Conclusion
Put simply, the Swiftech H2O-120 kit is a real winner. There are a lot of good things to say about it. It is beautiful in its simplicity with high quality components and top-notch performance. You couldn’t find a more compact water cooling system that performs as well as the H2O-120 kit if you tried. We’d like to also give special mention to the incredibly innovative Apogee Drive water pump that is also available on its own. This is a fantastic little pump and waterblock combo that can make any DIY compact water cooling project a joy.
Swiftech carefully thought out the kit and provided everything a buyer would need. Installation is incredibly simple thanks to the two-piece design and there is plenty of thermal headroom to add a chipset or a video card into the loop.
About the only issue we had with the H2O-120 kit was the incompatibility of its radiator with our Antec test case. This is not something we’ll hold against the kit as this is one out of thousands of cases a potential buyer may own. Even if we insisted on using our case, Swiftech’s RadBox would have remedied the issue.
Swiftech lists an MSRP of $159 USD for the H2O-120 kit, but it can be found for less at most retailers. While not necessarily cheap, there is always a premium associated with entering the water cooling arena. The gear is simply much more complicated than that of simple heatsinks and fan combos. Considering what is included in the kit, its performance and upgrade potential, we believe this is a very fair price.
We’re pleased to award the H2O-120 Compact kit with Icrontic’s “Outstanding Product Award” and we look forward to seeing what else Swiftech has in store!
Pros:
- Very compact with only two major components in the system
- Excellent performance for a single 120mm radiator
- Very good build quality of components and accessories
- Good base quality and excellent mounting system on the Apogee Drive
- Compatible with LGA775, AM2, 939 and 754 out of the box
- Included 81CFM fan is nice and quiet considering its output
- Lots of upgrade options
Cons:
- Radiator is a little bigger than usual due to integrated reservoir. This may pose compatibility issues in some cases.
Articles RSS