Swiftech Apogee GT

Introduction:

   A few months ago, we had the pleasure of testing and beating on Swiftech's Apogee CPU water block. To recap, the system used in the test was actually the Apex Ultra Plus Water Cooling Kit which had three water blocks used for cooling the chipset, CPU, and VGA. The temperature results were about as low as any best water cooling kit could achieve. As a matter of fact, it was within a couple degrees of the lowest CPU kit tested using only a dual 120mm radiator.

Naturally, the larger radiators can make a big difference especially if they have excellent cooling capacity. The Apex Ultra Plus is actually extremely efficient with its design and has by far the best Dual 120mm Radiator kit performance of anything out there. How can you make something this good better? One simple answer is the Swiftech Apogee GT CPU Water Block.

Closer Look:

   Due to the release of the Intel Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors, many water cooling companies will have to take in to consideration any new heat generated by more than one processor core. With one processor core, you can control the heat more easily. Now that there are more cores being integrated, thermal properties have to be reevaluated which is exactly what Swiftech has been doing.

Front

Specs

Back

The Apogee and Apogee GT aren't very different on the surface. The Apogee GT seems to have a more polished bottom than the regular Apogee previously tested. The copper base thermal surface is nearly mirror like and this is always a good thing when you need maximum contact surface. You still get the excellent signature chrome mounting block plate which is my top favorite design. What you don't see are the improvements to the Diamond Pin Matrix inside the water block's copper base.

Beautiful Match	Apogee GT (right)	Apogee GT (right)
Protective Layer	Polished Finish	Apogee GT Kit

The GT's primary difference with the Apogee is an optimized internal structure. The improvement in thermal performance scales from a minimum of 1°C and up to 3°C (at 100W) depending on the CPU's, with Intel's latest QX6700 quad core processors benefiting the most from the revised structure.- Swiftech

Internal structure: the CNC machined C110 copper base plate is at the heart of Apogee GT cooling efficiency. Designed using Computational Fluid Dynamics, the Patent Pending Diamond Pin Matrix was further optimized in the "GT" version resulting in increased surface area and coolant velocity. The thickness remains at 3mm to promote a high compliance factor with its mating surface (i.e. the CPU heat spreader) thanks to the base plate flexing ability.

What this means in simple terms is that the pins received some new machining and changes that will equate in to better heat dispersion. Coolant is able to pass through the Diamond Pin Matrix more easily even though the new machining has increased the amount of surface area that makes contact with the coolant.

Apogee w/Diamond Shape Pins

Apogee GT w/Revised Pins

If you look closely, you can see the internal copper machining changes. The original block on the left actually has Diamond shaped pins sprouting up from the copper base and it covers the entire chamber. The Apogee GT on the right has thinner and more numerous pins which provide a greater surface area for more thermal transfer and allow more fluid movement. This simple design change has all the characteristics pointing to success.

Before we get in to the installation, I have to say this kit has one of the best set of Installation Directions. Not only are the directions easy enough to understand, they are also very nicely complimented by example pictures of each major processor socket installation. New and existing users will greatly appreciate this attention to detail. If you're new to water cooling, now would be a good time to cross over from conventional air to something that will be quieter with the potential for more performance later on. Here are a couple examples of the Apogee GT installed.

AM2

Dual XEON

LGA 775