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Swiftech's MCR Drive Heat Exchangers

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MCR220-DRIVE Dual 120mm heat exchanger with integrated pump, Black, including 1/2" & 3/8" fittings, and mounting screws $196.95

MCR320-DRIVE Triple 120mm heat exchanger with integrated pump, Black, including 1/2" & 3/8" fittings, and mounting screws $209.95

Way to expensive IMO

120mm topnotch cooling :

One MCP655 pump + a Feser X-Changer 240 will set you back ~ $175 (plus connectors)
One MCP655 pump + a Feser X-Changer 360 will set you back ~ $ 205 (plus connectors)

140 mm ?
One MCP655 pump + a GTX Gen Two Xtreme 280 will set you back ~ $175 (add connectors to that price)
One MCP655 + a GTX Gen Two Xtreme 420 will set you back ~ $210 (without connectors here too)

The MCR Drive Heat Exchangers is far too expensive for my taste - and considering their installation issues, and nothing more than middle performance - I think Swiftech just released a small niche product...

Well, Those are MSRP prices on the MCR Drive units. The street pricing should come in a bit lower. However, you point out why I'm skeptical of the value on these. There are e-tailers selling the MCR320-QP for less than $60. Add a DDC + res top, or a D5 + micro res, and the total price is ~ $150. Given that scenario, if it were me I'd buy the separate res + pump + rad.

Were i installing watercooling for pay, i would use the MCR Drive stuff, fewer points of failure and cleaner looks make a larger difference in a business situation.

Other then that... Not really.

This brings up an excellent point. Perhaps Swiftech will now be an option in the OEM market. Dell has to source their alienware coolers from somebody, and the MCR Drive system uses know reliable parts that perform very well. Maybe Swiftech can make a pitch to them.

If I built computers for money and I wanted to offer a WC option, there's no doubt this would be my system of choice.
 
I will put MCR drives in the same segment as Corsair Hydro,Masscool, Boutique Builders aso. cooling is off course better since MCR have a more powerfull radiator solution and pump.

But it comes without a CPU block - and thus is hefty overpriced - a middle performing 220 / 320 radiator and a slightly better pump just can't justify the heavy MSRP.

Anyone that installs watercooling with "silent" overclocking in mind will probably avoid a MCR drive just as they will avoid the above mentioned kits.
Then we are left with "watercooling for silence" - and all of the above mentioned kits do the job for under half the price.

Swiftech make a lot of good products - but I think they missed as much here as they did with their stacked radiator design :rolleyes:
 
This brings up an excellent point. Perhaps Swiftech will now be an option in the OEM market. Dell has to source their alienware coolers from somebody, and the MCR Drive system uses know reliable parts that perform very well. Maybe Swiftech can make a pitch to them.

Dell get their cooling solution from Asetek - it's really just a "Corsair Hydro clone" Dell uses.... (yes Asetek do deliver the Hydro series to Corsair)
I am more or less awaiting too see a "avalanche" of RMA's for the Hydro series since Asetek always have had problems with electronics :sly:


If I built computers for money and I wanted to offer a WC option, there's no doubt this would be my system of choice.

I do build a lot of computers - and I would use Swiftech too over any other solution ; but then again I never build WC systems for other than myself :)
 
the one thing i was thinking about is the uneven pulling from some of the tubes in the rad .
i would like to see a clear version to see whats happening at the input for the pump before i decide weather i like it or not.
 
the one thing i was thinking about is the uneven pulling from some of the tubes in the rad .
i would like to see a clear version to see whats happening at the input for the pump before i decide weather i like it or not.

I think that the problem you describe will be just the same with a "normal" rad/pump solution...
 
the one thing i was thinking about is the uneven pulling from some of the tubes in the rad .
i would like to see a clear version to see whats happening at the input for the pump before i decide weather i like it or not.

i could see that happening, but i don't think it will be a major issue.
 
I think that the problem you describe will be just the same with a "normal" rad/pump solution...

i doubt it .
plenum chambers have a sweetspot based on many variables and when you change any one of them you change everything . same rules apply BUT its all about how noticeable it is .
 
Normal setups have a 90* turn between the tubes and the outlet/inlet, that helps a lot to spread the flow out.
 
i doubt it .
plenum chambers have a sweetspot based on many variables and when you change any one of them you change everything . same rules apply BUT its all about how noticeable it is .

Well how can this be tested ? I have several Magicool rads which have integrated clear polycarbonate reservoir and I also have c-systems pumps which screws directly into the reservoir (as you can see of my psu cooling earlier in the thread)

But I can't imagine how this can be tested - a dye will mix prompt with the water... :shrug:
 
Can radiators be improved by this mod ????


e8633c.jpg

hell yeah maybe the same mod on the intake too ?

I'm on it.... next year :D guess Gabe suck's up this too.... ;)
 
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actually you are really close on how to test but the only real way is to sacrfice a rad an d hook several dyes up to individual tubes on the opposite end and watch how they flow ( requiring the clear poly (also watching for bubbles to form)
you are right that it may end up being the same performance as it may not be a measurable difference but it would be nice to see thier in house test data to confirm it
im just concerned with the wear and tare of the pump if the internal patters make for bottlenecking and starvation ( semi cavitation) and not so much the performance loss from farther tubes getting less draw.
 
I don't think it is possible to test it at all.... at least not without advanced testequipment - probably testequipment that will have to be special made for the purpose.

I will do the mod above anyway to see if it lowers the restriction - I don't think it will help on temperatures much, but I have a 223W peltier I can test it against.

The easiest way will be with two connectors in the chamber and an "Y" connector.
 
umn all it takes is dye and a plastic molded version. i myself on an older pump had a clear casing made to test the effects of cavitation on a pump ( not a pump we use anymore for water cooling)
the dyes themselves are expencive in small amounts ( different radio signatures as well as colors) but if you work in the right place you can get them free ;)
 
umn all it takes is dye and a plastic molded version. i myself on an older pump had a clear casing made to test the effects of cavitation on a pump ( not a pump we use anymore for water cooling)
the dyes themselves are expencive in small amounts ( different radio signatures as well as colors) but if you work in the right place you can get them free ;)

well - the different dye colors will mix at once in the outlet chamber if the scenario was to test with several dyes at the same time.
If one were to test one and one of the radiator channels there will be a matter of milliseconds before the outlet chamber were colored - almost regardless of how low flow it was tested with...

It is prolly possible to do such a test, but I think it will require special built testequipment, high speed cameras aso...

Too expensive for me :rolleyes:

But as said I will modify one radiator with several inlets/outlets and see what that does (probably a ****ty BIE I have laying around here somewhere :D )
 
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they way i would try to test it is have a clear ended rad and setup a pump to pull clear water from a large bucket and pump it to another. then while the pump is pumping inject dye on the inlet side and see which channels it comes out of first.
 
actually radio dyes are scanned and make 3d models ( hence the cost of them )

due to the tubes themselves you can only get results from the point of exiting the tube into the plenum/ pump. and the colors of the dye when they do mix have a special scale so you can tell the ratio based on the exact colors ( a real pain because you have to spend a long time in the room doing a special whitebalance test with a camera that has to be calibrated to get accurate pics )
 
Not like you couldn't do it more cheaply (and somewhat less accurately) with food coloring.
It'd be close enough to tell you if there was a large imbalance.
 
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