Hydro H50 performance
Before we dig in to the Hydro H50's cooling results, we need to point out that these are Corsair's provided numbers - and we've yet to test performance independently in our labs.
Furthermore, it's worth noting that the comparison "high-performance air cooler" belongs to a well-known and reputable manufacturer, but we won't name and shame - particularly without running our own tests first.
Last but not least, all of Corsair's provided numbers are taken from tests conducted on a Core i7 965 Extreme Edition processor overclocked to 3.46GHz.
| Cooler | Corsair Hydro Series H50 | High-performance air cooler | Standard CPU fan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temperature - Idle (°C) | 38.375 | 43 | 47.95 |
| Temperature - 50% load (°C) | 42.5 | 49 | 57.55 |
| Temperature - 100% load (°C) | 55.85 | 62.5 | 79.85 |
As you'd expect, the liquid-cooled Hydro H50 comes out on top. According to Corsair's numbers, when under 100 per cent load, the Hydro H50 keeps CPU temperature over 10 per cent cooler than a high-performance air cooler and 30 per cent cooler than Intel's reference heatsink and fan.
No real surprises in the results, but at £50, the Hydro H50 will be priced competitively against high-end heatsink fans and brings a variant of Asetek's LCLC to the masses in an easy-to-install package.
Expect to hear more on the Hydro H50 at this week's COMPUTEX. In the meantime, here's a few more shots of the bundle, the pump and the radiator plus fan.
