This is a weird one from Corsair but I absolutely love it. The Hydro X Series XD7 RGB pump/reservoir distro plate admittedly doesn't sound wild, but it's a distribution plate that looks exactly like a triple fan radiator. Neat, right?
If you're eyeing up a custom cooling loop, you'll need a pump and radiator, or some combination of the two, to keep that previous cooling fluid travelling over your components and pulling away excess heat. These come in all matter of form and style, but Corsair's latest is something a little different altogether.
Best CPU cooler: keep your chip chilled in style
Best PC fans: super-silent and plastered in RGB
Best PC cases: big, little, and everything in-between.
The Hydro X Series XD7 is a 140ml reservoir fitted with a Xylem D5 pump. That's the same pump found within the Hydro XD5 pump/reservoir combo from Corsair, and it's cut out to feed coolant through three pairs of ports to support CPU, GPU, and radiator.
It's Corsair, so of course there's plenty of RGB lighting too. There are 36 addressable RGB LEDs circumventing the three fan-like cut-outs around the reservoir and pump, although you'll need a Corsair iCUE Controller to tune those to your liking.
Looking to the rear and the fill port is also handily up top and the two drain ports are below the pump, so it shouldn't be too much hassle to fill and empty this one. Well, no more hassle than it always seems to be.
The XD7 is constructed of copper/brass, so make sure not to mix your metals when constructing your full loop. That will only end in tragedy.
Now I suppose the plan here is to create a faux fan effect, so that from the exterior of your case it looks consistent with your usual triple-fan PC setup, despite being fitted with heaps of high-end tubing. That said, you will also need some fans in even your custom liquid loop PC, so the XD7 may work best with a case that offers support for a 360mm rad in the front and up top.
It's won me over, but I have to say the rest of the PC Gamer team wasn't quite so blown away by it. The XD7 will set you back $250 (£250), so it's certainly not the cheapest of the lot either, but custom cooling kit rarely is. It's available in black or white, though, so a little more flexibility for your build at the very least.
