Swiftech MCX-4000  P4 Cooler

Manufacturer: Swiftech
Supplied by: Swiftech
Price: $57

By Dean Barker  (7/6/2002)

Introduction:

In the eyes of many, at the summit of air cooling sits Swiftech.  This honor is because Swiftech tries to think outside the box and in doing so, has come up with some great cooling solutions.  The best air cooler we have ever looked at here was the Swiftech MCX-462 for the Athlon.  So you can imagine our excitement when the MCX-4000 for the P4 showed up at our door.  We want to thank the folks over at Swiftech for sending us a sample of their newest P4 cooler.   

Let's get down to business.  The MCX-4000 follows the basic Swiftech construction model; thick copper base with ribbed aluminum pins to dissipate the heat.  Each of the 429 pins is ribbed for her your pleasure with what Swiftech calls their Helicoid pin design.  The Helicoid ribs increase the surface area and with it, the thermal efficiency of the sink.  A second benefit of the Helicoids is that they create a small amount of turbulence between the pins to maximize the air exchange over them.  Think about a car driving down the interstate.  Most of us know that behind the car is a pocket of air in like a bubble where the air flow is blocked by the car's forward motion.  Racers will follow another car to take advantage of this, 'drafting.'  With cooling you want maximum air exchange of a maximum amount of the heatsink's surface area, hence why turbulence is so important.  Notice also how the fan is slightly elevated off the sink with four grommets.  These grommets prevent a dead spot just below the fan motor by raising the works up a tad.

The reasoning for aluminum pins in a copper base instead of the whole works being copper is that aluminum transfers heat quicker than copper.  Copper while having a higher thermal capacity than aluminum needs a little help to get that heat off of it.  The aluminum pins do this via convection rather efficiently.  Below is a pic of the MCX-4000 beside the Athlon version, the MCX-462.  Pin count is 429 opposed to the MCX-462's 391.

The base of the MCX-4000 is a beautiful thing.  It measures 80mm x 89mm x 9.5mm.  That my friends is a big chunk of copper!  Both to the eye and touch, no imperfections were noticeable.  We laid the base down on a piece of stained glass which showed the base to be perfectly flat.  Love that high reflective polish.

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