#280mm

Fractal Lumen S28 RGB AiO Liquid Cooler Review

Fractal’s new Lumen series cooler is their second liquid cooler series, but their first in-house design. We won’t get into the semantics of patent trolling and Intellectual Property defense, but it’s well known that a certain company has a stranglehold on the AiO liquid cooling market in terms of combining a pump and a water block into one device. The Lumen does NOT have a pump integrated into…

Thermaltake TOUGHLIQUID 240 ARGB Sync AiO Liquid Cooler Review

Liquid cooling was a niche for brave enthusiasts not that long ago. Liquid and expensive electronics must be a recipe for disaster right? Well, while you can certainly find some horror stories online, the technology has matured to the point that you can install a high-performance liquid cooler with little more effort than a run-on-the-mill air cooler. Thermaltake’s ToughLiquid 240 ARGB Sync is…

Cooling is one of the most important aspects of keeping your PC running and running well. Corsair’s iCUE H115i is designed to do just that; keep your CPU cool and running well. Corsair’s AIO coolers have been a staple for many consumers and Corsair continues to update and add to their AIO lineup. The iCUE H115i adds the ability to control the pump lighting, fan, and pump speeds from the iCUE software as well as monitor temperatures. The H115 series comes in 240mm, 280mm, and 360mm configurations. The noise level is attributed to cooling as well. The H115i is designed for extreme cooling while maintaining a low noise profile according to Corsair.

  [sc name=”sponsor” sponsor=”Corsair” product_link=”https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categories/Products/Liquid-Cooling/iCUE-RGB-PRO-XT-Coolers/p/CW-9060044-WW” product_name=”iCUE H115i RGB PRO XT Liquid CPU Cooler” ]

  Packaging

The packaging for the iCUE H115i comes in standard Corsair bright yellow and black colors. On the front of the box, there is a clear image of the CPU cooler. On the back of the box, there are more graphics on the dimensions of the radiator as well as some additional information on the cooler and the specifications.

  Internally, the cooler and all the components are packed inside a recycled cardboard caddy. The cooler and the individual components are wrapped in plastic to maintain the finish and prevent scratches and scrapes.

  Aside from a warranty and installation guide, Corsair includes all the components and brackets to get the cooler installed on both Intel and AMD systems. This includes the LGA 2066 socket from Intel and the TR4 socket from AMD.

  Specifications

Cooling Warranty Five years Cold Plate Material

Copper

Radiator Material Aluminum PWM Yes CORSAIR iCUE Compatibility

Yes

Tubing Length 380mm Coldplate Dimensions

56 x 56mm

Tubing Material Black Sleeved Low-Permeation Rubber Radiator Dimensions 322mm x 137mm x 27mm Fan Dimensions

240mm x 25mm

Fan Speed 2200 RPM Number of Fans 2 Cooling Socket Support Intel 1150/1151/1155/1156 Intel 2011/2066 AMD AM3/AM2 AMD AM4 AMD sTR4 AMD sTRX4 Lighting RGB Radiator Size

280mm

Fan Model ML Series Fan Control Method PWM AMD Processors Supports Ryzen Threadripper Ryzen Phenom II Athlon II FX, A-Series Opteron Sempron Athlon 64 Intel Processors Supported Core i9 Core i7 Core i5 Core i3 Pentium Celeron Fan Airflow 63 CFM Fan Static Pressure

3.0 mm-H2O

Noise Level 36 dBA

  [section_title title=A Closer Look at the Corsair iCUE H115i RGB PRO XT]

A Closer Look at the Corsair iCUE H115i RGB PRO XT

The radiator for the iCUE H115i measures in at 322mm x 137mm x 27mm. Adding the fans will tack on another 25mm to the height. The tubing for the cooler is made from a low permeation rubber and has a nice nylon sleeve over them giving them a nice finished look.

  The 280mm radiator has a fin density of 20 fins per inch. This should allow the 27mm tall radiator to cool well. There’s always a need to match the fan type (CFM vs Static Pressure) to the type of radiator used.

