Regarding the H220-X, If by "good" you mean ..... better than any other AIO you can possibly buy, yes it's "good"
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Swiftech/H220-X/9.html
http://www.hitechlegion.com/reviews/cooling/liquid/40870-swiftech-h220-x-open-loop-240mm-cpu-cooler-review
http://www.overclock.net/products/swiftech-h220-x-cpu-liquid-cooling-kit/reviews/6819
I have see a lot of posts saying the Hero is this or that, I have not seen any documentation substantiating it's more durable and reliable..... everything I can find is to the contrary....unfortunately, last year we can find published data for % of units returned w/ problems is 2012
2012
http://www.behardware.com/articles/881-2/components-returns-rates-7.html
- MSI 2.24%
- ASUS 2.34%
2011
- MSI 1.5%
- ASUS 2.2%
I used Asus exclusively for over a decade and while I still like their BIOS best, their offerings in the middle market have slipped.....but there's been some BIOS problems with the Z87 / Z97 boards with 100's of users experiencing this problem.
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?35490-Sabertooth-Z87-Bios-Clock-Issue&p=404524&viewfull=1#post404524
"I have 3 boards with this issue in my shop and EVERY client system I built has this problem. I have tried EVERY fix in this thread, nothing works for more then a few days. Flashed BIOS, reset to factory, replaced batteries. NOTHING. "
There are known triggers for the problem which include using certain BIOS functions, overclocking stress testing, crashing, etc. Here's some of the threads:
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?49989-VII-HERO-Clock-never-changes-hour
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?49904-VII-Hero-Real-Time-Clock-Issues
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?33895-Hero-Time-Clock-Problem
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?46242-Hero-boot-shutdown-time-clock-error
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?45079-BIOS-Time-Clock-not-Keeping-Correct-Time-or-Date
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?35490-Sabertooth-Z87-Bios-Clock-Issue
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?35490-Sabertooth-Z87-Bios-Clock-Issue
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?47956-General-issues-with-the-Maximus-Vi-Formula
A thread entitled "The Fix" for the Asus BIOS Clock Freeze Problem Affecting Z87 boards is on the support forum. It starts off stating:
"Is your motherboard suffering from the malady of a frozen time clock in UEFI?"
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?36676-Frozen-Time-Clock-in-UEFI-The-Fix
Bit while it unfreezes the clock and restores functionality, it soon comes back
1st post here shows it affecting Z97 Hero as well, if you look at newegg user reviews, it's also mentioned there.
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?36676-Frozen-Time-Clock-in-UEFI-The-Fix/page33
In one of the threads, a BIOS fix was announced on June 11, for 12 different non ROG boards indicated that the File description would read "RTC Stop Error Cured" ... no such been released yet. Same announcement said RoG notice would be announced soon. No such announcement yet.
Not saying the Hero is a bad board .... BIOS Freeze problem aside ..... it's just that it's not worth the extra money you pay over the GD65 when all ya get out of it in the end is the RoG Logo and at $60 extra w/ the 4790k newegg combos that's just waaaay too much. I started looking at MSI w/ Z77 as other users and reviewers where speaking glowingly. While both use similar high quality componentry on the chokes and caps, the hardened mil spec design of the GD65 offers humidity protection and every port is ESD (electrostatic discharge) isolated (AFAIK, only the LAN port on the Hero is ESD isolated.
Things change .... remember when people used to say that something was "The Cadillac" of the [name whatever product category], Cadillac is no longer seen that way..... You will see peeps buy the same car / truck model time after time because of a mindset they established with their 1st vehicle..... and one thing you will consistently see in web site reviews is that common "things change" theme.
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/msi_z97_gaming_7/
MSI has been making great strides in changing perceptions long held about its products. In the past few years, the team at MSI has delivered consistently better products in the overclocking and gaming segments, taking on ASUS in its own backyard. Having tested more than a few of the company's Z77, Z87, and now Z97-based motherboards, the trend has been to improve long term stability and reliability while significantly adding more in terms of functionality for the end user.
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_mainboard/msi_z87_gd65_gaming_review/15
Now and again a motherboard appears that is so obviously brilliant, and so affordable, that we wonder if anything will be able to top it. For a while that crown was held by the ASUS Sabertooth, both in X58 and then P67 variants. Then MSI stole the crown with the Z77 MPower. Looking at the Z87 GD65 Gaming we think it's going to take something extraordinary to top it, such is the perfect storm of price, performance, features and looks.
The switch to Military Class 4 has given us an extremely ready overclocker too. You're always thermally limited when overclocking and the i7-4770K is one of the most demanding around. Considering the amount of cooling we're using we think that although the GD65 is capable of bringing 5GHz from our i7-4770K you'd need a proper water loop to make the most of it.
Performance is outstanding. The stock results were a particular highlight. We know a lot of people still just like to put their CPU in and go, without overclocking it first. Despite how easy it is these days we know that the fear factor still exists. So you'll be glad to know that the MSI Z87 GD65 Gaming really rocks hard even at stock settings. Naturally the overclocking is blistering too, with some OC3D records broken.
MSI have laid the gauntlet down to all the other manufacturers. Gorgeous to look at, blistering performance and all at a very affordable price, the MSI Z87 GD65 Gaming is not only the new benchmark for Z87 motherboards, but probably for all motherboards.
Again, not saying you are going to be disappointed with the Hero (unless ya get hit with the BISO Clock thing) .... but the GD65 is at least it's equal. If you can get them at the same price, it's a tossup but I haven't seen that yet.