Swiftech Komodo HD7970 Preview

[aleicgrant]

ok more follow up. After posting in several forums there is a feeling that the block might be touching a resistor on the card forcing to it to ground out.

I know it was mentioned that clearance work was done on the cards when they arrived but it is possible the issue may still be a problem.

This was one of the responses.


My guess is that some part of the copper block is on a resistor or similarly dead grounding the card. Even the back plate for that matter.

[Vetalar]

attach some tape on all copper surface of block (except GPU, VRAM and VRM areas of course) same with backplate. then install and fire up rig, if it run well - short circuit somewhere. also make sure You not over-tighten screws (=bending)

[aleicgrant]

ok some more follow up.

After almost 24 hours of non stop testing and adjustments we finally have the block installed and bootable. We had to do some machining of our own and adjustments to each of the screws. I am not sure if this is going to be a problem for others but if just ONE of the screws is too tight it gave us a ground out. I cant tell you how tedious a process this was. The block itself was still ever so slightly touching a resistor so we did some additional polishing

After all this I forgot to attach the lead for the light but I am not even going to attempt to open the block up again...... pics included.

[ElGreco]

attach some tape on all copper surface of block (except GPU, VRAM and VRM areas of course) same with backplate. then install and fire up rig, if it run well - short circuit somewhere. also make sure You not over-tighten screws (=bending)

I am very sorry to hear this!

I am waiting for the new batch of blocks to become available... The thing is that your post reminds me what i had to deal with my 6990 swiftech epsilon waterblock. Unfortunately, my 6990 card was completely bricked. Gabe provided great support and based on my pictures he identified a serious bending of the block. So, he will replace the block with new ones for 7970...

Still, you are lucky, since in my case i spent 1100 euros to buy 2x 7970s to replace the 6990 (that is EOL prduct)
Now,... why do i insist on swiftech products after this? Mainly, because i really appreciated the direct support and interest on my issue by Swiftech/Gabe (and of course because their blocks are extremely beautiful )

Lets hope i will not have to deal with any problem again... Guys, tell us your opinions about your experience with the new blcks, please!

[gabe]

FYI, as soon as I learnt about the issue, I asked Aleic (via our forum) to contact us for support, but he never did, and decided instead to troubleshoot the issue himself. We connected over the phone today but due to mutual schedule couldn't discuss this in any detail.
I am therefore unable to report the exact nature of the issue. We should have a complete update tomorrow.

[ElGreco]

FYI, as soon as I learnt about the issue, I asked Aleic (via our forum) to contact us for support, but he never did, and decided instead to troubleshoot the issue himself. We connected over the phone today but due to mutual schedule couldn't discuss this in any detail.
I am therefore unable to report the exact nature of the issue. We should have a complete update tomorrow.

Based on my experience, I am 100% sure that you oferred to support this issue I was wondering (and this is just a thought) is it the screw tightening that fixed the problem OR the fact that he did NOT connect/power the light of the block the last time, something that could possiblycreate a sort circuit?

Will be looking forward for his/your feedback on this... (I really cannot jeoperdise to spend any more money on GPUs if there is the slightest chance of bricking my cards)

[gabe]

As planned with him yesterday, I called Aleic twice today, 10am and 1PM, and left message but no one picked-up. So I still don't know what went wrong with his install.

[jaredpace]

Poorly engineered? Care to elaborate?

That is a horrible card man. So many issues. The temperature sensors, BSODs, VRMs have no cooling, run at extreme temperatures, the cards throttle, run hot, crash, and don't overclock for anything. dCUII is a lame product, and a lame PCB, you cant mount pots on the PCB (unlike ASUS's matrix boards). The only glaring positive is the large array of power phases, but with so many problems, and seeing the reference boards clock higher, it cancels any benefits. Just search around some popular forums for some experiences with that board. It is the worst board I've seen so far, by far. And IMO it's due to bad design, quality control, and effort. It has some great characterisitics that could make it a real power-house card, but it just doesnt deliver QC. The 7970 reference design is much better. The MSI R7970 lighting is a great board, but I havent seen too many positive reviews on that fan and the quality and effectiveness of the HSF's mounting. It's mostly that it ran hot or fan made too much noise to not cool it to the expectations. At least the lightning is a proven PCB that can do high clocks on cold, the dcuII is nowhere NEAR the MATRIX or Lightning. DCUII 7900 cards = poor as the poster above you said. Matrix/Lighting = great board, meh fans. At least cooler & quieter than ref blower, but so is a shotgun so...

