At CES 2015 Corsair introduced to the grand public their latest trio of All In One liquid cooling solutions: the H80i GT, the H100i GTX and the H110i GT. In the below chart one can take a quick glance of the latest Hydro breed. All featuring an improved cold plate and pump design to improve the efficiency versus older designs. The new dual PWM fans deliver higher static pressure for better cooling performance. Via the LINK software one can fully customize the fan profiles, thus also the noise level. Last but not least the mounting system has been simplified for easier and faster installation.

 

 

The latest flagship installment in the Corsair Hydro series is the H110i GT AIO cooler. In a few words one can best compare it as a souped up H110 with a Cool IT inspired Pump unit, sporting better performing high static pressure 140mm fans and as with all the I series the end-user is able to monitor temperatures and fine tune the fan speeds via the free downloadable Corsair LINK software. The box art received a small face lift, though the design is directly recognizable as one of the popular Hydro series.

 

The packaging remains of a high standard, the pump & radiator unit are well packed and protected for heavy duty transport. This H110i GT is the first 280 version from Cool IT for the Corsair stable, expectations as always are high as Fractal Design has released some top notch products. Though price level wise these are pretty expensive, mainly due to the usage of a copper radiator and being upgradable thanks to the interchangeable fittings. The Hydro series, no matter the version will remain a closed loop solution, thus zero maintenance versions. Another strong point is that the H110i GT is backup up by a 5 year warranty.

 

 

The new refined pump housing design is one of the things that is directly noticeable from the previously revised Hydro I series; also a new type of low evaporation tubing is used, adding that extra professional touch. The tubing diameter and length remain unchanged in comparison to other Cool IT releases.

 

A closer look at the cooling/pump unit reveals that the dimensions of the copper cooling plate and entire pump housing remain unchanged, though Corsair claims interior refinements to the cooling base and pump design warrant a higher cooling efficiency. The link connector on the side allows the end user to hook up the pump unit to an onboard motherboard USB port. Via the LINK Software one can adjust the RGB lighting of the Corsair logo, load preset performance values, monitor temperatures of other devices,... the feature list is endless. To sum it up: fine-tuning the H110i GT to your own personal preferences is fully at your disposal via a few mouse clicks.

 

 

All Corsair Hydros come with a pre-applied thermal pad, providing great thermal contact, though after a remount one is obliged to by an after market thermal paste or pad solution.

 

 

The 280mm radiator is also a new refresh, sporting rectangular edges on both sides. Do these allow for better flow of the cooling fluid or is there just a bit more cooling fluid in the aluminum radiator as the length increased from 312mm to 322mm? We can only guess unless someone wants to drain their Hydro H110 and H110i GT.  The radiator thickness however decreased from 29mm to 27mm, not a substantial difference. On the next page we compare the H110 with the new H110i GT. Those pictures might explain more than a 1000 words could ever do. The sides also have alike the pump design beige strips inserted for that extra classy finishing touch.

 

 

 

The above pictures clearly show the new edge radiator design and the new low evaporation tubing of the Corsair Hydro H110i GT. The fin design looks similar to previous Hydro versions.

 

The Hydro H110i GT includes two new High Torque 140mm fans, while the previous H110 had 1500rpm limited versions; these new babies are ready to rock and roll at a whopping 2100rpm if ever needed. Again a comparison with the fans of the H110 is on the next page. The specification list of the new SP140L fans is to be found below:

• Fan speed 2100 +/10% rpm
• Fan airflow 113CFM
• Fan Static Pressure 3.99mm-H20
• Noise level 43dB(a)
• Fan dimension: 140 x 25mm

 

Interesting to see the Corsair engineers to opt for a higher speed 140 version fan, this as most end-users will link a 140mm fan with slower fan speeds than their little 120 brethren. In the tests it will become clear that this fan easily outperforms the previous H110 ones thanks due to the higher static pressure even at lower RPM.

