The radiator looks like a 2 pass microchannel coil. The fluid flows in the horizontal parts and the squiggly bits are the fins. The fluid flows down one half, collects in the header opposite the connections and then flows back across the radiator and out of outlet connection.

Anyways, I just thought this was an important bit of clarification.

I'm wondering, given the poor performance, if all of the fins are well attached? Does it seem as well constructed as an H80?

To be fair, I don't believe I have ever heard anyone suggest that an all in one water cooler is good for a silent system. Generally they are recommended for overclocking or convenience. The $100 figure you stressed is actually competitive with other models on the market. While I would not personally agree, many people find aio coolers preferable to mounting a large heavy cooler on their motherboard.

I am in the exact opposite situation and I do happen do agree with them.

I hate that every single review of self-contained water coolers insist of reviewing the kits "as sold" with the included fans, which more often than not are sub par. No mentions of push-pull configuration, no tests with 3rd party fans. The forums are filled with people asking "which are the best fans for Hxx" and there are countless of charts and reviews of fans (noise/temp ratio).
Pair the kit with a push-pull configuration using Noctua fans with ULNA or Corsair's SP Quiet edition (or countless other sollutions) and the cooling and temperatures tell an entirely different story. My H80 is the quietest thing in my rig and the temperatures are pretty good as well (while overclocking).

I have hopes for CM Seidon since many mention how quiet the pump is, while being more powerful than the competition.

Another issue with the review: I don't mind Db measurements on an open test bench, but I find temperature measurements on open test bench entirely irrelevant. All temperature measurements should be done in a closed case, since this is how it will be used in most cases.

Anyway - this is my first post here
Love the work you guys do on this site. But as mentioned before, don't just review stuff "as sold". Try to see the potential beyond. I had the same reaction reading your Nanoxia Deep Silence review. Use more silent fans in that case and its an "silentpc enthusiast" wet dream

PS - would love to see a review of Artic Accelero Hybrid (http://www.arctic.ac/en/p/cooling/vga/569/accelero-hybrid.html?c=2182). I have one on my GTX580 in a push-pull with 2 corsair sp120 quiet edition and its dead silent with extremely good temperatures (way better than the phantom 2x90 fans it had before).

It's generally held here that it is not the fans that are the limiting baseline noise level of a watercooling setup, the pump is more of a problem. This tends to be more about vibration than airborne noise and when the pump is screwed onto a CPU die, you can't isolate the vibrations.

What sort of RPM are you running fans on your Corsair cooler? Have you done any comparison at different RPM levels to find at which point the fans outweigh the pump?