Swiftech H2O-120 Compact and Corsair Nautilus 500: Is Water Better?
by Wesley Fink on September 17, 2007 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Scaling of Cooling Performance
Excellent performance at stock speeds is one thing, but we were interested in seeing how both these water cooling kits scaled in cooling higher overclocks.
At 2.93GHz the retail HSF is running at 41C, compared to 26C with both the Corsair and Swiftech. This is a delta of 15C. The delta generally becomes greater with the better air coolers as the overclock increases. Is this also true with water cooling?
At 3.73GHz idle the retail HSF is 56C compared to the Swiftech H2O-120 Compact and the Corsair Nautilus 500 at 38C and 39C - a delta of 17C to 18C. The cooling performance of either water system is significantly better than the Intel retail cooler at idle. At the higher 3.73GHz, however, the water coolers are outperformed by most top air coolers.
Looking closely at the curves of the top coolers tested, the water coolers mirror the performance of high-performing air coolers just below the top performers. The water coolers compare favorably to the Scythe Infinity, the Noctua NH-U12F stock, the OCZ Vindicator and the new crop of down facing coolers like the Enzotech Ultra-X and Gemini II. This is certainly good company near the top of the tested air coolers, but the Corsair Nautilus 500 and Swiftech H20-120 Compact do not outperform the top air coolers in any tests in our cooler test suite.
Scaling performance results with TAT and CoreTemp on the P35 vary considerably from NVIDIA Monitor test results. TAT results follow a similar pattern to NVIDIA Monitor, but results were 2-6C higher in TAT. CoreTemp results are closer with variations over the overclock range of -2C to +4C compared to NVIDIA Monitor.
Cooling efficiency of the H2O-120 Compact and Nautilus 500 is then compared under load conditions to the retail HSF and other recently tested CPU coolers. Load testing can be very revealing of a cooler's efficiency. A basically flat line, particularly form 3.73GHz upward, indicates the cooler is still in its best cooling range. A line that is increasing rapidly indicates a cooler nearing the end of its ability to cool efficiently. Lines which parallel the best coolers over a range of values indicate similar cooling efficiency.
Load patterns from 2.93GHz to the 3.83GHz overclock range are similar to idle results. Both water coolers mirror the performance curves of coolers very near the top of air cooling test results but they do not match the very top air coolers. The water cooling results with both water kits are clearly better than the average air cooler, but neither water cooler outperforms the top air coolers in any way.
We expected good performance and cooling at high overclocks with the Corsair Nautilus 500 and the Swiftech H2O-120 Compact. However, neither water cooler out-overclocked nor out-performed the Thermalrights, Tuniq 120, or push-pull OCZ Vindicator, push-pull Noctua, or push-pull Scythe Infinity.
TAT and CoreTemp results follow a pattern of performance scaling under load similar to that seen in idle testing. The TAT and CoreTemp results are even higher than NVIDIA Monitor under load testing. TAT is 5-7C higher and CoreTemp is 2-6C higher than the NVIDIA Monitor results.
Excellent performance at stock speeds is one thing, but we were interested in seeing how both these water cooling kits scaled in cooling higher overclocks.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
At 2.93GHz the retail HSF is running at 41C, compared to 26C with both the Corsair and Swiftech. This is a delta of 15C. The delta generally becomes greater with the better air coolers as the overclock increases. Is this also true with water cooling?
At 3.73GHz idle the retail HSF is 56C compared to the Swiftech H2O-120 Compact and the Corsair Nautilus 500 at 38C and 39C - a delta of 17C to 18C. The cooling performance of either water system is significantly better than the Intel retail cooler at idle. At the higher 3.73GHz, however, the water coolers are outperformed by most top air coolers.
Looking closely at the curves of the top coolers tested, the water coolers mirror the performance of high-performing air coolers just below the top performers. The water coolers compare favorably to the Scythe Infinity, the Noctua NH-U12F stock, the OCZ Vindicator and the new crop of down facing coolers like the Enzotech Ultra-X and Gemini II. This is certainly good company near the top of the tested air coolers, but the Corsair Nautilus 500 and Swiftech H20-120 Compact do not outperform the top air coolers in any tests in our cooler test suite.
| Intel P35 Idle Temperatures | ||||
| 2.93 GHz | 3.73GHz | 3.83GHz | 3.97GHz | |
| Swiftech H2O TAT |
28 | 41 | 42 | 45 |
| Swiftech H2O CoreTemp |
24 | 39 | 40 | 42 |
| Corsair Nautilus TAT |
27 | 39 | 42 | 45 |
| Corsair Nautilus CoreTemp |
24 | 37 | 40 | 42 |
Scaling performance results with TAT and CoreTemp on the P35 vary considerably from NVIDIA Monitor test results. TAT results follow a similar pattern to NVIDIA Monitor, but results were 2-6C higher in TAT. CoreTemp results are closer with variations over the overclock range of -2C to +4C compared to NVIDIA Monitor.
Cooling efficiency of the H2O-120 Compact and Nautilus 500 is then compared under load conditions to the retail HSF and other recently tested CPU coolers. Load testing can be very revealing of a cooler's efficiency. A basically flat line, particularly form 3.73GHz upward, indicates the cooler is still in its best cooling range. A line that is increasing rapidly indicates a cooler nearing the end of its ability to cool efficiently. Lines which parallel the best coolers over a range of values indicate similar cooling efficiency.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
Load patterns from 2.93GHz to the 3.83GHz overclock range are similar to idle results. Both water coolers mirror the performance curves of coolers very near the top of air cooling test results but they do not match the very top air coolers. The water cooling results with both water kits are clearly better than the average air cooler, but neither water cooler outperforms the top air coolers in any way.
We expected good performance and cooling at high overclocks with the Corsair Nautilus 500 and the Swiftech H2O-120 Compact. However, neither water cooler out-overclocked nor out-performed the Thermalrights, Tuniq 120, or push-pull OCZ Vindicator, push-pull Noctua, or push-pull Scythe Infinity.
| Intel P35 Load Temperatures | ||||
| 2.93 GHz | 3.73GHz | 3.83GHz | 3.97GHz | |
| Swiftech H2O TAT |
40 | 55 | 57 | 60 |
| Swiftech H2O CoreTemp |
37 | 53 | 55 | 58 |
| Corsair Nautilus TAT |
40 | 55 | 57 | 62 |
| Corsair Nautilus CoreTemp |
37 | 53 | 55 | 59 |
TAT and CoreTemp results follow a pattern of performance scaling under load similar to that seen in idle testing. The TAT and CoreTemp results are even higher than NVIDIA Monitor under load testing. TAT is 5-7C higher and CoreTemp is 2-6C higher than the NVIDIA Monitor results.
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rallycobra - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
I'm building a new quad system, and I was going to go with the swiftech kit, and upgrade to a 120x3 radiator in the future. For now, I'm going to stick to air.Can you run the test again with a quad? Another site says that the swiftech outperforms all air solutions, but I trust your methodology a lot more.
Watercooling is elegant if you have the radiator outside the case, and you can cool the cpu, chipset and vga. It keeps the inside cool, and gets all of the heat out.
aigomorla - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
Your upgrading to 3x the cooling power this article previewed.So if there saying a 120x1 will match a ultra120extreme, your saying 3x that cooling power isnt worth the migration.
*scratches my head*
This is what i mean about this article screwing people up in water migration.
poisondeathray - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
Thanks for the interesting review.Given the increasing prevalence of quad-cores, it might be interesting to repeat the tests with an overclocked quad core configuration.
Although the testbed was different, at least 1 other hardware site got better results with similar watercooling vs. Tuniq.
gingerstewart55 - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
I wonder what was wrong with your setups and your pumps. Having had the Corsair Nautilus 500 unit, and the pump the Swiftech kit is based upon, something is/was seriously wrong with your setup or pumps.The Corsair unit's fan, at least in the one I used, drowned out the pump completely.
The Laing pump in the Swiftech kit, the same pump in the Corsair kit by the way, is sitting in my computer and is utterly silent....completely drowned out by any of the four fans in the case....three Scythe S-Flex "E" fans, at 22 dBA on full speed, and an Antec SpotCooler on lowest speed (the Antec is the loudest fan in the case, btw.)
I'd almost hazard a guess that both kits, after being set up, still had a bubble/pocket of air in the pump. The Laing pump can get quite noisy if no completely bled of air.
Otherwise, there was a mechanical fault in both your kits' pumps as the Laing is almost completely silent when working as attested to by the hundreds of people using those pumps and hearing absolutely nothing from them when being used.
Nickel020 - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
You need at mod top for the Laing pump, it's unbearable without one, but if decoupled almost unhearable with a good top.Wesley Fink - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
We tested both systems as provided by Swiftech and Corsair. Both units are provided as complete kits and both manufacturers are familiar with our cooler test methods.Modding everything we test defeats the purpose of our comparative testing.
We are not finished with water cooling reviews, and we will be reviewing more water cooling systems in the future.
Nickel020 - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
That's not hwo I meant it, of course you shouldn't mod the kits for testing. I was just saying that the Laing is not a bad pump for custom setups, in fact, it's pretty much the best pump for most setups if you use a mod top, which makes a big difference. I don't think I've ever seen a pic om someone using it without a mod top, but dozens with all kinds of mod tops.Wesley Fink - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
I first thought there was a pump defect as well. So I acquired FIVE Apogee drive blocks from different sources and all measured similar dbA noise levels. There was also the 6th pump in the Corsair Nautilus 500.Subjectively the pumps were relatively quiet because the noise frequencies appear to fall in a freqency range that is not particularly annoying. However, our standard sound meter said measured noise was pretty high. We stated this in the review and also commented the pump noise was not annoying to our ears, but it may be to others. Measure the noise of your system and let us know what you find.
psychotix11 - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
These two set-ups do not represent the top end of water cooling. It's long been past the point where a single 120mm rad is enough for a CPU.Toss these out and replace them with a custom set up with a dtek fuzion CPU block, 2x 120mm fan rad, ddc pump with petras top, and 1/2 id tubing and then see where it gets you.
Also liquid cool the chipset and then see if stock air can keep up (after), it won't.
You're taking two premade kits made for the user that has never water cooled before. It's simply not in the same category as the higher end custom kits.
Wesley Fink - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
We did not state water cooling was always inferior to the top air coolers. We said, based on these test results and others we have run recently, that you would need to spend more than $300 on a water cooling system that might outperform the best air coolers.At more than 4 to 6 times the price of a top air cooler most readers would not conseder that good value.
I actually agree with your comments, but please tell us the total cost of the water cooling setup you say is needed to beat the best air coolers.