NEW: aquaero 5 series

[Phatboy69]

Martinm210: that's why i want to see real test with high load pumps included, as by specs AA5 shouldn't be handling D5 pumps, but read this thread through .. IIRC there was one guy with AA5+LC block regulating even two D5, with little juice left for few fans. Just that pumps use fixed amount of power at preset speeds, so maybe for nice charts (W on channel/AA temps) some artificial regulatable load maybe of better use to get full range of AA5 capabilities even below and above what pumps provide (and what specs tell ).
BTW, imho one rather important point of article linked above is how close is active air cooling vs lc block for AA5.

Yep that would be me! I have 2 D5s on the A5 no problem with the waterblock. Its the fans that are the killer because they are .37 amp each and I have 6 per channel (per rad) which is why I have 6 x PA2s for the fan channels.
Ill dig out my config for you for reference.

Ive loaded the 4 D5 pumps onto the controllers and they work a treat!
I have the following config now:

A5
Ch1 PA2 Fans
Ch2 D5-1 GPU Loop
Ch3 Exhaust Fans
Ch4 D5-2 GPU Loop

PA2's
Ch5 CPU Rad1 Fans
Ch6 CPU Rad2 Fans
Ch7 GPU Rad1 Fans
Ch8 GPU Rad2 Fans
Ch9 D5-1 CPU Loop
Ch10 D5-2 CPU Loop

Flowmeter 1 CPU Loop
Flowmeter 8 GPU Loop

Temp Sensors
T15 Ambient Air Temp
T13 Rad Air In Temp
T7 Internal Air Temp
T14 Rad Air Out Temp

T1 CPU Water in
T2 CPU Water out
T3 CPU Water Res out
T4 GPU Water in
T5 GPU Water out
T6 GPU Water Res out
T8 CPU Temp
T16 GPU Temp

Here's a 15min Furmark run with 15min cooldown.
What an amazing piece of technology!
Reallllly quiet for normal computing and light gaming, but an absolute powerhouse when required. All seamlessly controlled.

I got asked to do a test on another forum and got the following results which might be interesting to some.

3 x 370mA fans at 4.4v drawing 300mA and 2 x D5 pumps at 7v is the safe limit for an A5 with waterblock on my config. Shared 3&4 channels heating to 85c. Adding a 4th fan on the channel pushes it to draw 420mA and right on 95c.

A5 Load Test Config
Ch1 PA2 Ram Fans 6v 300mA 68c
Ch2 1 x D5 running @ 7v 800mA 68c
Ch3 3 x 370mA fans running at 4.4v 300mA 85c
Ch4 1 x D5 running @ 7v 800mA 85c

This means in theory you could run 2 x D5s and 6 x 370mA fans across the other 2 channels.






Here's my thread for more info on the A5 and PA2s.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...r-Installation!

[kroks]

other review from coolingtechnique.com
http://www.coolingtechnique.com/recensioni/97/901.html

[Odai]

Hey,

I went ahead and purchased the Aquaero 5 LT unit but I'm having issues getting anything done. I've hooked everything up (4 thermal sensors, 4 fan channels, the tachometer output, power, USB), and the device is recognised by Windows. However, that's as far as I can get.

The amount of information available is awful, and what little there is I cannot understand (being in German). There is no manual whatsoever for the LT, and any online instructions I've found have been for the PRO/XT models, and it's all to do with how to setup the unit via the screen (nothing on how to use Aquasuite). I've had to guess everything so far.

I haven't got a clue on how to set up Aquasuite 2012 - I did manage to get some graphs up but they all come up with nonsensical symbols for the names and 0 as the value for every sensor. I've also tried updating the firmware through the software (version 1019?), but as soon as I try to do so, a info box comes up in German and the program closes.

I realise I probably should just email AquaComputer about this (and I will), but I figured I'd post here as well in case there's anyone around to help out so I don't have to wait for AC to get back to me.

