Corsair H150i Elite Capellix

[Assimilator]

@crazyeyesreaper would've appreciated a bit more info on iCUE, you only mention it briefly in passing in the conclusion - the "Zero-RPM fan mode" sounds pretty interesting and it would be very useful to know how often the system stays in that state in idle.

As for the cooler itself, just another day at the farm - yes it performs better than its predecessors and competitors, but barely, and I feel like Corsair is just continuing to price themselves out of the market. There are 360mm AIOs that perform within a few % of this cooler while costing a third less due to having less unnecessary bells and whistles - why can't Corsair do two models of this cooler, one the super bling bling version like this one, and another that is just no LEDs all performance?

 

[Chrispy_]

why can't Corsair do two models of this cooler, one the super bling bling version like this one, and another that is just no LEDs all performance?

I love your thinking, but unfortunately RGBLED is a chance to jack up profits at minimal cost to the manufacturer. It's not like the plastic control box or added LEDs cost more than a few cents per unit. They'll charge us an extra $50 for the "RGB bling" and claim that they can't make the regular performance/$ version because they already have too many SKUs in their lineup and inventory capacity and retail shelf space is a valuable commodity. Or some BS like that.

I think everyone knows that RGBLED stuff is selling in spite of the RGBLED, not really because of it. The kiddos with RGBLED love are largely not the salary-earning adult demographic with disposable income to spend on high-end hardware. Not that some adults don't also love it, but I'm an engineer, I like to be impressed by performance, innovation, efficiency gains - not distracted by sparkly glitter lights which went out of fashion once already in my lifetime and are now back as another fad.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

@crazyeyesreaper would've appreciated a bit more info on iCUE, you only mention it briefly in passing in the conclusion - the "Zero-RPM fan mode" sounds pretty interesting and it would be very useful to know how often the system stays in that state in idle.

As for the cooler itself, just another day at the farm - yes it performs better than its predecessors and competitors, but barely, and I feel like Corsair is just continuing to price themselves out of the market. There are 360mm AIOs that perform within a few % of this cooler while costing a third less due to having less unnecessary bells and whistles - why can't Corsair do two models of this cooler, one the super bling bling version like this one, and another that is just no LEDs all performance?

iCUE hasnt really changed at all since its debut over 2 years ago and to be honest Corsair does a better job explaining it and showing what it can do. Thus why i didn't go into detail. it would take around 10-15 photos showing mundane screens that really mean nothing (video would be more useful honestly.) But Its software it controls RGB LEDs and lets you pick between performance profiles. Quiet Balanced and performance that is about it. Other than for pump control, motherboard PWM has more fine grain fan curve control. So honestly its just an RGB app with the ability to control the pump. The Commander Core RGB hub that works with it is nice but lets face it you only need it due to proprietary connectors (it does work great and is useful for some but its just an added expense.) All these features can be handled by mobo RGB / mobo PWM / standard connectors. That said performance is exceptional. Going from 55 dBA down to 43 dBA while still beating an EK-MLC 360 mm copper AIO at 51 dBA is nothing to sneeze at. Most RGB equipped AIOs do poorly in my testing. Corsair stands out. But at this point with price its a Niche product.

Other than that there was an NDA deadline and I had just 7 days or so to complete the review while also working on 2x System reviews and a few side jobs. So i focused more on performance for this review. As for zero fan it works fairly well at idle or light loads so web browsing etc it tended to stay at zero-rpm when i messed with that but its a feature thats going to depend more on what CPU you have. So my experience will differ from yours. Example putting it on an HEDT OC system if clocks spike when loaded an app theres gonna be far more heat in that burst. But for mainstream processors zero-rpm worked pretty good similar to zero-rpm modes on GPUs these days.

That said next time I cover a cooler with unique software ill add a few images in the same section i show off the RGB LED lighting etc.

 

[wheresmycar]

...New benchmarks for both AMD and Intel platforms will take 14 hours...

....I feel 99% of users have no idea how much time it takes to acquire this much data...

i'm one of those 99%ers...

Glad you pointed that out as it's sprung up a whole new level of appreciation for me. "techpowerup" is golden for its reviews and the wealth of info is bafflingly inspiring. It's easy to overlook the immense effort behind the scenes which so comfortably fills our screens at the touch of a button. For the little I can add, "thank you"

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

i'm one of those 99%ers...

Glad you pointed that out as it's sprung up a whole new level of appreciation for me. "techpowerup" is golden for its reviews and the wealth of info is bafflingly inspiring. It's easy to overlook the immense effort behind the scenes which so comfortably fills our screens at the touch of a button. For the little I can add, "thank you"

It really does take a lot of time, I also know my graphs are harder to read due to all the coolers in them but by having such a large comparison it gives a much better representation of the market. I also find if someone gets a mid range cooler seeing J K L B X Y Z in the same price range gives them a bit more confidence in choosing the right fit for their system be it performance / looks / noise / ARGB etc.

