Koolance PMP-450S (D5 STRONG!) Pump Review

[Martinm210]

No this is not the typical D5 vario we are all used to, this is the "STRONG" model which takes off in performance with extra voltage, it really does show off it's muscle at 24V. Not quite two pumps in series, but pretty close to 1.5 pumps in series. I really didn't think this pump would be that much more powerful, but it's quite a difference. I wanted to create a separate review for it in addition to my noise testing piece because of the larger than expected performance advantage it has.

Anyhow I decided against the pump noise and more thread...it was just too much to try and cover in one piece, so here is just the "STRONG" portion of the "and more"...

Special thanks to Tim from Koolance.com for sponsoring the PMP-450S.

For the full detail review, you can find that on my site, but I'll skip over that and just give you my summary charts and conclusion here.



You do need to have a voltage controller such as the CTR-SPD24 to get at it's full potential. Running it at 12V is about equal to the PMP-450 vario at setting 4.5. But hold on once you crank up the voltage!!










CONCLUSION

The PMP-450S is an excellent pump, and it does take the crown for most power between the PMP-400, PMP-450, and PMP-450S. The trick is the requirement for a voltage controller feeding it more than the standard 12V. Fortunately, Koolance has developed a controller to do just that if needed. The pump in stock trim is compatible with 1/2″ tubing, so the pump has a very upgrade friendly path. Here are some pros/cons:

PROS

• King of Pump Power performance for under $80 (if you have a 24V power supply)
• Cool motor operation (metal pump housing keeps motor running cool to the touch)
• Factory 1/2″ Tubing compatibility (Tops are more aesthetic than a performance improvement)
• Factory stand allows pump decoupling without creating heat trap problems
• Factory RPM wire
• Metal housing minimizes PCB flooding risk if o-ring is improperly sealed

CONS

• Factory top is larger in size than PMP-400
• Not electrically or heat dump efficient as PMP-400 (A bit more heat added to the loop)
• Requires a voltage controller and 24V to get full power performance
  *Not compatible with some aftermarket tops, suggest stock top only.

So there we have it. The PMP-400 (DDC series) are no longer king of power. The Koolance PMP-450S with factory stock top when operated at 24V will produce more pumping power. At 1.5 GPM this pump will produce around 6.7PSI, the PMP-450 @1.5GPM produces about 4.4PSI. That translates to about a 50% increase in pressure over your typical PMP-450 at setting 5. That’s about equal to running 1.5 PMP-450s in series. That should translate to about a 25% improvement in flow rate for your average system vs. running a PMP-450 at setting 5.

For a more detailed flow rate estimation, you can try this pump in the latest pump/rad optimizer (I added these curve in last weekend).

I’m personally a big fan of this along with the PMP-450 and PMP-400 pumps. They all have their own pros/cons. The PMP-450S is focused on raw 24V power. At 24 volts it’s basically 1.5X as strong as a PMP-450 in the same package, it has the more desirable metal pump casing which keeps the pump running cool, and it’s less likely to have PCB water damage. It may not be as efficient as the PMP-400 series pumps, but that’s generally of less concern once you get to triple rad sizes or more.

I could see people buying this pump to start out their system and simply running it at 12V until some time down the road when they expanded to a more restrictive system. Then they could simply upgrade the pumping power by adding the 24V controller. At 24V, this pump is going to be more than enough power for even the most restrictive of setups such as full motherboard blocks etc. You won’t need that for your typical CPU/GPU loop, but it’s nice knowing extreme power is within and ready to be tapped with a voltage boost.

Cheers!
Martin