Report on Swiftech H320

[trents]

Had to order this out of Canada as it's not available in the US yet. Some kind of patent dispute going on I think.

Radiator is 3x120mm fans long so more surface area than the next best AIO products on the US market that have 2x140 mm fans.

Out of the box the first thing that hits you is how much larger the hoses are than on other AIO coolers.

The copper heat plate on the pump has a mirror finish.

One major difference from the several other AIO coolers I've used is that the Swiftech fans mount on top of the radiator instead of on the underneath. So the fans are sandwiched between the radiator and the case top panel. They come mounted this way from the factory.

The fans draw fresh cool air in from the outside and push the warmed air down through the radiator into the case. The end of the radiator opposite the hose inlet/outlet end has a fill port and is thicker than the radiator itself. This creates kind of an "L" shape on that end. So the radiator on that side is not flat but the step created by this offset is shorter than the thickness of the fans. So it does not interfere with mounting of the radiator to the underside of the case panel as long as the fans are attached to that side of the radiator. However, this design might inhibit moving the fans on the other side of the radiator so as to push the warmed air out of the case up though the top panel, the more conventional arrangement and it also suggests reversing the direction of other case fans to complement the direction of flow instead of opposing it. I also wonder if this "step" in the tank is designed to afford a place for air bubbles to go. Swiftech has designed this unit to allow draining, flushing and refilling. According to the manual the original coolant has anti-corrosion additives and is good "for up to three years" before needing to be changed. Radiator is 29mm thick but I don't have a fin density count.

The pump is barely audible at full speed and is PWM controlled.

The PWM fans are audible at full speed but not loud. The emphasis is on "quiet" as their CFM rating is very modest at 55c. The static pressure is rated at 2.29 mmH2O. I'm sure performance would benefit from stronger fans.

One impressive (but also problematic) design feature of this unit is the mounting mechanism. Unlike all the other AIO coolers I've tried, the mounting hardware for this product creates very strong pressure for good contact with the CPU. My only complaint is that it's difficult to get the pressure bracket screws lined up with the threaded base plate holes when you are fighting the sideways push of the hoses while trying to clear the obstacles in the area such as the VRM heat sinks. This makes it likely that your TIM contact pattern will get disrupted so as to give a less than optimum mount. I redid the original mount with the help of my wife. A flashlight and an extra set of hands helped and the redone mount improved my load temps by about 2c.

But now the most important part: performance. With my 2600k overclocked to 4.6 ghz the Swiftech gave me about 5c lower load temps than the Noctua NH D14 it replaced. Idle temps were 2-3c lower. Meh. But under higher wattage situations the Switech really came into it's own. With the overclock cranked up to 4.8 ghz and with considerably higher core voltages needed to stabilize that level of overclock, the Swiftech gave me load temps about 14c lower than the Noctua (from mid 80s c to 70c). This was a vivid illustration of how much more reserve cooling capacity you can get when moving up to a bigger cooler. It may not seem like much improvement until you really ratchet up the watts.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Glad you finally found a water cooler you like!

 

[mimart7]

This was released by Swiftech, today, http://www.swiftech.com/H220-X.aspx

 

[ShrimpBrime]

, the Swiftech gave me load temps about 14c lower than the Noctua (from mid 80s c to 70c)

That's quite a nice temp drop Trents! Very impressive for AIO IMO.

I would be interested in the eye candies for it would complete this User Review nicely!

My only complaint is that it's difficult to get the pressure bracket screws lined up with the threaded base plate holes when you are fighting the sideways push of the hoses while trying to clear the obstacles in the area such as the VRM heat sinks. This makes it likely that your TIM contact pattern will get disrupted so as to give a less than optimum mount.

That is where a big difference (difference being custom loop mount the block without hoses on it) comes to play when building a loop and these AIO kits. mounting the waterblock without the hoses pushing the block around, even guys with custom loops swapping processors know how this feels. Best thing you can do with it, is get a firm grip and help if needed! Good observation there.

How about more input about the mounting system. Since I'm not super familiar with s1155 mounting brackets, I used the s775 holes on my AsRock extreme 4 and was able to use an old s775 backing plate while mounting my custom block. How thick is the plate and does it seem like the PCB is bending, meaning is there a lot of mounting pressure?

 

[trents]

Shrimp, it would be difficult to get a good picture of the mounting mechanism now that all the hardware is installed but maybe I can get a good picture off the net. The tension screws have stiff sprints under the head and the threads are very fine so I assure you the combination of those two things creates a lot of pressure. Actually, the hoses have removable clamps like automotive heater hose clamps. So if one wanted to remove the hoses before installing the pump you could actually do that. In fact, Swiftech points out this is an expandable system for that very reason, i.e. the hoses can be disconnected and the tank refilled if someone wanted to add another rad to the system, say to cool a GPU. So this is an AIO with expansion ability.

