Review: Corsair Hydro Series H50 - taking on the air-cooled establishment

by Tarinder Sandhu on 30 June 2009, 09:03 4.0

Tags: Corsair Hydro H50, Corsair

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Easy as pie


The fan is a fairly generic model that spins at a maximum of 1,750rpm. The actual speed is modulated by the fan's header that connects to the motherboard, but Corsair recommends that fan-speed management be turned off for maximum performance, to ensure the radiator is kept cool at all times.

Designed as an intake fan - that is, pulling air from the outside - the idea is that cooler air is dragged across the hotter radiator, lowering the internal liquid's temperature en-route to the head.


Here is the box of tricks that pulls heat away from the CPU. Eagle-eyed readers will see the Asetek LCLC embossed on to the plastic. Thermal-interface material is pre-applied to the cold-plate, but you don't receive any further sachets in the package.

The notches around the head are important insofar as they slide in and are positioned under the retention bracket. Turning them around then secures the position, and all that's left is to fully screw-in the bracket.


Fitting comfortably inside the heatsink exclusion markings on Intel motherboards, the flexible tubing can be moved around should other motherboard-mounted heatsinks get in the way.


Shipping with both types of mounting mechanisms for Intel's high-end chips, the matching 'teeth' keep the head in place. The topmost bracket secures on the underside of the motherboard via an adhesive, and the retention side is clamped in via screws - simples! It helps to have a chassis that has through-the-tray mounting, of course.