Corsair iCUE H115i RGB Elite

Corsair's iCUE H115i RGB ELITE is certainly a strong contender in the 280 mm AIO arena. Overall performance is great, it isn't class-leading across the board, but it is respectable on both our Intel and AMD test benches. It easily kept both CPUs from thermal throttling in all of the Overclock tests. In regards to performance per dollar, it could be a bit better, as the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 280 A-RGB certainly wins hands down on that front. Regardless, Corsair's latest all-in-one liquid cooler may not bury its direct competition; the fact is it's highly competitive and holds a clear edge in other areas. First and foremost would be quality of life features. The installation process on both AMD and Intel is extremely simple and quick. Corsair's design shows their intention to make the process as easy as possible, and I commend them for that. On our AM4 test bench, Corsair's usage of threaded standoffs made securing the AMD motherboard backplate easy. More importantly, I didn't need to hold it in place along with a bunch of other parts in order to mount the pump. The iCUE H115i RGB ELITE is one of the easiest liquid coolers to install on both the hardware and wiring front. At the same time, while I may not be a fan of iCUE as it simply reinvents the wheel of motherboard software for ARGB control along with PWM fan profiles etc. The usage of 1 wiring harness does make cable management a literal breeze, and being able to keep an eye on coolant temperature is a nice touch as well. Then, of course, there is build quality. As touched on previously, the mounting hardware is great, but on top of that, the fit and finish of the overall product are very good as well. My only real complaint would be the finish of the copper cold plate. A bit more attention here would be nice, granted, not necessary, but still nice. I think the real key aspect that sets the Corsair iCUE H115i RGB ELITE apart from the competition is its 5-year warranty. Something few competing AIO coolers offer. For someone that likes to set it and forget it, this type of warranty is certainly hard to ignore. Other than that, the iCUE H115i RGB ELITE has everyone's favorite feature, ARGB lighting, but it is stuck between non-existent and flamboyant. I know many readers that would prefer not to pay for a feature they have no use for. Meanwhile, most users opting for RGB products want maximum bling. This middle-of-the-road approach, at first glance, seems to miss the point. But I think it's the right choice. If you want something more in your face, Corsair and their competitors have those units available. Meanwhile, a tasteful bit of lighting can be a nice touch, without making my rig look like it's full of unicorn vomit. Sometimes less is more, depending on personal taste. Thankfully, turning off the lighting doesn't hurt the unit's appeal either, so those wanting no lighting or only a little will find the H115i RGB ELITE a fantastic fit. Overall the Corsair iCUE H115i RGB ELITE is a solid 280 mm all-in-one liquid cooler that delivers good performance, is easy to install, and is backed by a stellar warranty. Take all that into account, and you have a cooler that is easy to recommend.

With any cooling solution it is always a balance between noise and heat-dissipation. As we said in our introduction the 120mm AIO options are usually too small to be able to be run quietly or on high performance processors. As you move up the radiator sizing you can therefore lower your fan speeds and obtain a similar level of cooling on much slower fans. It's all about surface area. That's all well and good but of course most of us don't own cases that could fit a 480mm radiator in them, and indeed a lot of cases have issues with 360mm radiators. The Corsair H115i Elite hits that sweet spot between being compact enough that you can buy it without needing to measure your case mounting points, but not so small that you have to sit next to something doing a vacuum cleaner impression in its attempts to tame your temperatures. Our test system is deliberately using the Core i9-9900K as it's a well known high-heat CPU, but even then the Corsair H115i Elite utilised its 280mm radiator and twin AF-Elite fans to keep things fairly cool and quiet on the balanced profile. Clicking up to faster fan speeds had a dramatic effect on our temperatures, albeit at a noise level that we would find hard to live with on a long-term basis. That's the great thing about CPU cooling though. Some of you will be trying to cool much more efficient processors than our Core i9, and thus lower fan speeds will still be able to keep things under control. Some of you won't mind the extra noise of faster fan speeds in exchange for the security of knowing that even in weather such as we're enduring at the moment or with a high performance processor under that RGB pump, everything will be cool. The Corsair H115i Elite might not have the flash and flair of many AIOs we've seen recently. The pump doesn't have a screen, the radiator fans aren't RGB, but what it does give you is solid cooling in a package that will fit all cases, and at a relatively affordable price point. Sometimes doing a job well, even if its unglamorous, is enough. We really did feel like this needed to have a bigger price gap between the CAPPILEX unit that sits above it at £159. We personally don't think the savings match the lack of RGB fans and the commander pro price wise. The Elite does however make the CAPPILEX model now look much better value and out of the two we really would spend that tiny bit extra.