Struggling to identify which Corsair AIO liquid cooler to go for? There’s additional food for thought as the PC hardware giant has today added three new models to its stable under the RGB Elite Series moniker.
Dubbed the H100i RGB Elite, H115i RGB Elite and H150i RGB Elite, the trio offer customary 240mm, 280mm and 360mm radiator sizes, respectively, and have an eye on CPUs of tomorrow with out-the-box support for Intel LGA1700 and upcoming AMD AM5.
Corsair coolers of such proportions have been doing the rounds for as long as AIO solutions have been popular, but the revamped trio set themselves apart from predecessors through the inclusion of new AF Series fans. The blowers, also launching today as standalone solutions, tout ‘AirGuide’ technology in the form of anti-vortex vanes that are said to concentrate airflow to “keep components cool at low to medium speeds.”
AF Series fans support a Zero RPM mode, making them ideal for AIO installation, and on-paper performance metrics hold promise. The base 120mm PWM fan can hit speeds of 400 to 1,850RPM, delivering up to 59.1CFM airflow at the highest setting. Maximum speed reduces to 1,600RPM on the larger 140mm fan, but airflow improves to 84.5CFM. There’s little between the two in the acoustic department, with Corsair using fluid dynamic bearings to keep noise output at around the 31dBA mark.
As for the AIOs themselves, Corsair’s aluminium radiators appear to be standard fare but benefit from longer runs of sleeved rubber tubing, which reaches 400mm on dual-fan models, and 450mm on the triple-fan H150i RGB Elite. A copper coldplate sits beneath a modern-looking pump assembly whose cap is outfitted with 16 individually addressable RGB LEDs. Effects and synchronisation are, as expected, managed through Corsair iCue software, and the entire package is backed by a five-year warranty as standard.
A lack of RGB fans helps minimise cable clutter – there’s no lighting node as part of the bundle – and pricing crucially slots in below existing Corsair offerings. US MSRP ranges from $139.99 to $179.99, and early UK listings suggest price points of £130, £145 and £165 for the H100i RGB Elite, H115i RGB Elite and H150i RGB Elite, respectively.
| RGB Elite Series | Elite Capellix Series | Elite LCD Series | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sizes | H100i, H115i, H150i | H100i, H115i, H150i, H170i | H100i, H150i, H170i |
| Fans | AF Elite | ML RGB | ML RGB Elite |
| Fan Bearing | Fluid Dynamic | Magnetic Levitation | Magnetic Levitation |
| Fan Noise | 10 – 30 dBa | 10 – 36 dBa | 10 – 30 dBa |
| Fan RGB | X | 8 RGB LEDs per fan | 8 RGB LEDs per fan |
| Pump RGB | 16 RGB LEDs | 33 CAPELLIX RGB LEDs | 24 RGB LEDs |
| Tubing | 400 – 450mm | 380mm | 380mm |
| LCD Display | X | X | Yes |
| Controller | X | Commander Core | Commander Core |
| AMD Sockets | AM5, AM4, sTR4, sTRX4 | AM5, AM4, AM3+/FM, sTR4, sTRX4 | AM5, AM4, sTR4, sTRX4 |
| Intel Sockets | LGA1700, 1200, 115X, 2066 | LGA1700, 1200, 115X, 2066 | LGA1700, 1200, 115X, 2066, 2011 |
| MSRP | $139.99 – $179.99 | $149.99 – $229.99 | $259.99 – $309.99 |