[tiborrr]

That is a horrible card man. So many issues. The temperature sensors, BSODs, VRMs have no cooling, run at extreme temperatures, the cards throttle, run hot, crash, and don't overclock for anything. dCUII is a lame product, and a lame PCB, you cant mount pots on the PCB (unlike ASUS's matrix boards). The only glaring positive is the large array of power phases, but with so many problems, and seeing the reference boards clock higher, it cancels any benefits. Just search around some popular forums for some experiences with that board. It is the worst board I've seen so far, by far. And IMO it's due to bad design, quality control, and effort.

[offtopic]I would disagree, I can run my DC2T at 1300MHz GPU at mere 1.25Vgpu (1.17V real). Voltmodding is easy, if you use R4E it's even simpler, otherwise you just solder the VR to the FB point which are brought right to the edge of the PCB. Simple as it can be.

Don't take anything you read on forums for granted.
[/offtopic]

[gabe]

Well People, other than a brief conversation between Aleic and Stephen (our thermal engineer), I haven't been able to personnaly connect with him for more than 30 seconds yet.. so I really have no feed-back to report.

But since I was concerned about these early shipments, I contacted all early adopters, and so far received one response.

Here is what Charles of Saint Charles (IL) an early adopter of the product for his XFX 7970 Black Edition had to say:

Upon first getting the block and looking over what was included, I was blown away. You get so much for your money and the quality is top notch. I actually purchased the komodo to replace a aquacomputer waterblock that I had already installed on my 7970. A week or so before placing the order I removed the aqua block and noticed that almost half of the memory chips were not making contact. The aqua block doesn’t use thermal pads to mate the memory chips to the block, it’s supposed to sit flush with thermal paste as a medium between them. I had concerns with this design from the get go because in the past I have used danger den blocks on a pair of 470’s with a similar design and also the same issue. After a few days of having the komodo attached to the card, I pulled it off to inspect how it was attaching and was pleased to see imprints of the chips in the thermal pads. In terms of cooling, it’s about on par with the aqua computer block, but I have a feeling most of that was due to the memory not actually making contact and transferring it’s heat. My card has a factory overclock applied to it and normally the highest temps I see at full load while gaming is 41-42c, but it has been a little higher since the weather has been getting warmer.

Going back to the visual aspect of the komodo, it’s a great looking block! Everytime I open my case to change something around, I always find myself taking a moment to look at the card/block. Because it is FULL coverage, there has been no warping of the PCB. The included backplate is such a great thing to have included with the kit. The aquacomputer block would warp the heck out of the card, it was almost a balancing act. The only thing I am a little disappointed about, and this is a small issue, is the look of the single slot bracket included. Prior I had the EK single bracket installed and theirs was a shiny silver like the oem one. The one included was a dull gray bracket that reminded me of an old packard bell case. But in this case, it’s function over form.

I’ve owned Danger Den, EK & aquacomputer gpu blocks and this is by far my favorite. I honestly could not be happier with the performance of the block, the ease of installation, fitment and just the overall quality.

[Edit] As an early adopter, Charles received one of the very first PCI brackets that was unpainted. Upon official product release, on April 6, all the PCI brackets have a beautiful black paint coat on'em!

[ElGreco]

Great news!

Have you received the new batch of blocks or not yet?

[gabe]

Yes, since April 6, date of the official roll-out.

