Corsair Hydro H50 CPU Water Cooler

The Corsair Hydro H50 is an all-in-one CPU water cooler with a waterblock, reservoir and pump integrated into a single piece at one end, and a radiator that mounts to a single 120 mm fan placement at the other. It’s a hassle-free introduction into water cooling… but is it better than a high performance air cooled tower heatsink?

May 2, 2010 by Lawrence Lee

Product	Corsair Hydro H50 (CWCH50-1 PK1) CPU Cooler
Manufacturer	Corsair
Street Price	US$65~$80

With an excellent reputation as a top tier computer memory company, Corsair
has been able to diversify their product lines without much resistance from
DIY PC users. While the majority of its business still revolves around RAM and
flash memory products, Corsair also has been successful selling power supplies
and large EATX cases. The Obsidian line of cases is popular among water cooling
enthusiasts who need the extra room, so while a CPU water cooler from Corsair
is surprising, it doesn’t come totally out of left field.

The box artwork is pleasing to the eye, but the image of water splashing all around the H50 perhaps sends the wrong message.

The Hydro H50.

Water is the most widely used coolant on the planet due to its high heat capacity
and easy availability. Some PC enthusiasts use water cooling to achieve high
overclocks, while others see it as an effective way to cool their system quietly.
Of course, there are also those who simply think it’s cool to have water flowing
through your desktop. There’s more effort, time, money, and risk involved in
installing and maintaining a water cooling system than an air cooled heatsink,
so it’s definitely one of the geekier things one can do. One-piece water coolers
like the Corsair Hydro H50 allow any slack-jawed yokel who can handle a screwdriver
to join this once exclusive club.

The Hydro H50 is a simple device with a stubby cylinder containing the waterblock,
reservoir and pump connected by plastic tubing to a radiator that mounts to
a single 120 mm fan placement. It’s easy to see why the H50 retails for only
US$65~$80; most DIY loops have thicker tubing and bigger components that can
push larger volumes of water more quickly. They also commonly have transparent
parts so you can see the water circulating inside, while the H50 is painted
utilitarian black. It will be interesting to see whether the H50 can take down
any of the top air cooled heatsinks while generating an equivalent or lower
level of noise.

Accessory bundle. Our sample included mounting hardware for all current desktop sockets.

 

Corsair H50: Key Features (from the product web page)
Feature & Brief	Our Comment
Pre-filled, closed-loop system is easy to install	Practically idiot-proof.
Copper CPU cooling plate for maximum cooling performance	Like most heatsinks.
Integrated pump and reservoir is sealed for zero maintenance and improved leakage protection	Integrating the pump and reservoir means less tubing and fewer joints, so it is less likely to spring a leak.
Large 120mm radiator for fast heat dispersion	A standard size for a budget radiator.
High-efficiency, low-noise 120mm fan for drawing cool air across the radiator	To be determined.
Two-year warranty	Okay.

 

Corsair H50: Specifications (from the product web page)
Model	CWCH50
Cold Plate Material	Copper
Fan Specs	120mm, 1700 RPM
Radiator Material	Aluminum
Tubing	Low-permeability for near-zero evaporation
Warranty	24 Months

PHYSICAL DETAILS

The Hydro H50 consists of a cup-like structure holding the waterblock,
reservoir and pump, 10~11 inches of tubing and a radiator/fan. The entire unit
weighs about 570 grams, 700 grams including the fan and bolts.

Water cooling is similar to air cooling. The first link in the chain of heat transfer is the waterblock, the equivalent of the base of an air cooled heatsink. The H50’s waterblock is a big piece of copper with a relatively rough surface pre-slathered with generous amount of thermal compound.

The waterblock is located at the bottom of a cylindrical structure that also houses the reservoir containing the water and the pump that circulates it through the tubing. These components are separated and much larger in most DIY water cooling schemes.

The water cools down the waterblock and carries the heat with it along one tube, through the radiator, and out the other tube so it can be re-circulated. The tubing is somewhat analogous to the heatpipes found in tower coolers, although the water stays in liquid state instead of changing dynamically between gaseous and liquid states as in a heatpipe.

