Corsair H70 Review
Introduction
Published: 10th August 2010 | Source: Corsair | Price: £92.68 |
Introduction
Ahhh bigger. We like bigger. No matter what it is, when it comes to PC hardware, bigger is nearly universally better. Bigger hard-drives give more space. Bigger RAM gives improved application performance. Bigger heatsinks gives better cooling.
The same is true of radiators. A bigger radiator in your house produces more heat. A bigger radiator in your water-cooling loop gives lower temperatures.
Of course there are some limitations to size. You'd never fit a Noctua NHD14 into a HTPC case for example.
As you can probably tell from the cooling theme of the introduction, todays review is of something that is bigger, and therefore hopefully improved, version of a CPU Cooler we've previously tested here at OC3D.
When we tested the Corsair H50 we found it had a great mounting system and reasonable performance for a self-contained CPU water-cooler. However it just didn't have either the rad-size or pricing to be a sensible alternative to a high-end heat-pipe tower style air cooler.
Corsair have have been busy beavering away in their labs and have produced the H70. So before we take a look at this big brother to the H50, let's grab the features off of the Corsair website.
Features
- Pre-filled, closed-loop system is easy to install
- Copper CPU cooling plate for maximum cooling performance
- Integrated pump and reservoir is sealed for zero maintenance and improved leakage protection
- Large, double-thick 120mm radiator for outstanding heat dissipation
- High-performance, twin 120mm fans offer outrageous airflow in push-pull configuration
- Included step-down adapters let you customize your fan speed for low noise or high performance.
Model | CWCH70 |
Cold Plate Material | Copper |
Fan Specs | 2 x 120mm, selectable 2000RPM or 1600RPM |
Radiator Material | Aluminum |
Tubing | Low-permeability for near-zero evaporation |
The main improvements are an improved CPU block/pump and a much larger radiator. As well as the inclusion of two fans in a push-pull setup. Certainly on paper it has everything that the H50 needed. So let's take a look.
Most Recent Comments

Sounds like you were suffering a bit with man-flu tho
The radiator seems massive and it sounded pretty loud when you put the camera near the test station.
For nearly £100 it seems pretty expensive

I have seen the H50 for £50-60 so would guess a lot of people would just buy that instead.
I'm thinking of building a custom watercooled rig at the moment so seeing this review has made me think a little more (in favour of getting a proper custom loop)
Also the H50/H70 don't seem to have the ability to compete with any proper watercooling setups, if anything they seem to be a replacement for air coolers.Quote
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Looks like it will be another cult-esque success tbh, ideal for people who want water cooling for its cool factor (*groan*) but don't want to get into something that may leak and needs constant attention.
Hopefully one day (cough cough hint hint) Corsair will consider making something similar for GPUs. I would rush out to get something like this that fitted my 5770s.
I do have a criticism with this unit though. The hoses.
With my specific case (the Alienware Predator 2) the unit really needs to be in the front. The hoses simply are not long enough. Corsair know this too as many people have a similar issue to myself. Maybe in the future they can make two models. One for front mounting and one for rear.Quote