 

 

 

 

Corsair leaves no option open, one can completely pimp their H110i GT fans with LEDs in the foreseen holes.  It doesn't always have be to performance related does it?

 

One thing where the news H110i GT excels versus the previous 280 flagship, the H110, is the easy mounting system.

Just position the needed bracket, either being Intel or AMD, over the pump unit. No need for inserts nor plastic spacers to allow compatibility with the several Intel LGA sockets. No special clips or such required, a solid improvement over the previous Hydro generations.

LGA 1150 / 1155 & LGA 1156 installation:

Install the boxed Intel back plate, than screw in the four offsets.

 

 

Position the Pump unit and secure firmly via the four thumbscrews, it is as easy as that. Installation certified from 7 to 77 years of age :)

 

LGA 2011 / LGA 2011-V3:

No need to install any backplate, just screw in the four LGA2011 offset screws, position the pump unit and again secure the pump unit via the thumbscrews.

 

 

AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+/ FM1/FM2 & FM2+ :

The AMD installation is almost as straightforward as the Intel ones. Just use the standard AMD mounting brackets, position the AMD pump bracket over the H110i GT pump.

 

 

Mildly secure the bracket holders via the two thumbscrews, position the pump unit and than secure slowly but steadily.

We already mentioned it on the previous page that a comparison with the previous 280 flagship, the H110 had to be logically made. Since both units retail at the same price, we can directly mention we see no reason to opt for the older model at all, just the aesthetics tell the tale. On the left the pump unit of the H110, on the right the new H110i GT. The H110i GT pump unit provides the power to both the 140L fans, thus no hook up to any of the motherboard Fan connectors is required for both the fans. The new Low Evaporation Tubing also looks way beefier than the one from the H110 Asetek version.

 

 

Take note that both Hydro versions in the picture set were taken after being tested. Thinking about a total of 5 hour testing under prime95 load with an overclocked Intel i7-3960X at 4500MHz. Just look at the color difference of the H110, versus the scratch free base of the H110i GT one. The two below pictures again clearly show the difference between both radiators and the used tubing. This time the new H110i GT is on the left and the predecessor, the H110, on the right.

 

 

 

Last but not least two pictures of the new 140L PWM torque H110i GT fans versus the ones of the H110. The difference in blade design directly tells half of the tale doesn't it?  Specification comparison time:

• Fan speed: 2100rpm (H110i GT) versus 1500rpm (H110)
• Fan airflow: 113CFM (H110i GT) versus 94CFM (H110)
• Fan static pressure: 3.99mm-H20 (H110i GT) versus 1.64mm-H20 (H110)
• Noise level: 43dB(a) vs. 35dB(a) for the H110

 

So the new fans win hands down versus the older ones on all fronts beside the generated noise level where they are one of the noisiest releases on paper from Corsair over the last generations.

 

 

 

We have tested the brand new H110i GT via the three different pre-set Fan profiles: Silent, Balanced and Performance mode. We monitored the fan speeds at idle and under full load via the downloaded Corsair LINK software.

• Silent Profile:  min 1020 rpm - maximum 1160 rpm
• Balanced Profile: min 1450 rpm - maximum 1850 rpm
• Performance Profile: min 1650 rpm - maximum 2100 rpm

Take note that the above have been measured on our test platform with the overclocked Intel hexacore i7-3960X processor. Since the Fan rpm is dependent on the heat output of the used processor, thus directly influencing the liquid temperature these results might vary from processor to processor. Madshrimps has been using this processor for ages now, staying away from Ivy Bridge as Haswell processors, since these are very unreliable for temperature measurement as the heat transfer from the cores to the Internal Heat Spreader is debatable, plus these CPUs don't generate anywhere near the wattage these LGA2011 CPUs are able to generate. So funny to see that Corsair included to preferably opt for a LGA 2011 CPU as mentioned in their reviewers guide. Seems we were doing something right after all :)

 

Anyway back to the results, at idle not much to see as the i7-3960X processor is effectively running at 4500MHz but is not being loaded at all. Thus only a small temperature gain observed versus the previous high end Hydro model. The H110i GT also can battle it out now with the high performance Cooler Master Nepton 280L, also being based on a 280mm radiator and equipped with two high speed 2000rpm fans.

