Prefilled Water Cooling Just Got A Lot More Compact With Corsair H5 SF

News
By Kevin Carbotte
published

Corsair has announced the immediate availability of its new small form factor H5 SF closed loop cooler. The compact water cooling solution is designed specifically for Mini-ITX motherboards, and it should fit in practically any small form factor case.

At Computex this year, Corsair revealed an upcoming enthusiast barebones HTPC Kit it called Bulldog. With that kit, the company revealed a compact closed loop cooler, the H5 SF, that fit inside the limited space of the small form factor case. The cooling solution was designed specifically for the Bulldog case, but the company has revealed that it is being released as a standalone product so it can be used in other Mini-ITX cases.

Corsair’s H5 SF is the company’s first attempt at a small form factor closed loop cooler. Corsair said it has been designed with Mini-ITX motherboards in mind and claimed that it is compatible with all boards in that form factor. The entire cooler mounts directly to the motherboard, and it doesn’t require a fan mount or other bracket for installation.

The cooler has been engineered to meet the demands of even the most demanding CPUs while leaving headroom for overclocking potential. It features a high-performance cold plate that mounts directly to the CPU. Corsair said it used low permeability flexible tubing for long lasting use and ease of installation. The tubing leads to the integrated 120 x 40 mm radiator, which is cooled by a 120 mm blower fan. Corsair said the fan has been tuned for low noise operation. The company also noted that the fan is positioned to draw heat from the VRMs and chipset heatsinks, which can help keep the overall system temperatures down to a minimum.

Corsair said the H5 SF closed loop cooler will fit in the most confined cases, though it specifically listed only its own products, no competitor cases. The Corsair Obsidian 250D, Graphite 380T and Carbide 240 Air cases are all officially compatible, and the Bulldog barebones HTPC includes the H5 SF cooler. Corsair said the cooler sits 84 mm tall, so as long as there is clearance, the cooler should fit in any SFF chassis.

Corsair’s H5 SF closed loop cooler is available worldwide through Corsair’s network of retailers and distributors. It carries an MSRP of $79.99.

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Kevin Carbotte

 Kevin Carbotte is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware who primarily covers VR and AR hardware. He has been writing for us for more than four years. 

77 Comments Comment from the forums
  • jimmysmitty
    That is a very interesting design. Might allow for higher end products in tighter spaces.

    Gotta wait and see the reviews I guess.
    Reply
  • toddybody
    Nice to see non-conventional designs...though, temps will tell if it's a winner.

    It reminds me alot of a GPU blower cooler...
    Reply
  • Gam3r01
    I like that design, nice to see something new.
    I am skeptical of the blower style fan (if the noise level is low then I'm all for it). Im interested to see how well it performs however.
    Reply
  • Brice McIntosh
    Available on Newegg now if anyone is interested. Ordered one for my 380T that I was just putting together. Good timing Corsair!
    Reply
  • ragenalien
    Interesting, I can barely fit a closed loop in my RVZ01 and that was the only thing keeping me from upgrading to the smaller RVZ02. This could solve that.
    Reply
  • Gam3r01
    17061571 said:
    Available on Newegg now if anyone is interested. Ordered one for my 380T that I was just putting together. Good timing Corsair!

    Let us know how that thing performs!
    Reply
  • gilbadon
    That bracket to fit into the existing uITX motherboard mount holes is really smart and cool.
    Reply
  • Chochbag
    Looks like they are using this with their premade "Bulldog" PC.
    http://www.corsair.com/en/landing/bulldog

    No specs listed for case size but that looks like they crammed a lot of high end components into a fairly small case. Good idea of what you might be able to do with it.
    Reply
  • McWhiskey
    Interesting, I can barely fit a closed loop in my RVZ01 and that was the only thing keeping me from upgrading to the smaller RVZ02. This could solve that.

    I wouldn't hold your breath. As stated this is designed for their bulldog system. The case for that system is far wider than the RVZ02. This might fit in your RVZ01 though.
    Reply
  • HeatherHaze
    I really like the unconventional design of this cooler; time and reviews will tell if the fan noise and temps are up to par. Having just recently built a SFF M-ITX build for my dad, I will say that motherboard compatibility shouldn't be a problem, but case choice definitely will. I used a Cooler Master Elite 130 in that build and the PSU mounts above the mobo effectively keeping a design like this from working in that case and I assume others with similar design.
    Reply