A Closer Look

The assembled cooler

The H105 sports a 240mm radiator, and though the H100/100i also employ this width there is a significant difference here.

H100 at left, H105 on the right

The H105 uses a 35mm thick radiator, where the H100/100i use a 27mm thickness. This might help the H105 reach lower temps overall, and even promote lower fan noise. However, there’s a little more going on here. The fin density per inch (FPI) is higher on the H105 at 20 FPI, compared to around 18 on the H100.

Again, H100 at left, H105 on the right

But wait. Looking closely at the two you might notice that there are 13 rows of these fins on the H100’s radiator, and only 9 rows on the H105. The total surface density is actually higher on the older 240mm design, as there are physically more fins. We'll see if this seems to affect performance either way, though the reduced overall density of the H105 might actually serve to improve airflow through the radiator, since there should be less resistance to the SP120L fans.

The low evaporation tubing and pump/waterblock assembly is identical to the H75, at least until the unit powers on.

OK, so the addition of a lighted logo on the pump helps with the perception of a premium part, but it's not exactly a selling point.

Installation

Installing the H105 onto the CPU is the same as the H75, and I won’t go into detail on the mounting hardware and installation process here. Those interested in the details can check out our look at the H75, since it will be almost identical! There is a slight difference with the retention ring itself on the H105, however, as it uses defined cutouts for the screws that help keep things in place during installation. Minor, but improvement is always good!

As expected, the installation process was quick and painless and resulted in a very good connection with the processor.

With the cooler installed, it’s time to see how the H105 performed!

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