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Entry Level Liquid-Cooling System vs. Hi-End Air Cooler: Swiftech H2O-220 Compact Review (page 6)

Category: Coolers

by Sergey Lepilov

[ 03/24/2008 | 01:15 PM ]

Assembly and Installation Tips

The first thing to do is to finish the pre work on the radiator. You have to install two fittings with rubber rings into the corresponding holes:

Do not apply too much power here: the rubber rings will ensure secure contact between the radiator and the fittings and will prevent any leakage:

Then (or before that, whichever works best for you), install the two fans to the radiator. The plastic retention bracket for attaching the entire unit to the case rare panel should be fastened on one of these fans:

In order to fasten this complete unit to the case rear panel, you have to first insert long spindles into the panel and lock them with threaded plastic bushes:

Note that this procedure doesn’t require a pre-made spot for the 120-mm fan in the case rear panel. A 92-mm or even 80-mm fan will do just fine as it will be fastened with spindles through the grid slits. As for the 120-mm fan, the bracket fits nicely into its retention holes, although these holes in our ASUS ASCOT 6AR2-B case did not coincide with the default retention holes for a 120-mm fan that is why we could only use two screws out of four to fasten the bracket:

Before you hang the radiator and fan unit onto this relatively weak looking bracket, you should better install the mainboard into the system case. Do not forget to stick the backplate to its reverse side before, though:

We do not recommend installing the water block and pump unit onto the CPU and mainboard right away, because the water block should be below the radiator level for proper coolant fill-up. So, you have to connect this unit with the radiator using two bundled hoses that should run into the system case through the holes in the corresponding rear panel bracket. Do not forget to lock the hoses with clamps. The coolant concentrate should be deluded with 0.5l of distilled water and then you pour this mixture into the upper radiator opening once you ensured that that water block and pump unit is places below the radiator level. This way you can fill the system almost completely without letting it idle for a few seconds after the first start.

Now you need to install the water block and pump unit onto the CPU:

There is one more nuance here, you should take into account. The manufacturer recommends installing this unit in such a way that the outgoing nipple faces upwards and the incoming nipple – sideways. The radiator holes are also marked accordingly. According to the manufacturer, this is the only way to ensure maximum cooling efficiency for this liquid-cooling system.

By the way, the location of the computer case with Swiftech H₂O-220 Compact system installed on its rear panel is also very important for the overall system efficiency. I believe that if you place it in a covered section of your computer desk, which is a common place for most system cases these days, the efficiency of this solution will be limited or even “overpowered” by the niche it sits in. However, we decided to eliminate this possibility and placed the system next to the computer desk instead:

Of course, if your desk doesn’t stand close to the wall, your system case stands outside the desk or you have no case at all, don’t even bother: there will be no cause for concern.

In conclusion to our discussion of Swiftech H₂O-220 Compact functionality and installation I have to add that it is currently selling for $140 MSRP.