ap·o·gee: The farthest or highest point; the apex; a final climactic stage The Apogee™ XT is Swiftech's new flagship water-block. It represents the culmination of months of research and development marked by hundreds of hours of competitive testing. The end result is a product that manages to surpass everything that made its predecessor -the Apogee™ GTZ, one of the best water-blocks in the world; a substantial increase in thermal performance, sumptuous functional elegance, unique convenience features for beginners and extreme users alike, all contribute to place the new "XT" in a class of its own. Summary of benefits compared to the Apogee™ GTZ - PERFORMANCE: a consistent 3°C improvement over the Apogee™ GTZ was observed in testing the XT block with various Ci7 processors overclocked to 4.1 Ghz
| - STUNNING ELEGANCE: the XT water-block is entirely machined from copper and brass. The subtly sculpted brass housing receives a luxurious black chrome plating finish.
| - UNIQUE CONVENIENCE FEATURES: Swiftech's retention mechanism is universally recognized as the simplest and safest to use. It has been further improved to feature universal compatibility with all Intel® Core™ desktop processors. The XT also features a unique detachable inlet plate that can be rotated at 180° to allow installation of extra large compression fittings.
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Picture Gallery 
With the inlet rotated, the Apogee™ XT leaves plenty of room for large compression fittings
Performance Data The Apogee™ XT is optimized for Intel® Core™ i5 and Core i7 processors but it will also yield world-class performance results with all compatible processors from AMD® and/or Intel® server class processors. Thermal design of the cooling engine combines the benefits of direct coolant impingement over the CPU area with a copper base plate characterized by a pin matrix composed of 225 µm (0.009") micro structures. - Pressure Drop Specification
The above pressure drop vs. flow rate curves show that the XT in factory configuration is slightly less restrictive than the Apogee™ GTZ. This trend reverses however when the inlet is rotated (labeled "Apogee XT Alternate") to accommodate extra large compression fittings. Mechanical design of the copper base plate is optimized for Intel® socket LGA 771, 775, 1156 and 1366. The topographically mapped mating surface has been considerably enhanced to yield dominating results with Intel® socket LGA 1156 and 1366 processors. Other types of processors such as AMD® socket F, AM2, AM3 and 940 may also benefit from the enhanced contact area. The Swiftech's tool free retention system uses springs and limited travel thumb-screws for high quality and repeatable mounts. The waterblock hold-down plate features elongated holes providing compatibility with all Intel® Core™ desktop processors. Motherboard back-plates provide server-class rigidity to the assembly. - Comparative Temperature Data
The following tables report the data collected from testing performed with actual retail processors under 100% load using CPU Burn. Published results are the best of a minimum of 5 mounts. These results are indicative of our test bench settings and of the tested processors only. Results may vary from one processor to another. Competitive data is provided for comparative purposes, and is only representative of the specific waterblock samples tested here. Two samples of the same competitive blocks were used for validation purposes. Intel® Core™ i7 920 (Bloomfield D0)
(@4095 Mhz - 1.392 V Actual) | | Water-Block | Delta T (*) | Apogee™ GTZ | 40.82 °C | Apogee™ XT (factory inlet configuration) | 37.88 °C | Apogee™ XT (alternate inlet configuration) (**) | 37.99 °C | Reference competitive data (Heatkiller rev3.0) | 39.39 °C |
Comments: - In factory configuration, the Apogee™ XT showed a 3°C improvement over the Apogee™ GTZ.
- A 1.5 °C improvement was observed compared the best competitive waterblock tested in our lab.
- The temperature degradation between factory inlet configuration and alternate inlet configuration was 0.1°C
(*) Delta T is the difference in temperature between averaged CPU core temperature as reported by RealTemp and averaged air temperature reported by 3 thermal probes located at the fans inlets. (**) Alternate inlet configuration is when the inlet is rotated at 180° to allow installation of extra large compression fittings. Motherboard and CPU CompatibilityThe Apogee™ XT is shipped with a universal hold-down plate and retention mechanism compatible with all Intel® Core™ desktop processors: socket 775, socket 1156, and socket 1366. The motherboard back-plate is included for Core™ i7, and will also be included for Core™ i5 upon product availability, which is expected mid-october 2009. This part will be mailed upon-request free of charge to all customers who purchase the block before the plate becomes available. The socket 775 motherboard back-plate is not included with the block, but you can contact Swiftech directly and they will send you one at no charge.
Hold-down plates for other processors, such as AMD's and server platforms will be released in the coming weeks and available in option. Fittings & tubing compatibility The Apogee™ XT ships pre-installed with chrome plated high flow 1/4" BSPP x 1/2" Eurostyle barbs; 3/8" barb fittings are available in option. Specifications
Exploded view- The 225 µm (0.009") micro pin matrix is at the heart of the Apogee™ XT lowest ever thermal resistance.
The cold plate surface is topographically mapped to provide an optimized TIM joint with socket LGA 771, 775, 1156 and 1366 compatible processors. As a result, the Apogee™ XT requires a specific mounting orientation with respect to the CPU socket in order to optimize performance as illustrated below:
- The housing is CNC machined out of brass, and designed for impingement cooling over the CPU hottest area. The flow path, as illustrated below shows that the Apogee™XT is port specific: inlet and outlet cannot be interchanged.
- Net Weight: 15.1 ounces (428 grams)
Notes: - Socket 1156 motherboard back-plate included
- Socket 775 motherboard back-plate included free of charge upon request.
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