Heat is transferred from the water to the radiator which is composed of very thin pieces of aluminum measuring about 0.14 mm thick. They are curved to form long rows of coils with an average separation of approximately 1.20 mm. The coils are cooled by a 120 mm fan.

The fan and radiator are mounted together in a 120 mm fan placement. According to Corsair it is ideal to use the fan as an intake blowing cool air from the outside through the radiator and toward the pump. This should result in lower CPU temperatures, but in most cases, it will also disrupt overall air circulation.

INSTALLATION

The most critical aspect of installation is for the heatsink to
be securely mounted. The more firmly it is installed, the better the contact
between the cooler’s base and the CPU itself. It’s also less likely to fall
off. Ease of installation is also important — a simple mounting scheme
means less time spent installing, and a reduced likelihood of screwing up.

Installing the H50 is a simple affair and begins with inserting four steel pegs into the appropriate holes on the plastic backplate. We are usually appalled at the use of plastic, but given that most of the H50’s mass is not directly weighing down on the processor, it’s an acceptable choice.

Four plastic cups with holes in the bottom are inserted into the ends of the mounting ring.

There are a series of metal tabs on the ring that line up with holes surrounding the waterblock.

We found it easiest to partially secure to the ring to the backplate first using the provided screws. Then place the waterblock through the ring and rotate it so the aforementioned tabs line up, and finish screwing the ring down.

Fully mounted. The portion of the H50 that sits on the processor is only 55 mm tall, short enough to fit in most smaller cases.

Pictured above is an approximate representation of our test setup. The pump was connected to a 3-pin fan header with fan control disabled, and the fan was placed in a foam stand that eliminates most vibration effects. During testing, the radiator was placed 1 inch above the motherboard back panel to simulate the position of a typical 120 mm rear exhaust port.

TESTING

Before thermal testing, we took some basic physical measurements.

Approximate Physical Measurements
Weight	570 g 700 g with fan and bolts
Fin count	N/A
Fin thickness	~0.14 mm
Fin spacing	~1.20 mm
Vertical Clearance	N/A
Horizontal Overhang (+/-)	none

The fin spacing is very tight but the fins themselves are thinner than found
on any air heatsink, so the radiator’s overall impedance to airflow does not
seem high. This bodes well for good performance at low (read: quiet) fan speed.

Comparison: Approximate Fin Thickness & Spacing
Heatsink	Fin Thickness	Fin Spacing
Scythe Ninja 2	0.39 mm	3.68 mm
Thermalright HR-01 Plus	0.45 mm	3.15 mm
Noctua NH-U12P	0.44 mm	2.63 mm
Noctua NH-C12P	0.47 mm	2.54 mm
Thermolab Baram	0.44 mm	2.52 mm
Noctua NH-D14	0.43 mm	2.33 mm
Prolimatech Armageddon	0.51 mm	2.08 mm
Prolimatech Megahalems	0.50 mm	2.00 mm
Zalman CNPS10X Quiet	0.40 mm	2.00 mm
Xigmatek HDT-S1283	0.33 mm	1.96 mm
Scythe Kabuto & Zipang 2	0.34 mm	1.94 mm
Scythe Mugen-2	0.31 mm	1.89 mm
Coolermaster V8	0.30 mm	~1.85 mm
ZEROtherm Nirvana	0.43 mm	1.82 mm
ZEROtherm Zen	0.37 mm	1.80 mm
Corsair H50	0.36 mm	1.78 mm
Cogage TRUE Spirit 1366	0.40 mm	1.70 mm
Zalman CNPS10X Extreme	0.42 mm	1.50 mm
Thermalright Ultra-120	0.45 mm	1.42 mm

Testing was done on our
new i7-1366 heatsink testing platform. A summary of the test system
and procedure follows.

