I don’t tend to take risks when it comes to PC building these days. I try to keep things simple and minimize fuss down the road. I took a gamble with the Swiftech H220 water cooling kit for my brother’s PC build. I put in the research and looked at what folks like AnandTech had to say and pulled the trigger on the Swiftech.
My mistake was not mining the user reviews at sites like Newegg.ca. It went over to the U.S store, Newegg.com and thought I was in the clear but something must have changed with the manufacturing because the kits purchased in 2013 were plagued with noise issues.
I already returned one noisy unit to Swiftech within the first 3 months of ownership last year and now less than a year after the replacement was installed, the noise returns. But unlike last year, there will not be a replacement. I’m sending this water cooling kit straight into the trash. I kept the two 120mm fans but they’re four pin fans and are much noisier than the Gelid and Scythes that I own. They can’t even get fans right.
I wasn’t content with the outcome of my time with water cooling but it wasn’t a complete waste of time. I appreciated the opportunity to install and work with a closed loop system. I learned that air cooling have come a long way and are competitive and may even surpass water cooling units. I can also say — without a shadow of a doubt — that water cooling is not worth the hassle. If you want a set and forget solution, stick with air cooling.
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I’m almost done with Destiny’s campaign. I’m going to do a few Strikes and other post-story content but I doubt I’ll stick with it for the long run.
I need to review my list of incoming new releases and potentially cull some. I’ll produce that list tomorrow. I’ll say this though: Forza Horizon 2 will not make the list. My brother and I tried the demo but it didn’t immediately grab us. It wasn’t bad (outside of the cringe worthy “festival” motif) but we just couldn’t justify paying $51 for it. We’ll likely revisit it when it hits $29.99
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