Swiftech H220 Review by TTL.

[Guest]

Hey guys,

If you haven't seen it here's an interesting video by TTL on the H220 by Swiftech announced at CES. Interesting comments especially regarding the hose length but what got me were the results.

Thoughts?

[LeeJC73]

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[Guest]

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Why so?

[LeeJC73]

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I didn't appreciate someone who's held in such high esteem within the modding community finding such fault with "hose length" which is entirely adjustable to suit.

The claim about the 220 being noisy I could have gone with until about half way through the conclusion where the comment "yes the H100i is noisier on max volts" was dropped in.

So what I took from it was.

It's not as noisy as a H100i at 12 volts.

The hoses are too long (but I could cut them to size if I wanted)

As for the temps they are comparable, H110i wins in that review H220 wins in the XtremeCPU review.

So with the above in mind the H100i gets a gold, the H220 (which may be quieter/is more customisable/produces the same results) gets a silver.

None of the reasons for recommending the H100i over this unit seemed valid to me, thought it was making a big deal out of minor issues, a bit like making a big deal out of the rad screws for the H100i punching into the fin arrays on it's radiator.

[Guest]

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Hmm just thinking about what you're saying - intro to his video; "Sponsored by Corsair"

[LeeJC73]

I don't want to get into the whole "Sponsored by Corsair" thing, I was looking at the review from a purely technical viewpoint and just didn't think the negative observations were justified in comparison to the H100i. (which incidentally I own, along with 3 custom water cooled rigs)

[Guest]

I don't want to get into the whole "Sponsored by Corsair" thing, I was looking at the review from a purely technical viewpoint and just didn't think the negative observations were justified in comparison to the H100i. (which incidentally I own, along with 3 custom water cooled rigs)

That is true. I'm just now waiting on Linus to get his hands on one because the CES coverage shows the H220 not only beating the H100i by atleast 5 degrees but the H220 matching the H100i when paired with 680's in SLI. This shall be interesting..

[Wats]

Why are you defending this product so much Lee? Did you actually buy one?

[Nit3Rid3R]

I see the H220 as something really good if someone is a beginner in the watercooling side. And for someone who isn't going to spend a ton of money at first to get a watercooling kit.

With the H220, you could get that first, then sometime in the future get some other parts to upgrade it.

I personally wouldn't get the H220, because I like the looks of the Corsair H110 more, but if I was on a limited budget to build a watercooled system and to upgrade it further along the line, then I'd might get it.

[LeeJC73]

I see the H220 as something really good if someone is a beginner in the watercooling side. And for someone who isn't going to spend a ton of money at first to get a watercooling kit.

With the H220, you could get that first, then sometime in the future get some other parts to upgrade it.

I personally wouldn't get the H220, because I like the looks of the Corsair H110 more, but if I was on a limited budget to build a watercooled system and to upgrade it further along the line, then I'd might get it.

You've entirely lost me.

You're saying you prefer the look of a black 280mm rad to a black 240mm rad?

Or are you talking specifically about the pump top? In which case what distinguishes the H110 from the Kraken X60?

So you'll choose the X60/H110 even though you know it comes with non pressure optimised fans?

Would you replace them with pressure optimised fans at say $20 ea??

I take your point and agree that the H220 is more of an everyman solution, buy it and use it/upgrade it later when compared to the other AIO solutions, which I can't see as a bad thing, along with the fact you can refill it (which means it's only lifed by the components not the evaporation of coolant unlike the other solutions)

[LeeJC73]

Why are you defending this product so much Lee? Did you actually buy one?

Why don't you do the same calculations against a custom build?

Lets say a laing DDC 10W, radiators, blocks and ancills and then decide if it's a good buy?

[vanwazltoff]

i have seen miltiple reviews on the h220 all putting it near kraken x60 in performance and few were the h100i pulls ahead a few degrees but the h220 does a much better job at being quiet while giving you those temps

[DJ46]

I see the H220 as something really good if someone is a beginner in the watercooling side. And for someone who isn't going to spend a ton of money at first to get a watercooling kit.

With the H220, you could get that first, then sometime in the future get some other parts to upgrade it.

I personally wouldn't get the H220, because I like the looks of the Corsair H110 more, but if I was on a limited budget to build a watercooled system and to upgrade it further along the line, then I'd might get it.

So you'll choose the X60/H110 even though they can just stop working after 2/3 years? And you can't change the coolant after a year?

[LeeJC73]

Hope this doesn't upset anyone but this guy is pretty much a legend on the watercooling scene.

See what you think of his review.

http://martinsliquidlab.org/2013/01/27/swiftech-h220-prefilled-2x120mm-water-cooling-kit/

[Whaler_99]

What I am wondering, is how we are seeing such extreme's in temp testing? On the Anantech review, the H220 was only beat by the X60 and H110, which isn't surprising, considering larger rads. It pretty much beat everything else...

To go on a bit further, I have noticed TTL is very much about neat/tidy rigs. Any AiO will have tubing hanging about. The one thing I like about the H220, you should be able to mount that rad pretty much anywhere without worrying about it all reaching. Good quality fans and great acoustics....

The one thing I don't like about the H220, is at least on the pump, not sure about on the rad, you cannot replace the fittings. You are stuck with 3/8" ID barb fittings. Something to keep in mind if you plan to expand it.

[LeeJC73]

Why are you defending this product so much Lee? Did you actually buy one?

