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Swiftech H220 Liquid CPU Cooler Review

Swiftech’s H220 Liquid CPU cooler costs £106.99 in the United Kingdom and currently SpecialTech is the only place where you can buy it at a competitive price. At this price the Swiftech H220 is about 10-15% more expensive than the Corsair H100i and Corsair H110 and similarly priced to the Thermaltake Water 2.0 Extreme and NZXT Kraken X60. For me this pricing is excellent because the quality and potential of the Swiftech H220 is second-to-none.

The performance of the Swiftech H220 doesn’t really get its justice on our test system. You can see the results were good but there is much more potential than we can show. Simply put the i5 3570K doesn’t produce enough heat for us to really strain the Swiftech H220 and show you how much difference the 6W pump makes versus the 1.2W pump on the Corsair H100i and 2.4W on the Thermaltake Water 2.0 Extreme. Given a more demanding platform we would of seen the Swiftech H220 open up a bigger gap between some other competing products. However, the Swiftech H220 did still post impressive results clearly demonstrating the ability to beat the Thermaltake Water 2.0 Extreme and Corsair H100i once you start pushing those fan speeds up a bit.

The overall level of build quality of the Swiftech H220 is just exceptional. As soon as you pick the product up you see just how heavy it is versus the competition. The combination of a bigger reservoir, bigger and better tubing, copper instead of aluminium fins and a proper heavy duty pump all set this product apart from other AIO offerings. Add to that other little details like fully sleeved fan cables, included high quality thermal paste and an eight channel PWM fan controller/splitter means that you won’t get a more flexible AIO system from anywhere else.

Expandibility isn’t something we were really able to test, but I think the excellent results with low RPM fans just go to show that the pump is more than capable of dealing with a high performance graphics card or two. I have seen other reviews that criticise the Swiftech H220 for not quite being a full watercooling loop. However, many other reviewers have missed the point which is that Swiftech H220 is a hybrid of the AIO and the custom loop. It bridges the gap between the two and gives you the possibility to upgrade in the future should you wish, and even if you do not choose to do that you still have one of the best 240mm AIO systems on the market without paying that much extra.

It is really hard to find fault with the Swiftech H220 because for the price it really is a beast of an AIO system. You’ve got best-in-class build quality, best-in-class components, expandability, silence, a deluxe accessory package, a 3 year warranty and it really is as simple as plug and play from the moment you open the box.

This is the first Swiftech product we have taken a look and we are truly impressed. Whether you are considering an AIO system, want to make your first water cooling build or just want a top-of-the-line cooling solution then you cannot possibly go wrong with the Swiftech H220. Swiftech may not have the reputation and advertising power of some other companies on the market but they sure know how to make a superb product. We have absolutely no hesitation in awarding the Swiftech H220 the eTeknix Editor’s Choice award.

Pros