two new D5 top/res from XSPC

[Neutronman]

I found that the brushed alu bezel matched the ATCs 840 perfect back last year but noticed it was a real tight fit which i pointed out to XSPC and they apparently knocked 1mm off the width since then so maybe you were using old stock as they are meant to fit well now with rubber vibration mount things so are silent as well

I wouldn't know if I had old or new stock, I bought it from Performance PC less than one month ago. It was almost impossible to get in with the rubber grommets, I certainly don't recommend this product... Also I noticed a number of fractures in the acrylic on the curved inlet tube, so QA is questionable to say the least. Having said this I am pleased with XSPC's res top....

[Captain_Harlock]

Unsued and first impressions here:

Ok, so here are a few unboxing pics of the new XSPC dual bay D5 res. Sorry about the quality of the pics. Resizing seemed to add a bit of nasty grain. Anway, in the 1st pic

you see the whole kit & kabodle. No instructions (XSPC seems to have devloped a bad habbit of that over the past two years), and the box if generic for all of the current res

lines. None of the apporiate items were maked off on the box, so lets hope they dont ever have a mix up in their wherehouse one day.

Contents: There is a pack of srews for mounting the D5 to the res, a pack for mounting the res to the bay, and a pack for the pace plate should you choose to use one. They

have also included an alan key for the face plate screws. Speaking of the face plates, there are two as you can see. One is black and the other is unfinished aluminum. The

black one is classic brushed aluminum and hard anodized in black, The plain aluminum plate is not brushed. Its just plane jane, flat. It is not anodized at all. Both have

a reflective XSPC logo in the lower right part of the plate.

The mounting plate has a fresh O-ring for the D5. I would of course recommend that you use the included O-ring as I'm sure XSPC has made sure it seats well with its product.

There is also an included elcetric blue 5v LED atached to a molex conenctor. I can find no place to attach it directly to the res, so I'm not really sure why it is included

unless XSPC is trying to clean house on them. Then again, there are side seperators for bays that have dividers in them. You may be able to shove the LED in the seperation

if you dont have a bay seperator getting in the way, but I dont think it would look very good. So its there, and up to you to figure out a use for it. NOTE to XSPC: in a

revision, give us a ghost plug like primochill for LED's. Thanks for the thought though.

The res is typical XSPC res quality. Really thick and heavy. In short, its built like a cinderblock. The res itself if pretty small. Almost like a swiftech micro res. The

other half is just open housing for the D5. The res is unique in design. The head that the D5 mounts into is made with sharp lines and the output line does not directly

connect to the head. Instead it just relies on pressure in the res to force liquid out a tube with a 90 degree bend. You can see the inside tube with the bend in the pic.

What you cant see is that it does not connect directly to the D5. Its got about a 1/3" space between it and the new top. Not happy with that as I think we missed a great

opportunity for a performance enhancement on this design. But then again, I've never been a good judge on these things. Something about it just seems wrong to me. I think

we will have to wait for one of the more serious testers to give us some real data. At best I'll just be able to say if the the thing works or not and wether leaks or not.

^_^


Now the clarity of unit is pretty good. Its not as clear as something like the micro res, but still pretty good. If you decide to go with a black sparkle housing for the D5

and no XSPC faceplate then it should showup really well. But of course you will have to find a way for the black sparkle to stick to the body since you wont be able to tuse the mounting ring.

The face of the unit still has its protective plastic cover on it so dont judge the clarity based on what you see in

pic 3. I'm just not ready to remove it until I decide on how I'm gonna mount it. There are rubber grommets for mounting screws on the top part of the bay and rubber stand

offs in the bottom part to help cusion the bay against vibration. This is NOT a rail friendly res. But some cases allow for rail or screw mounts on some bays. This will

mount fine in those bays. Most CM cases are good examples of this. This is going in a moded stacker 810 and should fit fine. So beaware of your bays before you order.

The D5 mounting is a little odd, but the only logical choice considering the design of the unit. You place the D5 in its new top with its new O-ring. Then you place the

unidirectional backplate over the D5. You place the screws in by hand and hand tighten. To finish it, you use a long screwdriver and place it through 4 holes drilled on the

opposite side of the unit and then cross point tighten the screws to finish the job. Again, its really obvious on how to do it so no instructions are needed. Just have a

standard or longer sized screw driver on hand as a short one wont reach since the access point is on the opposite side of the unit. I'll hook it up in the next day or too and

run it for the next week or three while I work on my other rigs. I'll try and shoot a quick vid for those who want to hear it in action, but it will not be in a case. Just

a simple return loop and thats it.