Key Components in Heatsink Test Platform:

• Intel Core i7-965 Extreme
  Nehalem core, LGA1366, 3.2GHz, 45nm, 130W TDP.
• Asus
  P6X58D Premium ATX motherboard. X58 chipset.
• Asus
  EAH3450 Silent graphics card.
• Intel
  X25-M 80GB 2.5″ solid-state drive. Chosen for silence.
• 3GB QiMonda
  DDR3 memory. 3 x 1GB DDR3-1066 in triple channel..
• Seasonic X-650 SS-650KM
  650W ATX power supply. This PSU is semi-passively cooled. At the power levels
  of our test platform, its fan does not spin.
• Arctic Silver
  Lumière: Special fast-curing thermal interface material, designed
  specifically for test labs.
• Nexus 120 fan (part of our standard testing methodology; used when
  possible with heatsinks that fit 120x25mm fans)

The system is silent under the test conditions, except for the CPU cooling
fan(s).

Normally, our reference fan is used whenever possible, the measured details
of which are shown below.

Reference Nexus 120mm fan Anechoic chamber measurements
Voltage	SPL@1m	Speed
12V	16 dBA	1100 RPM
9V	13 dBA	890 RPM
7V	12 dBA	720 RPM
5V	11 dBA	530 RPM

Measurement and Analysis Tools

• Extech 380803 AC power analyzer / data logger for measuring AC system
  power.
• Custom-built, four-channel variable DC power supply, used to regulate
  the fan speed during the test.
• PC-based spectrum analyzer:
  SpectraPlus with ACO Pacific mic and M-Audio digital
  audio interfaces.
• Anechoic chamber
  with ambient level of 11 dBA or lower
• Various other tools for testing fans, as documented in our
  standard fan testing methodology.
• SpeedFan,
  used to monitor the on-chip thermal sensors. The sensors are not calibrated,
  so results are not universally applicable. The hottest core reading is used.
• Prime95,
  used to stress the CPU heavily, generating more heat than most real applications.
  8 instances are used to ensure that all 4 cores (with Hyper-threading) are
  stressed.
• CPU-Z,
  used to monitor the CPU speed to determine when overheating occurs.
• Thermometers to measure the air temperature around the test platform
  and near the intake of the heatsink fan.

Noise measurements are made with the fans powered from the lab’s variable DC
power supply while the rest of the system was off to ensure that system noise
did not skew the measurements.

Load testing was accomplished using Prime95 to stress the processor, and the
graph function in SpeedFan was used to ensure that the load temperature is stable
for at least ten minutes. The temperature recorded is the highest single core
reading. The stock fans were tested at various voltages to represent a good
cross-section of airflow and noise performance.

The ambient conditions during testing were 10~11 dBA and 21~23°C.

TEST RESULTS

Stock Fan Measurements

The stock fan was a bit of a mystery as it had no identifying markers and no

Stock Fan Specifications
Manufacturer	Corsair	Power Rating	?
Model Number	?	Airflow Rating	?
Bearing Type	?	RPM Rating	1700 RPM
Corners	Open	Noise Rating	?
Frame Size	120 x 120 x 25 mm	Header Type	4-pin PWM
Fan Blade Diameter	105 mm	Start Voltage	~5.0 V
Hub Size	41 mm	Weight	120 g
Data in green cells provided by the manufacturer or observed; data in the blue cells were measured.

specifications were listed for it on Corsair’s website except for the RPM rating.
The blades had odd little notches at their bases, and were arrayed in an orthodox
manner, very close together at the hub. The blade diameter was also 5~6 mm shorter
than most 120 mm fans partly because the fan housing was thicker than the norm.

Odd notches near the hub.

 

Stock Fan Measurements
Voltage	Speed	SPL @1m
12V	1610 RPM	24 dBA
10V	1310 RPM	18 dBA
9V	1030 RPM	14 dBA
8V	680 RPM	<11 dBA
7V	480 RPM
5V (starting voltage)	330 RPM
Measuring mic positioned 1m at diagonal angle from the intake side of the fan. Ambient noise level: 11 dBA.