  The fit and finish of the kit are very good. Nicely crimped connections exit the radiator. You can see the sleeving goes into the fittings a bit. The fittings on both the pump and the radiator are typical for most AIOs and cannot be removed. The iCUE H115i is non-serviceable but does come with a 5-year warranty.

  The CPU block and pump combo have a glossy finish to them. There are a total of 16 aRGB LEDs in the pump and are controlled by the iCUE software. There is a micro USB port on the side of the pump that is to be used with the supplied cable and is plugged into an available USB 2.0 header on the motherboard to provide communications between the cooler and the iCUE software.

  The underside of the pump is the cold plate. It is made from copper and has pre-applied thermal paste from the factory. There are minor machining marks on the cold plate but nothing that should prevent good contact between the CPU IHS and the copper plate.

  Power to the cooler is supplied via a SATA cable. There are two PWM fan headers labeled 1 & 2 for the supplied fans as well as another fan header to supply RPM information to the motherboard.

  Two 140mm ML fans are included with the iCUE H115i, more specifically these are the ML140 PWM Premium Magnetic Levitation fans. These fans operate from 400-2200 RPM and push 63 CFM with 3.0 mm-H2O static pressure. Note, these are NOT RGB Fans.

  [section_title title=Corsair iCUE Software]

Corsair iCUE Software

I’m not going to cover the whole iCUE software but only the parts that are relevant to this review.

Once the iCUE software is installed and the USB cable plugged into both the side of the pump/CPU block and an available USB header on the motherboard, the cooler shows up in the iCUE software. The first item we’ll look at is the lighting. Like almost all of Corsair’s LED products, the lighting is fantastic. There are many options for you to choose from and tweak and tune to your heart’s content. Personally, I’m a huge fan of the temperature lighting profiles.

  Next up is the performance tab. This allows you to individually set extreme, quiet, balanced, or zero RPM on the pump or the fans. Each item can exist in a different performance profile. Also, there’s an all devices slider that locks all 3 items into one profile.

  [section_title title=Installation and Clearance Issues]

Installation and Clearance Issues

For clarity, the installation pictures below used a SuperMicro Z370 mITX motherboard and an i7-8700K CPU. For testing, the cooler is installed on an Aorus Z390 Master motherboard with an i7-9700KF CPU.

To get started mounting the cooler to an Intel socket 115x motherboard, you’ll need to install the backplate. The pins slide around in each of the arms to ensure proper alignment.

  Next up, you’ll secure the studs at each of the corners and tighten them just snug. There are two sizes included one set is for the 115x socket and the other is for the 2066 socket.

  Since the thermal paste is applied at the factory, you don’t have to apply any additional. Simply sit the pump/CPU block over the CPU and tighten down the thumbscrews. Make sure to use a criss-cross pattern to ensure even thermal paste spread.

  The radiator installation will vary per case. Corsair left the fans unattached to the radiator to allow you to choose the best installation options for your specific situation.

  [section_title title=Test System and Benchmarks]

Test System and Benchmarks

Temperatures are averaged (last minute) from individual core temperature results monitored by the AIDA64 System Stability Test after 30 minutes of the run time.

FPU load average is used to simulate worst-case scenario load levels similar to Intel Burn Test or OCCT, results marked “0″means thermal limit was reached and the CPU was throttled and thus the results were discarded.

Stock settings have all power saving features enabled in the motherboard with Vcore set automatic and Multiplier at Auto at a stock speed of 4.9GHz with Enhanced Multicore options enabled.

Overclocked settings have Vcore voltage set to 1.428V with the adjusted multiplier set at 51 to gain overclock at 5.1GHz.

All tests were taken at least three times to get the final result.

VLike VL6708 Digital Sound Level meter was used for noise level measurement in dBA, 20CM away from the center fan exhaust.