I would like to add this little note. I think that since the D5 mounting area is open it will allow decent cooling for the D5, but since its tucked inside of the unit it may

not get enough fresh air and over a length period of time, it could prove a pump killer. Again, time will tell. The T3 kept the D5 hanging out the back of it and it was

surrounded with fresh air. This only has one open spot and kees the pump tucked sideways in the bay away from airflow. We will see how well this design works.

I also wanted to say that I'm not trying to complain about the res. I'm only pointing out what I think may be problems to be worked out in a future revision of the unit.

Personaly, I think its good and practicle design for keeping the D5 out of the way and tubing running its shortest length for the most efficent loop you can make. I stick

with D5's as I prefer the lower tone that they seem to give off. Also my loops are simple CPU only loops and I dont need the extra head pressure one can get form the 255 or

two of them. That being the case, I would like to see more bay res's for D5's show up for clean simple loop builds and I'm happy with what I see out of this unit. Now lts

see what the T4 and (hopefully) Geno can bring to the table in the near future.

***EDIT***
Wow, I have no idea why the spacing of my little review came out like that. Go figure as I'm to lazy to try and fix it. \m/ ^_^ \m/

[imersa]

Think I'm going to order that res for my v300

[sfield]

I purchased a Typhoon 3 Rev.A a couple weeks ago. It lasted about a week before developing many cracks, running a variable speed D5 at lowest setting (1). So, I got a refund and purchased the XSPC as a replacement.

Here are some differences:

• XSPC unit weighs 18oz (empty). T3 weighs 9.25oz (empty).
• XSPC unit holds 250ml liquid. T3 holds approximately 500ml liquid.
• XSPC pump mounting area is about 3/4" thick. T3 is 2-3mm thick...
• XSPC unit doesn't require modifying 5.25" "shelf" spanning dual bays -- it has a notch. T3 does require modifications, at least for an ATSC840 case.
  
• XSPC is a very tight fit in an ATSC840 case. I removed two grommets to make this easier.
• XSPC unit lacks a front fill/drain port.
• XSPC unit is basically impossible to adjust a variable speed D5 once installed. Could drill a hole in one of the grommet spots for access from the side.
• XSPC unit only supports one loop, whereas T3 supports two loops (assuming it doesn't fail).
• XSPC unit feels very solid. T3 feels extremely flimsy in comparison.

I haven't setup the loop yet. Will post more impressions and photos later.
Two comparison photos below.

[Waterlogged]

Guys, lets not turn this into a XSPC vs. Primochill thread, the T3 is a dead product, so comparisons aren't need nor necessary.

[Captain_Harlock]

Well, the T3 is the only other D5 res we can compare features with. At least for the momment. If the T4 comes out soon and then Geno brings out something (so the rumor goes) then we can start comparing features. Were not trying to turn it into a product war. For some those that have already owned the T3, its the best way to get new attention on the new unit as a viable replacement.

[Waterlogged]

Unless things have change between Geno and Primochill (I really doubt this). .anything new, including the aforementioned Delrin version, will be either from Geno himself or some other company as he never sold that version to PC.

[Captain_Harlock]

I was just going by recent claims on several boards. I cant remeber if it was here or at overclockers that somebody said that the T4 (without Geno) was comming out in a matter of days from now.

[Waterlogged]

I was just going by recent claims on several boards. I cant remeber if it was here or at overclockers that somebody said that the T4 (without Geno) was comming out in a matter of days from now.

From PC?

[Alexandr0s]

I was just going by recent claims on several boards. I cant remeber if it was here or at overclockers that somebody said that the T4 (without Geno) was comming out in a matter of days from now.

Hmm, all I've seen so far is a note on their site saying they stopped producing the T3 because they want to use their time and resources to focus on their new reservoir product line.

