The MCR80-F Radiator
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Same type of box, different product. The MCR80-F Radiator is what cools the water down for the H20-8500 kit. It's painted blue, to match the water blocks, and comes with two fans to cool the assembly. You can find the specifications of the radiator .
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The stock fans each push 29CFM or air at 32dBA. As you'll probably guess, this is neither very powerful, nor is it very loud. You can easily exchange them for something beefier, but the stock fans do alright as we'll later see when we get into testing.
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The MCR80-F itself measures 4.1"x3.25"x3.2", which makes it a little larger than most 80mm case fans, but smaller than a lot of performance radiators. The point of its size is that it's supposed to go where most cases place their rear exhaust fan (usually an 80mm fan). No need to drill extra holes to accomadate the radiator. The price to pay for this convenience is performance, since its smaller size puts it somewhat of a disadvantage.
As you can see, they pack the copper fins pretty tight, allowing for pretty good heat dissipation, rated for 938.89 BTU per hour. The inlet and outlet tubes are 3/8" OD. Using 3/8" ID tubes will require clamps (included) to secure them.
The MCP300-KE
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Other than the upgraded water blocks, the other star of the show is their MCP300 pump. For the H20-8500 kit, it ships installed with the fill and bleed assembly. Here's a bit about what Swiftech has to say about it:
The MCP300™ pump is a magnetically powered centrifugal pump, configured to work inline, in liquid cooling computer applications.
It's compact design, ultra quiet, and powerful motor, make it ideally suited for heavy duty cooling in environments where space is at a premium.
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The MCP300 replaces the Eheim 1048 that Swiftech used to use with their WC kits. Whereas the Eheim had an output of up to 158 gallons per hour, the MCP300 is capable of 330 gallons per hour (G/H), which is an improvement of just over 50%, though the actual waterflow will depend on the length of tubes, the bends, and the water block resistance. You'll have to keep in mind that waterflow is the only important factor, but also head, which is the pump's ability to lift water. If the head is, say, three feet, and the distance of tubing inside your case is four feet, you are going to have a lot of cooling issues. The MCP300 is rated at about 7.16' maximum head, which is a fair amount, but don't expect 330G/H at this limit. The 330G/H is only at zero head, so you should expect 100-330G/H, depending on how much tubing you use.
The MCP is fairly quiet, though if you remove it from the tray to mount elsewhere in your case, make sure you line it with some foam as there is some vibration. Given it's size, it can pretty much fit anywhere, but for the purposes of the review, we've left it on the tray to be installed CDROM style.
The MCP300 is designed for 1/2" OD tubing, but you can use smaller tubes with the optional attachments. The pump is pretty durable, but you should never use your tap to test the pump out, since city water pressure will literally shatter the chassis.
Note to Canadians: Our review was delayed since we recieved a European kit. Because Canada is considered International (from the US), we received the wrong pump. The result is lower water flow because the pump's power requirements conflict with the North American requirements. If you're ordering from the US, it won't hurt to double check which pump you're getting, but Swiftech assures me that this problem has been solved since the start of this year.
The Rest of the Kit
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As previously mentioned, the fill and bleed kit is already setup for you, and is configured in such a way that it will fit in a standard 5.25" external drive bay. You also get plenty of 1/2" OD tubing (3/8" ID)... twelve feet of it to be exact. Swiftech recommends using scissors (sharp ones) to cut the tubes, as you'll want as straight a cut as possible. The smaller bundle of tubes are to be used during the fill and bleed process.
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You also get plenty of tools, such as tube fittings, zip ties, screws, a tube remover, and suction cups for the pump (if you need it).
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To keep bacteria and corrosion to a minimum, there's also a 2 Oz bottle HydrX™ extreme duty coolant. This, plus one litre of distilled water (not included) are to be mixed before starting the fill and bleed process.
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Although there isn't really much to do, power tool wise, you will need to cut a hole out to install the relay switch, A/C socket, and stainless steel cover plate. Eveything is (very) well documented in the instructions for the H20-8500. During the fill and bleed, the relay switch is to be configured to be turned on when pluuged into a wall outlet, but the beauty of this switch is once you're done, it can be setup to power on when you turn on your PC.
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