The MCW462-U Water Block

Arguably the most important component of any liquid cooled system is the water block. It is best place for leaks to occur, and it is what removes the thermal energy from our delicate high temperature processors. Like Swiftech's different models of air cooled pin-based heatsinks, the HCW462-U is endowed with several very Swiftechian features.

First and foremost the base of the water block is done in typical Swiftech fashion with the C110 copper base machined perfectly flat, and then lapped to a dull luster. This type of finish is reportedly better than mirror finishes because it gives the thermal compound some place to go.

On the inside of the socket A/462, 370, 423, 478 & 603 compatible water block we found the CNC milled aluminum fully anodized. Unprotected aluminum can begin corrode after a short while depending on what minerals are in the cooling fluid. If any electrochemical reactions begin to occur between dissimilar metals this can also cause problems. Some Senfu water cooling kits suffered this fate badly if you recall.

The waterblock makes use of the John Guest fittings and actually comes prefilled and connected to flexible vinyl tubing. Setting up the HCW462-U yourself is a little involved but we will get to that in a second. The inside of the waterblock is pretty plain, with the inlet stream positioned directly over the center of the mating surface (in other words over the core of the processor).

The block holds 69cc of fluid according to Swiftech specs and the inside of the copper base is dimpled to help induce fluid turbulence. Apparently, this adds about 2 degrees Celsius improvement than if a flat copper surface were used.

On the opposite side are eight 4-40 threaded holes to facilitate mounting a cold late over a thermoelectric Peltier module. A gasket is used to prevent leaks between the copper and aluminum at pressures up to 60PSI. The copper plate is attached with stainless steel hex screws which will not rust. An allen key is included with the kit so you can disassemble the water block for periodic cleaning.

There are some really neat add-ons you can use with this particular water block if you want to invest in further cooling gear. A TEC, copper cold plate and sealing gasket can be attached firmly to the water block with the eight pre-threaded holes for instance.

The TEC should be powered by any auxiliary power supply as regular computer PSU's will not cut it when TEC's are concerned. With no internal fluid tank in the system it is hard to say if TEC's would really work out well however.

While the external features of the HCW462-U are first rate, I think the internal surface features of the copper could be improved upon. Innovatek have some really interesting solutions in this regard, but I'm sure Swiftech will take the initiative and continue to test and refine what is already a very solid water block.

That is in fact my only criticism of the HCW462-U. The dimples are better then just a flat surface, but the fluid-copper interface is still relatively low-tech.