Core Cooling Performance – 3.5/5
Swiftech performs near the bottom of the group. While the temperatures are very acceptable, it does not make for a compelling story either! This is a shame based on Swiftech’s prior performance in other roundups.
VRM Cooling Performance – 3/5
As usual Swiftech is let down by their VRM performance. Thankfully for them it doesn’t matter too much this time on such a low power card. The exception to this of course is bragging rights for being able to be the “best”.
Restriction – 4.5/5
Swiftech again have a great high flow design.
Supplied TIM – 3/5
The TIM did test badly though partly because of cure time.
Mounting Hardware – 3.5/5
As usual Swiftech could improve by reducing their variety of screw types. Six is simply too much. One or two standard types with a larger head would be simpler and install more confidence.
Backplate – 3/5
Swiftech do not have a backplate for this block because Nvidia supply one with reference cards. Because of this it gets a middle of the road 3 for at least being compatible with or without the reference backplate.
Aesthetics – 3.5/5
The luxury edition is spoiled by an oversized chunky bridge that distracts from the clean brushed aluminum look. The ECO fixes this but looks empty given the small size of the cooling engine but gives up the integrated LEDs. We love the included LEDs and the backlit bridge but wish that the overall impression was “cleaner and simpler”.
Quality – 3/5
Machining was rough and the plating was not a uniform color in addition the block was damaged through the plating during manufacturing. Pre installed thermal pads are a nice touch.
Summary
Swiftech as usual seem to have ignored any feedback from previous reviews and so the result is much the same while the competition has worked hard to improve. Consequently the relative performance is worse than prior roundups. The ECO version on the other hand does finally bring a competitive price and brings some much needed aesthetic variation to the line up. Luckily for Swiftech the performance this time is good enough but we would love to see more changes for next time.
Where to buy: PPCS – $116-$160
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