DDC3.2 Pump Top Shootout! 10 tops tested..

[Tw1st3d]

Where can one buy the resevoir XSPC in the states?

http://www.xspc.biz/retailers.php <- frozencpu and performancepc

[Martinm210]

lol... i was thinkn about sending him this, however it was in use at the time when i loaned him my parts. :\

Its suposed to be a little lower then the XSPC, however its almost half the price. :T


Maybe if martin has time i'll pull the pump from the rig, and mail the top to him. Martin u down for 1 more test with this top?

They are supposed to send me one when they become available. I'll test it if it comes in, but I appreciate the offer!.

Where can one buy the resevoir XSPC in the states?

It's brand new so it may just not be showing yet. They were just finishing up some redesigns on the reservoir when they sent me this sample so it's pretty new.

[ANP !!!]

Nice job there . Gives a very clear Idea of all the tops.

[alo]

Martin, get some more nice words in your address!
You are just great as always!

+1 sticky!!

And +1 for DDC3.1 test! Just do the bridge mod for your DDC3.2...
I'm also the one who bought one of the weakest tops (Alphacool) , so may be it will gain revenge on a 10W version! And do you plan any mods to tops?

But once again, thanks a lot!

[ChaosMinionX]

Can the resevoir XSPC be mounted like my current DDC?



I am guessing no.....

[qwerty69]

GJ Martin

[Statts]

Is this the XSPC top that did so well?

http://www.flabbergast.com.au/laing-...906df927101d88

[Tw1st3d]

Is this the XSPC top that did so well?

http://www.flabbergast.com.au/laing-...906df927101d88

Yes

[Xilikon]

Is this the XSPC top that did so well?

http://www.flabbergast.com.au/laing-...906df927101d88

Look at the review link, this go back to the exact same review done by Martinm210

[NaeKuh]

yeah just scared to see if xspc will bump a price hike in the reservoir now since they know its the best performing top.

[Trice]

http://www.xspc.biz/retailers.php <- frozencpu and performancepc

Thanks, I couldnt find the res version though

[Soulman84]

lol... i was thinkn about sending him this, however it was in use at the time when i loaned him my parts. :\

Its suposed to be a little lower then the XSPC, however its almost half the price. :T


Maybe if martin has time i'll pull the pump from the rig, and mail the top to him. Martin u down for 1 more test with this top?

fantastic i'll wait and see the results ot the testing sessions

[Statts]

Excellent, looks like I will be ordering a couple of DDC3.2's and XSPC tops (non-res)

[IanY]

Martin/Naekuh,

Do you know if the plastic X-res cap hole can be tapped to G-1/4 or G-3/8 ? Ithink it would be better if one were to use the X-res and yet use a master reservoir that feeds multiple X-Reses. No vortex issues and no bubble issues either. Now, if only Alphacool pump isolation screws would fit the XSPC top, so that they can be mounted in MountainMod HDD carriers...

[MrToad]

Thanks Martin ^^

Great work, as usual

[disruptfam]

awesome work this should be a sticky

[Martinm210]

Martin/Naekuh,

Do you know if the plastic X-res cap hole can be tapped to G-1/4 or G-3/8 ? Ithink it would be better if one were to use the X-res and yet use a master reservoir that feeds multiple X-Reses. No vortex issues and no bubble issues either. Now, if only Alphacool pump isolation screws would fit the XSPC top, so that they can be mounted in MountainMod HDD carriers...

I know the top is already tapped G1/4, so you could probably fabricate a tube type feed straight down very similar in style to the XSPC top. You would just need a G1/4 male to male coupler and a piece of clear acrylic that's tapped G 1/4 also. Then another hole in the top for a filler cap. I bet that would eliminate the vortex completely.

Not sure about G3/8 tapping but the G1/4 mod would be easy enough with a tap/drill and a small drill press, you'd just need to order the materials and spend the time doing it.

Anyhow, I'm switching over to some home projects for a little while. I'll come back to this with some follow up DDC3.1 testing, but these will have to do for now. Considering the DDC3.1 is the same exact pump as the DDC 3.2 only lower voltage, I would expect the results to be similar on a reduced scale.

DDC2's and older pumps however would be a completely different scenario. The larger inlet on those pumps would make the relative performance very different. I would not recommend at all to assume performance would be similar with DDC2 pumps. The would likely favor a larger inlet type of design to better match the impeller size. The DDC2 has a 12mm inlet, and the DDC3.2 only 9mm.

[NaeKuh]

Martin/Naekuh,

Do you know if the plastic X-res cap hole can be tapped to G-1/4 or G-3/8 ? Ithink it would be better if one were to use the X-res and yet use a master reservoir that feeds multiple X-Reses. No vortex issues and no bubble issues either. Now, if only Alphacool pump isolation screws would fit the XSPC top, so that they can be mounted in MountainMod HDD carriers...

but but but...

*Taking a running start so iany cant *

You couldnt have dual colors... if you did it that way....

okey now i need to run b4 he kicks my butt!

[Xilikon]

Martin, I'm now splitting my loop in two to add 2 mosfets blocks. To do this, I need to buy a 2nd pump and due to the space constraint (the pump will be installed under the PA120.3 radiator to keep the tubing short), I cannot get a aftermarket top with a top inlet.