Now it is true if I just did 1 run on each cooler took the data and ran with it then sure would take a whole lot let time. But that means no real validation of the results either. Since I try to work with manufacturers to improve products, make alteration for better performance etc. Having consistent data is paramount. I for sure am not the authority on any segment I do tests for be it Mini-PC, Desktop, Laptop, Coolers but I do make multiple runs to make sure the data I present is correct at least in regards to whatever sample I have (there is variance between samples one NH-D15 will be slightly different from another. Same goes for AIOs, even laptops, desktops, mini-pc since there are always variables that cant be controlled like Silicon quality (ie Silicon Lottery when it comes to OC) etc.

 

[Vodih]

Great test. The artic liquid freezer II should be your baseline as far noise/performance, it's just better than the rest.
The only thing missing from those test is a run with some references fan (artic p12 and p14 for exemple) to really know pump noise (really important and not enough review gives us a good pump noise input), and true performance.
while in german, www.hardwareluxx.de does that extremely well and is my go to to really determine what a cooler truely delivers.
https://hardware-helden.de/arctic-liquid-freezer-ii-280-im-test/ does that too, and it is really helpful.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

Great test. The artic liquid freezer II should be your baseline as far noise/performance, it's just better than the rest.
The only thing missing from those test is a run with some references fan (artic p12 and p14 for exemple) to really know pump noise (really important and not enough review gives us a good pump noise input), and true performance.
while in german, www.hardwareluxx.de does that extremely well and is my go to to really determine what a cooler truely delivers.
https://hardware-helden.de/arctic-liquid-freezer-ii-280-im-test/ does that too, and it is really helpful.

I test at PWM 25 / 50 /100 at 25 on the fans if the pump is audible it will register on the dBA meter. Unless the pump is especially noisy at which point I make note of that in the review.

As for reference fans not gonna happen its a waste of time. 99% of buyers use the default fans, whatever fans I pick are unlikely to make people happy it adds to testing complexity. Current testing is about 6 hours reference fans dbls that to 12. New test benches will push that to 14 hrs and with reference fans 28 hrs. So its just not feasible. There are also multiple coolers that use custom fans that cannot be swapped without modifications.

Once new test benches are operational ill be providing idle / load / fpu load (max temps) at stock and OC on 2x platforms at max RPM. I will also be testing noise optimized performance as well which will double that work load already. now add in 25 / 50 / 75/ 100% PWM noise and rpm readings.

 

[Tom Sunday]

I have always been suspect when the word ELITE is being used by companies. But CAPELLIX what a nice new word thrown into the AIO market basket! Looks like Corsair's AIO dominance continues with all of its LED splendor (the circus is in town) and still trying to making the big $$$ and profits. For sure the 'cool Capellix'' price of $190 is not for the average blue collar Joe like me working midnights riding the forklift. But now Intel with especially the "heat on by AMD" will be pushing out their 12th Generation (10nm-Fin) Alder Lake program probably just before the 2021 Holidays? The Big Deal: The socket dimensions for the newly minted Alder Lake mandated LGA-1700 is about 7.5mm taller than Intel's current LGA 1200 socket and this forcing that all future mobo architectures will be dramatically changing along with their graduation to DDR5 and much more. Meaning that the H150i Capellix (along with all their other competing AIO siblings) will essentially be obsolete by the end of next year since the current chipset AIO water blocks will not fit the new CPU molds. This of course will first only be applying to system upgraders, but nevertheless and with AIO's supposed to be lasting 5-years or so, it will most certainly make people think twice before investing in a new or upgraded (costly) AIO in the months to come. I am curious in how the industry or sellers will handle this matter? Or will it be just for the enthusiast or those havng money to burn to simply starting over and or further supporting the seemingly neverending AIO LED upgrade craze? Unless of course we are ready now to create a used AIO market like the existing and booming 'used 2080 series' GPU's now being proffered. Would you buy a used Capellix? Thoughts?

 

[Super XP]

I purchased the Corsair H115i Elite Capellix AIO but what is weird is that it did not have the proper AMD bracket as shown in this review. It looks like the H150i has a different AMD bracket than the H115i. I've installed the one that came in the box but the cooler block is not sitting tightly enough on the CPU. So had to go out of my way to order the proper AMD AM4 bracket.

Look at the pictures. The one in the Red Square is the proper bracket which I need but never got with the H115i for some reason. My backplate is meant for this bracket. The one that came with this set does not work well with my backplate for some reason. Backplate ends up being loose.

 

[zlobby]

I purchased the Corsair H115i Elite Capellix AIO but what is weird is that it did not have the proper AMD bracket as shown in this review. It looks like the H150i has a different AMD bracket than the H115i. I've installed the one that came in the box but the cooler block is not sitting tightly enough on the CPU. So had to go out of my way to order the proper AMD AM4 bracket.

Look at the pictures. The one in the Red Square is the proper bracket which I need but never got with the H115i for some reason. My backplate is meant for this bracket. The one that came with this set does not work well with my backplate for some reason. Backplate ends up being loose.

Did you contact their support? I've done so myself on a couple of occasions before and they were really helpful, even sent me some stuff for free.

 

[Super XP]

Did you contact their support? I've done so myself on a couple of occasions before and they were really helpful, even sent me some stuff for free.

I'm silly, I made a slight error lol, it did come with the proper bracket. I was just not familiar with this particular bracket. After some research I connected the supplied bracket and it is working great now.