Cooling off for Alder Lake – Corsair XC7 RGB PRO LGA 1700 water block in the stress test with the Intel Core i9-12900K OC

Good CPU cooling has always been important, but even more so with Intel’s new, particularly heat-sensitive Alder Lake CPUs. Especially if you turn the clock screw yourself, a few degrees Celsius more or less can mean several hundred megahertz more or less stable clock rate. It is therefore all the more important to have the best possible cooler with the right contact pressure for the optimal performance of the CPU.

Today we’re looking at the new XC7 RGB PRO water block from Corsair, which has been explicitly adapted to the new LGA 1700 socket for the best possible cooling performance. The PC part with the corsair sails can of course look chic and shine brightly anyway. But I’m getting ahead again. Let’s start with a classic unboxing.

Packaging and scope of delivery

Neon yellow is already the well-known color for outer boxes from Corsair Hardware. In addition to the product name, we also find information on compatibility with Intel LGA 1700, LGA 1200 and AMD AM4. The RGB lighting can of course be controlled with Corsair’s iCUE software and coordinated with the other components such as fans or RGB strips.

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Inside, all parts are safely stowed in a plastic carrier, only the instructions and warranty information are individually on top. In addition to the pre-configured water block for Intel sockets, the scope of delivery also includes the associated backplate with pre-cut 3M adhesive tape, an alternative mounting ring for AM4, and an RGB adapter cable. Thermal compound is also already applied to the block – in the Corsair style with a triangular pattern – so that the installation can begin immediately. Before that, let’s take a closer look at the block.

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This is kept relatively simple in terms of design. An element made of transparent acrylic is placed on the nickel-plated copper base plate, which ensures that the water flows through the base plate. On top of this, there is a frame made of black, sand-blasted aluminum, which, by the way, is also available in silver or white. Only the mounting ring with the pre-installed screws grips into the block from below. If necessary, it can be easily exchanged for the matching AM4 counterpart by turning it without having to dismantle the block or turn a single screw.

Incidentally, Corsair even provides a 3D model of the black top on their homepage, so that resourceful modders can simply print their own – very cool. The instructions for the block are now available as a PDF for browsing, although the assembly is really not rocket science.

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