So far, the only aftermarket blocks with side inlet would be the Koolance and Alphacool. However, I know that having a 90 degree bend in the inlet will reduce the performance a lot so I'm wondering if it's still a good idea to get a Alphacool or just use the stock top (it's not a problem since I use 3/8" ID tubing anyway) ?

[Martinm210]

Martin, I'm now splitting my loop in two to add 2 mosfets blocks. To do this, I need to buy a 2nd pump and due to the space constraint (the pump will be installed under the PA120.3 radiator to keep the tubing short), I cannot get a aftermarket top with a top inlet.

So far, the only aftermarket blocks with side inlet would be the Koolance and Alphacool. However, I know that having a 90 degree bend in the inlet will reduce the performance a lot so I'm wondering if it's still a good idea to get a Alphacool or just use the stock top (it's not a problem since I use 3/8" ID tubing anyway) ?

The DD top also has a side inlet. I'm not really sure what the side inlet performance differences are, but I think any of the aftermarket tops will still give you a good gain in average to low restriction loops over the stock top.

Personal preference of mine, but I will not "at all costs" run aluminum in my own loop, so it would be either the DD or the alphacool.

The DD top had a really good shape to the curve, which I still don't quite understand, but it was different than all the rest. The only real obvious difference was that it used a purely circular volute without any relief cut and also used a small/average outlet port size.

Let me see about running a test on the side inlets, that particular question/need is likely to come up for someone else also. I'll be back later with some info on side inlet performance..

[coolmiester]

Not sure which DDC version this was but i tested both ways some time ago using a standard Alphacool Top and found the following...

Laing DDC-1Plus With Alphacool Plexi Top ½” Barbs (top mount inlet - side mount outlet) = 14.5 LPM (3.83 US Gallons /PM)

Laing DDC-1Plus With Alphacool Plexi Top ½” Barbs (side mount inlet & outlet) = 9.7 LPM (2.56 US Gallons /PM)


Obviously not as accurate as Martins findings but its still quite a sacrifice to go side inlet as appose to top.

[iadstudio]

Considering that I haven't made any substantial changes to the design in well over a year, it's not all that surprising. We'll see how long that lasts, though...

Anyway, great job Martin!

If you make a clear one on top of it, I think you'll have a lock on the market.

Can the resevoir XSPC be mounted like my current DDC?

I am guessing no.....

They have a stand at performance PCS that will do just that, so I'm assuming so.

[Xilikon]

The DD top also has a side inlet. I'm not really sure what the side inlet performance differences are, but I think any of the aftermarket tops will still give you a good gain in average to low restriction loops over the stock top.

Personal preference of mine, but I will not "at all costs" run aluminum in my own loop, so it would be either the DD or the alphacool.

The DD top had a really good shape to the curve, which I still don't quite understand, but it was different than all the rest. The only real obvious difference was that it used a purely circular volute without any relief cut and also used a small/average outlet port size.

Let me see about running a test on the side inlets, that particular question/need is likely to come up for someone else also. I'll be back later with some info on side inlet performance..

Oh, I missed the DD one so it's a interesting option. I would like to see some data versus the stock top to judge if it is worth the extra performance

Don't worry about the Koolance top, i'm just stating the availables options, not that I will ever approach aluminium with a 100 ft pole

[ChaosMinionX]

If you make a clear one on top of it, I think you'll have a lock on the market.



They have a stand at performance PCS that will do just that, so I'm assuming so.

Oh nice, I will have to check it out.

[Martinm210]

Well before I do that testing I had to explore efficiency of pumps a bit more, this is what I found:

First adding in a new updated over/undervolting chart with power consumption on the right for those wondering about over/undervolting the pump


Then my digging on efficiency curves and equations and I probably should have represented those curves in a percent efficency comparison. They will look the same relatively, but I thought it was interesting to also see the percent efficiency.

I already have all the data, just would need to calculate the brake horsepower and then use the ratio between the two for efficiency. This may also be handy in estimating actual heat dump.

http://www.airlinktransformers.com/faq.asp?q=9
http://www.ajdesigner.com/phppump/pu...orse_power.php
BHP (Brake Horsepower) = (Watts) X .00134
WHP (Water Horsepower) = ((Flow GPM) X (Pressure Feet)) /3960
N (Efficiency) = WHP/BHP

The stock top has a maximum peak efficiency of only 13&#37; @ 1.1gpm

The XSPC reservoir top has a maximum peak efficiency of 22% at 1.9GPM


I guess that helps explain the "Heat Dump" issue we're always talking about, small pumps just are not very efficient. Even the DDC3.2 which is a bit more efficient than others losses a good 80-90% of it's power consumption through heat. Part of that would leave through the pump case, but a majority would enter the coolant.

I guess one small but interesting added benefit of the pump tops, you get a little less heat dump to produce the same amount of water energy.

stock DDC3.2 at 1.5GPM consumes 17.3 watts, it's 11.5% efficient there, so it wastes 15.3 watts in heat.


XSPC res DDC3.2 at 1.5 GPM consumes 17.05 watts, it's 20.9% efficient, so it wastes 13.5 watts in heat.

Not really anything to consider significant though, and your pressure drops across the system will add in that water energy heat anyhow.

But think of the .25 watts in your power consumption savings, you could buy a lollypop at the end of the year!..