The iCue H115i Elite Capellix is Corsair's latest CPU cooler and it's colorful. If you choose this all-in-one cooler, you better like lights. This cooler comes with a lot of lights; RGB functionality is not the only thing that Corsair's latest all-in-one water-cooling solution has to offer. But this suggestion is very important.

The model currently roasting our retinas is the H115i, a 280mm model in a model line that also comes in 240mm and 360mm form factors. The aforementioned RGB-ness has to do with the fan and pump head top covers. The latter comes with a transparent cover to maximize the RGB.

A neat touch is the use of Corsair's Capellix LEDs, which Corsair describes as not only 90% smaller than traditional LEDs, but also more efficient and brighter. They are also more efficient, brighter, and operate at lower temperatures. In addition, it provides a lighting solution with more mounting options, greater visual impact, and fewer disadvantages and concerns about power usage and heat.

As a result, Corsair has included over 33 LEDs in the pump head, plus 8 LEDs per fan. The lighting effects are clearly better than regular RGB, with clever transitions and animations, and the overall effect is more complex and detailed. However, the pump head itself looks a bit dated, especially compared to cutting-edge alternatives like the NZXT Kraken Z73 with its funky pump-top screen, albeit a much more expensive product.

In any case, the RGB is controlled by the iCue Commander Core lighting and fan speed controller box. Along with the pump head, it supports up to six RGB-enabled fans, which are neatly connected to the motherboard via USB headers. The cable that connects the pump to the motherboard header to start operation is not very good looking or physically secure. They are fragile and look cheap.

The other half of the equation is obviously the cooling provided; Corsair has included a low-noise centrifugal pump in the H115i that features a flow rate of 0.82 L/min and 20 dB noise. The radiator, meanwhile, measures 322x137x27mm and comes standard with a 140mm Maglev fan running at 400-2,000 rpm.

The full package includes mounts for both Intel and AMD CPU sockets, covering all the latest kits. The pump head is coated with thermal paste, but no additional tubing is provided. So bring your own paste or don't mess up the installation.

Speaking of screwing up the installation, the instructions are a bit unclear on details, and the labeling on the package, including the bag labeled "miscellaneous hardware," should be clearer. However, this is not an impediment to assembly. At least with our kit, tightening the screws that attach the fan to the radiator was more of a problem. They are so tight that there is a risk of rounding the head, which is not ideal.

Once up and running, the H115i runs super quiet at idle. In fact, normal hearing would have a hard time detecting it. Even better, the noise level is extremely well contained, even in the most extreme performance mode; to put the most demanding demands on the H115i, we tried it with Intel's 14nm Core i9-10900K 10-core CPU, Hell on Fire. The result was clearly lower temperatures than some of the other AIO coolers we test-drove with the 10900K, including the NZXT Kraken Z63. If you want maximum performance and minimum fuss, you could do worse.

At least, assuming that the Corsair iCue H115i Elite Capellix is reliably controlled, it could be. In our experience, and with current software and firmware, it is not. Initial installation and setup with Corsair's iCue software is smooth, and the interface offers more RGB configuration options than you could ever hope for.

Cooling settings include Quiet Mode, Balanced Mode, Extreme Mode, and Zero RPM Mode, with cooling and RGB functionality properly integrated via emergency triggers. Excellent.

Less pleasantly, there were many issues with the software and drivers. After initially running perfectly stable, when the system was rebooted, the iCue software no longer recognized the cooler's presence, then it indicated that the cooler was present but displayed a warning symbol, and essentially zero functionality. A quick look through the world's de facto search tools suggests that we were not alone in our experience; problems with Corsairs' iCue platform are not uncommon. It's too bad, because otherwise there seems to be a lot to appreciate. If you really like the lights, that is.