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The MCW5000
The first part of the kit we'll be discussing is the MCW5000 CPU water-block. The block ships in Swiftech's standard brown box, and there's plenty of foam to keep the unit from getting damaged. Here's a bit of what Swiftech has to say:
 
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The MCW5000™ water-block is an extreme duty liquid cooling solution for high-end microprocessors. It is designed to be used either in straight liquid cooling configuration, or in conjunction with a thermoelectric cooling element.
The MCW5000™ ships in two versions; the MCW5000-A™ and the MCW5000-P™. Conversion from one version to another is extremely simple, and only requires replacing the retention mechanism.
 
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The housing is constructed with CNC machined aluminum, measuring L2.5"xW2.5"xH1.5". It has been blue anodized, to prevent any corrosion, and has two built-in quick-connect fittings for 1/2" OD tubing. Although the kit can accomadate 3/8" OD tubes (with optional fittings), you will lose a bit of cooling performance by going with smaller tubes. The base is lapped flat to 3/10 of 1/1000", and mirror polished. I was very impressed with the quality of it, and I don't think any additional lapping will need to be done.
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Inside the CPU block is not just one big empty space, and some turbulance is required to get the most cooling out of it. The face of the block (what is inside, and is under the water) is CNC machined from billet to form a Patent Pending Diamond-Pin Matrix. Naturally, with the pins, this design will increase the heat dissipation surface, and the resulting flow turbulence enhances the heat transfer to the cooling fluid.
 
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It's important to note that the MCW5000 we had received is the Athlon 462 (MCW5000-A), as well as Pentium 4 attachments. This is not a standard feature (receiving both parts),as retail kits will ship in either AMD or Intel configurations. You'll have a choice to pick either installation kit, and/or purchase both if you plan to migrate to either platform later.
The MCW50
The MCW50 VGA block is not a standard part of the H20-8500 kit, but rather, an option. It ships in a similar, albeit smaller, box as most Swiftech products. Here's what Swiftech has to say about the MCW50:
 
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The MCW50™ water-block is an extreme duty liquid cooling solution for high-end graphics processors. It is designed to be used either in straight liquid cooling configuration, or in conjunction with a thermoelectric (Peltier) cooling element.
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Whether you're an ATi fan, or you're a supporter of all things nVidia, Swiftech has you covered.
The MCW50™ ships with a dual retention mechanism composed of spring loaded screws providing compatibility with ATI® Radeon™ 9000 to 9700, and NVidia® GForce™ families of products. The product can also be installed with other graphics processors by using permanent bonding agents, such as thermally conductive epoxies.
 
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Much like the CPU block, the VGA block housing is constructed with CNC machined aluminum, blue anodized. It has has two built-in quick-connect fittings for 1/2" OD tubing, and the base is well machined, again, probably not needing any lapping. The heatspreader is designed to spread the heat out naturally, but for Radeon 9700 owners, the heatspreader will allow the MCW50 to clear the shim ATi uses, and make better contact with the GPU. The inside face of the base also uses the Patent Pending Diamond-Pin Matrix.
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Swiftech H20-8500: In an attempt to make water cooling more accessable to the masses, Swiftech created an easy to install kit that is made up of their latest products. Will performance be equal to the sum of its parts?