[Captain_Harlock]

I dont understand your question Waterlogged. And Alexandr0s, I dont remember what boards I saw some of the posts the past couple of weeks. I've just seen a number of rumors about little things here and there. The one board I dont read is RRR so I know its wasnt there. But OC'ers, HOCP, and a number of European boards tend to just pile up a ton of bable and junk when it comes to daily info for me. Very easy to get lost in the topics with so many boards, let alone remember a specific post (though you would be amazed how many of the same people you see at so many different boards).

But the reason I even brought it up was to point out that those of us who want a bay res (for whatever reason) for the D5 have very few options and doing direct comparisons of those options helps to make a better a buying decision and show how things are progressing from previous attempts. As far as the T3 being dead, I've seen quite a few for sale on ebay and the amazon market place over the past few months (though as their numbers dry up they seem to show up less and less now). It was in no way meant to be a bash the now dead T3 and cause any problems. Had I known that it would bother others so much I would have never compared the two and just said I liked the thing.

Lets just leave it at that and I'll stay out of this topic in the future to avoid any further problems.

[Elmy]

I ordered this res as well and will be installing it this weekend. I'll keep you guys updated on how it works out. I've gone thru 2 T3's now and Have 2 T3 revisions A's from RMAing sitting in my workshop and I don't plan on installing them.

[coolmiester]

Although i don't doubt that Brian started out with good intentions with the T3 as i, like many find the concept appealing but for whatever reason, (undoubtedly money) i just feel it was rushed to the market without adequate testing but i honestly can't see the problem with comparing any new D5 Bay Res with it as like it or not it pretty much was the first to market so surely sets a decent bench mark.

A hell of a lot of people were suckered into the spin and backed Geno and his T3 whole heartedly and are now having to eat humble pie which might be the reason some want to brush it under the carpet, sort of "out of sight, out of mind" but the fact remains it set the benchmark no matter how low that bench mark was.

[Elmy]

Very true. I wish the design held up. I loved it and it looked awesome in the case but after 2 cracking and leaking all over inside my pc I moved on to try to find something similar and bought an older XSPC Pump / Res Double bay design but the pump in it isn't as strong as a D5 so when this came up on Monday at PPCS I bought it right away along with about 400 bucks in other stuff. New Silverstone 1000W Strider Plus power supply with UV blue wiring , all UV blue connectors and all UV blue sleeving. Im going to be busy this weekend sleeving. I also bought 12 High CFM UV blue yates for my 2 Thermochill rads. So im going to be a little busy this weekend. Happy Fathers day to me :-)

[coolmiester]

Actually just a reminder of what i did say about the T3 back in 07-28-2009

Ask yourself this..............If i saw these fundamental flaws so early on, why did the designer and die hard crew try to make the T3 out to be some kind of Holy Grail and insist everything was fine and dandy

My Typhoon III Res Experience

I've not actually read Skinnees test on the T3 and have no intention of tbh but just thought i'd add a few of my own personal thoughts on the T3.

I think the over all idea is great and i've always been a fan of bay-reservoirs so one that has a build on pump is even better and makes for a real tidy set-up IMO.

Add to that the fact the compact unit can run dual loop is even more attractive to some as it keeps space and over all cost down as only one D5 is needed though the pay off is that only one colour liquid can be used for both loops which again some may think a small trade off given the cost they could save so that in itself gets my vote.

I did however immediately see a few minor problems which i have brought to the attention of the designer but for what ever reason rather than take these small issues on board and maybe rectify in future he decided to try and defend them which i found strange i must admit so don't hold your breath for any immediate changes.

The first being there is no recess from front to back like on the XSPC Res so that it can slide into most chassis and the only way around that is to snap off the small 5.25 bay tabs and secondly, the securing hols didn't align to any on the ATCs 840 so new holes needed to be drilled which i'm not sure how some would feel about doing that to a £200+ case.

On further inspection i also noticed that although Vincents fitting would screw into the T3 they leaked due to the fact the the T3 is made purposely to fit their own Ghost Fittings with a much larger collar than Vincents - again defended by the designer saying "that recess works to keep the O ring from blowing out when...call it overzealous or inexperienced users over tighten fittings." though id have much rather seen some kind of standard kept in line with other more popular fittings so the choice could be left to the end user rather than having the decision made for us.

One thing that hasn't been picked up on is the back hold down plate which holds the D5 in position i think should be either made from 2 to 3 mm thicker plexi as it hasn't got the strength to apply even pressure on the O ring and i guarantee some will have problems with this as i did on both mine.

