Swiftech APOGEE DRIVE II - Socket 2011 User Manual

Swiftech Computer Accessories

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Installation guide for Intel processors using socket LGA 2011

What’s Included in the box:



Apogee™ Drive II Waterblock & integrated MCP35X pump, with spring-loaded retention screws and mounting
brackets



½” Hose barb fittings & clamps



Spare acrylic inserts in blue and green



Tim-Mate Thermal compound

A word of caution before you begin

Like all other pumps in our product line (and the computer industry in general), the MCP35X pump which is built into your
Apogee™ Drive II is not a self-priming pump. It means that the pump requires being filled-up and fed with a constant, air-
free, supply of coolant in order to prime i.e. to circulate the fluid, and to stay primed. Upon initial installation it is therefore
critical to make sure that the pump is completely full of fluid or it will spin without circulating the coolant. In order to
facilitate this priming process, we recommend the following:

Case #1: The

Apogee™ Drive II is being added as a secondary pump to an existing loop:

We will assume that the primary pump from your existing system has already been setup to prime properly, and no
particular precautions for the installation of your

Apogee™ Drive II are necessary. You may proceed with installation

of the unit onto your motherboard (see the next step).

Case #2: The

Apogee™ Drive II is the only pump in your loop:

During initial installation, and in order to enable adequate priming, it is essential that the pump be at the lowest point
of your loop, in other words that the coolant reservoir be placed above the pump when you start-it up, and that the
lines leading to, and exiting from the pump be full of coolant. Therefore, you might want to postpone fastening the
Apogee™ Drive II to the motherboard until after you have filled-up and primed the system. Simply connect and
secure the tubes to the Apogee Drive, and allow the unit to hang in the desired position while filling up and priming
your loop. This is critical to understand because given the physical position of the Apogee Drive in the middle of the
motherboard, there could be frequent instances where the reservoir is installed lower than the pump (at the bottom of
the case for example), in which case you would never be able to prime it.

Once your Apogee Drive II has primed properly and the loop is full, then it is OK to install it to the motherboard, even
if it is positioned higher than the coolant supply. As in any other cooling loop, always periodically check your coolant
level to make sure that your pump always has its steady and air-free supply of coolant.