Basically, the mounting system has a motherboard backside plate with little nuts that slide back and forth in channels to accommodate different socket hole patterns. The topside pressure bracket is built into the pump body and has arms with spring loaded screws that thread into the backside plate. When you lower the pump into place the spring loaded screws are dangling loosely and not necessarily straight up and down (They also slide in their slots to be able to accommodate different bolt hole patterns). The tricky part is getting all four screw tips to line up with the threaded nuts underneath the motherboard as you lower the pump assembly down onto the CPU. If you don't, the pump's heat plate makes uneven contact with the CPU face and the TIM pattern gets disrupted by the time you get everything moved around so that the screws line up with their mates.

Note: The manual that comes with the H320 is for the H220. Apparently, the two units are identical except the H320 uses a 3 fan rad. In the pic you can see the pressure bracket and the back plate bracket assembled together to get an idea of how they work together.

 

[Mandrake4565]

Next step full custom loop

 

[caddi daddi]

oh!!!let me send him my Tt big pond 760!!!

 

[trents]

This was released by Swiftech, today, http://www.swiftech.com/H220-X.aspx

Some nice new features. I wonder if they will eventually incorporate those changes into the H320?

 

[RnRollie]

Had to order this out of Canada as it's not available in the US yet. Some kind of patent dispute going on I think.

Radiator is 3x120mm fans long so more surface area than the next best AIO products on the US market that have 2x140 mm fans.

---snip---

when moving up to a bigger cooler. It may not seem like much improvement until you really ratchet up the watts.

Well, you took the scenic route to get there..

Some nice new features. I wonder if they will eventually incorporate those changes into the H320?

The H220/H320 will probably never be released in the US under the Swiftech name. Do a search for Swiftech & Asetek ... additional term: "patent trolling"

However, the H220 was released as the Coolermaster Glacier ; but it's still unclear if the 320 will ever be released under a Coolermaster name.

The new H220-X , now finally released after some time in development & QA hell, will "soon" have the H320-X bigger brother also.

Whether or not both will be released in the US under the Swiftech name or not depends on how willing Asetek is to go patent trolling again. I assume that if Asetek goes trolling again, that Coolermaster will step in again -like the 800 pound gorilla they can be- and give Asetek (again) the message: "Ok, take us to court then, please try"



PS: a lot of the performance difference of the Swifty vs other AIO's is the simple fact of using a COPPER radiator.
Yeah, its a bit fiddly to mount in a deep case. But nobody is stopping you to extend the kit with a GPU waterblock next month
And if you want more performance, not different fans, but a 2nd set of Helix fans, so you do puch/pull will yield best results.

PPS: the reason why Asestek went patent-trolling is clear : the Swifty Hx20 had the potential to make all other AIO's obsolete. All it would have took was a very agressive publicity campaign to bring down Corsair and all the other Asetek derivates a notch.

 

[trents]

And if you want more performance, not different fans, but a 2nd set of Helix fans, so you do puch/pull will yield best results.

Not enough clearance to do push/pull in the top of the case. Components at the edge of the motherboard are in the way. Besides, I'm very satisfied with the cooling performance at this point and have no need to improve upon it.

 

[Diggrr]

Wait....What?....OMG!.....your .Mrs helps with water coolers? You lucky dog!

Nice review too, almost as if they're actually trolling forums to find the right things to do!

Thanks!

 

[EarthDog]

Why can't fans.be mounted on.the other side or a lush pull? Not talking your case specifically but for others that have the room.

You also can't take the fans off and put the on the other side or flip them.around? If not, cNt say I like the device...

Anyway, thanks for the write up! Informative.


Also rollie, they just released the new swiftech under that name in.the US.

 

[RnRollie]

Why can't fans.be mounted on.the other side or a lush pull? Not talking your case specifically but for others that have the room.

You also can't take the fans off and put the on the other side or flip them.around? If not, cNt say I like the device...

Anyway, thanks for the write up! Informative.


Also rollie, they just released the new swiftech under that name in.the US.

course you can take the fans off


The first H220 was also launched/announced in the US and pulled of the shelves before they were put on. There were some paid pre-orders pulled & rebated also

 

[trents]

Why can't fans.be mounted on.the other side or a lush pull? Not talking your case specifically but for others that have the room.

They certainly can if your case has room to accommodate the extra thickness of another layer of fans.


You also can't take the fans off and put the on the other side or flip them.around? If not, cNt say I like the device...

Yes, you could do that easily and I contemplated that very thing. Just thought I'd try it the way they came mounted from the factory first. After all, it does have the advantage of the intake air not being pre-warmed by the other electronics inside the case. The downside, of course, is that it makes the other components inside the case run a little warmer. But with good case ventilation it's probably not much of an issue either way.

Anyway, thanks for the write up! Informative.


Also rollie, they just released the new swiftech under that name in.the US.

