Swiftech MC370 Socket-370 Peltier Cooler

Three Flavors

The MC370 is offered in three different performance "grades." Each one offers a different level of cooling and carries a different price tag depending on how expensive the device is to make.

The baseline MC370 does not feature a Peltier junction at all; instead it is simply the high quality heatsink and noisy, yet effective, 60mm fan capable of moving 33 cfm. The heatsink measures in at 2.5" x 2.5" (exactly half the size of the MC1000's heatsink), with a total of 196 ¾" pin fins. The fan operates at a rotational speed of 6850 RPM and generates a noisy 43 dB of sound. While the issue of noise isn't as big once the case is on, if you're used to having a quiet case (i.e. Palo Alto, or anything with a Delta Electronics PSU) then it may be a bit disturbing for you.

This bare bones configuration is sold as the MC370-0 and is intended to compete with the Alpha line of heatsink/fan combos. It offers, by far, the best price to performance ratio for Celeron owners and does a good job of keeping your overclocked CPU running stable. The MC370-0 is sold through Swiftech at a fairly pricey $49.95, but, with it, you do get a very high quality unit that may help you get that extra cooling necessary to remain stable at an overclocked setting. Whether an extra $50 is worth the 30 - 60MHz jump in clock speed is up to you to decide.

Where the MC370 family gets interesting is with the MC370-1 and MC370-2 products.

The MC370-1 is the first in the MC370 line that boasts a TEC unit. The 32W TEC measures in at 30 mm^2 and operates at 6 C to 30 C (43 F to 86 F depending on CPU load and ambient temperature). Keep in mind that these are the operating temperature ranges of the TEC, not of the CPU you are cooling. Just because your TEC is running at 6 C doesn't mean that your Celeron 500 is going to be running at that temperature at all. As you can see, the specs of the MC370-1 are seriously toned down from the MC1000's specs, so don't expect an equal level of performance from this $75 cooler.

The MC370-1 features the same heatsink/fan combo that is sold as the MC370-0 which is the key to the success of the entire Swiftech line. Without these heatsink/fan combos, these TECs would be generating entirely too much heat to be of any use.

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The MC370-2 makes use of the same 72W TEC that is present on the MC1000, measuring in at 40 mm^2 (surface area of the TEC) yet only has a heatsink with half the surface area as the one on the MC1000 to dissipate its heat with. This is the ultimate downfall of the MC370 series -- the size restraints placed on the heatsinks by the Socket-370 form factor. The operating range of the MC370-2's 72W TEC is from -3 C to 18 C (26 F to 64 F, once again, depending on CPU load and ambient temperature). The MC370-2 goes for $85 on Swiftech's homepage.