Swiftech H220 Video Review Redux
Linus Tech Tips
·Linus Tech Tips
·2013-05-07
·
1,693 words · ~8 min read
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This video is brought to you by CM Storm, preferred choice of mice,
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headsets, and mechanical keyboards of Curse Gaming. Visit
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www.coolermaster-usea.com/team_curse for more details. So, we made a mistake a
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little while ago. We had some hiccups in our testing method. Well, no, our
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methodology was fine. We just had some hiccups in our testing of Swiftex H220.
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Now, it turned out there were a number of different issues, um, including us
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using fan controller inline modules that
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weren't compatible with these particular PWM fans, as well as the fact that our
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unit was an engineering sample unit that had a bit of a problem with it. So, we
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have been working with SwiftTech on what the heck happened where our test unit
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performed terribly with Swift's own Helix fans and performed admirably with
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third party fans like the Noctua NFF12s.
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And we committed to SwiftTech as well as to our viewers to redo our testing much
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more in depth and take a very close look at how the H220 performs on our test
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bench with all the variables being eliminated as best as possible. So, I'm
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going to start with a look at our cooling test bench. We use a closed
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platform. We do not use an open test bench for cooler reviews anymore because
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this is more of a realworld scenario. All right, so we use a Corsair C70 case,
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which represents an above average case for cooling. Hey, there's my uh
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screwdriver. I was looking for that. Dang it, Slick. Or I guess I'll leave it
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here, but anyway. Um, okay. We use a real system inside
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with a GTX 580 that runs firmark during
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our load test so that we create heat inside the system so that it's more like
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a real system would be if you're actually playing a game. We have two
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fans here that run at 1100 or rather at
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um crap I forget the RPM but they run at 7 volts. We have a fan back here that
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runs at 1100 RPM and is held on with rubber washers. So that's why it just
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popped off just now. 16 gigs of RAM. We mount our coolers in the top or the back
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depending on what kind of coolers they are. You can see we've got Swifteek's
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PWM splitter over here. Making sure we're running everything properly. 1000
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watt power supply, 32 gig SSD cuz that's
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all you really need. We collect our ambient temperatures here at the front
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of the case and then we uh we log them with this and then we correct all of our
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results to as if the room was 20° C. Uh,
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the last thing that's of note is when we're not running fans at full speed,
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we're using this variable resistor in here in order to run our fans at 1100
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RPM. We can dial them into exactly 1100 RPM using software RPM monitoring in
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this guy right here. However, it should be noted running PWM fans such as the
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Helix ones, there could be adverse effects to the longevity of the fan
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running it using voltage control. So, we're only doing that for the sake of
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eliminating variables, not because we actually recommend running them this
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way. All right, so back to the H220. We
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did idle and load comparison. So idle is at idle, giving it time to equalize, and
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load is at load, giving it, you know, 15, 20 minutes to equalize and normalize
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the temperature. We ran Corsair SP
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series fans, so those are on there right now. That was the last run we did, but
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this is what they look like. Okay, they're quiet edition fans, not
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performance edition. We ran Swifteek's own Helix fans in both push and pull per
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Swift request because they ship them in pull configuration, but we test all of
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our cool or they ship them in push rather. But we test all of our
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configurations in pull because I believe it's better because it's easier to
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clean. Whereas when you have them in push, the dust all accumulates under the
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fan. So you have to take the fans off in order to clean them. Uh what we discovered is they performed exactly the
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same in push and pull, which is what I said was going to happen. So, we didn't
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even need a different data point on the graph to show those two results, but
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they were exactly the same. So, consider these pull results or push results,
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whatever you want. We ran Silverstone's new AP123 air penetrator fans with the
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three different blade sizes. That should make them more optimized for quiet. Hey,
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Slick. Uh, how are they in terms of acoustics? Super quiet. Awesome. Okay,
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good. I mean, I guess I kind of expected that. And we ran our golden standard.