 

 

Once we load all the 6 cores and 12 threads with our Custom test of Prime95 we can clearly see that the bold claims by the Corsair PR crew can be justified. If we quickly compare things versus the previous H110 model, we see that the new model is by far more efficient in the Silent profile. The H110i GT fans spin maximum at 1160 rpm while the H110 ones were steered by the motherboard to spin at around 1360 rpm. Thus the new slower spinning fans yield almost a 2° C gain for the new H110i GT version. If we allow the fans of both Hydro versions to spin flat out we spot a 2.5°C cooling difference in favor of the new H110i GT. Take note that both setups are audible and most of us will only use these fan speeds when benchmarking. For daily usage the silent profile is more than adequate to keep even an overclocked i7-3960X  well within safe operating temperatures.

 

 

 

Comparing to the Cooler Master Nepton we spot the new Hydro just out edging the Nepton 280L AIO. The fan RPMs are comparable, so are the static pressure values off the specification list. The new Hydro H110i GT has a small edge, though it would be great to put it up head to head with a 240 Kelvin cooling solution by Fractal Design. It is amazing to see that these AIOs are closing in on the DIY starter kit from e.g. EK Water blocks, though one has to mention that the EK cooling solution is dead silent, even under load, while most of these AIOs need high spinning fans to get improved cooling performance.

 

 

 

Noise wise we already repeated ourselves a few times. Even with the Silent profile loaded the H110i GT is a quite a good performer, with the fans clocking in at 29dB(a) they are audible, this if you pay close attention to it. Of course while at full blast operation we approach the overwhelming noise of the Hydro H80 fans. Like mentioned before full blast operation will only be set during benchmarking. For the rest of us the Silent mode will be more than sufficient.

We already compared the specifications from the Asetek designed H110 with the new H110i GT cooler a few pages back, even though the Corsair PR people might claim improved cold plate and co. isn't the better cooling performance all due to the new included fans, that provide almost double the static pressure of the previous H110 fans. So we decided to go with a little test and equip the H110i GT with the fans of the H110. Would slower spinning fans and thus resulting in far less static pressure reveal other temperature differences or is there really an improvement in the cold plate and pump design that makes the difference?

First we cross checked the obtained rpms for the H110 fans via the Corsair LINK software.

• SILENT PROFILE: min 1150 rpm - maximum 1440 rpm
• BALANCED PROFILE: min 1360 rpm - maximum 1460 rpm
• PERFORMANCE PROFILE: min 1420 rpm - maximum 1480 rpm

So we spot in fact a small difference at max RPMs, though these outputs are quite within the margin of error. The minimum rpm values differ quite a lot. The new H110i GT fans are slower spinning at the silent mode maxing out around 1160 RPM with the setup fully loaded, ranging from 1850rpm to the maximum rpm of 2100 with the Performance profile selected.

 

 

We didn't include the idle temperatures as honestly who cares if we idle at 30 or 31° Celsius, load is where it counts, how good can your cooling dissipate the generated heat and at what noise level. Most important of the below chart is to compare the results of the H110 versus the H110i GT equipped with the same slower spinning set of H110 fans. Via the Silent Corsair LINK Profile, the H110i GT steers the H110 fans at similar speeds as when we used the Silent profile of the ASUS bios, yet we spot almost a 2°C difference between the two models being equipped with the same set of fans. Interestingly enough the fans are running pretty maxed out under each profile once the processor gets taxed, so there hardly any gains with the H110 fans when opting for another LINK profile.

 

 

Comparing both setups versus the standard out of the box H110i GT configuration it is clear that the more static pressure is created the better the cooling performance gets, clearly indicating that the new fans have the biggest influence on the cooling performance of the new H110i GT. Nevertheless the Silent profile test also reveals that there is a minimal gain by the new cold plate and pump design, though we rather opt for the most logic conclusion and that is that the two fans make the real difference here.

