As you can see below the acoustics of the fan in its stock form aren’t that great. Being a 3 pin fan, the fan speed is fixed at the maximum RPM of 1700. At 1700RPM it is quite loud and you wouldn’t really want it operating like that 24/7 – even inside a case it would be audible. However, with the low noise adapter, the Corsair H55 is highly competitive. The pump is generally very quite and only makes “water-moving” noises on start up and shut down, the fan is the only part of the system that makes any noticeable noise so by capping the fan with an adapter the acoustics improve a lot and thankfully as seen on the previous page the temperatures do not suffer that much.
Fixed speeds means the acoustics do not change as we rise from a stock frequency to an overclocked frequency. Consequently the Corsair H55 moves up the rankings and actually finds itself in a highly competitive position if you use a fan speed reducer cable. However, with the default fan speed it is very loud in comparison to the competition. We really think Corsair should bundle a low noise adapter or PWM fan with the H55 to give it that competitive edge.
I can’t say for sure but apparently the included TIM is of very good quality. I feel Corsair should have bundled these units with one of their excellent SP120 series fans.
I agree to an extent. It definitely needs a PWM fan, the SP120 or AF120 fans would of been ideal but even something cheaper with a lower fan speed would of just been better. I am not sure how good the included TIM is, we always use Gelid GC-Extreme because it keeps consistency and is the best TIM on the market
I’m not sure I agree with your idea of a cheaper low speed fan but I do agree wholeheartedly with your choice of TIM.
When you compare any of the Corsair or similar water cooling solutions to and equally or lower priced heatsink/fan, the heatsink/fan cools better, has lower noise and can’t leak water. Who actually buys these water cooling systems when they are inferior? It doesn’t make any sense to me especially with the know hardware damage that has happen when thes leak.
Well in my opinion the H55 is clearly offering a lot of performance here on Ivy Bridge. I understand the concerns about leakages, but what you have to consider is that if you install the product correctly and handle it appropriately, it will probably never leak. The risk is minimal but yes you are right it does still exist. As personal preference, I’d much rather have a good dual tower heatsink with 3 silent low RPM fans but AIO water loops do represent something more flexible and more compatible with most cases on the market. yes you don’t get as much bang for buck, but for some reason they are in fashion.
My plans are to buy another water cooled or liguid cooled system and as far as the price and performance the Corsair H55 would be great choice but I also have my eys oe Corsiar H100i! So I guess I got a decsion t mae! Masurering for clearnce in my csae will be the first thing I have t do to seeif the H100i will fit then I will able to decide then!