Introduction

After building several home-made water-cooling kits, and testing some pre-assembled kits, I still had mixed opinions about whether to build or buy when it comes to water-cooling. Swiftech has a new kit out for sale, known as the H20-8500 series. My first impression from the pictures I saw was, "Wow!" The kit looks very awesome, but there is still the question of how well it performs. Today I will be reviewing this kit and I would like to thank Swiftech for sending this kit my way.

Specifications

Before I write about anything, I would like to get a list of the features out of the way. Looks aren't everything, if a kit doesn't have the basic components that you need, it's not worth buying it. I am pleased to say that the Swiftech H20-8500 series kit has all the features you could ask for. Here is the list:

• MCW5000 waterblock (with models for Intel or AMD setups)
• MCW50 GPU waterblock compatible with ATI Radeon 9000 series and nVidia GForce 4 products
  
• MCR80-F Radiator
• (2) 80x80x15mm fans rated at 29CFM
• MCK525 kit which includes: 115V MCP300 pump, FB500 fill-and-bleed kit, all in a 5.25" tray
• PRS kit, including relay switch, A/C socket, stainless steel cover plate, A/C power cord
• 12 feet 1/2" vinyl tubing, and tube inserts
  
• 2 Oz bottle HydrX extreme duty coolant
• Arctic Alumina thermal paste
• Misc. additional hardware and instructions

More information may be found here at Swiftnets.com, if you would like more detailed specs.

The Box

The Swiftech kit was packaged in the standard brown cardboard box, with a nice big white label letting you know exactly what is included in the box. When I opened the package, I found all the components neatly arranged in place with packing foam and some bubble wrap. The waterblocks and radiator each had their own seperate box, and all the small misc. pieces were stored in little zip-lock baggies. Swiftech included several, well-detailed, pages of instruction for installation of the kit. Their instructions take out all the guess-work thanks to the photos and descriptions.

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