Swiftech H20 120 User Manual

These instructions are updated on a regular basis. Please visit our web site at

http://www.swiftnets.com

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Packing List

QTY ITEM

1 APOGEE water-block, including hold-down plates (multi sockets

and AM2), various processors mounting systems, and (2) hose
clamps

1 MCRES-1000P pump & reservoir 5 ¼” bay assembly, including

mounting hardware and (2) ½” hose clamps

1 MCR120 Radiator assembly, including pre-installed 120mm fan

without fan guards, mounting hardware, (1) 12v to 7v adapters,
(1) 12v to 5v 3-pin to 4-pin Molex adapters, (2) hose clamps, and

MCB-120 Radbox, with mounting hardware
8 Feet 3/8” (tube ID) industrial grade PVC tubing
1 Length (40”) Smartcoils 500 clear
1 2 Oz. Bottle of HydrX concentrated coolant
1 Syringe of Arctic Céramique thermal compound

Processor & Motherboard Compatibility

Intel®

Pentium® 4, D, Celeron

Socket 478
Socket 775

Xeon™ (socket 603 and 604)

400 & 533 MHz FSB

800 MHz FSB (Nocona) – See Note 1

AMD®

Athlon XP, MP, Duron, Sempron, socket 462 (see Note 2)

Athlon 64, Sempron, Socket 754

Opteron, socket 939, 940

Note 1 to dual “Nocona” processor users: since the H20-120 Premium is provided with one Waterblock only, you will need to procure another Apogee
Waterblock separately for your second. Please note that the “Nocona” hardware is not included with the Apogee Waterblock and also needs to be
procured separately under part number: AP-NC604

Note 2: This product is exclusively compatible with socket A (socket 462) motherboards featuring (4) mounting holes around the socket.

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TABLE OF CONTENT

I.

TUBE ROUTING.............................................................................................................................................................5

II. INSTALLATION OF THE COOLING COMPONENTS...................................................................................................5

1 MCR120-F RADIATOR INSTALLATION ..............................................................................................................................................................................6

 Internal radiator installation.......................................................................................................................................................................................6

 Back of the case radiator installation:................................................................................................................................................................6

 Front of the case Radiator installation:..............................................................................................................................................................6

 External radiator installation using the “Radbox”...............................................................................................................................................7

2 APOGEE WATER-BLOCK INSTALLATION .........................................................................................................................................................................10

 Common installation guidelines..............................................................................................................................................................................11

 Step-by step summary............................................................................................................................................................................................11

 Individual installation schematics............................................................................................................................................................................11

 Intel® Pentium® 4 Socket 478................................................................................................................................................................................12

 Intel® Pentium® 4 and Pentium® D Socket LGA 775............................................................................................................................................13

 Intel® Xeon™ Socket 604 “Nocona” 800 MHz FSB motherboards........................................................................................................................14

 Intel® Xeon™ Socket 603/604400 and 533 MHz FSB motherboards....................................................................................................................15

 AMD® Athlon®, Duron®, MP, XP, Sempron® Socket 462 ....................................................................................................................................16

 AMD® 64, Sempron®, Opteron® Socket 754, 939, 940........................................................................................................................................17

AMD® 64, FX, X2, Sempron®, Socket AM2...........................................................................................................................................................18



3

PREPARING THE TUBING................................................................................................................................................................................................20

4 MCRES-1000P ASSEMBLY INSTALLATION.....................................................................................................................................................................21

 Preparing the HydrX coolant...................................................................................................................................................................................21

 A. First time installation and preferred filling procedure..........................................................................................................................................21

 B. Alternate filling procedure...................................................................................................................................................................................23

5 NOTES AND TROUBLESHOOTING ....................................................................................................................................................................................24

6 MCP350™ PUMP SPECIFICATIONS ................................................................................................................................................................................24

7 COMPLETING THE INSTALLATION....................................................................................................................................................................................25

III. DRAINING THE SYSTEM............................................................................................................................................25

IV. PERIODIC MAINTENANCE.............................................. .... ... ........ .... ... .... .... .... ... .... ........ .... ... .... ............................25

V. ADD-ON COMPONENTS.............................................................................................................................................26

Copyright Swiftech 2005 – All rights reserved – Last revision date: 09-22-06 - Information subject to change without notice – URL: http://www.swiftnets.com
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INTRODUCTION

Congratulations on your purchase of a Swiftech™ H20-120 PREMIUM Liquid Cooling System!
This kit has been designed to facilitate the installation of the components without having to make any modifications to the

chassis. While all attempts have been made to make the installation of this system user friendly, please note that this
system is intended for users that are well versed in installing computer components.

G

ENERAL GUIDELINES

Please read this guide carefully and entirely before you start this installation. Plan your installation ahead. Observe the
relative position of the components for possible interference with other components.

