Swiftech H20 120 Compact

Open the easy door to watercooling.

Self-contained watercooling kits have always been the laughing stock of the overclocking community, with results universally worse than cheaper high end aftermarket heatsinks.

Swiftech, purveyor of quality water cooling products, hopes to change all that with their own self contained watercooling unit, the H20 120 Compact.

The H20 120 Compact features a 120mm radiator with built-in reservoir and a self-powered waterblock compatible with all current CPU’s. The waterblock is connected to the radiator using 3/8” tubing with anti-kink coils, which unlike previous self-contained watercooling kits, can be re-filled if and when it is required.

Putting the H20 120 Compact up against our quad core CPU running at 3GHz (333MHz FSB on a multiplier of 9 with 1.4v vCore) gave an idle temp of 43.5 degrees and a load temp of 64.5 degrees. Both idle and load temperatures were averaged across all four cores with CoreTemp 0.94 used to measure temps and a wPrime 1024M run used for load temps.

The H20 120 Compact has two major flaws due to its pricing and design. Because the pump is located directly above the waterblock, a second heat source is present and would have a negative affect on the temperatures once you got the kit up and running.

We noticed that the interior of the radiator was made of aluminum. This, combined with the copper base of the waterblock meant that a galvanic cell is present within this kit, which would also have a negative effect on performance over time due to the corrosion that would occur.

Ensuring that the right corrosion inhibitor, otherwise known as coolant, is used and replacing it periodically should prolong this effect from occurring.
Swiftech’s H20 120 Compact just shows that the curse of self contained watercooling units still linger as similar or better performance is readily available from cheaper high end heatsinks. Those looking for the best performance on water would still look towards a custom-built kit or one of Swiftech’s more expensive kits. The H20 120 Compact is best suited for those that want to take their very first baby steps into the world of watercooling.