The stock fan was loud and buzzy at full speed and turbulent but smooth at
10V. At 9V, it was quiet but developed a bit of a hum, and at 8V it was completely
inaudible. Overall it was an excellent sounding fan relatively free of tonality.

Like many PWM models, it did not respond in a typical manner to voltage control;
the speed dropped off rather quickly when undervolted, becoming inaudible at
a fairly high voltage. The fan speed changed very gradually between 5V and 8V.

At 9V, the H50 stock fan measured 14 dBA@1m.

COOLING RESULTS

Corsair H50 w/ stock 120 mm fan
Fan Voltage	SPL@1m		Temp	°C Rise
	Fan Only*	Fan & Pump**
12V	24 dBA	28~29 dBA	63°C	41
10V	18 dBA	24 dBA	66°C	44
9V	14 dBA	21~22 dBA	68°C	47
8V	<11 dBA		77°C	55
Corsair H50 w/ ref. 120 mm fan
12V	16 dBA	23 dBA	65°C	43
9V	13 dBA	21~22 dBA	68°C	46
7V	12 dBA		72°C	50
°C Rise: Temperature rise above ambient (22°C) at load. Ambient noise level: 11 dBA. *mic positioned 1m at diagonal angle from the intake side of the fan. **mic positioned 1m at diagonal angle from the halfway point between the pump and fan.

The thermal rise for the H50 and stock fan was between 41°C and 47°C
at 12V~9V, an okay result if you only take into account the fan noise. The pump
generated a clearly audible and annoying buzz that pushed the overall noise
level above 20 dBA. We could also hear the water “gurgling” on occasion.
Our reference fan did slightly better at equivalent noise levels, but again,
the pump was so much louder it didn’t really matter.

Note that in our open testbed, the performance was the same whether the fan
was mounted as an intake or an exhaust.

At The pump at full speed makes the overall noise level at least 21~22 dBA@1m, regardless of the fan speed.

Comparison Chart

°C rise Comparison
Heatsink	Nexus 120mm fan voltage / SPL @1m
	12V	9V	7V	Rank
	16 dBA	13 dBA	12 dBA
Prolimatech Megahalems	38	41	44	#1
Noctua NH-D14	38	42	45	#2
Noctua NH-U12P	39	42	44	#2
Scythe Mugen-2	39	42	45	#4
Cogage TRUE Spirit 1366	40	42	45	#4
Prolimatech Armageddon	40	42	46	#6
Zalman CNPS10X Quiet	40	43	46	#6
Thermalright U120 eXtreme	40	43	48	#8
Thermalright U120	42	45	49	#9
Corsair Hydro H50	43	46	50	N/A
	23 dBA	21~22 dBA
Noctua NH-C12P	43	47	51	#10
Zalman CNPS10X Extreme	43	47	53	#11
Zalman CNPS10X Flex	45	50	54	#12
Coolermaster V8	46	50	54	#12
Scythe Kabuto	51	53	60	#14

With two noise sources, the fan and the pump, the H50 is outclassed by most
of the larger modern air coolers. The pump raises the noise level of the system
above 20 dBA, and the performance level is good, but not great. You could undervolt
the pump to bring the noise level down, but this isn’t recommended by Corsair
and it would of course result in an increase in temperature.

We concede that a water cooling system like the H50 may perform better in a
hotter environment, i.e. inside a case, but even if the H50 performed as well
as the Megahalems, the extra noise from the pump would still make it difficult
to recommend.

MP3 SOUND RECORDINGS

These recordings were made with a high
resolution, lab quality, digital recording system inside SPCR’s
own 11 dBA ambient anechoic chamber, then converted to LAME 128kbps
encoded MP3s. We’ve listened long and hard to ensure there is no audible degradation
from the original WAV files to these MP3s. They represent a quick snapshot of
what we heard during the review.

These recordings are intended to give you an idea of how the product sounds
in actual use — one meter is a reasonable typical distance between a computer
or computer component and your ear. The recording contains stretches of ambient
noise that you can use to judge the relative loudness of the subject. Be aware
that very quiet subjects may not be audible — if we couldn’t hear it from
one meter, chances are we couldn’t record it either!

