Corsair Hydro Series H90 Liquid CPU Cooler Review

Corsair’s H90 will be coming to the UK market at a price of £69.99. This means it is 10-15% cheaper than the NZXT Kraken X40 (it’s main competitor) which is currently retailing for £79.99. At that price we can see Corsair is really employing an aggressive pricing strategy. Consequently, as I will go on to explain now, I think Corsair have a better value solution than the NZXT Kraken X40, although it all depends on whether you want more features or better value for money.

If we consider what the Corsair H90 doesn’t have in relation to the NZXT Kraken X40 then we can see whether this 10-15% pricing different is justified. Firstly, the Corsair H90 doesn’t have LEDs or an LED lighting system, for me this is fine because it is a superficial part of the system that most people won’t use anyway. Secondly, the Corsair H90 uses shorter tubing in relation to the NZXT Kraken X40 which is again not really a problem for most people because the tubing is long enough to reach from the CPU socket to the back or top 140mm fan mount. Thirdly, the Corsair H90 doesn’t provide a second set of fan mounting screws which is an omission that I find shocking. It is such a low cost inclusion and will be so useful to so many people because most people that install this at the rear or top of their case will already have a 140mm case fan, so with an extra set of screws they can easily do push-pull, but this omission means they cannot do that. Fourthly, the Corsair H90 comes with no software or USB connector – so you can’t use the pump as a fan controller. Given the omission of LEDs the software would be almost redundant, acting as fan controlling software, which most of us already have as it is bundled with nearly all modern motherboards.  Finally,  the pump has no integrated fan ports, an omission that is negligible. You will probably only have one fan for the Corsair H90 that needs to be plugged in and controlled so you can just use the motherboard PWM header for that. The second fan you use is likely to be an existing case fan that you already have installed so that doesn’t need to be controlled because it is normally a fixed speed or is already plugged into a chassis motherboard fan header.

It is also worth nothing that the lack of the above-mentioned features could be a strategic decision by Corsair to allow them to release a “H90i” in the future. The H90i model would probably come with a more extensive feature set and as a result of this, a higher price point.

Looking at the positives we can see that the Corsair H90 delivers very competitive performance in relation to the competition. The inclusion of flexible wide rubber tubing is excellent because it allows for better flow and easier installation. Radiator and fan vibration is non-existent and the included fan is actually pretty darn good for such a cost effective unit. Corsair have also ensured a quality-aesthetic by making sure all cables are fully sleeved and that everything is black while the white Corsair logo on the pump is the only subtle addition. The Asetek mounting kit Corsair use is tried, trusted and effective so we have no complaints there. It is also worth noting that Corsair offer a huge five year warranty with the H90, this is compared to the relatively stingy 2 year warranty offered by NZXT. It is unlikely anything will ever go wrong, but if it does it is fantastic to see Corsair providing such an extensive warranty combined with their widely renowned customer services.

So there you have it. Corsair’s H90 is an excellent combination of performance, functionality, silence and value-for-money. If you’re finding the NZXT Kraken X40 a bit too expensive for your liking then this is definitely an excellent alternative to consider, if you don’t mind dropping a few of the “extra-but-not-necessary” features. Consequently, we feel the Corsair H90 is more than worthy of our Bang for Buck award.