Aesthetically, for me personally i find the actual front of the T3 a little busy looking for my liking though that is only my opinion and would of liked to have seen a much more elegant look as they certainly didn't look right in the ZOTAC mod at all and the reason why i opted to make new plexi blanc plates for a much more tidy look in keeping with my particular mod though i do understand new face plates are in the pipeline so although i'm eager to see how they look i still get the impression they won't be to my taste.........but that's just me.

Finally, i can't comment on how the T3 will perform in dual loop using one unit as i opted to go for two individual units so i could run two colour liquid but what i can say is they were both an absolute breeze to fill and bleed even though the case needed up-ending onto its back to do so but it meant every bit of air could be bled from the system so when the fill plug was finally screwed into place and the case was right-sided again there is absolutely no air in the system so no turbulence at all and have been running both on No. 2 setting ever since.

Over all i'm well happy with the final results and performance but i just think it could have been a much easier plug and play solution had a few issues been addressed prior to manufacture.

[veblen]

I want to thank those who shared their opinions in this thread. I've been trying to find reservoirs that can fit my D5 (in my CM 690 II Advanced case) and this is a strong contender. Before I pull the trigger however, does anyone have experience with the tank reservoir? It's slightly cheaper and can be mounted in places apart from the drive bays.

It's such a pity no one makes tube reservoirs that fit the D5! I know there's the dual EK one but why not a single?!

[Church]

You can use koolance's D5 top with tube res mounted on it, from EK only dual D5 tops have multilink option for tube reservoirs mounted on top.

[JeffyB]

How are these working out for people? i'm considering the d5 tank.

[Elmy]

Here are some more pics if anyone is interested in this unit. I will be installing mine this coming weekend. [IMG] Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/IMG]

[IMG] Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/IMG]

[IMG] Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/IMG]

[IMG] Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/IMG]

[sfield]

I've had the XSPC D5 bay res version installed for about 2 weeks now, in a system with (2) 5970's in the loop. I've been inspecting the unit regularly for any cracks or other defects -- none so far, and the unit is really built like a tank. Temperatures in the system aren't really any different than was the case with the Typhoon 3.

If you use a D5 variable speed pump, make sure you mount the pump such that the speed controller slot is rotated towards the front of the unit as much as possible -- if you do this, you can change the pump speed with a minor amount of difficulty by sliding the unit out from the bay about 1.5". I did this to facilitate testing of different flow rates in my system. I arrived at the conclusion that pump speed setting 1 was fine in a loop with (2) 5970s w/EK water blocks. The temperatures under sustained load weren't very different between speeds 1, 2, and 3. Speeds 4 and 5 produce too much noise for my liking, so I didn't bother testing these.

How are these working out for people? i'm considering the d5 tank.

[sfield]

Temperatures with the XSPC D5 bay res attached. Loop is (2) 5970's running at 950gpu (1.2375v), 1200 mem (1.1v). The is running Bad company 2 everything maxed @ 2560x1600. Under load, VRM temps are around 70C, GPU temps are are 48-55C. Temperature probe in the water at outlet of first card is 55C (waiting for Everest to add support for TMS-200).

[Barr3l Rid3r]

Temperatures with the XSPC D5 bay res attached. Loop is (2) 5970's running at 950gpu (1.2375v), 1200 mem (1.1v). The is running Bad company 2 everything maxed @ 2560x1600. Under load, VRM temps are around 70C, GPU temps are are 48-55C. Temperature probe in the water at outlet of first card is 55C (waiting for Everest to add support for TMS-200).

what rad are you using for that loop?

[antiacid]

After the Typhoon debacle, I'm staying away from acrylic res/pump combos out of principle. I'll consider it when they are made out of polycarbonate mixes or full copper/delrin/non-aluminum metals. Until then, have fun with fatigue cracks, bonding issues and vibration induced failure.

[NaeKuh]

, i think i'll replace the two T3's which literally disintegrated within weeks in the Zotac Mod Box with a couple of these

Dude CM, honestly speaking, if you cant even salvage these guys with your leet moding skills, there is seriously no hope for the general public.



Man... that T3 ended up a bigger mess then gabe's ALu top'd GTX.

[AceBaran]

I am about to get one of these ! Whats the status on it so far ? !!