Pro/Forums - View Single Post - Dissecting the MCW6000-A

pHaestus · 05-26-2004, 08:49 PM

Shortly after I finished testing the Swiftech MCW6000-A, I cut it open to see how it worked. That probably doesn't surprise many of you. What may be a surprise is that I was torn as to whether or not to post this. On the one hand, I know that there is a lot of "idea liberation" that goes on in our forums. It is also clear that it's hard to make money back on R&D when someone can just copy your design the day it's released. On the other hand, if I don't post this information then it can't benefit the DIY wb designers, it won't be clear to our community that the ideas and designs originated from Swiftech, and unscrupulous people will just cut wbs up and steal the ideas in private.

When you look at Swiftech's website, an important fact about the MCW6000-A's design is in fact already posted:

"The base is a one piece copper forging made of C110 copper, featuring 281 thin pins. "

Look now at Bill Adams' comments about the MCW6000-A design from our review:

"The MCW6000 is innovative in the following regards:
use of multiple temperature brazing/silver soldering processes
considered inlet nozzle design, placement, and internal flow control"

Let's keep the above in mind as we look at the MCW6000-A

I tried to cut the block open with a hand saw and tin snips; I mangled one corner of the wb pretty badly (and managed to gash my thumb to boot). Today I used my defective dremel (it only runs at maximum rpms) and did a much better job. You can ignore the pin design in the mangled area as that's my doing not Swiftech's

Click on pictures for larger versions.

This is probably the most descriptive of all the pictures:

You can clearly see my handiwork with the handsaw and snips (Take note, Owen!) and you can also tell that the outlet of the block is on the bottom left. The pins are round, evenly spaced, and quite dense. The rationale for having a forged base is clear when you see the pin density; couldn't make something like that easily with a mill. The other important bit of design that is clearly visible is the "internal flow control, a "U" shaped piece of metal that forces water to go from the inlet out through the bulk of the pins rather than straight from inlet to outlet. You can get a better look in the picture:

Note the pins directly under the inlet are bent out some to lower resistance. It also is of importance that the inlet is centered in the wb rather than being centered over die of cpu. This means that water movement through wb must be very important to cooling rather than just the initial impingement at the inlet.

Just to show pin density here is a final picture:

05-26-2004, 08:49 PM	#1
pHaestus Big Player Making Big Money Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: irc.lostgeek.com #procooling.com Posts: 4,782	Dissecting the MCW6000-A Shortly after I finished testing the Swiftech MCW6000-A, I cut it open to see how it worked. That probably doesn't surprise many of you. What may be a surprise is that I was torn as to whether or not to post this. On the one hand, I know that there is a lot of "idea liberation" that goes on in our forums. It is also clear that it's hard to make money back on R&D when someone can just copy your design the day it's released. On the other hand, if I don't post this information then it can't benefit the DIY wb designers, it won't be clear to our community that the ideas and designs originated from Swiftech, and unscrupulous people will just cut wbs up and steal the ideas in private. When you look at Swiftech's website, an important fact about the MCW6000-A's design is in fact already posted: "The base is a one piece copper forging made of C110 copper, featuring 281 thin pins. " Look now at Bill Adams' comments about the MCW6000-A design from our review: "The MCW6000 is innovative in the following regards: use of multiple temperature brazing/silver soldering processes considered inlet nozzle design, placement, and internal flow control" Let's keep the above in mind as we look at the MCW6000-A I tried to cut the block open with a hand saw and tin snips; I mangled one corner of the wb pretty badly (and managed to gash my thumb to boot). Today I used my defective dremel (it only runs at maximum rpms) and did a much better job. You can ignore the pin design in the mangled area as that's my doing not Swiftech's Click on pictures for larger versions. This is probably the most descriptive of all the pictures: You can clearly see my handiwork with the handsaw and snips (Take note, Owen!) and you can also tell that the outlet of the block is on the bottom left. The pins are round, evenly spaced, and quite dense. The rationale for having a forged base is clear when you see the pin density; couldn't make something like that easily with a mill. The other important bit of design that is clearly visible is the "internal flow control, a "U" shaped piece of metal that forces water to go from the inlet out through the bulk of the pins rather than straight from inlet to outlet. You can get a better look in the picture: Note the pins directly under the inlet are bent out some to lower resistance. It also is of importance that the inlet is centered in the wb rather than being centered over die of cpu. This means that water movement through wb must be very important to cooling rather than just the initial impingement at the inlet. Just to show pin density here is a final picture: