ap.o.gee: The farthest or highest point; the apex; a final climactic stage

The Apogee™ HD is Swiftech's new flagship CPU waterblock. Close to 18 months in the making, it was designed to surpass its predecessor the Apogee™ XT in all critical areas:

Among the most obvious benefits of harnessing the power of water-cooling is the ability to daisy-chain multiple devices for the CPU, Graphics, Chipset, and even memory.
Up until now, the most common way to do this has been to connect the waterblocks in series. In this type of configuration however, the pressure drop generated by each one of the devices cumulates, which substantially reduces the overall flow rate in the loop; and as the flow rate diminishes, so does the thermal performance of the system. Many extreme users have been resorting to adding a second pump to their system to mitigate this effect.

There is another strategy to connect multiple water blocks: the parallel configuration. It is very advantageous because in this type of setup, when two devices are parallelized, the flow is divided in half, but the pressure drop is divided by a factor of four, thus alleviating the need for a second pump. However, it necessitates splitting the main line using Y connectors, and it is seldom used because connectivity is awkward and cumbersome.

Enter the Multi-port Apogee™ HD waterblock, and MCR Drive Rev3 Radiators. With two additional outlet ports for the Apogee™ HD and two additional inlet ports for the MCR Drive Rev3 radiator, it is now possible to conveniently setup a high flow multi-block loop without using splitters. We will show below that while it always remains preferable to keep the CPU waterblock in series with the main line whenever possible, all other electronic devices in the loop are perfect candidates for parallelization. The resulting configuration is a mixed serial + parallel setup, i.e. the best of both worlds!

The flow-charts in the secondary pictures illustrate two extreme setups (CPU + tripe SLI + chipset + memory) and quantify an order of magnitude in flow performance that can be gained from using a mixed serial + parallel configuration:

As mentioned earlier however, the consequence of parallelizing cooling devices is that the flow rate inside of said devices is also divided, therefore slower. So we now need to introduce another concept to further qualify the rationale behind parallelization: the heat flux generated by the different electronic devices, i.e. the rate of heat energy that they transfer through a given surface.

Modern CPUs generate a lot of heat (up to and sometimes higher than 200 W), which is transferred through a very small die surface (the die is the actual silicon, and it is usually protected by a metallic plate called a heat spreader or IHS). Among other things, what it means in practical terms is that higher flow rates will have relatively more impact on the CPU operating temperature than on any other devices. For this reason, and in most configurations, the Apogee™ HD CPU waterblock will preferably always be connected in series with the main line, so it can benefit from the highest possible flow rate.

**Compatibility
Universal hold-down plate and retention mechanism compatible with all Intel® Core™ desktop processors: sockets LGA775, 1155, 1156, 1366, and 2011. The motherboard back-plate for socket 1155 is installed by default, and the back-plate for socket 1366 is included.

The socket 775 motherboard back-plate is not included with the block and is mailed to users free of charge (shipping not included) upon request.

A separate hold-down plate is also available for AMD® processors, sockets 754, 939, 940, AM2, AM3, 770, F, FM1, and legacy Intel® Server socket 771. This mounting kit is mailed to users free of charge (shipping not included) upon request.

The waterblock is Socket LGA2011 ready, using the existing hold-down plate. A special set of screws for Socket LGA2011 are now included and can be obtained via email if you received an earlier version help@swiftech.com with a copy of your proof purchase (invoice)(Shipping not included for international customers.)

*How to obtain your free back-plate or AMD mounting kit?
World, except Europe, Australia & China: email help@swiftech.com with a copy of your proof purchase (invoice)
Europe: email rma@bacata.net with a copy of your proof purchase (invoice)
Australia: email pat@mittoni.com.au with a copy of your proof purchase (invoice)
China: email shilyhoo@163.com with a copy of your proof purchase (invoice)

Intel® Installation - pdf

AMD® Installation - pdf

Improved Performance

• World's best thermal performance based on our comparative testing, and 2ºC better than the Apogee™ XT Rev2.

Low To Moderate Flow Restriction

• 30% lower flow restriction than the Apogee™ XT Revision 2.

Exclusive Triple Outlet Port Design

• Ability to parallelize the flow to the graphics, chipset and/or memory waterblocks to improve overall loop performance by dramatically increasing the flow rate where it matters most: in the radiator and CPU waterblock. This exclusive feature can be easily activated when the block is used in conjunction with the new MCRx20 Drive Rev3 radiators that now also include 3 inlet ports.

Available in Black or White

• The Classic All Black will give any system the high-tech look you are looking for, or the fashionable white combined with the new MCW82, Bridges, and MCP35x pump top (also available in white) will allow you to build elegant and distinctive systems.

Shipped with High Performance Thermal Compound

• The Apogee™ HD ships with PK1 thermal compound highly rated by enthusiast users and reviewers (and confirmed by in-house testing) for its excellent thermal performance and ease of application.

Lower Cost

• More affordable than the Apogee™ XT and other top Performing Blocks on the market (the HD also includes 1/2" fittings and clamps, whereas many of our competitors do not).

Material:	Housing is precision-machined from black or white polyacetal copolymer (POM) base-plate is precision-machined from C110 copper
Dimensions (overall WxDxH):	3.6" x 3.6" x 1.47"
Dimensions (base WxDxH):	2.4" x 2.4" x .36"
Weight:	11.8oz 335 grams
Compression Fittings Compatibility Chart:	Primary Inlet/Outlet-With 3/4" Tube OD fittings Secondary Outlets-Max 3/8" tube OD fittings Primary Intlet/Outlet-With 5/8" Tube OD fittings Secondary Outlets-Max 1/2" Tube OD fittings

04-08-2012
Reviewer: Anonymous
Absolutely great cooling, and flexibility; however... One of the screws that secures the two halves of the water block together leaked (through the threads, and out the backside of the block onto the CPU, MB and GPU, where it went unnoticed until it was to late...) An Asus P9X79 Pro board, Intel 3960X chip, and a Gigabyte 7950 Video Card all received a dose of coolant as a result (not to mention the power supply). Currently, my rig is in pieces drying parts out in the ICU (after catastrophic water failure, that caused it to fail to post after dying in action), and is now off line. :( If we play with water, these things can happen. What weighs into the review equation, is if the parts are stood behind in such an event. I''ll keep everyone posted.

12-26-2011
Reviewer: ELVIS1 (4)
I am over all happy with this water block.It has easy to use brackets,nice temps,and is good looking. But I gave it only 4 stars because 1 of the screws around the block was loose and caused the block to leak.I just tight end it down and now its leak free.