Written By:
Date Posted: July 12, 2002

With the heat put off by todays processors (even if not overclocking) the fans required to keep them at a safe working temperature are noticeable at best, obnoxious at worst. Add overclocking to the mix and you end up with a wind tunnel running through your case to try keeping the temperature down to a level that will let your system run without crashing or constant blue screens.

One of the solutions to this problem is water cooling. While providing a much better method of removing heat from your processor, motherboard chipset and video card, there is also the danger of a leak turning your computer into a boat anchor that an 8086 would be proud of. This risk can, of course, be minimized with care.

For the most part there are three methods of bringing home a water cooling system, although they can all be combined into one system as well. The first and most difficult is homebrew. Homebrew is designing and building your own equipment such as water blocks, reservoirs and other pieces. This method provides the most satisfaction and pride in your own work. You create a one-of-a-kind piece of hardware that no one else has (unless you publish an article and some g0m0 rips off your design). The second method is to purchase a kit that should include all the parts you will need to modify your case. Most people dont have the tools and machinery, not to mention the skill, to carve a water block from a solid piece of copper. There are many more who did get at least a C+ in basic Dremeling (technical term) and feel confident enough in their skill level to start hacking on their case to install a kit. The final method is to purchase a pre-assembled case. This is the option for people who dont have the time to install a water cooling kit or for the people whose hands start shaking when they walk past the tool section at Sears. These kits are easy enough that anyone with basic system building skills should have very few problems setting it up.

Being one of the people who didnt want the downtime associated with hacking up my case to get a water cooling system in I chose the Swiftech Quiet Power case.

The specs and a blurb from Swiftechs site:

This line of products is designed to support extreme thermal loads, while operating at very low noise levels. It features pre-installed, plug-and-play liquid cooling systems using our H202 series liquid cooling kits.

The system ships with the cooling fluid already filled, either in single or dual processor configuration. Optional graphics card cooling is also available, and can be factory installed using the MCW40 graphics cooler.

In addition to the liquid cooling design emphasizing heat removal from the processor (s), the case configuration itself provides exceptional ventilation to the components by use of four 120mm fans strategically located throughout the case.

Total noise level is approximately 34 dBA, whereas flow through the case is 110 CFM intake, and 110 CFM

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