 

Time to wrap it up: Corsair claims to have improved the cooling efficiency versus the previous generations. Indeed that is a definite yes.  The mounting system has been simplified, thus in fact is easier to install. Again Madshrimps has to vouch this claim is nothing but true. The modular, tool-less mounting bracket allows very fast and straightforward installation.

 

 

To go a bit deeper on the cooling efficiency, the new H110i GT has no issues to outperform other Corsair Hydro solutions. This of course will depend a lot on the used hardware as gains with an Ivy-Bridge or Haswell processor based setup might yield more minimalistic gains than the ones we observed while running the hexacore I7-3960X Sandy-Bridge E processor. The H110i GT even manages to outclass the Cooler Master Nepton 280L. Especially at the Silent profile it nibbles off them vital extra degrees Celsius versus the competition. Though once the fan speeds reach their maximum RPM, things get more balanced again and the gap became smaller within the margin of error. No matter the technology or the static pressure created any radiator will reach its maximum heat dissipation point and that is where most stories end for these All In One Cooling liquid solutions. A bigger radiator, thus a 360 rad, would help to cool that little bit extra more, even with the fans spinning at a far lower RPM. Though case compatibility would become more limited and the step to opt for an upgradable DIY starter kit even smaller. It is all about making choices and keeping things balanced and the H110i GT is a stellar example.

The subtle aesthetic changes to the pump exterior and the radiator add that little extra touch versus the competitor's offerings. Teaming the H110i GT with the Corsair LINK software allows the end-user to adjust the RGB colors of the pump LED to match the other hardware, allows you to monitor temperatures, adjust and fine tune fan profiles, thus also the generated noise level. Thanks to the LINK software this H110i GT becomes fully customizable, though we encountered some issues while running ASUS GPU Tweak at the same time or some read outs would all of the sudden indicate 0.00 degrees, only coming back after a few reboots, so there is still some work left to do there.

The improved cold plate and pump have a lesser impact on the cooling improvement. The biggest gain comes from the new 140L PWM fans. The created static pressure pushes the air through the radiator fins to maximize the heat dissipation. Though to enjoy great cooling there is no need to allow these fans to rev up to max speed. Even at the silent profile on our test setup the fans hardly reached a respectable 1200 rpm. Allowing great cooling at an acceptable noise level. Though if one wants to max out the cooling performance one is obliged to crank up the fan speed and live with the extra generated noise.

As expected Corsair raises the bar on its current lineup and creates stiff competition again for the other vendors. While I'm not using any of the fancy features of the LINK software, the Silent profile perfectly suits my needs and gives me plenty of temperature headroom on my daily OCed LGA2011 setup. All in all the H110i GT is a welcome addition to the ever growing Hydro lineup of Corsair. In fact it makes their own H110 completely redundant. The new H110i GT cools better, even at lower fan rpm, is fully customizable, easier to install and is a stunning looking closed loop device. Plus you get all this goodness for the same price as the H110. Therefore Madshrimps happily awards the Performance award to the brand new Hydro H110i GT!

 

 

 

UPDATE 02/19/2015: HARDCOP have had information from Corsair that they are issuing a product recall on their new Hydro H110i GT CPU Cooler. The reason for the recall is for something that is a fairly unlikely scenario, if the unit goes below -10'C then it will leak. All of our stock has been removed from sale, I would urge any customer who has purchased these products to contact our returns team so that we can assist you.

 

PROS:

• High performance closed loop AIO cooler
• Fully customizable via the free LINK software
• Easy to install
• High static pressure fans
• 5 year warranty

 

CONS:

• LINK software still buggy in read outs

 

We wish to thank Harry from Corsair for the H110i GT sample

 

Sven from ASUS for the Rampage Black Edition motherboard

 

Joanna Scott from eVGA for the GTX 780 Classified sample

 

Tones for the provision of the Intel i7-3960X processor