CPU Cooling Performance
Going up against the Swiftech MCW5000 is our top air cooler, the Swiftech MCX462+, which has been paired up with an 80mm Delta SHE 68CFM fan. Nanotherm Ice II is the thermal compound used for both the MCW5000, and the MCX462+. To load up the system, we run Prime95 run for 20 minutes, with Folding @ Home running in the background. Ambient room temperature is maintained at ~23C/74F.
Temperature in °C - Case fans on
Temperatures are close between the MCX462+, and the MCW5000. The lead held by the MCW5000 is present though, besting the air cooler by a minimum of 2°C. Another thing I have to point out is that there is a huge difference in the amount of noise. The Delta is incredibly loud, and to approach the performance of quality water cooling, noise is the main problem with the best air solutions. In a water cooling environment, the case fans are the main source of noise now, so let's turn them off...
Temperature in °C - Case fans off
The Swiftech MCX462+ holds its own, but the gap between the two is starting to widen. Temperatures still go up for the MCW5000 when the case fans are turned off, but not as much as the MCX462+. With the fans off on the case fans, the PC is now near silent, with only the radiator fans, power supply and hard drive making any real noise. Too bad the same can't be said with the MCX462+, as that Delta can still be heard from a room away.
Temperature in °F - Case fans off
Just a quick graph for our American friends...
GPU Cooling Performance
Going head to head with the MCW50 is the Thermaltake GeForce 4 Copper Cooler. The thermal compound used for testing is Nanotherm Ice II. To stress the video card, we will be doing 5 x Quake 3 Timedemos, followed by 4 x 3D Mark 2001SE benchmarks. Benchmarks will be run with the card at stock speeds, as well as an overclocked core of 317MHz. Temperatures were gathered with a Vantec Nexus Multifunction Panel. Case fans are on.
The MCW50 outperforms the Tt GF4 Copper Cooler by quite a bit, but it also has the benefit of being silent. The Thermaltake, as well as the stock cooler have noticable hums to them, so if you're looking for a silent solution that performs great, as well as being able to handle overclocking, water is the only way to go.
Final Words
Without a doubt, Swiftech has crafted together one excellent kit. It outperformed our top air solutions for CPUs and video cards. A question did come up when I was putting the review together, but was unable to follow up on, given our time constraints, was how would the MCW5000 and the MCW50 perform independently of each other? Basically, with warmed up water moving from the CPU block to the GPU block affect the performance of the MCW50? I did run a quick test, and found that the temperature difference was negligable, resulting in a 0.5°C change, but this will be something we'll look into in a future article. The goal of this article was to review the water blocks as part of the whole H20-8500 kit. That being said, here are some of our thoughts...
Both water blocks are of excellent quality, and are great performers. It also helps that they look really sharp. Both are easy to setup, although the Pentium 4 setup will require more work than the AMD setup (how's that for an about-face?).
Update: I wanted to just update the last paragraph regarding the MCW5000 installation. We were shipped an AMD setup (with the P4 mounting kit). Fact is, the P4 version of the kit will not require the same amount of work since it will ship preassembled for P4s. Here's what Swiftech had to say...
"..when we ship the P4 kit version to the consumers, the retention frame is already installed. All the user has to do is put the MCW5000P on the CPU, and push down the two retention clips. No tool is required!"
Therefore, you can disregard my comments about the AMD setup being easier since my situation won't apply to the majority of you. Actual installation with the P4 was easier, but the reasons for my comments is because I had to disassemble the AMD kit first.
Unlike some other waterblocks I've seen, these blocks are all metal, and you won't find any plastic (other than to secure the tubes) in its construction. This alone demonstrates a high level of craftsmanship and quality.
The MCP300 pump is near silent, though a little prone to vibrating when resting up against metal, so it may be a good idea to put some padding, or foam around the screws when installing. With an output of 330 gallons per hour, this puts it in the high-end catagory of pumps.
The MCR80 radiator is great in that it can fit in almost any case with an 80mm rear fan output. You'll probably not need to make any modifications to the case to make it fit. The radiator is the weak point of the H20-8500 for power users though, as the cost of making the MCR80 almost case universal is the smaller size.
The H20-8500 as a whole proved to be easy to setup (my power tool mishap aside), and from modifications to the case, to the fill and bleed, to final setup with the CPU, motherboard and video card took just a couple hours. Instructions were well laid out, though I do think some more documentation for the fill and bleed (like water flow stops when the main valve is opened) would be helpful to newbies at water cooling like myself.
Performance-wise, we were quite happy with it. There are cooling setups that perform better (such as Swiftech's own Q-Power with the same MCP300 pump), but they don't offer the ease of use the H20-8500 has. A larger radiator and perhaps a reservoir would have improved performance, but it would defeat the purpose of the kit, which is to be compatible with most cases, be easy to install, and be very quiet. Compared to air cooling, the H20-8500 kit offers better performance than the best air coolers, 2°C to 3°C on average, but at a lot less noise. If noise isn't much of a concern, you can easily swap the stock fans on the radiator and replace them with something more powerful.
If there's one downfall, it's the price of the kit as a whole, which rings in at as reviewed today. It's a lot of money to spend, but it isn't that much more than other kits, and you are getting something that Swiftech spent a lot of time and money to develop, and not a water cooling kit made in somebody's basement. You'll also have to keep in mind that the kit we've reviewed also includes a video card block, which is something that is not included by default in a lot of kits. You can order each part separately, and the pump, and water blocks are worth considering if you're lookng to replace the ones you may already have. That being said, sells the same kit, minus the video block, , which makes it a little cheaper than similar kits that include the pump, block and radiator.
Pros: Excellent quality, great performance, near silent, easy to use.
Cons: Radiator is small, expensive (but you get what you pay for).
Bottom Line: It's hard to beat Swiftech's attention to detail. With less than two hours of construction time for the end user, and the fact that it will work with almost any case. Add to the fact that it's quiet, as well as performing admirably, makes this one a winner.
If you got any comments, be sure to hit us up in our forums.
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