Wednesday, January 6th 2016
Swiftech Introduces Next Generation of All-in-one (AIO) Liquid Cooling Kits
Rouchon Industries Inc., dba Swiftech today announced the release of its next generation of AIO Liquid Cooling Kits, the Drive X2 and the Drive X2 "Prestige" series. "Our goals during the development of this series of products were to continue improving upon the performance of our all-in-one kits, and to broaden their appeal to an even larger audience," said Gabriel Rouchon, Swiftech's Chairman and CEO. "In previous generations, thermal and acoustic performances were always at the top of our agenda, but we were also first to introduce the concept of upgradability because we wanted to offer AIO's that COULD be customized.
This new generation represents the culmination of our efforts in that direction: what is being presented to the world is a new generation of products that truly ARE custom kits: they perform like custom kits, they look like custom kits, and they are user-customizable right out-of-the-box. All this was accomplished while preserving and improving upon the characteristics that have made AIO's so popular today: reasonable cost, superior performance, plug-and-play functionalities, and no maintenance."
One of the most significant changes for the Drive X2 series AIO is the fully redesigned patent-pending radiator/reservoir/pump combo featuring a large clear acrylic reservoir of tubular shape, and showing the inner workings of the system's powerful pump. The radiator comes in 3 sizes, dual 120mm, dual 140mm, and triple 120mm. The large coolant reserve prolongs operations without maintenance well beyond the 3 year product warranty. The second component to see substantial changes is the new Apogee XL2 CPU waterblock now featuring a chrome plated copper base plate and a redesigned housing with enhanced flow characteristics for better hydraulic performance.
The housing is made of clear acrylic material to visualize the coolant flow path and to create fantastic color and light reflections thanks to an all-new system of RGB ALED lighting system. The waterblock installation hardware has been enhanced for an even easier trouble-free installation, and it is compatible with all current desktop processors. Finally, the kits now use clear tubing, a remarkable departure from other AIO products made possible by Swiftech's use of a large coolant reserve, and most notably the new Addressable RGB LED (ALED) technology implemented on waterblock, reservoir, and radiator accent piece.
The "Prestige" version of the kits includes all of the above, but features even more advanced product updates, focusing on extraordinary performance at low noise, as well as top shelf hardware. The Prestige line includes the world-renowned Noiseblocker eLoop fans, that take these kits a step ahead of anything the company ever tested in terms of thermal performance in near-silent silent operations. Finally, the "Prestige" versions use Lok-Seal black chrome compression/rotary fittings throughout, for this final touch of luxury feel that characterizes all true custom systems.
Pricing and Availability
These products will be released for sale to end-users worldwide on January 6, 2016, during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Swiftech will be showcasing their products in a press suite at the Caesar's Palace Hotel. MSRP on the H220X2 and H220X2 Prestige starts at USD $139.95 and ranges up to USD $214.95.
This new generation represents the culmination of our efforts in that direction: what is being presented to the world is a new generation of products that truly ARE custom kits: they perform like custom kits, they look like custom kits, and they are user-customizable right out-of-the-box. All this was accomplished while preserving and improving upon the characteristics that have made AIO's so popular today: reasonable cost, superior performance, plug-and-play functionalities, and no maintenance."
The housing is made of clear acrylic material to visualize the coolant flow path and to create fantastic color and light reflections thanks to an all-new system of RGB ALED lighting system. The waterblock installation hardware has been enhanced for an even easier trouble-free installation, and it is compatible with all current desktop processors. Finally, the kits now use clear tubing, a remarkable departure from other AIO products made possible by Swiftech's use of a large coolant reserve, and most notably the new Addressable RGB LED (ALED) technology implemented on waterblock, reservoir, and radiator accent piece.
The "Prestige" version of the kits includes all of the above, but features even more advanced product updates, focusing on extraordinary performance at low noise, as well as top shelf hardware. The Prestige line includes the world-renowned Noiseblocker eLoop fans, that take these kits a step ahead of anything the company ever tested in terms of thermal performance in near-silent silent operations. Finally, the "Prestige" versions use Lok-Seal black chrome compression/rotary fittings throughout, for this final touch of luxury feel that characterizes all true custom systems.
Pricing and Availability
These products will be released for sale to end-users worldwide on January 6, 2016, during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Swiftech will be showcasing their products in a press suite at the Caesar's Palace Hotel. MSRP on the H220X2 and H220X2 Prestige starts at USD $139.95 and ranges up to USD $214.95.
37 Comments on Swiftech Introduces Next Generation of All-in-one (AIO) Liquid Cooling Kits
On a side note here is the link to the review of H320x Prestige.
The point being the Corsair AIOs shouldn't be anywhere near this kit, but they edge it out slightly.
And custom loop will cost you much more.... =P
I think their (Swifty's) sell is more on the expandability aspect and noise level (especially when expanding). I feel like the radiator isn't the problem (as I remember their 1st Gen 220X benched fairly well) and moreso the fans they packaged holding it back.
My bigger concern about the Swifty's is availability, they were notorious for consistently being out of stock of their first gen AIOs.
The first iterations were consumed by the patent issue.
www.techpowerup.com/mobile/reviews/Swiftech/H220-X/1.html
This is the first gen of the H###-X series, it shouldn't be affected by the pump in block issue.
While Intels mainstream CPUs are more common and therefor interesting for more people, they are unsuited for thermal testing imo. They "compress" differences between coolers and I wouldn't be suprised, if good AIOs or coustom loops would even show totally different results for products that perform similar on 3xxx-6xxx CPUs compared to X79 or X99 (with high overclocks). The thermal interface problem between die and heatspreader skews comparissons with Ivy, Haswell, Broadwell and Skylake in the high end and for really high overclocks.
People also need to remember your paying for a loop that doesnt feature mixed metals, is customizable and expandable. If you can't justify the price then you are not the targeted consumer.
using something like the 320x prestige on say a Skylake cpu by itself is honestly quite stupid but it is what it is.
Example Titan X vs 980Ti?
$600 motherboard vs $200 board with most of th same features might lack voltage monitor points or fancy heatsinks.
It all depends on what you want. Id rather have the swiftech kit than a cheapo AIO using a copper block and aluminum radiator. If i had to pick between say the H220-X2 on an H110i GT id take the swiftech kit. H110i GT is around $110-140 H110i GTX is around $120-150. Custom loop from swiftech is $140. But as they say different strokes different folks.
I have two swiftech kits to review. Once I finish rebenching coolers I will be starting with them as the first reviews I do on skylake. So we will see where they land performance / noise wise. Since I will be using the same test procedures with the same software noise / rpm readings will be comparable to older test data as well for the most part.
If anything I'd buy that el cheapo custom loop my buddy has. The performance surprised me.