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Please read EMAIL FAQs first: Comments, suggestions, and questions to Joe Citarella, Skip MacWilliam, or Ed Stroligo

"Swiftech MCB-120 Radbox"
Joe Citarella - 8/21/04


SUMMARY: Versatile, easy to mount radiator solution - no case cutting required.

Radbox

The good guys at Swiftech were nice enough to send a Swiftech MCB-120 Radbox to try out. The Radbox features:

Radbox

  • 2 part construction: Holding Plate and Housing for ease of installation
  • Multiple slots for vertical and horizontal adjustments
  • Bolts directly to 60mm, 80mm, 92mm or 120mm fan holes
  • Custom pass-thru PCI bracket
  • 12" "kinkless" tubing
  • Instruction sheet

    PCI

    and adapters for 1/2" OD tubing (3/8" ID), designed for use with either quick-connect or screw clamp fittings

There are enough parts that ship with the unit

Parts

for just about any conceivable mounting situation - I don't think you'll need to go to Home Depot for parts. The mounting plate (5 1/8" square) is removable from the Radbox

Radbox

to allow for mounting on a case. There are nylon spacers (½" high)

Spacer

which allow good airflow and enough room for the tubing to bend around and reach a PCI slot. There are multiple options

Two

for mounting bolts included in the kit. The tubes that come with the kit are designed to bend rather sharply without kinking - a good feature as it will take a couple of sharp bends to get from the radiator to the PCI bracket. Note that the radiator is mounted with the intakes at the bottom - this is needed so that the tubes can reach the PCI slot.

I have a couple of cases that might prove to be more difficult for mounting a radiator and tried the mounting bracket to see how it would fit. The first case is for a Dell server:

Server

This case features a 120 mm fan; however, note that there is a lip on the right side of the case:

Server 1

The nylon standoffs were a tad too short to clear this lip. Even so, I could just clear the ports on the back so that there would be enough clearance for a the printer cable - but tight.

The next case I tried was a small Compaq:

Compaq

In this instance, the back panel and power supply limit the Radbox's positioning:

Compaq 1

The Radbox will stand a bit above the top of the case, but it will fit and the tubes will reach the PCI bracket.

CONCLUSIONS

Swiftech's Radbox appears to be a very adaptable product for adding a decent sized radiator without case hacking. The Radbox will add some bulk to the back of a case, but as long as this is not an issue, the Radbox could be an effective radiator solution.

Thanks again to Swiftech for sending this our way.

Email Joe


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