[bundymania]

..still waiting for my block Gabe All other blocks (EK, Watercool, Aquacomputer, XSPC) are already here since some weeks. Check your email pls.

[gabe]

It shipped today via express mail together with the other item you requested.

[ElGreco]

Just sent this morning a reminder email to Michelle (Cc you).

Looking forward to enjoy these waterblocks and the Xfire Bridge... Of course i still have some concerns regarding serial vs parallel but i guess both ways more or less are ok. I wish there was a serial configuration bridge as a choice though...

[stephenswiftech]

What are you concerns about parallel? maybe we can clear that up =)

[gabe]

If you want to do serial, you can very easily, and it will cost you even less than doing parallel. Just connect the blocks with one (1) of these:




Of course, we think (and have demonstrated) that parallel is better, but hey, if you want to do serial, its your system!

[gabe]

With further reference to Aleicgrant's post above here is additional info.

I was still unable to talk to Aleic yesterday (left message) but he left the following message on our forum:

"sorry I was not able to connect again. Pressing client needs.

That said I want everyone to know that my posts were not to in any way dissuade any of you from buying this block. it is without a doubt one of the finest I have ever seen. I am confident the issues I had were likely due to my card (xfx 3gb black edition with dual fans) may have had some slight changes over reference and thus really not a supported card.

I will continue to try and get with Gabe and Stephen but I encourage you all to buy without any concern. You wont regret it"

I responded as follows:


Thanks for the post Aleic, but both you and Charles (the testimonial I reprinted above) have the same card.

You had issues, Charles didn't.

This card is AMD reference, so there should be no probem at all. As I posted in other forums, I do have a theory, but it is pure speculation at this point. These cards have pretty long capacitor & vr's lead wires sticking out at the back of the card. Sometimes these are not cut even, and/or sometimes they could be bent. Maybe one lead wire on your card was touching the back-plate? There are cutouts on the back plate to provide clearance for these, and there is a mylar insulation covering the entire surface of the back-plate. Maybe an extra long lead wire was pocking thru the insulation? this would explain why you ended-up fixing the problem by adjust the amount of torque on the screws. Stephen mentionned that one screw in particular was having the most effect on eliminating your issue? I bet that if you remove the back-plate, you might be able to observe a tiny puncture in the mylar insulation in this area, and that would be your culprit. Then all you'd have to do is take you nail clippers, and cut 1mm off that stem, and your problem be solved.


But again this is pure speculation at this point. However, if you had called me for support like I asked you, the first thing I would have told you would have been to install the block without the pack-plate, and we would have known immediately if this was the problem instead of you wasting 24 hours in trying to troubleshoot the issue and post your frustration in 5 different forums.

Meanwhile, I received another testimonial following the circular email I sent out to early adopters; here is what Eduardo from San DiegO (CA) had to say:

The installation of the Swiftech Komodo 7970 on my Asus 7970 reference model was successful. I had two small concerns. I apparently was shipped extra screws, which at first made me think I hadn’t secured the block properly. I double and tripled checked to make sure I didn’t miss any screw holes required for the installation (I didn’t). The other concern was with the screws that have the coarse thread, which screw into the black acetal. Fastening these coarse thread screws required more force than I would have liked. If would have been nice if fine thread machine screws like the ones used on the base plate (copper) would be used for fastening to the housing (Black POM acetal). I would also suggest a polished or plated pci braket as opposed to the dull gray one included but it’s very minor annoyance. I had no issues with the extra long capacitor or any unwanted contacted between the Komodo and the components on the 7970 . When I was done with the rest of my water loop I fired up the system with no issues.

The product is great and goes well with my case Obsidian 550D. My temps on load using MSI’s Kombustor (extreme burn-in) hover at 58 C this was on a warm 70 F day in San Diego. Overall I am very satisfied, good job on a great product.

If I were to rate the Komodo HD 7970 I would give it 5 stars. It is a very nice block that performs well.


