Packaging and Accessories

CORSAIR has adopted a black and yellow color scheme for most of their new products, DIY or otherwise, and the Hydro XC7 CPU water block is no exception. The packaging gets a plastic cover, and a matte cardboard wrap helps with aesthetics and information alike, especially given the retail channels these will be stocked in. On the front is the company and product name, a printed render of the block with the LEDs in action, and the CPU socket compatibility list to ensure no buyer's regret on that front. Marketing features and specifications greet us on the back and sides in multiple languages.


Single flaps and seals on the top and bottom help keep the contents inside in place, and opening either side helps access them. I appreciate that CORSAIR has gone with a closed two-layer plastic clamshell for the primary components, which results in them arriving in top condition. Inside the box, we also find a handy quick-start guide (online copy here), again in multiple languages, as well as a warranty notice. Do go through the guide if this is your first time with a custom watercooling loop. CORSAIR has done a good job of keeping it user friendly.


Owing to the nature of supporting more CPU sockets relative to the Hydro XC9, the CORSAIR Hydro XC7 comes with the installation hardware separately alongside the block inside the plastic clamshell. Here, we see an AMD mounting bracket, given the Intel bracket comes pre-installed on the block, a block socket backplate, four plastic washers in their own plastic zip-lock pouch, and a set of four mounting posts, springs, spring washers, and mounting nuts tied together for neater packaging even though you need to separate them for the actual installation. I would rather they came separated, but this is a personal preference only and by no means a real complaint.