Choosing The Best Pump for Your WaterCooling System

[Nuckin_Futs]

K, I have the Swiftech MCP655 for now, but i'm not married to it just yet. I haer it is not the quietest. I am in the market and wanted to know if anybody has one and has used these newer versions of Eheim pumps. Eheim HPPS i or Swiftech MCP355 w/Custom Delrin DDC Pump Top from Petra's I want something quieter. Are these 2 choices a big difference in upgrade for my set up?

I am on a 8x12" heater core 2" thick (like PA120.3) w/ dual 12cm fans on custom shroud. Currently I have new, Swiftech Apogee GTX Extreme but still have older DD RBX and only need LGA775 top to get going if it is better on high flow (has anybody compared them). For now using ASUS Fusion MB integrated block. It is fine but I will change out soon.

I plan to add single GPU, plus RAM, Mosfets and SB quickly as funds allow, block by block.

Oh ya, my pump needs are more aimed towards quietness but ability to OC at least better then my ThermalRight Ultra 120 Extreme. I got the 4GHz C2d I want. I just want ultra quiet under idle and light use but quick responce cooling under gaming and media encoding work load. I'm looking for a daily used reliable pump system to be able to respond to my system ACPI modes going in and out of sleep/stand by and or Hibernate on a regular basis.

[Waterlogged]

If you haven't had the pump running yet, I'd say setup the loop with some cheap tubing from Home Depot or Lowes and test it to see if you like it or not before buying another pump. Pump noise also depends on how well you isolate it from the case and how much grill space you have in your case for the motor noise to seep out. If you have grill work directly between you and the pump, it's going to seem louder than if the wasn't any grill work. Pump noise, like fan noise is subjective and the only opinion that really matters is the individual end user.

[gmcg]

I have the same pump and it's noise is definitely dependent on the isolation between case surface and pump base, as Waterlogged said.

IMO the best to make it silent is to keep it "flying in the air" using just tubes, if it is convenient for you.

Second - please be sure that you have removed all air bubbles, I had some additional pump noise during 4 days due to some bubbles.

[CL3P20]

A mcp355 with the petra's top will be a good little pump, as it has very nice head pressure..and should suit your needs. If you experience too much pressure drop, due to either your restrictive cpu block, or the radiator..you might consider running 2x mcp355's in series. They might actually be quieter running 2x pumps as each pump will be working a little less... you could get rid of your res and use a Tline if you are having issues with bubbles... Tlines quiet down the pump quite a bit if you have a lot of res turbulence.

[Nuckin_Futs]

I'm mainly looking for a good daily user pump for my media worfstation. So ti will need to be more reliable then just stronger. I need to be able to leave along for a few days on its own at a time, yet when home, I need to be able to run it in and out of S3 oand or S4 (sleep/Hibernate).

With that being saud, which of the ones I mentioned earlier can or are living up to that for you guys now. I do like the performance results of the DDC w/ custom top but also hear a lot of early wear out because of it opposed to stock. If that's so, I'd rather buy 2 quality medium performance units that will last much longer.

Eheim HPPS i - 12v DC Industrial Long-Life, High Power Pump. Who is using these and can comment on their long life span and the said quietness overall?

[CalguY]

I just read about the DDC3.2 pump review, with the different tops (GPM of 2.5 only? Seems low). I have seen all sorts of pumps on LC sites. I have seen all sorts of pumps on aquarium sites. This guy I know holding something over my head about a magic pump with 1200lph/300+gph pump that will blow all the above away, and that he picked it up for nothing at a local pet shop, blah blah blah (hate this guy...knows everything, shares nothing, then you see his rig, and it looks ghetto as all heck, but the numbers are nice at a constant 15-25c...) I am burned freaking out, and I am not kidding.

