I still can't decide on the cooling kit for my new PC.

 

How is XSPC Chrome Raystorm AX360 Extreme vs. Corsair H100 cooling system? XSPC kit looks very enticing and solid, good installation manual, a lot of accessories, but is it really worth the investment compared to Corsair's H100? I understand the main advantage of XSPC is better quality and less noisiness at virtually the same CPU load temperatures. While H100 is almost 5 times cheaper...

 

Anyone can share your thoughts on the subject?

 

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/17221/ex-wat-224/XSPC_Chrome_Raystorm_AX360_Extreme_Intel_CPU_Water_Cooling_Kit_w_Twin_D5_w_Free_Dead-Water.html?tl=g30c321s1310

 

 

 

Thanks,

Dirk.

I just RMA'd a Corsair H100 and they don't have any in stock because they have a new cooler coming out to replace it. I have no idea what it is but it should be soon (I hope!!) so unless you're really in a rush you might want to wait and see what it is. It should be in the same price range but presumably better in some way.

As someone who has used both, I can wholeheartedly recommend the XSPC kit with a few caveats:

 

You don't need 2 pumps unless you're going to have a lot of tubing and multiple blocks. I run a single pump for my CPU and GPU. You should look into this kit instead and save some money. It's what I did. Albeit I eventually swapped out the reservoir and pump for another type that I've mounted externally which I find much easier to maintain than a bay-mounted reservoir & pump. The block, radiator, and pump are the same minus the bling on the block (which provides no performance benefit) and the extra pump (which will provide no performance benefit unless you have lots of tubing and numerous water cooled components, as I said already).

Here's a link to the Corsair H-100i, which replaces the H-100 and should be available soon

Thanks, guys, for all the good information.

 

XSPC RX360 @299$ is much cheaper than my initial choice, and the new H100i looks really good with less noisy fans and bigger radiator, it's available already.

 

Dirk.

The H100i's got some fairly negative reviews... bent fins on arrival is common... also a high pitched noise which seems to be corrected by a firmware update. Anyway none of this is acceptable from a $100+ product. I still like my H60 hehe.

Thanks, guys, for all the good information.

 

XSPC RX360 @299$ is much cheaper than my initial choice, and the new H100i looks really good with less noisy fans and bigger radiator, it's available already.

 

Dirk.

 

$299...really??!! I just bought another RX360 radiator for $95 this week. :ohmy:

 

Anyway, the XSPC RX-series radiators allow effective use of low-flow fans, which makes things nice and quiet. One of mine sprung a leak at a solder joint after 3.5 years...so make sure you mount them where a leak won't nuke your system (mine are mounted on a rack externally with drip loops between the radiator stack and the case to keep water out of the case. Paid off big when the radiator went.

$299...really??!! I just bought another RX360 radiator for $95 this week. :ohmy:

 

Anyway, the XSPC RX-series radiators allow effective use of low-flow fans, which makes things nice and quiet. One of mine sprung a leak at a solder joint after 3.5 years...so make sure you mount them where a leak won't nuke your system (mine are mounted on a rack externally with drip loops between the radiator stack and the case to keep water out of the case. Paid off big when the radiator went.

 

It's $299 for a full water cooling kit, not just a radiator. The kit is named after the radiator upon which it is based.

I still can't decide on the cooling kit for my new PC.

 

How is XSPC Chrome Raystorm AX360 Extreme vs. Corsair H100 cooling system? XSPC kit looks very enticing and solid, good installation manual, a lot of accessories, but is it really worth the investment compared to Corsair's H100? I understand the main advantage of XSPC is better quality and less noisiness at virtually the same CPU load temperatures. While H100 is almost 5 times cheaper...

 

Anyone can share your thoughts on the subject?

 

http://www.frozencpu...tl=g30c321s1310

 

 

 

Thanks,

Dirk.

 

The biggest problem with these kits is they are extremely loud and their performance is not that great. If you want do water cooling, you have to do it all the way with a custom loop. Don't waste money on H100 unless you want to create a wind tunnel in your room. You need a powerful pump, good tubing, good fittings, and quality radiators (like the black ice SR1 type quality) with good fans. Otherwise, today's air cooling is so advanced that, you'll be spending $300 for 5C in difference whereas if you did what I suggested, that difference will be more 15C or more for CPU and about 40C for GPU (these are the real numbers for my loop).

Otherwise, today's air cooling is so advanced that, you'll be spending $300 for 5C in difference whereas if you did what I suggested, that difference will be more 15C or more for CPU and about 40C for GPU (these are the real numbers for my loop).

 

I hate cleaning the radiators under the fans. It's very hard to reach them and usually it takes several attempts to set the fans back in the proper place.

 

Thanks,

Dirk.