[frank anderson]

Hey,

I went ahead and purchased the Aquaero 5 LT unit but I'm having issues getting anything done. I've hooked everything up (4 thermal sensors, 4 fan channels, the tachometer output, power, USB), and the device is recognised by Windows. However, that's as far as I can get.

The amount of information available is awful, and what little there is I cannot understand (being in German). There is no manual whatsoever for the LT, and any online instructions I've found have been for the PRO/XT models, and it's all to do with how to setup the unit via the screen (nothing on how to use Aquasuite). I've had to guess everything so far.

I haven't got a clue on how to set up Aquasuite 2012 - I did manage to get some graphs up but they all come up with nonsensical symbols for the names and 0 as the value for every sensor. I've also tried updating the firmware through the software (version 1019?), but as soon as I try to do so, a info box comes up in German and the program closes.

I realise I probably should just email AquaComputer about this (and I will), but I figured I'd post here as well in case there's anyone around to help out so I don't have to wait for AC to get back to me.

If I remember right, the installation should have a option to select English when installing, other then for the aquasuite_setup_4.72.00 which only setup in german, but if you just click on the german tool bar, you'll run accross the word "english", press that and everything turns to english. You don't need to use the aquasuite_setup_4.72.00 unless you have Power Adjust 2.

There is a bit of a learning curve to this, but have you looked through this insane thread page by page and took your time reading it? I learned a lot from here and had my XT up and running in matter of couple hours..

Do you see your Aquaero 5 on the left side of Aquasuite 2012? There are a lot of options inside and if you really want to get down and dirty, the options can be as complex as trying to setup this thing from a engineering standpoint, but you can just use some of the standard "constant value" and "two point controller" which is basically trying to mess with a on / off switch instead of playing with a analog switch. Once you have everything up and sure it's working, you can try the "Set Point Controller" and the "curve controller"...

As for the firmware upgrading causing a problem, that's a tough one.. What are your system specs? and most importantly, what USB devices you have attached? The latter has been known to cause problems for some users.. You can read back a few post as Martin and made a small "walk thru" on how to flash and reset the Aquaero using jumpers.

[Martinm210]

Hey,

I went ahead and purchased the Aquaero 5 LT unit but I'm having issues getting anything done. I've hooked everything up (4 thermal sensors, 4 fan channels, the tachometer output, power, USB), and the device is recognised by Windows. However, that's as far as I can get.

The amount of information available is awful, and what little there is I cannot understand (being in German). There is no manual whatsoever for the LT, and any online instructions I've found have been for the PRO/XT models, and it's all to do with how to setup the unit via the screen (nothing on how to use Aquasuite). I've had to guess everything so far.

I haven't got a clue on how to set up Aquasuite 2012 - I did manage to get some graphs up but they all come up with nonsensical symbols for the names and 0 as the value for every sensor. I've also tried updating the firmware through the software (version 1019?), but as soon as I try to do so, a info box comes up in German and the program closes.

I realise I probably should just email AquaComputer about this (and I will), but I figured I'd post here as well in case there's anyone around to help out so I don't have to wait for AC to get back to me.

That sounds a lot like my experience until I used recovery mode to update the firmware. Mine would not update and would not read anything until using recovery mode.
I'm still very much working on my blog, but I do have a page started for the recovery mode/update portion here:
http://martinsliquidlab.wordpress.co...w-guide-wip/5/

[D749]

That sounds a lot like my experience until I used recovery mode to update the firmware. Mine would not update and would not read anything until using recovery mode.
I'm still very much working on my blog, but I do have a page started for the recovery mode/update portion here:
http://martinsliquidlab.wordpress.co...w-guide-wip/5/

I was able to reset my AQ5 a slightly easier way - less jumpers and it fixed my inability to update the firmware. You might want to add this to your guide.

