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Swiftech launches H20-x20 Elite watercooling kits

Published on 19th November 2012 by Gareth Halfacree

Swiftech's latest watercooling kits, the H20-x20 Elite Series, is designed to offer an expandable alternative to sealed-loop systems.

Swiftech has taken the wraps off its latest products for watercooling enthusiasts, the H20-x20 Elite Series cooling kits.

Designed to pick up where the H20-x20 Edge Series left over, the H20-X20 Elite series packs the company's Apogee Drive II CPU waterblock with its integrated pulse width modulation (PWM) controlled MCP35X pump with a MCRx20-QP Res Revision 2 radiator with integrated reservoir. The kit uses Lok-Seal 1/2" and 3/4" compression fittings, comes complete with Helix 120mm PWM-controlled fans and the company's new eight-way PWM splitter allowing centralised speed management of all PWM-compatible pumps and fans in a system.

Those opting to buy the H20-220 Elite will find themselves with a dual-120mm MCR220-QP Res radiator, while the H20-320 Elite packs a triple-120mm MCR320-QP Res radiator. Both include the Apogee Drive II waterblock with integral pump and support for Socket 775, 1155, 1156, 1366 and 2011, along with Tim Mate 2 thermal compound. What isn't included, however, is any way of connecting the waterblock to an AMD CPU socket, with Swiftech stating that it will provide a hold-down plate and mounting hardware for Socket 754, 949, 940, AM2, AM3, 770, F, FM1 and FM2 for free upon request.

Inside the box, buyers will also receive a 500ml bottle of pre-mixed HydrX coolant, six feet of 3/4" OD and 1/2" clear tubing, a filling funnel, and an installation guide.

The kits are being positioned by Swiftech as an alternative to sealed-loop watercooling systems, offering expandability and ease of customisation not offered by all-in-one units. The system is also claimed to be extremely reliable, covered by a 10 year warranty and with a pump rated for 50,000 hours of use, while the coolant should need topping up only once every couple of years. The H20-x20 family is also expandable, with Swiftech claiming the integrated MCP35X pump has enough head pressure to support the addition of a graphics card into the loop without having to add an additional pump.

UK pricing for the Swiftech H20-X20 Elite family has yet to be confirmed, with US pricing set at $239.95 to $279.95 (around £151 and £176 respectively, excluding taxes.)

11 Comments

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Parge 19th November 2012, 12:05

If they are pushing it as an alternative to closed loop systems, they are in for a nasty shock - its about £70 more expensive than a H100 and I'm not convinced it'll offer significantly better performance.

tonyd223 19th November 2012, 12:05

I'm finding the adverts on this site really annoying - the one's embedded in the pictures.

Is it just me?

Ripitup121 19th November 2012, 12:35

Seems to be a bit of a middle ground product to build your own loop from an all in one pack, unless it performs better than a H100 it might not even be worth considering tbh.

Dont worry Tony its not just you, those Cod adds are a pain and your not the first to mention it either.

tozsam 19th November 2012, 13:41

not sure about the cooling potential. I have one looking after my CPU, which it barely manages (i7 2600k @ 4.8) let alone a graphics card chucked in there as well.

Jimbob 20th November 2012, 09:40

Hmm, seems too expensive and complicated to replace a closed loop system and not enough saving or effort to make it worth using instead of a custom loop.

I guess only testing will tell.

Kovoet 20th November 2012, 09:57

Come on let's be honest how many of us were expecting this from them at some stage. But as mentioned before unless it is going to be any better than H100 there is no need in even considering this.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

Chris_Waddle 20th November 2012, 12:39

I can't see these really taking off either. If I wanted to build an upgradable system then I would go for separate parts. This might be a more expensive route, but the results would be far greater.

I am a fan of the closed loop systems, but I do wish that they would supply them with Scythe GT's (or no fans at all). Once these fans are installed, the performace is far better than with the standard fans.

Bobfoc 21st November 2012, 10:31

Cant really see the point in this.

If you want simple.... go the corsair or other closed loop route.

If you want flexibility.... go the full watercooling route with parts from market wide suppliers.

Paying such a premium for sonething that is kinda in the middle just doesnt make sense.

lilgoth89 22nd November 2012, 09:24

thing is, this is almost an entire watercooling unit in one go, it comes in kit form which is important as you can use it to bolster an existing watercooling rig, or as the basics of a new kit...and lets not forget if you have a H100 and want to epand your loop, your options are very limited, with this you could simply add a gpu block or another Rad into your loop
also users that are new to watercooling will enjoy this as they wont have to worry about tube sizes, compression fittings and all that as everything is included ( and you dont have to opt for the dual unit, you can opt for the triple rad set instead )

icemanTM 22nd November 2012, 09:32

I love the simplistic look of this kit but I love to tinker around with stuffs so I'm kinda biased to the custom loop :D perception varries from person to person though

GRouchon 24th November 2012, 19:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parge
If they are pushing it as an alternative to closed loop systems, they are in for a nasty shock - its about £70 more expensive than a H100 and I'm not convinced it'll offer significantly better performance.

Well I guess you'll have to wait for reviews, but our own tests show this kit about 8C better at equal fan speed in a highly o/c'd system. All it means is that you could run our kit at the lowest fan & pump speed (800 rpm = inaudible) and still beat the H100 running at its lowest (1300 = quiet) by about 2C. But the fact of the matter is, if you do not overclock, or if noise and CPU temps don't bother you, then you do not need a high-end kit, and the H100 will suit your needs just fine, actually a high-end air cooler like the DH14 would also do just fine.

The point of these kits is not so much the performance difference, because when push comes to shove, the performance criteria/needs vary from one user to another, the point is upgradeability: the ability to add devices to your loop and this is at the very core of the enthusiast PC builder community.

Now, to those who prefer to tailor their own kit from various parts gathered here and there either on the basis of looks, performance, price, or what have you, I must admit that a complete kit cannot compete with the fun factor deriving from choosing their own parts.

A complete kit such as this one bundles the very best parts a company like ours has to offer, and aims at the people who do NOT want to guess whether their parts will work well together or not. It has a specific set of features that include top performance, ease of installation, upgradeability, and more, all based on 15 years of experience in manufacturing liquid cooling parts.