Verdict: Great in 2006, outdated in 2008.

We first saw the Apex Ultra way back in the middle of 2006 and were immediately impressed by its high performance and ease of installation. Unfortunately, as with most computer hardware, remaining in production for so long isn't necessarily a good thing. Modern CPUs produce considerably more waste heat than their forebears, and it's harder to extract heat from their smaller transistors.

The Apex Ultra is a traditional water-cooling kit, comprising four main components: CPU waterblock, pump, radiator and reservoir. However, unlike most kits, the Apex Ultra is a complete system in a box; in addition to all the fittings and tubing, it also includes an in-depth A4 manual complete with a step-by-step photo guide showing how to assemble all the components. Such comprehensive documentation is rare in the extreme, and makes the Apex Ultra far easier to install than the 'collection of bits slung together in a box for easier shipping' that the term 'water-cooling kit' usually implies.

At the heart of the Apex Ultra is the Swiftech Apogee GT waterblock, which is supplied with mounts for all CPUs except LGA771 Xeons (an adaptor for these is available as an optional extra). This large waterblock has a copper interior, with a base studded with what Swiftech refers to as a 'diamond pin matrix'. When first launched, the waterblock was attached to the motherboard via a combination of bolts, nuts, springs and washers, but this has been replaced by a far simpler mechanism in recent revisions. You now simply screw screw four corner posts into a baseplate on the underside of the motherboard.

The Swiftech MCR220-QP is a self-purging dual 120mm-fan radiator, so it doesn't matter if it's mounted horizontally or vertically. Also included is a Swiftech MCB-120 Rev 2 Radbox, an ingenious device that allows you to mount the radiator on any 80mm, 92mm or 120mm fan mount on the outside of your case if there isn't room inside your PC. The two fans run at 12V, but can be configured to run at 7V or 5V via a set of adaptor cables if they too make too much noise at 12V.

Swiftech calls the pump in the Apex Ultra the MCP655, but it's actually a rebranded Laing D5, the same pump as that supplied with the Danger Den kit and high-end Swiftech custom kit. The D5 is one of the most powerful pumps available, so Swiftech also supplies a thick layer of rubber to prevent vibrations from being transmitted to the case. As it's almost impossible to fit the supplied 7/16in ID tubing over the input and output barbs, we'd recommend soaking the tubing in hot water for a few moments beforehand to soften the ends.

Bubble removal duties are handled by a Swiftech MCRES-Micro, a small, transparent plastic reservoir. This compact unit has six retention points, so it's easy to install almost anywhere in your case. Its vertical design also makes filling and bleeding much easier than it is with kits supplied with a bay reservoir. As mentioned, all the components need to be connected with 7/16in ID tubing, which should be filled with distilled or deionised water mixed with Hydrx, a dark green coolant additive that prevents the growth of algae and inhibits corrosion.The 7/16in ID tubing provides a slightly higher flow rate than the more commonly used 1/2in ID tubing, but it's less flexible, making it harder to route around inside the case.

With the fans spinning at 12V, the Apex Ultra cooled the CPU to 7ûC lower than the Tuniq Tower 120; this is a disappointing result, given that Swiftech's own cheaper H2O-220 Compact cooled the CPU by a further 5ûC. With the fans set to 7V, the CPU ran at the same temperature as it did with the Tuniq Tower 120 fitted, and at 5V, the CPU was so hot that it caused Orthos to crash.

As the Apex Ultra provided such poor cooling power for a dual 120mm-fan radiator kit, we remounted the waterblock several times, each time to no avail. Interestingly, the Vadim custom kit also includes the Apogee GT waterblock and provided similarly disappointing CPU cooling. As such, we can only conclude that, while the waterblock was great for cooling Pentium 4 CPUs back in 2006, it isn't ideal for cooling overclocked Core 2 Quad CPUs, which not only have a higher TDP, but also a much higher heat density. Given that the entire kit retails for just over £150, we can no longer recommend the Apex Ultra, despite the strong selection of components and great manual.

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