Swiftech MCW5000-ATM

Waterblock Test – Joe

SUMMARY: Very good choice for CPU cooling with moderate power waterpumps.

MCW5000-A

The good guys at Swiftech was nice enough to send a MCW5000-A waterblock to test.

The MCW5000-A features

  • ½” OD push type hose fittings
  • ½” Thick pin fin copper base
  • Anodized aluminum top

Top

Size: 2.5″ square x 1.66″ high (63.5 x 42.16 mm)

You will notice below that the MCW5000-A’s pressure drop is fairly low – this is due to its interior design:

Base

Pic courtesy of Swiftech.

The pins are not overly dense and there is some space above the pins for waterflow – overall, an efficient design.

The base is typical Swiftech:

Base

very well finished – performance will NOT be enhanced by hand lapping.

THE TEST

The MCW5000-A was tested using the CPU Die Simulator and Waterblock Test Rig.

WATERBLOCK TEST RESULTS

Test Conditions: Inlet Water Temp: 28.5 C; Mounting force: 15 pounds; Heat Load: 70 Watts.

Plot

Waterblock

C/W

Pressure Drop – psi

Pressure Drop – inches H2O

MCW5000-A

0.15

0.37

10.2

NOTE: These results are NOT comparable to tests done by others.
Unrounded data: 0.152 C/W with 0.0012 std dev.

Test Results indicate that the MCW5000-A’s pressure drop (or head loss) across the waterblock is relatively low; flow resistance such as this means that Silverprop’s MCW5000-A should function very well without using a large waterpump, although anything less than 300 gph might compromise results, depending upon how restrictive other components are in system.

I found that reducing flow to 0.5 gpm resulted in a performance decrease of about 0.6ºC and increasing flow to 1.5 gpm resulted in a gain of about 0.2ºC.

For a comparison of the MCW500-A’s performance to other waterblocks tested to date, see Overclockers.com Waterblock Test Results.

CONCLUSIONS

Swiftech’s MCW5000-A Waterblock is a very good choice for CPU cooling. Flow resistance is fairly low; the MCW5000-A will perform very well with moderate power waterpumps (300 gph), as long as other components do not unduly restrict waterflow.

Thanks again to Swiftech for sending this our way. The MCW5000-A is available from the The Heatsink Factory.

Email Joe

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