Water cooling in the PC is still pretty far removed from the mainstream, but Swiftech aims to change that with an affordable system for CPUs designed to make water cooling more accessible to the power user who wants to get their feet wet (pun intended) with liquid cooling.

To achieve this goal, Swiftech has released a water-cooling system that is simpler and less expensive than traditional water-cooling systems. The H20-120 Compact can be purchased online for around $150. Has Swiftech created an ideal system, or did the necessary compromises for the sake of simplicity and low cost have a detrimental impact on performance?

To make things more interesting, we have seen alternative products like hybrid TEC/liquid coolers on the market, for example CoolIT's similarly priced Eliminator. The Eliminator and H20-120 Compact appear to be aiming at the same market segment by offering simplified liquid cooling systems at a similar price. And, let's not forget those cheaper air-cooling setups. Can they perform in the realm of these simple liquid coolers for a fraction of the price?

These are all good questions. Let's start our investigation with a close look at the Swiftech system.

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