Corsair H100 - will a few bent radiator fins really mess up my cooling?

[Macgruber]

so i bought a CORSAIR H100 in store, and i noticed a few of the radiator fins are bent... id say about 5-7 out of the thousand on the radiator block


should i return this to the store and try to get a 100% perfect radiator or am i being unrealistic? will a few bent radiator fins really mess up my cooling?

i tried to even them out with a tiny screwdriver and it didnt put them back to natural state but it improved them from being squeezed together.. also one of those fins is broken in the outside link

http://www.guru3d.com/miraserver/images/2011/corsair-h100/IMG_5006.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-thkuG8RZZos/T--n7G7tO3I/AAAAAAAADRQ/giiSZ2xE770/s1600/7.png

 

[Macgruber]

ill take some pics tomorrow morning, if someone can give me a headsup, ill take it back to the store and see if the other ones are 100%.. there was only like 1-2 on shelf so theres chance none are better, but if it really wont matter ill just keep it..

tbh i just dont want this 140$ that i overpaid to bite me in the but a few mnths down because of those actual bent fins

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

A few bent fins won't affect your cooling at all.

 

[Macgruber]

A few bent fins won't affect your cooling at all.

thank you magnus

even if one is snapped on the outside corner like where it links to make the U shape its a \/ instead, do you think over time it will mess with me?


After reading someone elses post and seeing hes at 4ghz with a h100 and getting up to 67*C at 100% load... imreally scared to install

i get mad 65*C under 100% load ibt/p95 with air cooling thermaltake contac 30 :/ i thought liquid cooling was going to drop me at least 10*C........... i might just return this tomorrow and save me 140$

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Fins on radiators bend quite easily. Some folks have managed to do it just installing the radiator. Water cooling is good but, closed loop systems like the H100 while fine, don't really improve over top of the line air cooling. Everyone has a different system, case, CPU thermals etc. so, the results one person gets aren't always what you will get. There's a bit of magic involved or, at least, too many factors to measure and account for.

 

[Macgruber]

Fins on radiators bend quite easily. Some folks have managed to do it just installing the radiator. Water cooling is good but, closed loop systems like the H100 while fine, don't really improve over top of the line air cooling. Everyone has a different system, case, CPU thermals etc. so, the results one person gets aren't always what you will get. There's a bit of magic involved or, at least, too many factors to measure and account for.

yeah, to be honest, i installed more ram and my fan wont mount on my contac 30 due to the ram being in the way so i had to put the fan on the other side making the open blades face the heatsink and as a result im getting an annoying buzzing noise

so it went from ultra silent you cant hear that the pc is on to a buzzing noise from a fan in the background
i honestly hope the h100 can keep my CPU cooler, i always thought liquid cooling would BLOW air cooling by far but its sad if a 30$ heatsink+fan can outperform a 110-140$ liquid cooling system -_-

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

yeah, to be honest, i installed more ram and my fan wont mount on my contac 30 due to the ram being in the way so i had to put the fan on the other side making the open blades face the heatsink and as a result im getting an annoying buzzing noise

so it went from ultra silent you cant hear that the pc is on to a buzzing noise from a fan in the background
i honestly hope the h100 can keep my CPU cooler, i always thought liquid cooling would BLOW air cooling by far but its sad if a 30$ heatsink+fan can outperform a 110-140$ liquid cooling system -_-

As I said, everyone has a different case, system and, components. I use an old Koolance system I'm quite happy with. However, I'm in the minority these days in that I don't have a problem with fan noise and don't really care if my system is silent or not. The H100 is a decent closed loop solution. You won't know if it works for you til you've installed it.

 

[Macgruber]

you're right man, only way to find out , but i truly hope its better

my cpu is at 100% usage, im running 11gb of 16gb right now and my temps have not passed 63*C with Prime95 running torture test of in place large FFTs for heat consumption

my fan setup is sloppy, 1 intake in front, 1 exhaust in back with the contac 30 fan pushing that exhaust and my temps are still great

this is going to be a pain in the arse! i hope they dont screw me on a 15% restocking fee if i return it after trying it im really worried im watching so many youtube vids with people using H100 and having higher temps than mine with loud ass fans lol

 

[dma0991]

A few bent fins won't affect much. Worse case scenario is if you managed to puncture the flat tubes that runs parallel with the radiator. Water cooling is like air cooling except that you could redirect the flow of the heat as you please. That being said, ambient temps will the variable that sets apart your Corsair H100i from others.