Corsair are back with another AIO, but this time it is a little bit different. This is the first time Corsair have used a 360mm radiator in one of their AIOs , finally! Also, this and the H115i Pro are the first to have Asetek's new 6th generation pump which is slightly smaller than the previous 5th generation stuff. Being Corsair's flagship AIO we expect good things from this, but you'll have to read the rest of the review to find out what we think of it!
So, it's a 360mm AIO from Corsair with some fancy new Asetek tech, what else? Well, it comes with three Corsair ML120 Magnetic Levitation fans as standard which are optimised for static pressure so they are more than sufficient. It also has some pretty sleek RGB implementation on the CPU block that I think looks fantastic. Like all other Asetek made AIOs, the radiator is made of aluminium and the cold-plate is made of copper which does mean you are mixing metals, but the Ethylene glycol based coolant inside the unit keeps any galvanic corrosion at bay. (Note this is the same system that most AIOs use, so no need to worry!)
The software is something Corsair have really improved recently with the launch of iCue, there are some very impressive things that you can do with this AIO. The most impressive being the 0RPM mode, where the fans won't spin until the coolant temperature hits 45c. You can sync up your fan profiles with other temperatures, including the coolant temperature which is something that we haven't seen from other Corsair AIOs previously. This option is great because it gets rid of that horrible burst of fan noise when the CPU temperature spikes with other AIOs.
The H150i Pro RGB is on the expensive side with an MSRP of £162.99 at the time of writing this article, so hopefully the performance makes up for the price.
Tech Specs
- Radiator Size – 360mm
- Radiator Thickness - 27mm
- TDP – Not listed by Corsair
- Weight – Not listed by Corsair
- Socket Compatibility - Intel 115x, Intel 2011/2066, AMD AM3/AM2, AMD AM4, AMD TR4 with additional purchase of TR4 bracket CW-8960054
- Included Fan(s) – 3 x Corsair ML Series 120mm Magnetic Levitation fans
What’s in the box?
- Corsair H150i Pro RGB CPU Cooler
- 3 x Corsair ML Series 120mm Magnetic Levitation fans
- Corsair Link cable
- Mounting installation instructions
- Warranty information leaflet
- Mounting hardware for all above sockets
Mounting
The tool-less mounting of the H150i Pro RGB is very easy, the interchangeable mounting brackets on the CPU block is very simple to install and has been improved over the already great Asetek gen 5 design. The rest of the mounting is almost identical to older Corsair AIOs, where you screw standoffs through the board into the backplate. This method makes uninstalling and reinstalling of the cooler very
The radiator is also very easy to position due to the flexibility of the tubing, which doesn't seem to kink easily at all which is nice to see. The included screws for the radiator are the perfect length for all configurations.
The tubing routes out of the side of the CPU block which we think looks much nicer than the older straight out of the top design used previously, we also didn't have any issues with RAM clearance on an 115x socket with Corsair LPX DDR4 RAM.
Aesthetic
You can trust Corsair to make a great looking AIO that tastefully implements RGB, which is exactly what they've done on the H150i Pro RGB. Infact, it looks so good there isn't anything I'd change on it. The CPU block is where all of the RGB is going on, with an illuminated Corsair logo and a two diffused accent pieces around it. There is also a silvery piece breaking up the two RGB accents which looks fantastic.
The tubing is also something to rave about, not only is it very flexible and doesn't kink making it very easy to install, it also looks amazing as it is sheathed in some sexy black braiding. The radiator continues the trend of how great this cooler looks, with a sleek squared off design sporting a metal Corsair logo nicely placed in the centre of the radiator.
Performance
Now to the part everyone is here for, the performance! This should out perform everything else by a fairly big margin as it's the only 360mm AIO we tested, but we will have to see.
Test System Specs
- Processor - Intel i7 8700k
- Case - CoolerMaster H500P
- RAM - Corsair Vengeance DDR4 16GB 3000Mhz (2x8)
- Motherboard - Asus Rog Strix Z370-F
- SSD - Samsung 860 EVO 250GB
- PSU - Corsair RM750x
- GPU - EVGA GTX 1050Ti
We used a few different pieces of software for the testing, to stress the CPU we used the 3DMark Time Spy CPU Test, Prime95 with the Blend Preset and Aida64 CPU+FPU to squeeze the coolers to breaking point. We also used Aida64's temperature logging function for the results.
We ran my tests with the stock voltage and frequency settings and with an overclock, we managed to get a stable overclock of 5.0GHz at 1.35v which are the settings used for everything marked "OC".
All tests were performed in our lovely climate controlled test room at a steady 21°C ambient temperature. Fan speeds were determined by the motherboard's default setting, don't worry we'll be sure to let you know if it gets too loud. (Spoiler alert: It didn't, no surprise there.)
Even though it isn't at the very top, it's still one of the best performing AIOs out there and won't fail to tame any beast of an overclocked processor you put up against it.
Conclusion
For the price it is a little bit disappointing, it's definitely one for the RGB fans and the Corsair fanboys. Leaving the price out of the equation it is a very good cooler that trades blows with the other top coolers we tested, and other options on the market. The software side of the cooler is also the best I've ever seen from any cooler, it offers control that you'd usually have to spend a lot of money on a specific controller like the Corsair Commander Pro or Aquacomputer Aquaero.
Pros
- Looks fantastic
- Performs great, almost the best!
- Good mounting mechanism
Cons
- Too expensive for what it offers, considering other options available