 Never work with electricity connected to the computer while work is in progress.
 While it is possible to install the kit in a chassis already populated with all typical components, such as hard

drive, CD Rom, power supply, Video Card, etc, it is recommended that these components be removed from
the case prior to installing the water cooling system. The motherboard and CPU may remain in the chassis ,
and will be useful to estimate the length of tubing necessary to connect the different components. But the
motherboard must be disconnected from the power-supply during the entire mock-up phase of the installation.
In case of a spill or leak on the motherboard, do not panic! As long as the motherboard is not electrically
connected, no harm is done. You must however thoroughly dry the exposed area, using a hair dryer for
example, and wait a minimum of 6 to 8 hours prior to re-connecting the motherboard to its power source.

 The reservoir should preferably be at the highest point of the cooling circuit (top 5 ¼” tray).
 Think about the airflow inside your chassis. In liquid-cooling environments, it is always better to draw fresh air

from the outside through the radiator, as opposed to using the warm air from inside the computer.

 Make sure to dry-fit all components before making final connections and filling the water-cooling system.

DISCLAIMER

While all efforts have been made to provide the most comprehensive tutorial possible , Swiftech assumes no liability
expressed or implied for any damage(s) occurring to your components as a result of using Swiftech cooling products,
either due to mistake or omission on our part in the above instructions, or due to failure or defect in the Swiftech™
cooling products.

In addition, Swiftech assumes no liability, expressed or implied, for the use of this product, and more specifically for
any, and all damages caused by the use of this product to a ny other device in a personal computer, whether due to
product failure, leak, electrical short, and or electro-magnetic emissions.

WARRANTY

Our products are guaranteed for 12 months from the date of delivery to the final user against defects in materials or
workmanship. During this period, they will be repaired or have parts replaced provided that: (I) the product is returned to
the agent from which it was purchased; (II) the product has been purchased by the end user and not used fo r hire
purposes; (III) the product has not been misused, handled carelessly, or other than in accordance with any instructions
provided with respect to its use. This guarantee does not confer rights other than those expressly set out above and
does not cover any claims for consequential loss or damage. This guarantee is offered as an extra benefit and does not
affect your statutory rights as a consumer.

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I. TUBE ROUTING

The tubing for the water-cooling system must be routed to form a complete loop that includes all elements of the system. When daisy-chaining
components, the simplest and most natural route is usually the best. Always avoid sharp bends that would kink the tubing!

The following table contains examples on how to establish connections between the different elements of a cooling circuit based on multiple
possible configurations. These are guidelines only, and may change depending on the relative position of the components inside your chassis.

From a performance standpoint there is very little performance to be gained from strictly controlling the component sequence: the maximum delta T
(difference in temperature) between any two points of the liquid cooling circuit does not exceed 1ºC. Whenever possible, performance oriented
users will typically want to route the radiator discharge(s) tube(s) to the inlet of the CPU cooler, since the fluid exiting the radiators is always the
coolest.

Devices:  (1) CPU cooler + (1) Radiator + Pump-reservoir assembly

Connect:  Pump discharge to radiator inlet

 Radiator discharge to CPU cooler inlet
 CPU cooler discharge to reservoir inlet

Alternatively,
Connect  Pump discharge to CPU cooler inlet

 CPU cooler discharge to radiator inlet
 Radiator discharge to reservoir inlet

Devices  (1) CPU cooler + (1) VGA cooler + (1) Radiator + Pump-reservoir assembly

Connect:  Pump discharge to VGA Cooler inlet

 VGA cooler discharge to radiator inlet
 Radiator discharge to CPU cooler inlet
 CPU cooler discharge to reservoir inlet

Alternatively,
Connect:  Pump discharge to CPU cooler inlet

 CPU cooler discharge to VGA cooler inlet
 VGA cooler discharge to radiator inlet
 Radiator discharge to reservoir inlet

Devices:  (1) CPU cooler + (1) VGA Cooler + (1) chipset Cooler + (1) Radiator + Pump-reservoir assembly

Connect:  Pump discharge to chipset cooler inlet

 Chipset cooler discharge to VGA cooler inlet
 VGA cooler discharge to radiator inlet
 Radiator discharge to CPU cooler inlet
 CPU cooler discharge to reservoir inlet

Alternatively,
Connect:  Pump discharge to CPU cooler inlet

 CPU cooler discharge to chipset cooler inlet
 Chipset cooler discharge to VGA cooler inlet
 VGA cooler discharge to radiator inlet
 Radiator discharge to reservoir inlet

Devices:  Dual CPU cooler and VGA cooler (SLI) configurations

Connect:  CPU coolers in series: CPU cooler (1) discharge to CPU cooler (2) inlet

 VGA coolers in series: VGA cooler (1) discharge to VGA cooler (2) inlet

Devices:  Dual Radiators: A second radiator can be added anywhere in the loop in series with the other components,

For example

Connect  Pump discharge to radiator (1) inlet

 Radiator (1) discharge to VGA cooler inlet
 VGA Cooler discharge to chipset cooler inlet
 Chipset cooler discharge to radiator (2) inlet
 Radiator (2) discharge to CPU cooler inlet
 CPU cooler discharge to reservoir inlet

II. Installation of the cooling components

Placement of the cooling components may vary depending on your chassis and motherboard configurations. A mock-up installation is thus necessary to
estimate the length of the different sections of tubing that will be required between each component.

