Corsair iCUE H150i RGB Pro XT Review

When it comes to enthusiast PC hardware, Corsair has been top of their game for years. From some of the best power supplies to some of the best peripherals, they've got a bit of everything. Today, we'll be taking a closer look at one of their latest enthusiast coolers, the rather long-named Corsair iCUE H150i RGB Pro XT. It's a 360mm all-in-one (AIO) liquid cooler, offering up a bit of RGB and a lot of cooling performance, at least, we hope that's what it offers. Of course, it comes with support for just about every major socket out there right now. From FM1 and LGA 1150 right through to AM4, sTR4, 2011-3, and 2066. Offering up three 120mm fans over the 360mm, you've got some serious cooling potential to tame even the most extreme CPUs on the market today. We'll be giving it a fair trial with our Intel Core i9-9900K, which is no slouch when it comes to turning electricity into equal measures of heat and performance. Features Magnetic Levitation Fans: Three 120mm CORSAIR ML Series fans deliver improved airflow for extreme CPU cooling performance.Dynamic Multi-Zone RGB Pump Head: 16 Individually addressable RGB LEDs light up the pump head to produce stunning, customisable lighting effects to match your build.Extreme CPU Cooling: Experience the incredible cooling performance, with each fan running from 400 to 2,400 RPM while in operation.Zero RPM Mode: Zero RPM cooling profiles in CORSAIR iCUE software allow fans to stop entirely at low temperatures, eliminating fan noise.Powerful iCUE Software: Control and synchronise your cooler’s RGB lighting with all iCUE compatible devices, monitor CPU and coolant temperatures and adjust fan and pump speeds. What Corsair Had to Say "Equipped with 16 individually addressable RGB LEDs on the pump head, the H150i RGB PRO XT is customizable through CORSAIR iCUE software, letting you create vivid lighting effects, adjust fan speeds, and enable Zero RPM mode to keep the noise down at low temperatures. With a thermally optimized cold plate and low-noise pump design, along with easy installation on most major CPU sockets, the H150i RGB PRO XT pairs killer looks with chiller performance." - Corsair Product Trailer Packaging The Corsair iCUE H150i RGB Pro XT comes in a pretty long box, but given it has to house a 360mm radiator and accessories, that's hardly surprising. I'm happy to see it's in the now-standard Corsair yellow and black design box. Always a sign of brand confidence, there are lots of details photos of the product all over the various sides of the box. All the main specifications are detailed on the back, including all of the dimensions. This is a big cooler, so it's best to ensure it will fit. There's also some detail on the RGB pump, which as you can see is the only RGB on here, the fans are black/grey design. In the box, you'll find all the usual accessories, such as the mounting brackets, backplates, and loads of various screws for all the relevant motherboard configurations. There's nothing here that's particularly surprising to anyone that's seen an AIO before, but it's good to see it all included. Just a shame the thermal paste is pre-applied, as I would like to have seen a small tube of paste included instead. A Closer Look The fans are the Corsair ML Series model. They're really well known, well tried and tested fans that have been around for ages now. They operate up to 2400RPM, however, this cooler has zero RPM tech, so you can get total silence and passively cool below a threshold. All the fans come with PWM headers, and you simply hook them directly to your motherboard. The radiator is nice and clean looking. Perfectly straight edges, with a nice capped off design on the ends. It's very simple looking, very uniform, and should blend in with your build easily. It measures 397mm long and 27mm thick (without the fans). There's thick tubing while is obviously pre-fitted, and it comes with a thick and durable braided to keep it looking neat and tidy. The pump is very nicely designed too, with a surprisingly low-profile design. Modern pumps really are a lot smaller and that's a good thing, as it improves compatibility with your motherboard. Plus there's a ring of LED lighting as well as an LED back-lit Corsair logo and surround on the top. The tubing is mounted with a pivot design on the sides, allowing even better placement and compatibility. There's a small USB port on the side, which is required for the RGB control. Plus, for a quick and easy install, the paste is pre-applied. Installation Fitting an AIO isn't too difficult, although the added size of this one can be a bit more tricky to handle. The first job is fitting those three fans, and with them on, it really is starting to look pretty epic. The mounting bracket is a multi-socket design, so be sure you orientate the pieces for your desired socket. The thermal paste is pre-applied anyway, so it's just a case of screwing it down onto your motherboard at this point. Don't forget to download the Corsair iCUE software to control RGB and benefit from any monitoring features. I'm sure some would like RGB fans too, but that would cost a lot more. Personally, just the pump is enough for me. Performance It's hardly surprising that the biggest cooler that I've had on this enthusiast test-bench is also the coolest. It's the only 360mm cooler I've had on this setup, and it makes light work of the i9-9900K at stock clocks. Locking the CPU to 5GHz quickly ramped up the heat for most coolers, with the 120mm air-cooled Noctua hitting a whopping 95c in a hurry. However, the TDP capabilities of the H150i are a LOT higher, and that managed to top just 79c. Still hot, but for a 9900K running at the red line, it's pretty damn impressive. What I do love about this CPU cooler is that it can stop the fans entirely. That means it gave me NO noise at low load and stock clocks. Not bad at all, of course, they spun up under load but still seemed to idle at a mere 34 dBa. When I overclocked, the idle mode was still active, which is bloody impressive. However, the noise levels did hit 54 dBa at full load. Now, what's interesting is that this is competitive with other AIOs I've tested, but they only had two fans running, this has three, so it's more impressive than it seems. How Much Does it Cost? Unfortunately, stock of PC hardware, like many things, is really sporadic right now. However, I advise that you check for stock and pricing at Amazon UK here and Amazon US here. However, you can expect a retail price of around £140-160 here in the UK. Overview Corsair has a strong history and reputation to live up to with the enthusiast PC market, and clearly that's all still intact after today's review. The Corsair iCUE H150i RGB Pro XT may have a clunky name, but it's certainly not a clunky product. It seems strange to see yet another Corsair AIO without RGB fans, but honestly, I think it's the best move they've made in a while. They have a LOT of RGB products out there on their flagship hardware. This still has that same premium pump and radiator design but in a lot more sensible and mature aesthetic. OK, there's RGB on the pump, but it's more of an assent than a focus. Build Quality Corsair has been making coolers for many years and it shows. This is up there with the best in the AIO world, and for around £150, it's the premium product you would expect it to be. Great quality fans, a quiet and reliable pump, a clean and well-engineered radiator, it really is the sum of its parts. Plus, their easy to use mounting system is always a welcome addition. Performance While the Corsair iCUE H150i RGB Pro XT made easy work of our i9-9900K, I suspect it'll make similarly light work of even more extreme CPUs. The next generation of Intel CPUs are rumoured to run pretty toastily, plus you've got X299, Threadripper and other extreme solutions that require some serious cooling to get them running their best. For the extreme PC user that can't be bothered to custom loop cool, the Corsair iCUE H150i RGB Pro XT is going to big pretty popular. Should I Buy One? OK, so this is a big and rather expensive cooler, it's likely overkill for many PC users and gamers. However, with it running at zero dBa in low-load, and being ultra-quiet and efficient while gaming, I can certainly see it getting broader appeal with high-end gaming PC builds, yet it still has the power to deal with extreme workloads on workstations too. Sound like your idea of fun? Then this is the cooler for you! Corsair iCUE H150i RGB Pro XT Review