans, same setup and it lowered my temps by about 3c going to the H50.

BTW, I still consider my H50 an air cooler :) Makes me feel better about it. If I say its watercooled, I get a horrible feeling that I have a really bad setup (seeing that I had a real water setup at one time and know what REAL water does :D).
 
Great testing as usual, muddocktor! :clap:

The one thing I'd like to point out that wasn't mentioned in the article is the Corsair can fit on virtually ANY system whereas high-end (120mm) air coolers can interfere with some cases and often demand a RAM slot or two. For people with thinner cases, where a 92mm tower cooler or a horizontal cooler were the only previous options, the H50 is a godsend. It also takes away all the guess-work for people running four RAM sticks ... :)
 
Yeah, those are some good points, QI. And you can clearly see in the pics just how nice and neat an installation it makes on the motherboard and leaves plenty of clearance for ram. There is some good engineering that has gone into the H50 and IMO is just let down with the fan choice. I think they should have bit the bullet and gone with either a push pull setup from the get-go or gone with a 38 mm fan such as the L1BX. It responded well with both of those setups.

And when I get in from the rig in a few weeks I have something else to be reviewing that will directly compare to the H50. It just arrived today at the house, according to my wife when I talked with her this evening. ;)
 
It was probably a good choice for the first unit. It let them "test the water" (he he!) without spending a fortune. Since they released the H70, and did it right, at least they're listening to the performance community and addressing what we think are the short-comings. :)

And when I get in from the rig in a few weeks I have something else to be reviewing that will directly compare to the H50. It just arrived today at the house, according to my wife when I talked with her this evening. ;)
Another one of those water-cooling-in-a-box units? ;) They're getting pretty popular and next year we may be doing a performance round-up on just those kind of units.

Have you heard any generic kind of name for them yet? If not, someone needs to come with one. I hate it when people say they're WC'ed and it ends up being one of those. At the same time, though, I can see where they're coming from ... :shrug:
 
I actually kind of like the LCLC moniker for these units. Low Cost Liquid Cooling. And they definitely have a place as a viable substitute for high end air, especially in a narrow case that would have problems fitting high end air inside. And I do view them more as competition for high end air than a true watercooled loop. The main worry I have about these things is the longevity of the pumps used in them. Since they are sealed and have anti-corrosives in their fluid, I'm not too worried about the aluminum rads rotting out very quickly. And the mounting system that Corsair uses is truly nice and gives very repeatable mounts, at least on LGA1366.
 
Yes, good point. LCLC. I like that.

It has some good uses in the right place, but we have all seen more than a few already asking more than it can give. Some have even gone full watercooling after finding out it's not watercooling, it's LCLC.

Bought for the right needs and knowing what you you buy is always the key for anything.
 
It has some good uses in the right place, but we have all seen more than a few already asking more than it can give. Some have even gone full watercooling after finding out it's not watercooling, it's LCLC.
Exactly - and we've seen people either bragging about water cooling (I dislike those guys). Those are the people that just jump in without doing any research. :-/

The people that actually do just a little reading (like mudd's article here) are aware of what they're getting and, as you've pointed out, this leads a few on into full custom loops. More is always better for us because it keeps prices down and innovation alive ... :)
 
What bugs me the most is companies who build custom computers who use these LCLC's (Alienware does this I believe) and bills it as a water cooled computer...I never got that.
 
What bugs me the most is companies who build custom computers who use these LCLC's (Alienware does this I believe) and bills it as a water cooled computer...I never got that.

Technically it is water cooling though... Its cooled by a water solution (just as people use water + additive) w/ a pump to flow the fluid and a radiator w/ fan to cool the heated fluid....

I dont like to call it water cooling, but a company advertising it as watercooling is completely legitimate.
 
yea...but they're fully aware of what they're doing and the few I've seen just list it as "watercooling", they don't say "self contained water cooling" or anything like that beyond just saying it's watercooled, which is where I feel it's misleading. Caveat emptor I suppose.
 
Don't do it guys. If this devolves into yet another is or is this not water cooling, your posts will be deleted, so don't bother typing them.
 
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