Antec Kühler H2O 1220 Review

Performance Analysis

The 1220's performance in our LGA1155 system is excellent. On its Extreme profile it manages to pip the Corsair H100i on maximum speed to the chart's top spot, although only by a single degrees Celsius. Better yet, in this state - though we'd never call it quiet - it's at least quieter than a full speed H100i. Switching to the much more ear friendly Silent profile results in just a 3°C increase in the delta T value, a trade off we'd take any day, and again this is slightly better performance than the H100i's Balanced profile.


We were a little dismayed, therefore, by the comparatively mediocre results on the LGA2011 rig. Even on Extreme, which sees the fans have to spin up to much noisier levels than on the LGA1155 system, the H2O 1220 is 4°C warmer than the H100i at full speed. Not only this, but it even ran a little warmer than its smaller brother, the H2O 920. This possible discrepancy caused us to double and triple check our mounts, fittings, fan speeds and overclocks but the results remained consistent. Dropping to the Silent profile sees a further 4°C increase in temperatures, which again isn't so bad given the drop in noise levels, but still leaves the 1220 on par with much cheaper coolers like the Cooler Master Seidon 120M.

Conclusion

The Kühler H2O 1220 clearly has a good deal of cooling power on hand, a fact most apparent on LGA1155 CPUs, where the noise to performance ratio is undoubtedly very impressive. While the installation procedure and software of the cheaper Corsair H100i is superior, the 1220 still has a noticeable, if slight, edge when it comes to raw cooling performance, and whether that's worth the extra money will be up to you, as either cooler would do an excellent job.

We test on different sockets for a reason, however, and the 1220 appears to be less able to cope with the higher thermal output of LGA2011 CPUs. For that reason, it's not recommended, especially given its inflated price tag compared to the H100i, which remains our cooler of choice on this system. The H80i and Antec Kühler H2O 920 are both suitable alternatives for those with less cash to spare or without the room for a double radiator.