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Water-cooling for Everyone 3: Swiftech H20-120 Rev. 3 and Thermaltake Bigwater (cont.)Swiftech H20-120 Description: As mentioned earlier, the H20-120 Rev. 3 water-cooling kit is a specific compilation of various water-cooling components Swiftech offers. To start off, there is the MCW6000 series waterblock. Unlike the majority of the newest waterblocks, the MCW6000 does not have an acrylic top. Instead, this waterblock consists of a copper top brazed to a copper base. Swiftech claims the inside of the block consists of 281 thin pins. Since, I do not have a non-destructive way to check, I have to take their word for it. Additionally, Swiftech claims this design maximizes the surface area exposed to fluid and promotes turbulent flow. Both factors enhance heat transfer convection while exhibiting less overall flow restriction than competing designs.
Swiftech's base of the MCW6000 features the best lapping job I have every seen on a waterblock. It has mirror like shine and smoothness. Swiftech claims the base is lapped flat to 0.0005" and I would not disagree. The MCW6000 comes in two forms: a flat base (FB) for socket 478 (P4), 603/604 (Xeon), and 754/939/940 (K8); or a stepped base (SB) for socket LGA775 (P4), A/462 (K7). Each type comes with the specific mounting plates for their respective supported socket types. Also, each waterblock comes with tubing already attached.
Swiftech's H20-120 Rev. 3 kit uses the MCR120 radiator with a 120mm fan. The MCR120 radiator bares a striking resemblance to the Black Ice radiator the Asetek Waterchill uses.
The radiator features a brass flat tubing system with copper fins between each tube. Flat tubing allows more surface contact for the liquid flowing through them than conventional round tubing. This design also makes the MCR120 radiator about half as thin as traditional radiators. This radiator uses quick connect push-on fittings that can fit tubing with 1/2" outer diameters. Like the waterblock, the radiator comes equipped with a length of pre-attached tubing.
The fan that cools the radiator is a standard 7 blade 120mm fan. It uses a 3-pin connector and spins at a constant 2100 RPM producing a noise level of 34 dBA. A 3-pin to Molex adapter is included. Swiftech does not include a fan controller with the H20-120 kit. One reason for this is to keep the price down and most enthusiasts interested in water-cooling probably already have a fan controller (like a rheobus) they would prefer to use.
The H20-120 Rev. 3 kit features the super convenient MCRES-525 5.25" drive bay reservoir. As the title suggests, the reservoir fits in a 5.25" drive bay. Though its beige plastic construction may not be very visually astounding, it is built very well and features a "stepped" compartment design which helps speed up the bubble bleeding process. A black cap and accompanying rubber O ring is used to seal the reservoir's fill hole.
As the title of the kit mentions, this is the third revision of Swiftech’s H20-120 water-cooling kit. The difference between the second and third revision is the switch to the MCP350 Pump. In my opinion, this is the best part of the kit and the most well designed water-cooling component I have come across.
Swiftech's MCP350 pump is specially designed for computer water-cooling and is magnetically driven with only one moving part. It is 12V Molex powered and can move 350 liters per hour. More importantly, the pump has a nominal head of 13 feet which means it can pump liquid up through a tube that is held up to 13 feet above the pump. All that is mighty nice, but the most impressive thing about the MCP350 pump is its size. At 2.4 x 2.4 x 1.5 inches, the pump is about as big as the waterblock! Consider that other reputable water-cooling pumps like the Hydor H20/H30, Alphacool AP900, and even the MCP600 found in the H20-120's previous revision all are roughly the size of an adult fist, the MCP350's diminutive stature is extremely impressive. Like the radiator and waterblock, the pump comes with pre-attached tubing.
Swiftech's H20-120 kit uses tubing with 1/2" outer diameter. Though, the pre-attached tubing on the radiator, pump, and waterblock are more than enough to complete the water-cooling circuit, Swiftech includes a generous bundle of extra tubing. Also included is a very neat and useful product called Coolsleeves. Coolsleeves are plastic coils that coil around the tubing. This provides the tubes with an exoskeleton that allows them to bend to reasonably sharp angles without kinking. All the pre-attached tubing is equipped with Coolsleeves. There is also a good amount of additional Coolsleeves for other uses.
The H20-120 kit comes with a 28oz bottle of Swiftech's own HydrX extreme duty coolant concentrate. It makes up to 1 liter of coolant. Rounding out the package are various screws and nuts needed for the kit's installation, a water tube pass through expansion slot cover, and a small injection tube of Arctic Céramique thermal compound. Instead of a of a small black and white booklet, Swiftech provides a full size (8.5"x 11") colored 40+ page Tutorial & Installation Guide!
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