What I want...QUIET pump, that will flow like crazy, with high head, and all that. I am going to be using the Black Ice GTX Rad with push/pull Noctua NF-P12 fans in the top of a CosmosS, Swiftec Apogee GTX with Petra top (curious about D-Tek, EK, and DD still, but pretty sure this is the one), skipping the NB for now, but want to factor that in as more than likely (EK more than likely, but open), and last, I will be cooling the GPU (still trying to figure out which brand is best for the eVGA 8800 GTS 512, as well as full cover or just GPU). 1/2" barbs on everything is what I am interested in using, and although I read 1/2" ID hose everywhere, I just read 3/8" on 1/2" barbs!? Why?!?!? I hate that.

I hear head pressure is where it is at, and flow is secondary (per one of these forum stickys). 10ft or better was the way to go (?), yet the DDC3.2 seemed to fall short of that at 7ft if I remember correctly, not to mention so many others fall in this as well? I looked at other pumps on sites, and so many are under 10ft head, or they are as loud as a plane, or hot, or this, or that... That guy I mentioned says Koolance is at the bottom of the pile, and to stay away (the 5 1/4" unit they had seemed like a very clean solution to me about 2 months back when I started down this road). Can't tell if I should submerge, or go air, and again, which pump. My head is spinning, and I just want some simple answers.

Can one of the seasoned experts please tell me which would be recommended for the above application? If I should submerge the pump to get extra silent, or leave it in the air "flying" as some other dude said? What rez to use in front of the thing if it isn't a DDC3.2 being recommended? Options...I only need a few please, no more witch hunts for me, just interested in high overclocking so I am get back to some dang gaming, which was the whole point of this.

Thank you in advance, it is greatly appreciated...

[CalguY]

Thinking about those aquarium pumps...why isn't anyone talking about these?

Quiet One 3000 - 1"x1"ID's, 10.5'ft head, 4.5psi, 40watts, 780gph (unrestricted).
Gen X GX4100 - $48.00 is way cheap for what look like killer stats. 5/8" and 1" ID fittings, 9.2ft, 750gph...
Rio WP-TM32HF - $80.00 14ft head max, mad ghp, 1" outlet

Is there a good reason to buy Swiftech's MCP355 at $70.00?

Back to the Koolance, why not use something slick looking like the Koolance
RP-1000BK, and then modify it for larger fittings, or pass on it's silly res all together, and mod it to adapt to a dual bay below it, or something behind it (like those long tube looking things, mounted on the back side of the drive bays)?

[Anemone]

That Koolance thing has some Alu pipes inside of it. Just be aware

[DarthBeavis]

who sells the DDC 12 pumps with the fans?



Now excuse me as i have to go buy some corndogs so I can catch some dorkfish . . .

[CalguY]

Ah, aluminum inside? That confirms why my buddy was acting like it was pure junk. Thanks for the update.

Anyone have any ideas for any of the other questions I posted?

Thanks

[Waterlogged]

That Koolance thing has some Alu pipes inside of it. Just be aware

Hmm, the only thing aluminum I see is the chassis. That isn't a bad unit really.

[EchoBlack4]

I am new to watercooling and have a few questions regarding pumps:

Is there an Iwaki AC model that runs on 220 V? I live in Spain so I cannot use 120 V US Standard equipment. Adapting the cord is not a big deal and I just don't wanna mess with a dedicated DC power supply.

Also, how more difficult are AC pumps to set up? I want to keep it easy, without fancy settings, even if it involves plugging the pump first before turning on the computer. I am used to follow procedures for everything so that's OK.

Third and last question: How reliable are the AQX50Z and the DDC2? The main reason to go for the Iwaki is reliability but if any of these two pumps will work fine and won't breakdown for at least 5-6 years I will just take a couple of them and run them in series. That would be great since they are cheaper and seem easier to set up than Iwakis.

I don't plan to run the rig 24/7; it will be on an average of 5 hours per day.

I have not decided yet what blocks I am going to use but the pump should manage to work fine to cool a QX9770, two 8800 Ultra GPUs and may be northbridge of an Asus Striker II Extreme, unless somebody has a better solution to cool it without using watercooling (it comes with the stock Fuzion waterblock) and dismantling the heatpipe and the little heatsinks. Rad will be PA 120.3.

Thanks in advance.

[Nuckin_Futs]

Ah, aluminum inside? That confirms why my buddy was acting like it was pure junk. Thanks for the update.

