CORSAIR HYDRO SERIES H55 AIO Liquid CPU Cooler, 120mm Radiator, 120mm Fan

So I purchased this after getting an i7-4790k (socket LGA1150), because the stock cooler had the processor running at around 95*c in a 2 minute benchmark test! 95* is unacceptable for a processor. It's barely acceptable for a GPU, i don't care what you say AMD! Anyway, I purchased this with SO MUCH TREPIDATION, because i was not looking forward to ripping out my motherboard. That's a major overhaul for anyone. But after checking out the other air coolers, this one was the best price for the most performance.So during the shipping wait, i did do some research to determine why my processor was running so hot. Seems like the voltage was set way to high by default, so i turned it down from 1.35 to 1.20, and that dropped the heat by about 10 to 15 degrees in another benchmark, so honestly, running my CPU under load at 80 to 85*c was not that bad. I could almost live with that, so i was starting to regret my purchase.The next thing i did while waiting for it to arrive was watch the youtube video that demo's the installation, hosted by Corsair themselves. Here it is if you wanna see it http://youtu.be/PUxoFiFuS_g . Okay, so i will say, watching the demo is a MUST, because the directions simply suck. To quote a pirate: "They're more like guidelines, really." So do watch the demo.The installation was very smooth, other than my annoyance at having to remove the motherboard, which meant ripping out my graphics card, as well as the fan in the back to make room for the new one, unplugging all the peripherals, undoing all my beautiful cable management, and of course, removing the stock cpu fan, and cleaning off the thermal compound (i used 70% rubbing alcohol and about 20 q-tips). It took an hour just to get started! But once i was started, the cooler installed easily with no issues.Before returning the side panels, i plugged it in and checked to make sure i didn't screw anything up. It booted up to windows, and i turned it off, redid my beautiful cable management, and returned the pc to it's home. I will say the Hydro Series cooler looks very cool in the case, just sleek and smooth. Not that it matters, as i don't have a glass side panel or anything (that stuff is for the cool kids).Now let's talk about temps. I reran several benchmarks, and instead of peaking at 95*c... i peaked at 60*c, but usually stayed around 40 to 50 which was just shocking to me. I idled around 20*c compared to 55*c, or 45*c after lowering the voltage. So all in all, i am very happy i purchased the cooler and took the time to install it. The lower temps will give me some room to work and relieve any worry about overheating. Highly recommend this product.Oh, and i got the quiet edition, and I did not notice any "water" sounds or loud fan sounds as other reviewers did. Well i could hear the fan, but it was an acceptable decibel.

Originally bought to cool a graphics card, but eventually used for its original purpose of CPU cooling. Works well. Keeps the CPU in mid 20s C when idle and brings temps back down quickly. Under full load (6600K running 4.5Ghz) in the 70s (did peak at 79C) when running Prime95 4 threads. That works for me since that will be the absolute worse case scenario. Fan and pump are NOT PWM. You can only control them through voltage control via software product like SpeedFan. However, using that gives you a lot of control to further limit any remaining noise. My temps of mid 20s is pump running 50% and fan at 33% which makes it silent. The pump itself is VERY quiet on my unit; even at full speed. Overall, impressed with everything but the installation. Holding the back while trying the thread the screes on the top is difficult for one person. Not impossible, just difficult. One screw would not catch. Was concerned about messing up the pre-applied paste; did not change it out and kept the default past included on the pump/block. The unit is designed to work with multiple mountings and CPUs, so things are adjustable. This is another way of saying that everything does not always stay where it should stay when assembling. Again, minor issue, but it was frustrating at first. Once installed, it worked as expected and does it quietly. I'm curious how much the H60 or a larger 240mm unit (H100, 105, 110, and other variants) units would perform on keeping 100% CPU temps down; below my 70s for H55. I doubt I need that for what I do, since most of the time my CPU is in the 30s or 40s when gaming and other load; youtube and what not. F.Y.I. - AIO is "all in one". Air cooling can have similar and even better results if you got a top of the line air cooler. The Zalman ($35) that this replaced, worked well. This works a little better. Not sure the price is worth the slight improvement in cooling. The Zalman was also quiet, but was definitely louder under load once it's fan ramped up. That 100% usage condition normally does not happen during 99.99 percent of my usage.