MCP35x Noise Level

[Dr0din]

I just set up my first water cooling loop, and my MCP35x is too loud for my tastes. I'm wondering if this can be solved by turning it down with my motherboard software, or if my pump is broken, or if the MCP35x is always a loud pump, and my solution is to look for a different pump.

I have a small loop, so I wonder how low I can turn down the pump. It's the pump in a Swiftech Maelstrom, EK Supremacy, and Alphacool 240 Monsta. Here is a picture of the loop:


I am using Asus Fan Xpert 2 to control the pump. At very low speeds, as in around 1800 rpm, it is silent enough for me, but I'm concerned that my loop needs more flow under load. So I have the curve in Fan Xpert set to max out at 3100 rpm I and most of the time during gaming or heavy use the pump is at 2800-3100 rpm. This is very loud, much louder than any of the fans in my case. Is it normally so loud at this speed, and is it safe to turn it down?

Also, I recorded my whole build and put it up on youtube. If I did something to break the pump, it would probably be during the "filling the loop" step. The link to that video is here:
http://youtu.be/iyPLAPgNwvw

[Evantaur]

close the cap and then turn it on...if you leave it open it will keep sucking in air to your loop and continue to be loud

also letting it run for 30 seconds, then shutting it off then starting it again might help to remove some air pockets

[Riska]

It is all the bubbles that makes the pump loud..

[aussie-revhead]

I had one of these and hated it, it is PWM controlled and when its above about 50% its very audible. If the control wire isn't plugged in it runs flat out and makes a horrid screaming noise, I sold mine quickly

Yes you can control the pump speed with any PWM controller or the old school way by reducing supply voltage, but less noise = less flow too.

[ZX2Slow]

I run my MCP355x2 at 30% PWM (~2300RPM) and it is silent, I cant hear it at all until it hits 70%.

[aussie-revhead]

OP probably has his running at full speed.

[Dr0din]

I bled the air out of the system, and while I was doing that I noticed that it was spraying foam into the loop at higher speeds. I added a bit of distilled water to top off the res, and that fixed the foaming problem, which made the air bubbles manageable. It also dropped my temps by a few degrees.

The pump is still louder than I'd like, so I wonder how low I can turn down the pump. Right now I've got it maxed out at around 36%, which puts it at about 2800rpm. Is it safe for me to turn it down to 30% (2300 rpm) or below?

[BrokenArrow]

Most pump noise is related to how it is mounted. I can't tell from your picture how yours is mounted. if you hold it in you hand while pumping through your loop, is it quiter? If so, then it is how you mounted it. Put a piece of foam between case and pump and see if that helps.

[ZX2Slow]

Right now I've got it maxed out at around 36%, which puts it at about 2800rpm. Is it safe for me to turn it down to 30% (2300 rpm) or below?

Yes, try not to fall below 1GPM though. Your motherboard has a CPU PWM header and is bundled with Asus Fan Xpert 2, its what I use and have no issues.

[Makymaco]

I am not he has a temperatur indicator

[Martinm210]

I bled the air out of the system, and while I was doing that I noticed that it was spraying foam into the loop at higher speeds. I added a bit of distilled water to top off the res, and that fixed the foaming problem, which made the air bubbles manageable. It also dropped my temps by a few degrees.

The pump is still louder than I'd like, so I wonder how low I can turn down the pump. Right now I've got it maxed out at around 36%, which puts it at about 2800rpm. Is it safe for me to turn it down to 30% (2300 rpm) or below?

Yes, the 35x can't be turned down too low. Even at 0% the pump will continue to operate at adequate speeds.

I used to run mine down to 20% all the time for day to day low heat use and then let it ramp up under heavy loads a bit:

Take advantage of the PWM control and dial that sucker down.

Each motherboard is a little different, but this was my response: