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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Gul Westfale - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
watercooling is still worth it ig=f you have th emoney; th etwo setups tested here are not exactly the best coolers available. also, the statement in teh article that watercoolers are quieter than aircoolers is ridiculous, after all a watercooler still has a fan thta blows air through the radiator, and that fan is jst as quiet (or noisy) as an aircooler... unless you go witth zalman's fanless reserator design.i'm afraid the conclusion of this article tries to tell you that all watercoolers perform like these two here, but that is simply not so. other, better systems include the aforementioned zalman reserator, the koolance exos, and several more advanced setups from swiftech. if you are interested in this, frozencpu.com is a good site to do some window sopping :0
Wesley Fink - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
We state you will likely need to spend more than $300 to possibly outperform current top air coolers. We have recently tested several systems near that price point and stand by that statement based on our tests results.We did not say water cooling is quieter, we just said many reviews over the years have stated water cooling to be the quieter solution. As we showed in our review that is no longer thacase unless you buy a much more expensive water system. If you read carefully you will also see we found the water pump to be the biggest noise maker and not the radiator fan.
Finally, water cooling will have to be eons better than air if we need to spend more tha 6 times the top air cooler price just to match performance of the best air coolers. The only compelling argument in favor of water in our opinion is the ability to add video cooling blocks and possibly chipset blcos to a water system - but that cost is also high.
You CAN buy or build a superior water system if you spend big bucks, but as one expert water cooler showed me in his tests results he had yet to find a water cooling kit that outperformed the best air coolers. His own monster water cooler was a custom built and very expensive water cooling system. If I need to go to those prices I can buy phase-change coolers that have a chance of creating sub-ambient CPU temperatures.
haelduksf - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
I'm sorry, but I don't believe you. I'm running a $200 loop, with CPU *and* GPU blocks, and getting 34 degree load temps (folding) on my q6600. Nothing special- 240mm rad, fuzion CPU block, Silverprop GPU block... frankly, you must be doing something wrong if you can't do better on water than on air.Plus, as others mentioned, this loop will cool any computer I own for the next 10 years, which no air cooler can claim.
mpc7488 - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
Nice article Wes, and good way to phrase it - water cooling solutions under $300 cannot outperform top air coolers.Nickel020 - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
But you also need to consider that you'll use watercooling for a long time. I just recently bought my watercooling, but my 45$ waterblock was already available 3 years ago, lots of people that bought it then for a Athlon XP/754 system are still using it on a Core 2 today, and it's still very good. In the last 4 years I've had 3 different 50+$ air coolers in my main rig, that kind of adds up as well.
Watercooling is a big initial investment, but pump and radiators will last you 5+ years and waterblocks last several years as well. If you're a guy that buys one 50+$ heatsink a year, then watercooling is only marginally more expensive (if at all) then air.
strikeback03 - Wednesday, September 19, 2007 - link
The only reasons to upgrade to a newer cooler (air or water) is if either the performance is significantly better, or the cooler does not support whatever socket you move to in the future. These factors are the same for air or water, so in theory both should have a similar lifespan. If water cooling sees improvements in the next few years the way air has in the past few years, you would probably upgrade your water setup sooner than you think as well.KeypoX - Tuesday, September 18, 2007 - link
that is not true i bought the koolance case/water cooler years ago and it was no match for my current air cooler. On top of that the water block i had bought the 200 koolance was dropped and no longer supported for newer chip sets.I had a athlon 2600xp OC with the water cooler but it wasnt as good as air. And it had to much upkeep and a TON of noise.
RamIt - Monday, September 17, 2007 - link
What happened to paet two of the micro atx motherboard roundup?