No I haven't bought one as I've stated elsewhere in this thread I've got a H100i and 3 custom loops running DDC's.

I'm not defending the "product" just the manner in which it is being reviewed, and the inconsistencies which became apparent to me as I watched the review.

However I do think swiftech deserve some recognition simply for having the gonads to put something to market which really does offer the "beginner" an out of the box solution which as confidence/requirements grow can accomodate further upgrades. How can that not be a good idea?? Rather than buy an AIO and then bin it when you decide you actually want to go to a custom loop?

[Scia]

I don't want to get into the whole "Sponsored by Corsair" thing, I was looking at the review from a purely technical viewpoint and just didn't think the negative observations were justified in comparison to the H100i. (which incidentally I own, along with 3 custom water cooled rigs)

@ Windspeed36 : It's plain impossible that the H220 beats the H100i with gtx680 sli. The H220 has a better pump.... but thin rad is thin as well and there is not much difference possible in the firstplace.

A cpu and 2 gpus on solely a 240rad will make the water boil lol.

[vanwazltoff]

Hope this doesn't upset anyone but this guy is pretty much a legend on the watercooling scene.

See what you think of his review.

http://martinsliquidlab.org/2013/01/27/swiftech-h220-prefilled-2x120mm-water-cooling-kit/

read that review and he loved the kit and highly recommends it, its only weak link is the radiator but it performs on par with the similarly priced XSPC 720 RS240 while having much lower temps. also the pump/water block is extremely high quality beating even the Apogee Drive II in quality and noise

[vanwazltoff]

Hope this doesn't upset anyone but this guy is pretty much a legend on the watercooling scene.

See what you think of his review.

http://martinsliquidlab.org/2013/01/27/swiftech-h220-prefilled-2x120mm-water-cooling-kit/

*lower noise not temps

[Salmiakbal]

That was a pretty biased review yeah. Also he seems to be a lot more flexible and allowing when reviewing Corsair stuff. Like he was totally blown away by the SP2500, while it's obviously not a high end product. That's the case with most popular reviewers though.. Corsair, Asus etc, the popular list. I'm not saying they make bad stuff, but usually (especially the higher end stuff) is very overpriced.

I get the feeling TTL doesn't really know what he's talking about. He looked at the rad a bit, ran some tests, told some stuff he personally didn't like (which is not good when doing a review, it should be objective) said it will probably be too expensive (disregarding the fact that this AIO is a lot different than your average AIO and that the prices hasn't been confirmed yet) and gave it a meh silver.

The review by martinsliquidlab is MUCH better. Objective, completely in depth and with respect to the fact that this is not your average AIO, and that it should not be reviewed in such a way.

[LeeJC73]

I don't want to get into the whole "Sponsored by Corsair" thing, I was looking at the review from a purely technical viewpoint and just didn't think the negative observations were justified in comparison to the H100i. (which incidentally I own, along with 3 custom water cooled rigs)

@Scia

Under what circumstances do you envisage being able to use a H100i to cool a graphics card at all??

Can I also ask on what basis you've made the judgement that the water would boil?? Did you see the CES video where it was actually running, with the temperatures on display?

[Whaler_99]

I don't want to get into the whole "Sponsored by Corsair" thing, I was looking at the review from a purely technical viewpoint and just didn't think the negative observations were justified in comparison to the H100i. (which incidentally I own, along with 3 custom water cooled rigs)

FYI - a better pump can make a difference, all other things being equal. Higher flow rates translate to better temps as water is cycled through the loop faster. The pump on the H220 can do almost 1000L/h while the specs on the CoolIT pump used by Corsair are hard to come by, but looks to be around 120-150L/h. This could actually make a significant difference in temps... not saying it does... but it can. :)

[Scia]

I don't want to get into the whole "Sponsored by Corsair" thing, I was looking at the review from a purely technical viewpoint and just didn't think the negative observations were justified in comparison to the H100i. (which incidentally I own, along with 3 custom water cooled rigs)

I was refering to the comment above mine. The H220 with athin 240 rad will not be able to get better tempson thecpu + 2x gtx680 than the h100i onlycooling the cpu does. It is hard to imagine that rad would be able to get any temps closeto good....

I am running gtx 680 sli and a 2500k 4.5ghz @1.3v on a 360x80mm and 360x60mm rad with a d5 pump and kryos cpu and ek gpu blocks and I can get a delta temp of approx 30ºC on the gpuswhen running crysis 3 for a few hours.

And as far as I remember they have added extrarads in the CES vid, no?

And ofc a better pump can make a difference but not on such a thin rad ^^ which imho is the limiting factor ^^

Excuse my typing my hands r too big for tablet keyboards (@lecture ^^)

[MuZeVII]

OC3D have upgraded the Silver Award review to a Gold based on its price. "Official pricing has now landed for the Swiftech H220 at £106.99. This is much lower than expected so as stated in the video review we are upping the award to a Gold award." I hope this goes some way to dispel rumours of sponsorship bias. I don't think OC3D have have enough stick over the silver award for them to upgrade it by demand, using the price as an excuse. Certainly, sponsor-based bias is something that no consumer wants to see, and I hope it stays clear from TTL's reviews as it will on LTT.

[LeeJC73]

Concise response from gabe on the oc3d forum thread, with some corrections to Tom's inaccuracies, which have been followed by a comment from the man himself about gabe agreeing with him. Not exactly how I saw it.

Also has anyone got a cached copy of the written review as I'm sure page one isn't what I initially read.