The recording starts with 5~10 second segments of room ambiance, then the fan
at various levels. For the most realistic results, set the volume so that
the starting ambient level is just barely audible, then don’t change the volume
setting again.

• Corsair
  Hydro H50 stock fan at 1m
  — 9V (14 dBA@1m)
  — 10V (18 dBA@1m)
  — 12V (24 dBA@1m)

• Nexus
  120mm Real Silent Case fan at 1m
  — 5V (11 dBA@1m)
  — 7V (12 dBA@1m)
  — 9V (13 dBA@1m)
  — 12V (16 dBA@1m)

• Corsair
  Hydro H50 pump and stock fan mounted at 1m
  — 9V (21~22 dBA@1m)
  — 10V (24 dBA@1m)
  — 12V (28~29 dBA@1m)

• Corsair
  Hydro H50 pump and Nexus fan mounted at 1m
  — 7V (21~22 dBA@1m)
  — 9V (21~22 dBA@1m)
  — 12V (23 dBA@1m)

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Corsair Hydro H50 offers a hassle-free introduction to water cooling. No
need to worry about radiators, reservoirs, pumps, waterblocks, tubing, coolant;
Corsair has put it all together for you at a much lower price than a a DIY system
using discrete components. You don’t need a big case, either, as all that is
required is a 120 mm fan placement. In fact, as the height of the pump is only
55 mm it will fit in many mATX and even mini-ITX cases that don’t have enough
room for a high performance CPU cooler. It installs fairly easily and securely,
and the stock fan sounds smooth and is very quiet when undervolted.

Sadly it doesn’t have what it takes to be a very effective quiet CPU cooler
by SPCR standards. Compared to most recent large tower heatsinks we’ve tested,
the H50’s thermal performance is close to the bottom end of the spectrum whether
paired with the stock fan or our low speed reference fan. The H50 may be a victim
of our open testbed which we prefer because it eliminates several variables
impacting CPU cooling performance, but even if it cooled as well as the Megahalems
of the world, the noise of the pump would remain a problem. The pump generates
a loud buzzing sound like that of a toy motor, so no matter how well the H50
performs, in a closed case or otherwise, it will always be louder than a traditional
high performance air cooler unless you use a loud fan to drown it out. Furthermore,
the H50 lacks a soft mounting option for the radiator and fan, so vibration
may also have an additional negative impact on its overall acoustics.

While the Hydro H50 is an affordable single-piece water cooling solution, it
is still on the expensive side compared to most high performance heatsinks.
Ideally a CPU cooler should have a good balance of performance, noise level,
and cost. If you judge the H50 on any two of these criteria, it fails to make
a splash.

Corsair Hydro H50
PROS * Stock fan has good acoustics * Easy to mount * Pump portion only 55 mm tall	CONS * Loud, buzzy pump * Poor performance/noise ratio * No fan soft mounting option * Expensive

Our thanks to Corsair
for the Hydro H50 sample.

* * *

Articles of Related Interest

Prolimatech Armageddon & Coolermaster
V8 CPU Coolers
Cogage TRUE Spirit
& Zalman CNPS10X Quiet CPU Coolers
SPCR’s 2010 CPU Heatsink
Test Platform [UPDATED: 10 April 2010]
Zalman CNPS10X Flex CPU Cooler
Noctua NH-D14 flagship dual-fan CPU
cooler
ZEROtherm Nirvana CPU Cooler

* * *

Discuss
this article in the SPCR forums.

POSTSCRIPT, 14 July 2010: A Second Sample… …obtained as a follow-up due to questions in the forum discussion about whether the first sample was somehow defective, turned out to have about the same acoustics as the first. If anything, it might be a tad noisier. So our original assessment stands. It may be a good solution for cases that have very tight spaces, but for the typical silent PC enthusiast, the Hydro H50 is not really a viable cooling option.