The following is the recommended sequence of components installation.

1. Radiator and fan

2. Water-block(s)

3. Pump and reservoir assembly

Copyright Swiftech 2005 – All rights reserved – Last revision date: 09-22-06 - Information subject to change without notice – URL: http://www.swiftnets.com
Rouchon Industries, Inc., dba Swiftech – 1703 E. 28

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1 MCR120-F RADIATOR INSTALLATION

Your first choice is to decide whether you will be installing the radiator
INSIDE of the computer, or use the included “Radbox” to hang the
radiator OUTSIDE at the back of the computer chassis.

There are four considerations that will dictate such choice:

Performance: From a pure performance standpoint, using the Radbox
will always be a superior solution to an installation inside of the
computer because the temperature of the ambient air outside of the
computer –which is used to cool the radiator will always be cooler than
that of the inside even in the best ventilated case. Additional benefits
are also discussed in the Radbox installation section below.

 Back of the case radiator installation:

If CPU cooling is a priority, we suggest that the fan be installed in intake
mode in contradiction to the “classic” airflow scheme, which is intake at
the front, and exhaust at the back. In effect, if the fan flow direction were
reversed, it would use heated air from inside of the chassis, which is
usually 3°C (at best) and up to 10°C hotter than that of the ambient air
outside of the chassis. Conversely, users with excellent ventilation in
their case may opt to install the fan in exhaust mode with the
understanding of the above stated temperature handicap.

Space constraints: If your PC has no room inside to install a 120mm
radiator, and if you are not inclined to modify the case to “make it fit”,
the Radbox will allow you to hang the radiator to any standard fan
opening at the back of the chassis, without any modifications; using the
Radbox then also becomes an obvious choice. Conversely, if you have
enough room inside of the PC to install the radiator, BUT your PC is
located in a space constrained area, then adding the Radbox to the
back of the chassis will lengthen the PC, which could prevent its use.

Noise: Having the radiator/fan assembly operating outside of the
chassis may slightly increase the audible noise compared to an internal
installation, because the chassis no longer muffles the noise emitted by
the fan. A mitigating factor to this is the fact that the Radbox assembly is
at the back of the computer, and usually hidden away amidst the
various cables. If the PC is underneath a desk, chances are that there
will be no audible difference between an internal installation and an
external one. However, there are situations where the PC is located in
an open area, close to the user ears. In such case, users in search of
the lowest possible audible noise will prefer to install the radiator inside
of the computer.

Cosmetics: This is the last and probably most difficult choice. Swiftech
cannot presume of the users tastes, and therefore cannot make a
recommendation here.

Swiftech pre-assembles the fan and Radbox components to the
radiator.

 Internal radiator installation

AIRFLOW

Figure 1

 Front of the case Radiator installation:
This is an ideal location, as the radiator draws fresh air, and the “classic”
airflow scheme is respected.

AIRFLOW

Strictly from a CPU cooling performance standpoint it is always
preferable to install the fan so that it will either draw or push fresh air
from outside of the chassis into the radiator. There are two possible
cases as shown to the right:

Figure 2

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 External radiator installatio n using the “Radbox”

 PCI pass-thru Installation

Make sure to insert your fan electrical connector through the slotted hole of the PCI bracket before you install the tubing. Only 3-pin connectors (the
type that connect to the motherboard) are small enough to pass through the slotted hole. 4-pin Molex connectors (the type that connect to your
power supply) will require that the terminals be removed from the Molex housing first.

 Radbox Installation

Place the radiator assembly on the back of the computer to roughly estimate where it will fit best. You need to consider the following clearance
issues:

1. Exit cables and connectors from various PCI devices: the Radbox base plate can be moved in both vertical and horizontal directions to allow
clearance for the cables.

2. Opening the side panel once the Radbox is installed: the Radbox is supplied with various nylon spacers to separate the base plate from the
surface of the back-panel and to provide clearance for opening of the side-panel (see Fig.3)

Note that a chassis with 80mm fan opening(s) is likely to provide a very good range of adjustments. Conversely, a chassis featuring a single 120mm
fan opening the base-plate is a direct bolt on, but offers no adjustments, which may or may not suit your installation for the purpose of positioning the
radiator. In that case, it will be become necessary to drill (4) mounting holes of 0.150” (~3.5mm) in diameter to install the base plate at the desired
location.

A. Securing the base plate at the desired location:

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Exploded view of an installation

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