The iCUE software was set for each test. One test was done with the fans and the pump set to balanced and the other test was set to extreme. This was replicated for the overclocking tests as well.

    System Configuration Component Product Name Provided By Case DimasTech EasyXL CPU Intel Core i7 9700KF CPU Cooler Corsair iCUE H115i RGB PRO XT Corsair Motherboard Aorus Z390 Master Gigabyte/Aorus Ram  2×8 G.Skill Trident Z Royal Gold 3200 MHz CL16 G.Skill GPU Gigabyte Radeon RX 5600 XT Gigabyte Monitor BenQ EL2870U 28 inch 4K HDR Gaming Monitor 3840×2160 @ 60 Hz Hard Drives Adata XPG SX8200 PRO (512GB) Adata Power Supply Fractal Design ION+ 860P Fractal Design

  First, we’ll look at the iCUE H115i results when the Intel Core i7-9700KF is in the stock configuration.

Balanced Results

With the balanced profile selected in the iCUE software, you can see the observed load temperature is around 65°C and we see a 42.8°C delta temperature. The FPU only test hit 80.2°C with a 58.2°C delta. Overall I was pleased with the balanced profile results. As far as sound, the balanced profile measured 44.3 dBA on my meter and could barely be heard. According to the iCUE software the fans were spinning at 300 RPM and the pump sat at 2318 RPM.

  Extreme

The extreme profile for both the pump and fans yielded lower temperatures but with a bit more fan noise. The observed load temperature measured at 60.3°C with a 38.3°C delta and the FPU only test came in at 75.1°C with a delta of 53.1°C. The fans spun up to 1100 RPM and the pump to 2614. The noise level measured 50.8 dBA

  Next, we move on to overclocking. I was able to set the multiplier to 51 in the BIOS and get the CPU stable at 1.428 volts. I ran the same tests with the balanced and extreme set for both the pump and fans.

Balanced

With a minor overclock to 5.1 GHz, temperatures are still acceptable. The observed load temperature rose to 74.7°C with a delta of 52.7°. The FPU jumped a bit to 81.5° observed with a 59.5° Delta.

  Extreme

Pushing the extreme profile in iCUE yields a pretty good drop in temperatures. The iCUE H115i was able to keep temperatures in check with a 70.5°C observed load temperature with a 48.5°C delta and with FPU only a 76.6°C temperature was observed and a 54.6° delta temperature was obtained.  According to the iCUE software, the fans were running at 1260 RPM and the pump at 2643 RPM with a measured noise level of 50.6 dBA.

  [section_title title=Conclusion and Final Thoughts]

Corsair iCUE H115i RGB PRO XT conclusion

Performance-wise, I think the Corsair iCUE H115i did well. With the 9700KF in the stock configuration, the CPU cooler was able to keep it cool at both the balanced and extreme profiles. For me, the advantage of balanced over the extreme profile is the sound. With the balanced profile selected, the cooler could hardly be heard from a few feet away on an open test bench. The extreme profile did increase the fan noise just a bit but only enough to barely be heard. Once overclocked, the balanced profile still kept the CPU cool and maintained a silent profile. The extreme profile dropped temperatures even further. Installation was quick and easy. A few steps are all that’s required to get the cooler up and running. However, asking for an unused USB header may be a stretch for some users. It would have also been nice if Corsair would have included a USB A to header adapter for those that may not have a spare header but maybe have a spare USB port.

  My biggest gripe with the Corsair H115i RGB PRO XT is the lack of RGB fans. Really? Initially, looking at the product name led me to believe the fans were RGB LED however, this is not the case, the fans are not led and are quite plain. Corsair does sell a version of the 140 ML PWM fans, however, a single fan is going to set you back $45.00.  In the grand scheme of things, the lack of an LED fan is just me complaining and really not a deal-breaker. The LEDs that the iCUE H115i does have provided even lighting around the ring of the block as well as the Corsair logo. I didn’t see any hot spots and was really impressed with the implementation.