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Well, our brown and tan standard, I suppose, uh, Noctua NFF12s, which are
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the ones that we use as our standardized test bench for testing fans because we
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believe that they're awesome. And as you're about to see, they're just freaking awesome. So, what we saw the
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first time around was that at load, our NFF12s were outperforming the Helix fans
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by like 10 or 15 degrees or something like that. We looked at it, we were like, "This is impossible." We retested
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it and we got the same results. So, we published it, but we were wrong. We made
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some mistakes. So these are the proper
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results. We've tested our fans at full
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speed as well as at 1100 RPM and we've
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included some other coolers for reference as well. So the best
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performing solution was the H220 with NFF12s running at full speed. Bear in
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mind these only run at around 1,400 1450 RPM at full speed whereas the Helix's
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run at around 1,800 RPM at full speed. So, the fact that they outperform the
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Helix's is very admirable. The Helix's, however, did pull ahead of the air
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penetrators as well as Corsair's static pressure fans, but those ones also run
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at lower RPM than the Helix fans. So, the Helix fans have a very wide range of
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RPM in part due to their PWM design as
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well as due to the design of the motor overall, which is able to start up at
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very low uh speeds as well as run at very high speeds, which is a great
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flexible option. It's good to have. All right. So, at full speed, it goes 54.5
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NF12, 56 H220, 58.5 for both of the
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other fan solutions. Then, we took all the fans and we put them on a level
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playing field, 1100 RPM only. The NFF12s
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won by almost 3°, about 2 1/2°, which is
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outstanding considering that they're running at the same RPM as everything
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else. They're very pressure optimized. They perform incredibly well up against
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a radiator in addition to being very quiet. So, we're going to be continuing
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to use the NFF12s as our brown and tan standard, well, golden standard fan.
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Next up was Corsair's static pressure fans, which were tied with the air
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penetrators again at a lower RPM. So, those we can consider very equivalent
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designs. And then bringing up the rear was the Helix fans, but they were only
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one degree away from the static pressure and air penetrator fans. And we can
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consider about one degree to be not that
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significant of a difference in terms of performance. However, the three 2 and
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1/2°ree victory is a clear victory for the NFF12s. After that, we finally find
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other coolers. So, get this, you guys. The H220, regardless of which fans you
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put on it, performs better than anything else because our the water 2.0 Extreme
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from Thermaltake is our next best performing cooler, 3° behind, the worst
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configuration for the H220. Then there's the H110, which is another almost a
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degree behind that. Then there's the H100i, which is another almost degree
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behind that. And then we get down to the single 120 millimeter coolers like the
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H80i, or sorry, that was another four degrees or 5° behind the uh H110. Um,
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and then the H80i brings up the rear at like 95°. So, not all liquid coolers are
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built equal. Not all fans are built equal, but it's very clear to me that no
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matter how inequally built your fan is, the H220 is the best pre-filled liquid
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cooler on the market. almost no matter how hard you try to it. I mean,
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we didn't it by using the included fans, but we didn't give it a
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huge advantage like we do with every other cooler by putting some of the best
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fans on the market on them. Thank you for checking out this corrected edition
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of Lionus Tech Tips on the, you know, I haven't even held up the product at all.
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So, here's the box. This is what it's actually going to look like if you buy
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it. See, we have a retail sample now of the H220 from Swift. Don't forget to
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subscribe to Linus Tech for more unboxings, reviews, and other computer videos. And if you haven't seen it
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already, we did a build log a little while ago in a Silverstone TJ10 where we
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used the H220, we expanded it. We added a GPU block as well as another radiator.
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And that is the other advantage of the H220. So three-year warranty,
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expandability, and the best performance on the market in spite of the fact that
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it's using a dual 120 mm fan radiator instead of a dual 140mm fan radiator
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like the H110, which still gets outperformed by at least four degrees.
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And with the same fans, it looks like 110 is
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about 8 degrees. Wow.