Swiftech: Enhanced Liquid-Cooling Options
by Jarred Walton on January 9, 2014 3:58 AM EST- Posted in
- Trade Shows
- CES
- Water Cooling
- Swiftech
- CES 2014
- Liquid Cooling
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Swiftech is a fairly well-known name in the realm of computer cooling, founded nearly 20 years ago by Gabriel Rouchon (but not officially named Swiftech until 2001). While they have various other products, at CES their focus is solely on the world of liquid cooling. Last year they unveiled a new product similar to a closed-loop-cooling (CLC) kit that incorporated a pump on the CPU waterblock, with the interesting twist being that it came with the ability to disconnect and add more tubing/waterblocks, and the pump is powerful enough to drive a full liquid-cooling setup with GPU(s), chipset, and of course CPU. This year, they’re going in a similar route only now the pump is being integrated onto the radiator.
The H220X comes with a compact 2x120mm radiator and fans with an integrated high power pump, reservoir, and CPU waterblock. There’s a window as well to show the current coolant level and LED lighting. It’s shipped in a ready-to-install state with the coolant pre-filled. If you want to add to the list of liquid-cooled devices, you're able to disconnect the tubing and add GPU and chipset waterblocks to the loop. The expected delivery date is March 2014, with an MSRP of around $150. Prototype models with 1x140mm and 2x140mm form factors were also present but not yet ready for launch.
Swiftech had several other items on display as well, including a new Swiftech designed ultra-high pressure pump, the MCP50X. Swiftech had the new pump and their current MCP35X set up in a demonstration showing that the new pump provides roughly 20% more pressure. I also noticed that the new pump runs cooler to the touch than the existing pump. Swiftech didn’t want to provide an MSRP yet, but it’s also expected to ship at the end of March. There is also a new Apogee XL waterblock for Ivy Bridge and Haswell that features a higher flow rate than previous Apogee blocks, and going with the LED lighting on the H220X there’s now LED lighting on the waterblock that pulses “like a heartbeat”. Continuing the theme, new Komodo GPU cooling blocks are available for AMD’s R9 290/290X GPUs and NVIDIA’s GTX 780 Ti. Both blocks feature a large window to show the coolant and LED lighting (that can be changed through the use of colored plastic strips to red, blue, or green along with white).
Wrapping things up, there’s a new Maelstrom V2 5.25” bay reservoir (again with LED lighting) that’s paired with the new MCP50X pump. You can see a shot of this in the gallery where it was hooked up to a couple of R9 290X cards with the Komodo coolers, an Apogee XL CPU cooler, and three 3x120mm radiators. Also on display are quick disconnect fittings with a new black chrome finish that some users are certain to love. While most people will never use liquid-cooling on their PCs, the segment of the market that wants to improve cooling and lower noise – and maybe add some visual flair to their PC in the process – will always appreciate new liquid-cooling solutions and that’s what Swiftech is delivering.
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f0d - Thursday, January 9, 2014 - link
thank you for covering this anandtechi know not everyone watercools but for some of us enthusiasts this is news we are actually interested in more than a lot of other things most websites cover (mobile stuff and tablet stuff)
im really interested in the new MCP50X pump if it is quiet (hopefully quieter than the 35X) as i have been adding quite a few things to my loop lately and i think it could probably do with some more pumping power
JarredWalton - Thursday, January 9, 2014 - link
Yes, it is definitely quieter than the MCP35X -- I couldn't say how much quieter precisely, as there was too much noise in the suite, but all indications are that the new pump is better in every way.Nickel020 - Thursday, January 9, 2014 - link
Thanks Jarred for covering this, a news post that's going back to Anandtech's overclocking roots :-)I have one small correction though: The H220 does not use quick disconnect valves, but just the standard tubing and fittings that are used in custom watercooling loops. Unlike the Asetek and CoolIT coolers sold by Corsair, Antec etc. whose turnings aren't removable, the Swiftech (and Coolermaster Glacer, which is a rebrand) can thus relatively easily be expanded to also cool graphics cards using standard parts. Real quick disconnects that prevent coolant from spilling when opening up the loop would increase the price of the kit too much and most people wouldn't really need them.
JarredWalton - Thursday, January 9, 2014 - link
Fixed, thanks!Whitereflection - Thursday, January 9, 2014 - link
Swiftech is the one of the worst companies I have ever dealt with. Their MCP35X pumps have quality control issues, And I have a couple burned out within less than 48 hours. They will find all sorts of excuses to deny your RMA.Whitereflection - Thursday, January 9, 2014 - link
Those in the pictures are not quick disconnect / compression fittings either, They are just tubbing over barbs with metal clamps, Which is pretty outdated in the water cooling community.Phelan_z06 - Thursday, January 9, 2014 - link
Click on a picture and scroll further back to see the black chrome Swiftech Lok-Seal quick disconnects. The H220X has G1/4" swivel barbs, which can be removed to install G1/4" fittings. The only other AIO that does this is the Cooler Master Eisberg, which is more expensive and generally louder.Nickel020 - Friday, January 10, 2014 - link
Maybe "outdated" in $300+ water cooling loops, but for AIOs price is a concern and using $20+ retail worth of compression in a $149 AIO thus making it $165+ just doesn't make sense since the fittings have absolutely no impact on performance. Having custom watercooling-like performance at the lowest possible price is the point of the H220(X), so their decision to go with "outdated" barbs and clamps is exactly right. These units aren't about maximum bling but value.Whitereflection - Friday, January 10, 2014 - link
The point of H220 is customizable or even expandable, With barb and clamps it's a pain on the butt. You might as well get AIO like H80i/H100i to save all the trouble, Cheaper and more compact.Phelan_z06 - Thursday, January 9, 2014 - link
I don't know who you dealt with in your RMA process, the situation at the time, or when it was done, but this certainly isn't my experience with Swiftech at all. I have dealt with them on numerous occasions for various questions, issues, etc., and always got a swift response and resolve. This is also the case for lots of people who have had issues with the H220s, as seen in the H220 owners' club on OCN, which I've observed every post and responded to many since its inception.