CPU Water Block Round Up APOGEE GT/GTX vs. STORM vs. FuZion vs. APOGEE vanilla

Appearance

APOGEE GT

I’m going to cut to the chase in this section. Everyone knows what an APOGEE looks like at this point, and the APOGEE GT is no different looking once it’s installed. There are internal differences, but I’ll get into that later. The important bit to take away from the appearance of this block is the beautiful finish on the bottom of it. This block has a much nicer shine to it than my old APOGEE or the STORM that was actually a later production unit. That means Swiftech has revamped their finishing process for the APOGEE GT and GTX. Check it out


The GTX looks dramatically different from anything that Swiftech or anyone I know of has released in the past. Here for your viewing pleasure is the Swiftech APOGEE GTX:

APOGEE GTX
This is a great look on the eVGA 680i board, or any other black board with aluminum/chrome/silver accents. Up close I have to say it looks a little bit rough around the edges where the filing was done, but from about 3-4ft away this is not noticeable.

Once concern I did have about this block is the fact that the top is made out of treated aluminum. I spoke to a Swiftech representative about this and he assures me that the finish on these blocks will stand up just fine to the test of time, and that galvanic corrosion (from mixing metals in one loop, ie both copper and aluminum in one loop) will not be a problem with the Swiftech APOGEE GTX.

One other thing that I did notice was that when I screwed the barbs in, they were difficult to insert and they felt like they might be scraping the inside of the block… I have no idea what effect that would have on the treatment that Swiftech has applied to the aluminum, but hopefully it won't cause any long-term problems.


What’s included with the APOGEE GT?

Once again I’ll let a picture speak for me. Swiftech includes everything you’ll need to operate an APOGEE GT on LGA775, LGA1207, S939, S940, AM2, and Socket 478. You will need to install a different back plate if you want to use Socket AM2, but it’s quite easy to do, and you’re going to want to remove the top of the block to install the thick O-ring that Swiftech provides (more on this later).

Swiftech also includes a first class installation manual. I'll talk more about this in the installation section.