3DVelocity would like to thank Swiftech and especially Gabriel Rouchon (Swiftech Founder, President, CEO) for their help and courtesy in providing this cooler for review.

Performance :

To test the performance of the MCX370, I decided to round up a few quality heat sinks and re-test from scratch. Idle results were taken after 30 minutes of sitting with all background tasks closed, while stressed results were taken after 30 minutes of Prime95 and 3DMark 2001 with T&L disabled.

Test System :

AMD Athlon 1000 @ 1104 (138x8)
ATi Radeon 64MB DDR VIVO Retail
SBLive 1024
DFI AK76-SN Motherboard
256MB Crucial PC2100 DDR
Arctic Silver (original) TIM

All readings were taken using the motherboard's thermistor, so while not degree accurate, any inaccuracies will be duplicated for each heatsink tested.

Room temperature : 23 Celsius
Case Temperature : 26 Celsius

	Idle	Stressed
Swiftech MCX370-0A	32	38
Thermaltake Super Orb	38	46
Alpha PEP36T	38	44
Zalman CNPS5000+	35	41
Kanie Hedgehog 294M	37	45
Kanie Hedgehog 238M	37	46
Thermosonic ThermoEngine (36CFM fan)	35	41

PROs
Excellent performance
Processor friendly mounting
Acceptable noise levels
Well constructed
Relatively low weight
Quality base finish

CONs
No RPM monitoring

Conclusion :

Whether by luck or by design, the MCX370 is one supreme cooler. The Pabst fan is a superb choice offering excellent performance without risking long term deafness and the overall build quality is right up there with the very best available.

To get this level of performance without having half a tonne of Copper attempting to rip the socket from your motherboard is a virtue in itself, but to have it in such a relatively compact and neatly designed package is almost too good to be true.

From its simple but effective mounting mechanism to its super flat micro surface finish base the Swiftech does just about everything right, and only the lack of RPM monitoring in its factory configuration spoils things.

For the hardened overclocker, the MCX370 should be considered a prime choice, and much as I admire the Thermosonic ThermoEngine, I'm afraid the time has come for it to step aside and make room for the new champion.