Cost wise, the Corsair iCUE H115i RGB PRO XT is going to set you back $140.00. Which isn’t that bad for a 280mm AIO. Comparable coolers range from $109 up to as high as $262 depending on the manufacture. It has been a long time since I got my hands on a newer Corsair cooler and I’m impressed with the progress of their AIO lines. Cool, quiet, and easy. I really dig that.

  [sc name=”must_have_award” ]

Los dos radiadores pueden albergar un ventilador de 140mm o dos ventiladores de 140mm respectivamente, ventiladores de tamaño más grande que ofrecen mejores rendimientos a menores velocidades, por lo que disfrutamos de mayor rendimiento térmico con una sonoridad mucho menor.

Los nuevos radiadores ya estan disponibles desde la web de EK Waterblocks o sus distribuidores, aunque podeis encontrar los precios oficiales y los enlaces de compra a continuación:

  Name MSRP (incl. VAT) EK-CoolStream SE 140 49.95€ EK-CoolStream SE 280 69.95€

Today we add the Silent Loop 280 to our cooling charts. All other variants in this range have performed well, so we have high hopes for the 280mm version.

Introduction & Closer Look

Back in July of this year, I reviewed the new 360mm variant of the already hugely successful Silent Loop range from be quiet!. That cooler shot straight to the top of our cooling charts, and has remain unbeaten ever since. When reviewing our league table of coolers recently, I realised that we have never reviewed the 280mm variant… until now!

Inside the now familiar be…

ID-Cooling has expanded its range of AIO CPU coolers with the launch of the Frostflow+ series. Today we have the pleasure of putting the 280mm variant through its paces.

Introduction & Closer Look

It’s been more than 5 months since we had an ID-Cooling product on our test bench, but today we wait no longer, as we have the privilege of being able to test their newest product on the market…namely the Frostflow+ 280.

The previous three AIO coolers we have tested have all performed really well, and all have walked away with our recommended award. This time we have…

Por ejemplo, con la posibilidad de añadir una tarjeta gráfica gracias a sus conectores rápidos de forma rápida y sencilla o la posibilidad de añadir más radiadores si añadimos tubo y nuevos acores al circuito o incluso una nueva bomba si fuera necesario. La bomba utilizada es una DC-LT que es capaz de mover 70L/hora con una sonoridad muy baja y que puede ser regulada vía PWM, mientras que los ventiladores Ice Wind 14 alcanzan las 1100RPM con una sonoridad de 29.4 dB, con unos rotores de color azul transparente.

El tubo utilizado es de 11/8mm en contra de los 13/10 o 16/10mm habituales usados por lo que seguramente actualizar tubos y racores implique cambiar toda esta parte del sistema a los de tamaños más habituales. Finalmente el propio bloque, incorpora la bomba y un deposito, el cual cuenta con un puerto que nos permite rellenar el líquido en cualquier momento y controlar la cantidad disponible en el sistema, algo en lo que suelen fallar la mayoría de AIO cerradas.

Por el momento se desconocen precios o disponibilidad, pero el fabricante si ha proporcionado las especificaciones técnicas y una gran galería de imágenes que podéis ver al final de la noticia:

  Especificaciones Tecnicas

Pump (Alphacool DC-LT 2600 Ultra Low Noise Ceramic)

Speed: 2600 rpm

Voltage: 7 – 13.5VDC

Power consumption: 4W

Maximum flow: 70L / h

Max. Lifting height: 0,85m

Fan (ice wind 14)

Stock: Sleeve Bearing

Power: 12V

Power connection: 3-pin

Rated rotational speed: 1100 (+/- 10%)

Air conveying capacity: 62.31 cfm / 106m³ / h

Static pressure: 1.55 mmH2O

Volume: 29.4 dB (A)

Box Contents

1x Alphacool Eisbaer 420 CPU – Black

3x ice wind fan

1x Intel Backplate

1x Intel bracket

1x AMD bracket

PWM adapter

mounting material

1x thermal grease

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