 

[ShrimpBrime]

Shrimp, it would be difficult to get a good picture of the mounting mechanism now that all the hardware is installed but maybe I can get a good picture off the net. The tension screws have stiff sprints under the head and the threads are very fine so I assure you the combination of those two things creates a lot of pressure. Actually, the hoses have removable clamps like automotive heater hose clamps. So if one wanted to remove the hoses before installing the pump you could actually do that. In fact, Swiftech points out this is an expandable system for that very reason, i.e. the hoses can be disconnected and the tank refilled if someone wanted to add another rad to the system, say to cool a GPU. So this is an AIO with expansion ability.

Basically, the mounting system has a motherboard backside plate with little nuts that slide back and forth in channels to accommodate different socket hole patterns. The topside pressure bracket is built into the pump body and has arms with spring loaded screws that thread into the backside plate. When you lower the pump into place the spring loaded screws are dangling loosely and not necessarily straight up and down (They also slide in their slots to be able to accommodate different bolt hole patterns). The tricky part is getting all four screw tips to line up with the threaded nuts underneath the motherboard as you lower the pump assembly down onto the CPU. If you don't, the pump's heat plate makes uneven contact with the CPU face and the TIM pattern gets disrupted by the time you get everything moved around so that the screws line up with their mates.

Note: The manual that comes with the H320 is for the H220. Apparently, the two units are identical except the H320 uses a 3 fan rad. In the pic you can see the pressure bracket and the back plate bracket assembled together to get an idea of how they work together.

OK I see, that's very good, and many thanks for the details in your description.

A couple of questions....

The springs that come on the mounting brackets. Do that give you more than one set, perhaps one set of springs stronger than the other to add additional mounting pressure, perhaps for those enthusiast that like to Lap the processor and water block removing metal in turn creating a slightly less pressure mounting system because of it...

And do you think the springs DO in fact create enough mounting pressure. I guess from the way it's mounting or mounted, the waterblock wouldn't really slide much, but can you move the water block around, say slide it on the thermal paste after it's mounted?

I ask these questions because I never use the springs, not even the ones that came with the LN pot. I'm wondering sometimes if I'm going too tight as I have bent my backing plates to accommodate for my ignorance and always seeking for that 1-2c better temps from ultra high mounting pressures.

Also to save me some time looking, what does the waterblock weigh by itself? Do you think for enthusiasts this type of mod-able cooler would be ok to buy into with this particular waterblock? Or would one be better off to buy parts individually and build a custom loop which would range in prices over just the one price of this set up?

And thanks for you time. I'm learning

 

[GTXJackBauer]

They designed the new Swiftech line so for obvious reason. The patent trolls can't touch them now because the whole fight, if you will, was about the CPU block + Pump combo. Now that they redesigned it, they are in the clear, at least for the time being unless some phony comes out of the wet works.

Anyhow, as for this kit which is great, it pretty much is a "custom loop" in a way. It's a stronger pump than those AIOs (possibly a mcp35x?), copper rad and a similiar or same CPU blocks they sell, internally speaking. The rad does seem to be like some of the "Slim" rad designs so there you lose some heat surface but they usually jack up the FPI to make up the difference.

As for the fans, they are great performers. For $10-$11 a pop, best bank for your buck. If you want quieter, spend another $10-$15. I would love to exchange my x9 Helix120 PWM fans for NoiseBlocker eLoops B12s but I didn't feel like spending almost $300 JUST for fans to put in either push or pull. Wasn't worth it and I don't have that kind of cash flow to throw around.

Again, happy to see Swiftech came out with the H220x and soon to be the H320x. I still can't believe they haven't come out with their newly designed MCP-50x pump. It was suppose to be out months ago. Holy delay batman.

 

[mimart7]

I believe the pump is a new design called the MCP50X.

 

[trents]

Shrimp,

There are three sets of springs for different socket types but not stronger and weaker sets of springs. As I said earlier, my sense is that the mounting mechanism exerts strong pressure and I would not thing any additional tension would improve performance.

What I can't figure out is that there are short and long screws for two of the socket sets. They are identical except short screws have a shorter, thicker threaded end. Yet there is only one set of nuts for the back plate.

I do not know how much the water block weighs by itself and I'm not about to remove it now that it's installed, especially since I used Liquid Ultra for the TIM.

Attached is a pic showing the different screws and springs minus the ones already installed.

This is the fifth AIO unit I have tried. It is obvious to me that this Swfitech unit was made by a company who is used to making custom water loop products.

 

[GTXJackBauer]

It is obvious to me that this Swfitech unit was made by a company who is used to making custom water loop products.

They are. You could build a custom loop with their products. I use their CPU + GPU WB along with their Reservoir + Pumps combo along with their rad fans.

 

[trents]

You know, if I place the radiator off center towards the side panel and use some of the 140mm fan slots for mounting it might move the bottom edge of the radiator high enough off the motherboard to provide clearance for a set of pull fans. I may look into that.