Installation

Installing the Corsair Hydro Series H90 on Intel's Socket 2011 platform is far from strenuous, but is certainly not as easy as with the H100. Using the standoffs marked for the 2011 Socket, users simply have to feed the screw through the top clip and down through the Intel mounting bracket. From there, line the bottom clip for the proper socket up and push it over the screw before locking it into place on the mount. Unlike other Intel sockets, there is no backplate, nor is bolting necessary with the 2011 Socket. AMD sockets and all other Intel sockets will, on the other hand, need the appropriate backplate.


After installing all the thumb screws to the mounting bracket, users will need to line the small metal clips up with the slots on the pump itself before pushing the mounting ring from the bottom up to lock the bracket in place. The pump is now ready to be installed.


While the Corsair Hydro Series H90 does come with pre-applied thermal paste, I removed it to keep testing fair by using the same TIM on every cooler (Artic Silver Ceramique). After applying the TIM, it was a simple process of lining the four holes on the Intel mounting hardware up with the four screws that were previously attached to the pump. Simply screw the pump down while applying even pressure and make sure not to over-tighten the thumb screws, as the small nuts on the backplate used for all other Intel and AMD sockets can be stripped. Once attached, connect the 3-pin power connectors for the pump to the CPU fan header.


Now the fan can be installed. Users should have no problems here, as all that remains is to slide the washers onto each screw before attaching the radiator and fan to the back or top of the chassis. The most typical orientation, and the one Corsair recommends, is to mount the fan and radiator at the back of the chassis sucking air in. At this point, attach the 4-pin fan connector to a secondary CPU fan header or motherboard fan header of your choice.

Overall, the process of installing the Corsair Hydro Series H90 wasn't too hard; the cooler is a 6 on a scale of 1 (hardest) to 10 (easiest). Compared to the previously released H100, the H90 is more difficult to install, but not terribly so.