[Edit] Early adopters received an unpainted PCI bracket. Production is shipping with a beautiful black paint. We are sending replacement brackets to both Charles and Eduardo.

[ElGreco]

If you want to do serial, you can very easily, and it will cost you even less than doing parallel. Just connect the blocks with one (1) of these:...

Of course, we think (and have demonstrated) that parallel is better, but hey, if you want to do serial, its your system!

What are you concerns about parallel? maybe we can clear that up =)

Gabe, Stephen I really appreciate your feedback / response to my comment. Belw is one of the threads that raised some concerns to me regarding parallel configuration:
http://www.overclock.net/t/979304/pa...it-of-evidence

My concerns are:
a. Possibly Stagnant water within a waterblock
b. Possible blockage of one of the 2 waterblocks that will not be immediately identified by my Flow rate sensor that would in different case shut down my pc immediately preventing any damage.

Perhaps this is overjealus safety from my part, so if you believe that the chances for a or b are really minimal i will be MORE than happy to use your marvellous X2 bridge !

[stephenswiftech]

The pictures in this link only shows that this large area on the left is a recirculation area where no effective flow is present. But this area is also very large which induces, locally, extremely low fluid velocity. Water like all fluids like shortcut, if it sees one it'll use it. Which is why I am not surprised with the fact all but the first channel are also covered with the same deposit.

This is more a consequence of this specific design than the fact the cards were installed in parallel.


Unless you are running excessively low pressure drop blocs (i.e. blocks that need a high flow rate to be decent, performance wise), there is no reason to install two GPUs in series.


To remain on topic, The Komodo series is designed for great performance from low flow rates to high flow rates. As stated before unless your loop flow rate is lower than 0.5 GPM, you are safe running Komodo's in parallel.

[ElGreco]

The pictures in this link only shows that this large area on the left is a recirculation area where no effective flow is present. But this area is also very large which induces, locally, extremely low fluid velocity. Water like all fluids like shortcut, if it sees one it'll use it. Which is why I am not surprised with the fact all but the first channel are also covered with the same deposit.
This is more a consequence of this specific design than the fact the cards were installed in parallel.
Unless you are running excessively low pressure drop blocs (i.e. blocks that need a high flow rate to be decent, performance wise), there is no reason to install two GPUs in parallel.
To remain on topic, The Komodo series is designed for great performance from low flow rates to high flow rates. As stated before unless your loop flow rate is lower than 0.5 GPM, you are safe running Komodo's in parallel.

I use a Mora3 pro with 2x D5 pumps in series, CPU370 wb, northbridge wb by Mips, 5 feet of tubes and hopefully soon 2xKomodo7970 wb. Currently i run my d5 pumps only at power setting 2 of 5, with a flow of 2.3 ltrs/min, but with no GPU waterblcks installed.

I really like the design of komodo bridge and will give it a try!

Thanks for your feedback!

[bundymania]

Up and running this nice block !

[ElGreco]

Its a really beautiful block

If you dont mind i have some questions, while i am waiting to receive mine...
1. Are there any specials you came across during the installation of the block?
2. Did you use the enclosed tim paste?
3. Is there a reason you did not use the enclosed bracket?
4. I suppose that the minor cosmetic defects with the sticker the first batch had, are no longer ther as Gabe stated

It would be nice to have a review about this block regarding its performance (core and vrm temps, pressure drop etc)

Thanks!

[bundymania]

1. You have to use the "metal thing" from the orginal air cooler in the middle with the longer swiftech screws and orig. springs. there is only a picture in the manual without detailed infos
2. Nope, because i tested several blocks for a review i use always the same paste
3. yes, i just mounted the block for my test followed by 2-3 other blocks afterwards
4. Exactly, the sticker looks good and smooth.
Performance is very good

[ElGreco]

Fantastic!

Thanks a lot for your answer...

It would be nice to know also about which thermal paste is considered to be the best for this kind of "operation". Please have a look at your PM

@Gabe Would tou please tell us the thermal paste brand included with the Komodo?

Thanks!