When
it comes to air cooling, Swiftech
is one company that ranks right up there as creating some of the
best performing CPU coolers. They're also well regarded for their
excellent build quality, as well as being extremely innovative
in their designs. Whether you're into serious overclocking, or
quiet cooling, Swiftech probably has a product for you.
When
it comes to water cooling, they aren't slouches in this department
either. Their R&D, and quality control meant the same high
standards they put into their air cooling were also put into their
water cooling products. Swiftech water blocks were very popular
among enthusiasts, and their Q-Power
Barebones kit was well received with both enthusiasts, and
for first timers getting into liquid cooling.
Not
one to rest on their laurels, Swiftech has released several new
water cooling products, all improving upon past individual products.
Today, we're going to look at the summation of their products,
packaged as an all-in-one solution for liquid cooling. Before
we get started with the Swiftech
H20-8500 Liquid Cooling Kit, let's take a look at what Swiftech
have to say about it...
The
H20-8500™ liquid cooling kits are designed to bring the efficiency,
and quiet operations of liquid cooling to confined environments
with little or no case modifications required. The kits are ideally
suited for mid-tower cases, featuring at least one 80mm fan exhaust
opening.
Just
as their description says, one of the appeals of liquid cooling
is that you can do away with the high speed fans normally used
on CPU heatsinks. As most enthusiasts will tell you, it's these
fans that contribute to most of the noise in their PCs. Although
case fans themselves are not usually that loud, 3-5 case fans
will raise the PC to above ambient room noise. I have yet to see
an acceptable "noiseless" air solution, as even silent
fans (which usually spin at lower RPMs) may not be ideal for an
overclocked processor.
Another
added benefit of liquid cooling is that, with the conjunction
of a good radiator, it simply cools better than air (in most cases).
We don't usually get terribly excited about air coolers around
here because I feel air cooling has pretty much reached its limits.
Heatsinks are getting bigger, and a few companies are trying tricks
with smaller coolers to improve performance, but the reality is
that most decent heatsinks will perform within 2-5C of each other.
You'll also have to keep in mind that for most heatsinks, you'll
need a fast spinning fan to get the most performance out of it,
therefore the noise issue arises again.
The
H20-8500™ Liquid Cooling Kit
Liquid
cooling kits are nothing new, as several companies make them.
A lot of them take several parts from different manufacturers,
and slap them together and call it a day. There actually isn't
anything wrong with this, as it's possible to make some really
good kits, as there are a lot of quality parts out there.
It
works a little differently with Swiftech, as although the parts
sold in their H20-8500 liquid cooling kit are available separately,
their kit as a whole "looks like" it belongs together.
Only the radiator is not one of their designs, but I was told
they looked long and hard for the right one for this kit. You
can bet they tested long into the late hours making sure everything
works together though, and even for the 3rd party parts, Swiftech
was pretty selective in making sure they are of good quality.
I've read a recent review of another manufacturer's kit literally
falling apart as the reviewer turned it on. Getting back to the
H20-8500 liquid cooling kit, here are the specifications...
Performance
features:
1/2"
(Tubing OD) combined with 330 GPH pump for optimal flow rate
Extreme performance water-bocks with patent pending Diamond-Pin
Matrix© technology
80mm copper-core Radiator ith dual 80mm low profile (15mm) fans
rated at 29CFM (32dBA) each
Convenience
features:
Pump
and fill & leed assembly are pre-installed in a tray to fit
into a 5 1/4" bay : no reservoir is needed, resulting in
space saving, and uncluttered installation.
80mm form factor radiator fits in any case featuring at least
one 80mm opening for a fan exhaust
Quick-connect fittings, for safe and expeditious installation
Plug-and-play water-block installation, doesn't require removing
the motherboard
Pump relay switch to couple the pump operations to computer power-supply.
Let's
examine each individual component now...
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:
Click
to Enlarge
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.
Click
to Enlarge
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.
Click
to Enlarge
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.
Click
to Enlarge
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:
Click
to Enlarge
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.
Click
to Enlarge
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.
Click
to Enlarge
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.
NEXT
