Conclusive ThoughtsFor a 45nm dual core, this kit might seem overkill for sub 4ghz operations as it hardly beats the high end air cooler. These findings were confirmed by using the older Apogee block in the setup. Temps hardly rose (1-2°C max) over the new kit. Once going over 4ghz this kit did come out better. The air cooler started to slack and couldn't complete the 4.5Ghz 1hour run at 1.375vcore. With the Swiftech kit the E8500 remained stable around 52°C. Testing high end cooling kits on a CPU with a low heat output isn't such a good idea as the differences are really minimal.
For the quick 45nm quad test, the difference between the high end air cooling and the Swiftech Ultima kit became more apparent. Temp differences rose over 7°C under full load. For overclockers or for those that want that little extra gaming power AND at the same time keep temps in the green(er) zone, a water-cooling kit like this one, is a must.
The new Nehalem I7 tests showed the true colours of this kit. The Thermalright lost all control over the Core i7 920 once we pushed over 3.9GHz. After 2 hours of Small FFT it maxed out at 87°C. The water-cooled CPU at 4ghz however, was pretty close to the TRUE's max temps tested at 3.8Ghz. Of course you can say that hardly any day to day app stresses a CPU as hard as the Prime test. But it's always nice to see that you still got some headroom before reaching them critical temps... The E8500 test also proved that with a high end water-cooling kit, stability can be maintained with less volts than the Air cooler.
Best fan setting to be used with this kit is the 7V speed... the 12V speed brings no major gains in the cooling department ( max 2-3°C better performance ) it just adds noise, it could be suitable to get rid of your mother in law ASAP as it's really disturbing. Like mentioned before I didn't test 5v as to me the fans at 7V are hardly audible.
To sum things up: a very nice and well designed high performance kit by the
Swiftech company. The price (
~$250) might scare some, but you get what you pay for. High quality and intelligently engineered components.
No worries that this kit will not perform: Just for fun, I shutdown one fan while testing the Core i7. The Ultima kit didn't budge and kept the hothead nice and stable around 70°C at 3.8Ghz and HT on. With the Core i7 we definitely see the need for better CPU cooling, while the popular Core 2 Duo didn’t really need H20 to shine, this new Intel CPU certainly does and Swiftech latest H20 kit is up to the task!
Swiftech H20-220 Apex Ultima Water-Cooling Kit
Recommended for
Pros+ everything you need is included
+ very detailed manual
+ Excellent build quality water block, pump and reservoir
+ Radbox is sturdy and an excellent option for H20 setups in smaller cases
+ Very noticeable performance gains over high end air cooler with Intel Quad Cores and the latest Core i7
+ Acceptable price/performance for enthusiasts
Cons- Plastic barbs included could be replaced by alloy ones
- High entry price might scare some potential buyers
- No AMD mounting kits included by default (but can be requested)
I like to thank
Swiftech and
Bacata for allowing us to test this kit.