This is the first time that Swiftech have released a Komodo block. Previously the Swiftech blocks were sold as the EVGA Hydrocopper block. Finally Swiftech decided there was enough demand to sell both. While the Hydrocopper is by far the most expensive GPU block on the market the Komodo is more affordable even though it’s still pricey. The Titan and 780 blocks are the same except for the labelling. The box is plain:
It does however come with some things that no other block does come with:
The steel bracket in the bottom right of the photo can be mounted around the GPU core itself. This does not come with the default card and is not provided by any other manufacturer. Swiftech claims that it will reduce any stress effects on the PCB from mounting a block. This seems like a good thing and it’s good to see it here. The accessories themselves are quite minimal:
Two stop fittings, some TIM and a bunch of different screws. The stop fittings can be tightened with a wrench of a hex/allen key (not provided). The block itself looks far better than the EVGA version. The insert is larger and matches the rest of the block a lot better:
Simply put it looks a bit classier. The underside shows the chrome plated copper base with pre-fitted thermal pads, the screw threads are not tapped into the copper but instead are of a stronger metal that is then pressed into the copper and tapped as a blind hole:
It’s a nice to pre-fit the thermal pads, sadly as we’ll see later they are not very good. In addition there is a little 2 pin connector to power LED lighting inside the bridge connector, while the EVGA logo will light up red, on the komodo the Swiftech symbol lights up green:
This is a nice touch given that the air cooler on the Titan also lights up green. The backplate itself is milled out of chunky 6mm aluminum. The swiftech logo however is a bit too large for my liking. I tend to favor a subtle classy style, and a huge blingy label doesn’t do that for me:
The thermal pads for the backplate are again attached, interestingly they are not the same as used on the block itself:
Internals
These are taken after testing so some wear and tear on the block is expected. Unlike most blocks the routing channels are not carved out of the copper but instead the acetal:
The chrome plating looked like it had been polished off a bit around the main coooling engine:
There is no additional surface area added for VRM/VRAM cooling.
Performance
For more detail of the testing check out the detailed analysis page. The Komodo is a strong thermal performer coming in second place on single GPU core temperatures:
For lower flow rates, the Komodo loses some ground:
However it is the VRAM temperatures where the Komodo starts to show it’s weakness:
The theme continues where it’s VRM temperatures are nearly 30C worse than the EK block:
Flow wise the block is the least restrictive of any block, however it’s not much better than the EK which produced significantly better results on VRMs/VRAMs.
Fitting
The Swiftech design is by far the hardest and most complicated of any block to fit. While it is nice that Swiftech do have you screw the end PCB bracket down to the block itself, it also uses 5 different types of screws to mount the block properly. Nearly every other manufacturer uses only one type of screw. Two or three I could accept if they were necessary but five is just strikingly unnecessary and smacks of poor design.
Summary
A strong showing at 1GPM and high flow design is not enough to offset the poor VRM and VRAM results and ridiculous method of attaching the block using so many different screws. On top of that this is still quite pricey.
7/10 – Better value than the near identical Hydrocopper but the weak VRM performance really hurts. Sadly for Swiftech the XSPC outperforms it on every metric except flow.
Where to buy: PPCs $150 (Includes backplate)
Next -> Watercool
