This Techquickie is all about the Corsair H110, an extreme performance
liquid cooler that uses two 140mm
cooling fans on a massive 280 mm radiator. We're going to tell you what
you need to know about it and show you how to install it in your gaming system.
Your CPU needs cooling, and as the transistors get smaller and smaller and
the die sizes shrink, we need even more efficient ways to move the heat away
from the CPU and dissipate it to the surrounding air. Modern systems won't
run at all without some kind of cooling. So, odds are if your computer's working,
you have a cooler in it, but it's probably a stock cooler. These are
designed to be compact for maximum compatibility and low cost, so they can
easily be mass-produced. And that, my friends, is where high performance
liquid coolers come in. You can use a small compact CPU cooler and pump combo
unit to move the heat away with the efficiency of water to a large radiator
where it can then be dissipated to the air. Smaller liquid coolers using 120 mm
fans already leave many aftermarket air coolers in the dust, preventing CPU
overheating and aiding in overclocking.
Just like that. However, what if you
could have 36% more surface area by
using 140 mm fans instead of 120 mm
fans? The H110 is easy to install if you
have a Phillips head screwdriver and you're comfortable opening up the side
panel of your case. It comes with not only the cooler, but also two 140 mm
fans and all of the mounting hardware that you need to mount it on an Intel or
an AMD system. The first step is to remove your stock cooler, either by
removing the clips on AMD or turning each of the four pins on your Intel
system counterclockwise.
Then remove the CPU fan header from the motherboard and clean off the CPU using
a lint-free cloth and 99% isopropyl alcohol.
Last but not least, if your case has any fans pre-installed in the holes that you
intend to install the H110 in, you'll have to remove those as well, but the
C70 does not. Since this is an Intel platform, we're using the universal
Intel back plate, which has mounting holes for 775, 1155, 1156, and 1366.
2011 is done without a back plate. So, all we do is put the mounting tags
through the back, apply the adhesive strips, then remove
the covers,
then position it on the back of the motherboard so that the pegs stick
through the holes in the board. The adhesive keeps it in place while you're
installing the CPU cooler from the other side. Now, installing the fans can be a
little bit tricky, but I'm going to show you guys the way that I find is best. So
rather than having the case right side up, I've moved it either onto its side
or onto its back so that I can support all of the screws in place and all of
the fans in place at the same time. Because this case has rubber grommets in
the 140 mm mounting holes, I don't need to use the optional washers that are
included with the H110. Once I have the fans in place, it'll be
less difficult to position the H110 correctly up against the fans. Then all
I have to do is fine-tune it until the screws go into the holes on the radiator
itself. I recommend handtightening them at first
in order to avoid crossthreading the mounting holes.
Once a few of them are threaded in, it becomes much simpler to go ahead and use
your screwdriver to tighten everything up.
I've opted to install the included fans as exhaust fans because the C70 is quite
a well ventilated chassis. However, if I had a tighter chassis that's not as open
inside, I might use them as intakes to get better temperatures for my CPU.
The flexible tubing on the H110 allows the CPU cooling unit to be easily
positioned over the CPU socket. I recommend handtightening the thumb
screws first after carefully aligning them over the back plate and then using
the screwdriver. This helps you avoid damaging your motherboard by
accidentally driving a screw into the PCB. Once it's time to tighten with the
screwdriver, tighten in a cross pattern to avoid putting excess pressure on one
side of your processor. Corsair's mounting mechanism is designed
to screw in until it stops. That's when you're putting the right amount of
pressure on the mounting mechanism. You're almost there. The system looks
great compared to having that stock cooler in there. However, these loose
wires are probably going to be an issue. Plug the three pin fan connector coming
out of the pump unit into the CPU fan header on your motherboard. Each of the
radiator fans then need to be plugged into available headers on the
motherboard or on a fan controller. If
you don't have any available headers, then you can plug them directly into
your power supply using adapters as well. If you've been following along
with our installation guide, then congratulations.
Your CPU is now water cooled. If you haven't been following along, then try a
Corsair Hydro Series cooler today to find out why Corsair is the number one
seller of CPU liquid cooling systems worldwide. This has been another Tech
Quickie. I'm Linus and I'll see you again next time.