Anyone have any ideas for any of the other questions I posted?

Thanks

That's noty as bad as it sounds. Lot of items for us in watercooling are gonna' have parts aluminum. Just use inhibitors to reduce corrosion. I know of many widely used rads, w/ aluminum cores or at least tanks and lots of decent CPU block tops too. In fact, if you want copper, you have to change yourself on some better units.. I know Black Ice uses brqass and copper, but many tend to not like therir new models due to restriction. I moved back to my Cadillac heater core of brass and copper for now till I get a bigger cube to hold PA120.3

[WhiteFireDragon]

ok there are 33 pages of posts and i don't really want to sit through them all. this thread is sorta old so can someone just summarize what the top pumps are nowadays and maybe pros/cons of a few of them?

[Big_Daddy]

ok there are 33 pages of posts and i don't really want to sit through them all. this thread is sorta old so can someone just summarize what the top pumps are nowadays and maybe pros/cons of a few of them?

Uhm.. sure.. see page 1. They haven't changed. Only the tops for the DDC's have. And' you'll find the results for those tests here

I'll give you a hint, XSPC res top is #1 followed by XSPC top (without res) is #2 (for ddc's) You want the #1 most powerful? it's the RD30.

[EchoBlack4]

Hi all,

Somebody posted once about DC Iwakis.

Going through their site I have found this:

http://www.iwakiamerica.com/products/wmddcmotors.htm

They don't give much info on where we can get one of these though.

[systemviper]

therer's a new bad boy in town.
I have had most of them and
#1 is the...

laing ddc w/XSPC res top


it has great head pressure, the res water keeps the
pump cooler and having the res on top
allows for better use of space.

Plus if you use UV it has a spot for 2 LED's
so you put 2 UV led's and it's the bomb...

[manyga]

This pump Laing 12V DDC1+ Ultra 18W (http://www.watercoolingshop.com/cata...roducts_id=614) It's the same that MCP355 or DDC3.2??

Thanks!!

[Big_Daddy]

This pump Laing 12V DDC1+ Ultra 18W (http://www.watercoolingshop.com/cata...roducts_id=614) It's the same that MCP355 or DDC3.2??

Thanks!!

You mean THIS one?

Yes.

[manyga]

You mean THIS one?

Yes.

Oh, Thanks! Sorry for the corrupt link!

Yes it is!

Best regards!

[shachar2]

for a sticky with the topic: "Choosing The Best Pump for Your WaterCooling System" it certainly doesn't help in choosing a pump, it only lists a few pumps and writes a few sentences on them

[down8]

Actually, the recommendations in the very beginning of the OP is quite useful. It's how I chose my MCP655. The decision will always come down to your budget, and your needs. If you know those, listing the characteristics of these pumps should help you in "Choosing The Best Pump for Your WaterCooling System."

-bZj

[jonny_ftm]

for a sticky with the topic: "Choosing The Best Pump for Your WaterCooling System" it certainly doesn't help in choosing a pump, it only lists a few pumps and writes a few sentences on them

The sticky is great. If there was a perfect pump, than no need for competition. As pointed by down8, each pump can be a perfect match depending on your needs.

But, hey, you can add a clean post where you gather and synthesize all the info instead of posting everywhere that the stickies don't suite your flavour

Don't take it bad or personal, but instead of criticizing, try to contribute. Just my two cents

[shachar2]

the topic's subject is "Choosing The Best Pump for Your WaterCooling System"
it doesn't explain how to choose a pump but instead just gives a few descriptions on them

[jonny_ftm]

the topic's subject is "Choosing The Best Pump for Your WaterCooling System"
it doesn't explain how to choose a pump but instead just gives a few descriptions on them

Oh yes, the article can't choose it for you right? The descriptions should let you make your choice yourself.

Just think at it as there's not a best of all pump. But yes, there's a "BEST Pump for YOUR WaterCooling System".

If you still can't make a choice, just open a topic in the "Liquid Cooling" area. Hopefully some kind people would help you understand why get a pump and not another one for your specific situation