Swiftech Unveils the World's First Fully Integrated Pump and Radiator

H

HardOCP News

[H] News
Joined
Dec 31, 1969
Messages
0
Swiftech® today announced the release of the MCR Drive™ series of heat exchangers, a totally new concept in the world of liquid cooling: the patent pending heat exchangers feature a unique radiator with a built-in pump and a reservoir. The MCR Drive™ concept constitutes the foundation for a simple, high-performance, yet versatile liquid cooling system where only CPU and/or Graphics waterblocks will need to be added; this provides a future-proof solution where users will only have to swap their waterblock whenever they upgrade to a new form factor.

"Integrated liquid cooling systems are not new, but none exist where the core cooling system combines radiator, pump and reservoir. If we look at competing products, many of the entry level liquid cooling kits which are now available to the public only provide incremental performance improvements compared to high-end heat pipe heatsinks because they only use a single 120mm radiator; they also offer limited compatibility and upgradeability with various CPU form factors, and most feature a hermetically closed loop thus disallowing the addition of graphics or chipset cooling in the loop. With this in mind, we believe that if users or system builders are to make the jump to liquid cooling, they might as well enjoy the full benefits of the added performance headroom afforded by the use of dual, triple or even quad radiators" said Gabriel Rouchon, Swiftech's Chairman and CTA.
 
Why did they have to use an MCP 350? I've seen 3 of them die, one mine, two were friends. Went to a D5 (MCP 650) and havent had a problem in years.

Also, orientation is going to be vertical only. Cannot mount that rad horizontally. I guess for lazy people that wasnt to get into overclocking its a slightly easier solution.
 
Anyone other then me see an obvious design flaw?

Ya, you can bend the cables to go through the cracks, but DVI cables are rather then and dont like to be bent...

The placement of the pump and the bottom also means no horizontal mounting, or flat (on top of the case) mounting.

I just dont see a big customer base for this thing....
 
It is great for people without room in their case, keep bringing us good products.
I have the two 655 pumps and and never a problem with them, but this will work for a lot of people out there.
 
Not sure why y'all are hating. I think it's a brilliant design. So much simpler than mounting a pump and reservoir inside the case.

Also - I have the exact same radiator setup and find it works great hanging off the back.
 
interesting... I have had the 655 pump running for years ... this would work perfectly in my system.
 
Gibbage said:
Anyone other then me see an obvious design flaw?

Ya, you can bend the cables to go through the cracks, but DVI cables are rather then and dont like to be bent...

The placement of the pump and the bottom also means no horizontal mounting, or flat (on top of the case) mounting.

I just dont see a big customer base for this thing....
Click to expand...

Yup.

I'm guessing this is going to be strictly an external solution. :/
 
This is a great design for anyone who:

1) is just starting in watercooling
2) doesn't have the time/energy to part out the whole system
3) wants a quality product
4) isn't interested in horizontal or in-case mounting
5) doesn't want the Reservoir or pump inside either.

I have a Swiftech 120.3 mounted outside the back of my case, on a RadBox and it works just fine, yes I modded the back of my case and run the hoses through holes I drilled out, but it's a fine solution and frankly keeps all the heat outside the case.:D

Looks to me like the kit has their new Apogee XT block as well.

I've used a couple MCP 355 pumps and they are still going strong. My main box has an MCP 655 though.
My XBox uses a 355.:eek:

This is a great all-in-one system, not a sissie-boy POS like I've seen elsewhere.:cool:
 
Gibbage said:
Ya, you can bend the cables to go through the cracks, but DVI cables are rather then and dont like to be bent...
Click to expand...

This is the biggest issue I see. However, as long as you're only using one DVI cable in the port that's closest to the motherboard, it may work.
 
dnottis said:
Also, orientation is going to be vertical only. Cannot mount that rad horizontally. I guess for lazy people that wasnt to get into overclocking its a slightly easier solution.
Click to expand...

Um, you guys need to read the source articles once in while and not just look a the pics that the [H] posts:

http://www.swiftnets.com/assets/images/products/MCR-DRIVE/MCR%20DRIVE%20ORIENTATIONS%20X%20800.jpg

I actually like this idea. I've never gotten into watercooling because:
1. I think my air cooler works great (Xig HDT-S1283)
2. Cost
3. Complexity

This solves at least #3 and somewhat addresses #2. If I get bored with my current system then maybe I'll try this out. I definitely like it better than some of the other "integrated" systems, because you can actually add the vid card to the loop.
 
Hmm, limited functionality in a horizontal position. The main reason why I haven't gotten into watercooling is that I've been upgrading/switching parts a lot. Now that I'm calming down a bit with my PC OCD, my next build will def be fully watercooled :p
 
if its safe, reliable and easy why the heck not? it looks like it does a decent job too, cost would be the only issue here... unless you take pride in making your own i guess.
 
dnottis said:
Its not a 655, its a MCP 350. They die.. alot.
Click to expand...

Does this make any difference? (Don't know, asking):
The MCR Drive™ units are sold in two configurations:
  • Without a pump, to allow owners of MCP350, and MCP355 to install their existing pump to the radiator.
  • With the Apogee™ Drive pump, which is an MCP350 pump
    with a "footless" body.
Click to expand...
 
dnottis said:
Also, orientation is going to be vertical only. Cannot mount that rad horizontally. I guess for lazy people that wasnt to get into overclocking its a slightly easier solution.
Click to expand...

That's exactly how I mount my raddy, outside, behind the case and vertical. Best place for the radiator, as it's cooler out there.
 
