Closer Look

The first thing different in the H20-120-P in comparison to previous products from the same company is the water block (the system comes with a single CPU block, but Swiftech offers a full assortment of various water-blocks).

The MCW6000 is an opposite of Swiftech’s typical design with an aluminum cap on a copper sole: this water-block is all made of copper type C110 and all its parts are dead-welded to each other. This gives you full protection against leakages and, moreover, this all-copper water-block isn’t subject to galvanic corrosion. Swiftech claims 100-percent quality control as each block is tested under a pressure of 1.7 atmospheres.

The 281 pins of the “thin-pin-design” base of the block are placed in a square. The input opening is located in the center to ensure the best heat takeoff – the water stream is driven right to the hottest spot, to the CPU core. This design of the water-block (massive all-copper block, thin pins and a central input nipple) is among the most efficient. The sole of the block is excellently polished off – not to mirror shine, which is not actually important for effective heat transfer, but to an ideal flatness of the surface.

The dimensions of the block have become smaller: the sole now is a 64x64mm square. By simply replacing the fastening you can mount the block on any modern processor from Intel or AMD: kits for installing the MCW6000 on Socket 478, LGA775, Socket 603/604 (Xeon), Socket 754/939/940, and Socket A are all available. We got a fastening for Socket 478 which proved to be very handy – you don’t have to take the mainboard out of the system case to install the water-block. There is a minor inconvenience, though, but which will hardly trouble ordinary users. You notice it when you frequently change your central processor – you have to detach the water-block from the system to install the fastening for another platform.

The company says the engineers pursued five parameters when designing the MCW6000: performance, reliability, compatibility, ease of use, and price. Swiftech wanted to reduce the manufacturing cost of the product without compromising the traditionally high performance.