Corsair H80 Question

[Sam25]

Hello,

I have been using the Corsair H80 (not H80i) for the last 6 years now and was wondering how long is it safe to use these closed loop liquid coolers on a system? Is it time to change the cooler after such long use?

It has been cooling my i5-2500k and still works without any issues. Keeps the 2500k (stock) at about 62-64C while gaming and 42-44C on idle. I'm in India so the ambient temperatures are high but my house is air-conditioned almost all through the day so ambient room temperature is around 26-27C.

I thought of changing the fans on the radiator to some Cooler Master MasterFan Pro 120 Air Pressure fans but just didn't get around to doing so.

Regards,
Sam25

 

[BonzaiDuck]

My opinion might be worth something, even if I've only "investigated" a range of AiO and exotic water-cooling options over the last decade. I can tell you this from what I'd read here and elsewhere.

Whatever the MTBF on the integrated water-pump may be, I thought I saw where either the warranty period or the expected life was maybe 6 years. By contrast, heatpipes have an MTBF of a million years, per a NASA study conducted many years ago.

I have an 850W Seasonic "X" Gold series power-supply in another system. the PSU is exactly six years old with a five year warranty. The system has begun to fail coming out of sleep, but will work fine if only hibernate is enabled. So it is starting to fail. I had planned to replace it now, anyway.

Maybe living in India you never saw a TV broadcast of the Lesbian African-American Comedienne, Wanda Sykes. She had a monologue about some exchange with an old man, talking about his worn-out "member" -- his "Schwanzstucker" -- his "Willie." The old man was buying up Viagra like there was no tomorrow. And she said "You've had a good long run with that old thing anyway. Why don't you just forget about it and move on with your life?"

So perhaps you may consider two possibilities. Just replace the H80 now. Or -- begin investigating choices of a new cooler, settle on one, plan how you will fit it in or install it, and wait for the old one to fail.

On the other hand, that's a 2500K you have there. In addition to my Skylake 6700K system, I have a 2600K and a 2700K in the house, both with air-coolers. With the entire Sandy Bridge line, old enthusiasts have had a long run with that thing, but still debate whether or not to upgrade. It depends on your usage profile, your techn-curiosity, your techno-lust and your wallet. You could just wait until you retire the system.

I say that because spending money on another H80 or H80i won't be good for you unless you planned and calculated that the cooler would be useful for the latest processor and system. In other words, if starting from scratch with a Kaby Lake or Skylake, would you buy the H80 or pick something like a Kraken X62, H115i or something else?

 

[Sam25]

Hello @BonzaiDuck, thank-you for your input regarding this, appreciate it!

I was actually contemplating on changing my 2500k recently and had posted a thread regarding that as well here at AT. Eventually though I have decided to stick with my 2500k for the greater part of this year, at least till late October. I am playing Battlefield 1 these days and the game has been running seamlessly on my system without any gripes. No other newer title that I have played has troubled the rig as well. The primary need for the rig in question is gaming and that is presently being well catered to by the 2500k.

Having said that, the processor has been running on the H80 for thus long and thus the thought of changing the cooler came to my mind. If I am going to be using the chip for the greater part of the year, I was thinking if I should invest in a new cooler or not. I could pick up a cheaper air cooler like a CM 212 for the time being or I could spend much more and get myself a Corsair H115i. I'm just apprehensive of my presently running H80 failing suddenly!

 

[BonzaiDuck]

" . . just apprehensive . . . " I understand that.

There's a funny chauvinist story about a housewife who took her car in for repair. The mechanic asked when she noticed the malfunction. She tells him about 2 months earlier. So he asks why she didn't bring it in for repair earlier.

And she says "I thought if I kept driving it, it would fix itself . . . "

So conversely I'd ask if the cooler seems to function just as it had during its first several months of usage. Sometimes our attention to these things can be raised if we thought we "noticed something different." A noise . . . a temperature. Perhaps even a fan?

I've got a 2700K @ 4.7Ghz HT-enabled. I'm trying to imagine how much extra cash I'd put into it since I built it. But it's a great machine and promises to last for several more years. I built my Skylake just out of curiosity and an anxiety about "keeping my irons in the fire." If I could put an NVMe drive in the 2700K system, I would do it. If I had done it, I might have repressed my curiosity a bit longer.

But it all boils down to stocks and flows of cash, uncertainties about other needs and a penchant for planning computer-builds and purchases.

I don't like "down-time." I've been known to purchase parts in advance, knowing that I had a deliberate plan to replace them anyway.