Packaging and Accessories

CORSAIR has adopted a black and yellow color scheme for most of their new products, DIY or otherwise, and the Hydro XD3 pump/reservoir combo unit is no exception. The packaging gets a plastic cover, and a matte cardboard wrap helps with aesthetics and information alike, especially for the retail channels these will be stocked in. On the front is the company and product name and a printed render of the product with RGB LEDs in action, no doubt integrated within as with other Hydro X series products. Indeed, the product name here lists RGB, which adds to the whole idea of CORSAIR wanting to provide a comprehensive lighting ecosystem across their product portfolio. More renders, marketing features, and specifications in multiple languages greet us on the back and sides.


A flap on the side opens up to reveal layered packaging inside, with the top layer containing some of the accessories paired with the XD3 pump/reservoir combo. First up is a set of two metal installation brackets for 120 or 140 mm fan-hole spacings. As we saw on the previous page, the XD5 pump/reservoir combo unit can be installed alongside fans of both sizes, or essentially anywhere with such fan-hole spacings in your case, in addition to the standalone installation. These brackets have been given a glossy black nickel finish, which looks clean and understated in most cases. The rest of the contents come in a plastic blister clamshell, which opens up to reveal a mounting bracket and a handy quick-start guide in multiple languages. Do go through the guide if this is your first time with a custom watercooling loop since CORSAIR has done a good job of keeping it user friendly. There is also a warranty guide you will hopefully not need but is always good to have just in case.


The metal mounting bracket has a similar finish as the other two brackets we saw above. There are also three acetal BSP G1/4" threaded stop plugs, installation hardware involving eight metal thumb screws, four metal self-tapping screws, four metal mounting screws, four metal locking nuts and washers, a plastic plug tool to install the stop plugs, and a bridge plug tool to use with the 24-pin ATX PSU cable for pump power without the rest of your system on and running. The low-profile nature of the stop plugs means there is not a lot of grip, but you may still want to try finger-tightening them before resorting to the plug tool. CORSAIR also includes a stop plug temperature sensor fitting, which is nice to see, and it has the CORSAIR branding on it combined with the Bitspower manufacturing behind it.