... "Integrated liquid cooling systems are not new, but none exist where the core cooling system combines radiator, pump and reservoir. ...
Click to expand...
:confused::confused:

I'm assuming that the people that wrote that live in some alternate universe, because the original EXOS that I bought in FEB 2003 had all of that, plus it had a few 'goodies' that this thing doesn't appear to have. Temperature monitoring, automatic shutdown if overheating is happening, fan speed control. The EXOS 2 system (which I have been using for a couple of years now) has the 2 x 120mm fans, and the EXOS 2.5 has 3 x 120mm fans. What they are doing isn't exactly "new".
 
RAF_OldBuzzard said:
:confused::confused:

I'm assuming that the people that wrote that live in some alternate universe, because the original EXOS that I bought in FEB 2003 had all of that, plus it had a few 'goodies' that this thing doesn't appear to have. Temperature monitoring, automatic shutdown if overheating is happening, fan speed control. The EXOS 2 system (which I have been using for a couple of years now) has the 2 x 120mm fans, and the EXOS 2.5 has 3 x 120mm fans. What they are doing isn't exactly "new".
Click to expand...

Now that you mention it, I also recall a CPU cooler that was water cooled, with pump, radiator all mounted together in what appeared to be a regular air cooler. Didn't work very well if I remember correctly, but it had it all in one. Vague memories though :p
 
Gibbage said:
Anyone other then me see an obvious design flaw?

Ya, you can bend the cables to go through the cracks, but DVI cables are rather then and dont like to be bent...

The placement of the pump and the bottom also means no horizontal mounting, or flat (on top of the case) mounting.

I just dont see a big customer base for this thing....
Click to expand...

Not necessarily.

Put the fans on the other side of it than in the picture, and you can mount it in the front of the case.
 
In order to mount this item horizontally in the top of a case with barbs pointing down, could you add a 90 degree adapter where the pump mounts and drop it down below the rad? This would place the impeller below the entire rad and res. The hose barb from the pump would then point horizontally across the face of the radiator. You could also add a 90 degree fitting to the fill-port and get it pointed up.
 
RAF_OldBuzzard said:
:confused::confused:

I'm assuming that the people that wrote that live in some alternate universe, because the original EXOS that I bought in FEB 2003 had all of that, plus it had a few 'goodies' that this thing doesn't appear to have. Temperature monitoring, automatic shutdown if overheating is happening, fan speed control. The EXOS 2 system (which I have been using for a couple of years now) has the 2 x 120mm fans, and the EXOS 2.5 has 3 x 120mm fans. What they are doing isn't exactly "new".
Click to expand...

The corsair H50 is also an all in one unit which is very compact. It may not be the best in the world but it does a great jopb of coolinhg a cpu.
 
I think this is a good solution for noobies. From the diagram it looks like you can change a pump to a different one to upgrade. Limited install options, but not a bad solution. I'd take this over an H50 anyday, granted it'll cost 3-4 times more, but it doesn't seem like a bad piece of kit.
 
steve30x said:
The corsair H50 is also an all in one unit which is very compact. It may not be the best in the world but it does a great jopb of coolinhg a cpu.
Click to expand...

True, but that's just for the CPU.

They also said this:
... and most feature a hermetically closed loop thus disallowing the addition of graphics or chipset cooling in the loop ...
Click to expand...

That is where they seem to want you to believe that they are the 'first'.

Unfortunately for them, Koolance did that, and more, 6+ years ago.
 
dnottis said:
Why did they have to use an MCP 350? I've seen 3 of them die, one mine, two were friends. Went to a D5 (MCP 650) and havent had a problem in years.

Also, orientation is going to be vertical only. Cannot mount that rad horizontally. I guess for lazy people that wasnt to get into overclocking its a slightly easier solution.
Click to expand...


I think they might have used this pump instead of 655 to reduce noise. I haven't used 355 so I can't comment on their reliability but 655 is a good pump but it is noisy. In this case the pump doesn't even sit inside the case so it's possible that this was done as a noise reduction (perhaps cost also played a role here). Either way, this is a really awkward design.
 
zkostik said:
I think they might have used this pump instead of 655 to reduce noise. I haven't used 355 so I can't comment on their reliability but 655 is a good pump but it is noisy. In this case the pump doesn't even sit inside the case so it's possible that this was done as a noise reduction (perhaps cost also played a role here). Either way, this is a really awkward design.
Click to expand...

Not really, it combines a lot of stuff that people have a hard time mounting into their case. Plus cooling is better with an external unit.
 
I really want one of these... The possibilities are endless IMO - Watercooled carputer?

Slim SSF WC'd cases, etc. etc.
 
robble said:
Not sure why y'all are hating. I think it's a brilliant design. So much simpler than mounting a pump and reservoir inside the case.

Also - I have the exact same radiator setup and find it works great hanging off the back.
Click to expand...

'cuz....don't think you can take a rid to a LAN with that hanging out the back....or let alone a plane.

the one good thing about the H50 is that it's simple and all inside where it's protected from n00bs who might bump it if it were sticking out.

I've got an old stationary rig that's got it's radiator outside.....mainly because I ran out of space (first gen CM Stacker, full of hard drives and I use an Ehiem pump which takes up the space where a secondary power supply can go)
 
I might put a 320 Drive unit on the back of my Antec P182. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129025&cm_re=Antec_P182-_-11-129-025-_-ProductI would mount it by the center fan-mount to the rear 120mm location on the case. The resorvoir would be about 60mm above the top of the case so if I ever wanted to add a second rad in the case roof, it would be below the res so should not be an air bubble problem. If the pump is not strong enough to push 2 rads then I can use a second Drive unit in the roof. There would be no issues mounting pumps or res. The fill-port is outside the case. All i would need is fittings, hose, and blocks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top