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Swiftech MCX64-V and MCX6400-V Heatsinks

Swiftech is a name synonymous with quality cooling components whether it be high end watercooling kits or state of the art air cooling products. See the latest in Athlon64 cooling from Swiftech put to the test.

Introduction

Swiftech is a name synonymous with quality cooling components whether it be high end watercooling kits or state of the art air cooling products. The motto used by Swiftech "manufacturer of the world's best active coolers" isn’t just a catch phrase, it is a motto earned over the last six years by producing some of the best coolers in the business.

Swiftech was founded in 1994 and came from an engineering background. The company actually started out as a Maintenance and R&D organization for high-end Unix computers. Only after the introduction of the Celeron in 1998 did Swiftech become heavily involved in overclocking and cooling.

Swiftech’s products separated themselves early on and stood far apart from the average cooler thanks in large part to the non-traditional design (Covered here by HardOCP in 1999). Early on, heat sinks designed by Swiftech used massive half inch thick base plates with a whopping 350 pins coupled with heavy duty fans. Early designs looked like an Alpha heatsink on steroids.

By the fall of 98, we realized that air cooling was not going to satisfy our clients ever increasing need for speed, and during the course of investigating thermo-electric (Peltier) cooling technology, we immediately recognized the potential application to CPU cooling. Since there was no serious implementation of this technology commercially available to the personal computer industry, we started our own assembly, focusing on engineering specs rather than economics.

Fast forward six years and we see a level of refinement to the original design that borders on artwork. Swiftech coolers still use a massive base plate, but gone is the flat aluminum plate replaced with a meticulously designed CNC machined copper base. The original smooth aluminum pins have given way to a patented helicoid aluminum pin design where each pin is individually machined to increase the surface area for better air turbulence and maximum heat dissipation.

Today we will be looking at the latest Athlon64 coolers from Swiftech, the Swiftech MCX64-V and the MCX6400-V.

MCX64-V / MCX6400-V Overview:

The MCX64-V and MCX6400-V are Swiftech’s new line of Athlon64 heatsinks. The MCX64-V differs from the MCX6400-V in that the MCX64-V is primarily a high performance, low noise OEM replacement part that comes with a low noise 80mm Delta fan. The MCX6400-V is a high-end enthusiast part designed specifically for overclocking and ships sans fan.

Features:

Packaging & Contents:

The overall packaging of Swiftech products is good. At first, I was somewhat put off by the extremely thin cardboard boxes. Those concerns were short lived once I looked inside and saw the way the heatsinks were packed. The boxes contain thick layers of Styrofoam that keep the heat sink from moving around and being damaged during shipment.

The MCX64-V package contains:

MCX64-V heat sink

80mm Delta Fan

Plastic Fan Retention Push Pins

Retention springs, bolts, washers and steel guide

Packet of Arctic Silver thermal compound

MCX6400-V package contains:

MCX6400-V heat sink

Plastic Fan Retention Push Pins

Retention springs, bolts, washers and steel guide

Packet of Arctic Silver thermal compound

Optional Hardware:

The optional K8 retention frame and backing plate can be ordered separately for customers who have a mainboard that came without these brackets. It should be noted that the optional retention frame offered by Swiftech only comes with in a single lug configuration opposed to the triple lug configuration found on some OEM retention frames, this will not be an issue with the product of course.

Copper Base Comparison:

According to Swiftech, the base on both the MCX6400-V and MCX64-V are CNC machined, milled, lapped and then polished to a mirror-like finish for optimal heat transfer.

Exceptional quality and attention to details: the heatsink base is lapped to 0.0003" (3/10 of 1/1000"), and polished to near-mirror finish to promote optimum thermal conductivity. Users are advised that while flatness is strictly respected for providing the most significant benefit to thermal interface, surface polish is a cosmetic component and may vary slightly from one heatsink to another. Re-lapping or polishing the heatsink base is never recommended.

Both heatsinks do indeed have a finish like no other. When we say finish, we are not just talking “polish” or “shiny” we are talking about a CPU contact area that is as close to flat as we have seen on any heatsink or water block. Often times heat sink manufacturers throw a little polish on their heatsink ( regardless whether it is truly flat or not ) and call it good. Swiftech gets high marks for the time and effort put into the CPU mating surface on the MCX64-V and MCX6400-V.

MCX64-V:

The MCX64-V base plate measures 76mm wide by 68mm across. Measured at the outer edge the copper base is 5mm thick with a center contact area that measures 40mm long by 40mm wide and 5mm thick. The MCX64-V sports 360 aluminum helicoid pins and weighs in at 440g ( fan included ).

MCX6400-V:

The MCX6400-V base plate is slightly larger at 80mm wide by 75mm across to accommodate the 45 extra aluminum helicoid pins. The MCX6400-V is 11mm thick at the outer edge with a contact area that measures 48mm long by 48mm and 2mm thick. Overall weight of the MCX6400-V ( bare, no fan ) is a massive 750g.

Helicoid Pins:

The unique helicoid pins are actually a design patented by Swiftech. The helicoid design of the aluminum pins looks similar to what you would see on a threaded bolt, but the helicoids are not threaded. Each pin is individually machined from very soft aluminum and, as you can see, this greatly increases the surface area of each pin. As you could imagine, the design of the pins also helps create air turbulence that enhances cooling efficiency.

Patented Helicoid pin design (U.S. Patent 6,469,898): pins are individually machined in an helicoid shape, to increase their surface area, and further enhance heat dissipation efficiency. Several patents pending for concentrically aligned rows of pins, bent at multiple angles. The spacing and angles between the concentric rows has been precisely calculated to optimize cooling and reduce noise at air flow levels as low as 22 CFM and 23 dB-A.

Swiftech keeps its patented designs close to the vest and was reluctant to divulge any information on the process in which the pins are pressed into the copper base and then bent into circular sunflower-like design. The overall look is not only functional, but aesthetically very pleasing to the eye as well.