Corsair H50 Review
Up Close
Published: 21st May 2010 | Source: Corsair | Price: £62.31 |
The H50 Up Close
Packaging can really help us want a product, or alternatively deflate us. It's curious that in such a results driven business as PC hardware we can be affected by something that actually ends up in the cupboard. As always though, care and attention taken on packaging can hint towards care and attention spent on the product.
The H50 comes in a very sturdy box with all the essential information neatly laid out.
Opening it up the first thing that greets you is a huge warning about not RMA'ing this to the shop you brought if from, but to contact Corsair. Although I'm sure that it's good business practise it doesn't instill confidence. Once that is dispensed with we have the H50 itself.
The first thing that strikes you is the weight of the CPU block. I'm sure that a lot of time has been taken to make sure than the pipes attach securely to the radiator but given the radiator weighs almost nothing, and the block weighs about the same as a particularly lardy elephant, I would recommend you exercise a lot of restraint when handling it prior to installation.
Special mention has to go to the writers of the documentation. It's brilliant. I'd almost go so far as to say it's the best documentation we've seen. Seriously. It's amazing. Clear. Concise. Stunning.
On the right We can see the notches on the outside of the pump/sink combo. The reasons for which will become clear on the next page.
If there is one element of a liquid cooling system that is under-rated by those who don't know, and a black art even if you do, is the radiator. After all there is no point having liquid if there is nowhere to dissipate the heat.
I don't pretend to understand the finer points of fins per inch. However there is a clear balance between airflow and surface area needed. If you have one fin then the surface area is too low, and if you don't have any gaps then airflow is too low. From a purely visual standpoint it looks about right. Of course testing will sort the chaff out from the wheat.
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Overall the build quality is good, and it allows mounting in a case which is prohibitively small for a big tower.
EDIT: Got mine for £50 from ebuyer
Mine must use an older retention though because it's totally different and plastic. It can be a bit of a sod to install on AM2/3 also unless you stick the back bracket on (which I don't reccomend).
Also I have noticed that the Noctua review does not cover AMD at all (unless of course I have missed it) and if it performs anything like Noctua's other coolers do on AMD then I would have the Corsair hands down. I would be very interested to see if the Noctua performs well on AMD tbh. If so then I just may be persuaded to try one out.
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