Swiftech announced the release of the Apogee Drive II, a CPU waterblock featuring an integrated pump. "Like a phoenix rising from its ashes, the Apogee Drive II returns to take its place at the helm of Swiftech's CPU waterblock product line and it includes all the latest and greatest technological advancements that we have to offer today" said Gabriel Rouchon Swiftech's Chairman and CTA.
Derived in general concept from the company's Apogee Drive initially released in 2007, the Apogee Drive II much differs from the original in terms of its execution. The original was conceived as a moderate cost unit, using plastic injection molding for its body, the entry-level MCP350 pump and it came with bare essentials. In contrast, the Apogee Drive II is conceived as a luxury vessel: its uses the PWM controlled MCP35X, Swiftech's most powerful pump to date, a precision CNC machined water-block body that lends itself to easy upgrades for future socket form factors, adjustable inlet and outlet ports, a heatsink to further cool the pump, LED illuminated logo in a choice of 3 colors, braided cables, and the company's now famous retention system. The only concession to cost and waste-cutting measure the company made was to not bundle all the retention systems into one SKU, and to make 3 separate product versions.
According to the Company's own benchmarks, the Apogee Drive II edged the current Apogee HD in thermal performance, which is no small feat considering that the HD is currently hovering at the top of the world's performance charts. Given the considerable headroom afforded by the pump, uses for this type of device span across the entire spectrum of the high-end liquid cooling arena, but will particularly please system builders with space-constrained applications. The initial SKU being released is compatible with Intel CPUs using socket LGA 775, 1155 and 1366. Two more versions are expected to be released in June: a version compatible with Intel socket LGA 2011, and one compatible with all current AMD processor sockets.
MSRP
- 1155/1366 version: $144.95
- 2011 version: $135.95
- AMD version: $138.95
