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When Intel launched its high-end 3960X CPU last month, it also debuted a new liquid cooling solution. Typical boxed Intel CPUs ship with a heatsink+fan, but the company noted that the majority of its enthusiast customers bought third-party solutions. The new liquid cooler — it goes by the inspiring moniker of RTS2011LC — is meant to offer enthusiasts and OEMs an Intel-brand solution they’ll actually use.

The cooler is actually manufactured by Asetek, which also builds solutions for AMD, Antec, and Corsair. These types of closed-loop liquid coolers have become increasingly popular in recent years as manufacturers have experimented with maintenance-free systems that don’t require cleaning or occasional topping up.

One important thing to remember is that just because Intel and AMD have started offering liquid coolers doesn’t make them necessary. Intel’s six-core 3960X CPU carries a TDP of 130W, just like the first generation of quad-core “Extreme Edition” Nehalem CPUs. Any heatsink capable of dissipating 130W or more will have no trouble handling the 3960X, provided you have access to the appropriate mounting hardware.

Intel unintentionally underlines this point in its own product literature when it notes that it intends to launch a sub-$20 air-cooled solution for current and future Sandy Bridge-E and Ivy Bridge-E parts. Granted, such coolers probably won’t be the quietest things in the world — but a 4x price premium is a hefty one.

Performance

We compared Intel’s RTS2011LC (estimated price tag between $85 – $100) against Corsair’s high-end H100 Extreme. The H100 is ~$20 more expensive than Intel’s solution and uses a large rectangular radiator that’s designed to be mounted at the top of a case. It also ships with a pair of 120mm fans while the Intel cooler makes do with one.

One point of difference between the two coolers that we need to address up front is their fan speeds. Intel’s liquid cooler automatically increases or decreases based on CPU temperature from ~850 RPM at idle to ~2400 RPM when overclocked at full load.

Corsair’s H100 does a certain amount of dynamic adjustment, but the button on top of the pump is used to select one of three preset ranges. There’s therefore more potential variation in noise and performance. Our first two tests were conducted with the H100 set to “Quiet” mode while our final overclocking test used the “Performance” preset.

Given the difference in price and configuration, we expect the H100 to outperform the 2011LC — but by how much?

Next page: Stock and overclocked benchmark results