Swiftech H20 120 PREMIUM User Manual

Page 6

http://www.swiftnets.com

Rouchon Industries, Inc., dba Swiftech – 1703 E. 28

Street, Signal Hill, CA 90755 – Tel. 562-595-8009 – Fax 562-595-8769 - E Mail: [email protected]

PAGE 6 of 26

1 MCR120-F

ADIATOR INSTALLATION

Your first choice is to decide whether you will be installing the radiator
INSIDE of the computer, or use the included “Radbox” to hang the
radiator OUTSIDE at the back of the computer chassis.

There are four considerations that will dictate such choice:

Performance: From a pure performance standpoint, using the Radbox
will always be a superior solution to an installation inside of the
computer because the temperature of the ambient air outside of the
computer –which is used to cool the radiator will always be cooler than
that of the inside even in the best ventilated case. Additional benefits
are also discussed in the Radbox installation section below.

Space constraints: If your PC has no room inside to install a 120mm
radiator, and if you are not inclined to modify the case to “make it fit”,
the Radbox will allow you to hang the radiator to any standard fan
opening at the back of the chassis, without any modifications; using the
Radbox then also becomes an obvious choice. Conversely, if you have
enough room inside of the PC to install the radiator, BUT your PC is
located in a space constrained area, then adding the Radbox to the
back of the chassis will lengthen the PC, which could prevent its use.

Noise: Having the radiator/fan assembly operating outside of the
chassis may slightly increase the audible noise compared to an internal
installation, because the chassis no longer muffles the noise emitted by
the fan. A mitigating factor to this is the fact that the Radbox assembly is
at the back of the computer, and usually hidden away amidst the
various cables. If the PC is underneath a desk, chances are that there
will be no audible difference between an internal installation and an
external one. However, there are situations where the PC is located in
an open area, close to the user ears. In such case, users in search of
the lowest possible audible noise will prefer to install the radiator inside
of the computer.

Cosmetics: This is the last and probably most difficult choice. Swiftech
cannot presume of the users tastes, and therefore cannot make a
recommendation here.

Swiftech pre-assembles the fan and Radbox components to the
radiator.

Internal radiator installation

Strictly from a CPU cooling performance standpoint it is always
preferable to install the fan so that it will either draw or push fresh air
from outside of the chassis into the radiator. There are two possible
cases as shown to the right:

Back of the case radiator installation:

If CPU cooling is a priority, we suggest that the fan be installed in intake
mode in contradiction to the “classic” airflow scheme, which is intake at
the front, and exhaust at the back. In effect, if the fan flow direction were
reversed, it would use heated air from inside of the chassis, which is
usually 3

°C (at best) and up to 10°C hotter than that of the ambient air

outside of the chassis. Conversely, users with excellent ventilation in
their case may opt to install the fan in exhaust mode with the
understanding of the above stated temperature handicap.

Figure 1

Front of the case Radiator installation:

This is an ideal location, as the radiator draws fresh air, and the “classic”
airflow scheme is respected.

Figure 2

AIRFLOW