The Corsair Hydro Series H100i PRO is certainly an attractive cooler. The design, while simple, is still elegant for an AIO, and the RGB LEDs add a nice bit of flair without being over the top. Better yet, they can be disabled if you wish, which will keep those who dislike LEDs happy. With the LEDs turned off, you will be left with a neutral black and gray closed-loop cooler that should fit just about any build theme. In regards to build quality, the unit is definitely above average with it being par for the course as an Asetek-based unit. Corsair's alterations and the use of their ML series fans further improves overall quality. Like other all-in-one liquid coolers, the H100i PRO is easy to install and offers good clearance for both graphics cards and system memory, making it a great option for first-time builders.

As for performance, the Corsair H100i PRO holds its own, offering better cooling than the H150i PRO did on our Coffee Lake test bench. In fact, looking at the results from our overclocked AIDA64 FPU test, which is a worst case scenario, Corsair's latest offering rivals the other closed-loop coolers, falling right into the middle of the pack. While it doesn't take the top spot they do have their solid product support and five year warranty to sway things in their favor.

In general, the various improvements and new features on offer set the new PRO series coolers apart from the previous generation with Corsair having stepped up their game to remain relevant in such a crowded market. Adding features, like Zero-RPM that mimics what has already been implemented on various graphics cards and power supplies, is a nice touch even if it's a bit gimmicky. That said, it does allow for a nearly silent system in regards to fan noise at idle or low loads. While not perfect by any means, it does work quite well with the system at stock. However, with the CPU overclocked, Zero-RPM wasn't able to hold out as well. This is due to the high temperature spikes inherent to Intel's i7 8700k when it has been overclocked without being delidded.

Praise aside, a few areas are still in need of improvement. First and foremost, the Hydro Series H100i PRO is not the top performer even though it is the loudest. With noise levels peaking at 53 dBA and the fans hitting 2460 RPM, I expected slightly better results. Even with a quieter fan profile, once the CPU is overclocked and begins to get hot, noise levels will still increase regardless. That said, it is worth pointing out that while it does get loud, the noise is predominately caused by the amount of air being pushed through the radiator as the pump is quiet enough to be unobtrusive and the fans make no grinding noises or odd tonal hums.

The performance to noise ratio needs to be further improved, at which point Corsair would have a winning combination here. Currently, the Fractal Design Celsius S24 is a much quieter and more affordable offering with similar performance. However, it does lack RGB LEDs. The Aerocool P7 L240, however, does give you RGB LEDs and is also a bit quieter with similar performance. Essentially, competition is stiff and the Hydro Series H100i PRO doesn't quite rise above the competition at the $120 price point.

When it comes to the Corsair Link/iCUE software, it worked just fine, but just feels unnecessary; it boils down to another app using resources to pick the color of the LEDs. The software has interesting features, but I myself had no use for them and only checked on them because of the review. If not for that fact, I wouldn't have bothered using it except to change the color of the LEDs. Even the profiles were an afterthought for me since it makes more sense to configure PWM settings in the BIOS without the need of extra software. Why can't it just sync with the motherboard RGB settings for a nice all in one control option.

Overall, the Corsair Hydro Series H100i PRO gives potential buyers solid performance, features, and looks if you can handle the noise output.