Remove all unnecessary connections with exception of the power. When turned off, place a jumper on the temperature sensor 8. Start the device afterwards, wait for a few seconds, turn it off, remove the jumpers, attach USB and run the aquasuite. Normally it should work now. - http://forum.aquacomputer.de/weitere...quasuite-2012/

[Church]

Martin: on that AA5 preview, on general concept page pic you probably can add AA5 LT with slave firmware alongside PA2's. IIRC it might be less powerful but cheaper choice then with PA2s to get more regulated channels.

[D749]

Reading back a few pages I see that AS 2012 can read from other software and allows you to create virtual sensors from said software? If so that's pretty cool. What software is supported and how exactly does this work? Is AIDA64 (http://www.aida64.com) supported?

Thank you.

[Martinm210]

Martin: on that AA5 preview, on general concept page pic you probably can add AA5 LT with slave firmware alongside PA2's. IIRC it might be less powerful but cheaper choice then with PA2s to get more regulated channels.

I didn't know you could run two simultaneously. Does it just show up as another pages of sensors in Aquasuite?

Reading back a few pages I see that AS 2012 can read from other software and allows you to create virtual sensors from said software? If so that's pretty cool. What software is supported and how exactly does this work? Is AIDA64 (http://www.aida64.com) supported?

Thank you.

Yeah, I got speedfan working but you do need the software sensor tool running along with speedfan. I also made a virtual water-air delta virtual sensor or you could do a cpu-water delta or average or max..etc. It is really cool having that automatically calculated and plotted that way. Not sure what all software works, but speedfan works good.

[D749]

From May 2011:

Using the LT as a slave device is no big deal. The LT would fake four PA2 controllers but of course the firmware needs to be adjusted which takes time - and time is something that we currently don't have at all. The aquasuite 2012 will take many other weeks before everything works and every idea became a real feature. Also every USB device which is on sale must be adopted into the aquasuite: poweradjust 2, aquastream XT, aquaduct series, tubemeter, multiswitch and some basics from aquaero 4. Besides this we have many other (industrial) projects running where we are already far behind the timeline.

I think using the aquaero 5 LT as slave device will be possible in the future but it is nothing that we will see in near future.

Any updates Shoggy?

[Phatboy69]

[QUOTE=Martinm210;5021105]I didn't know you could run two simultaneously. Does it just show up as another pages of sensors in Aquasuite?/QUOTE]

Yes if you connect a 2nd unit to another USB header it will show up in AS12 as another controller.

[jiiper]

Hello all and merry Christmas!

i think my PA2 just died :O it worked good when i was testing it with 1 fan for a week and now when i started my computer it wont detect and fan is not working?

enything to do?

[SpuTnicK]

is it visible under Aquasuite 4.72? If so, try re-flashing it.

[Church]

I didn't know you could run two simultaneously. Does it just show up as another pages of sensors in Aquasuite?

D749 has already quoted relevant info. Not yet, but potentially. Probably Shoggy in PM can more elaborate on that, or about ETA of that.

But imho what's more important is Phatboy69's actual running proof with two D5-s from AA5 about that actual capabilities of AA can be a bit higher then spec-ed 1.65A/chan, thus should be measured/tested, to lessen extent of often risen questions about if such and such set will be enough to regulate that and that, or what's needed for regulating that.

[Martinm210]

Thanks, while I've only got one USB header and one XT, I'll make note of that option even though I can't test it. Soo much to learn yet and I'm kicking myself for starting that menu tree task, that's like pulling teeth to plot out all those menus.

I also still haven't figured out what the heck happened to my soft touch buttons. Maybe something about running without grounding the unit frame or something...not sure other than they worked at first, but now are "Kaput"..

[Martinm210]

FYI,
Got started in on testing channel 1 by itself.
Details here:
http://martinsliquidlab.wordpress.co...w-guide-wip/8/



More to come...

[Avathar77]

I just have the LT, but temps were bit on the high when fans at low speeds.
so I did this.



2 VRM sinks from a Arctic cooling VGA cooler and a 60mm fan!

[Martinm210]

Nice! Cooling these fan Amps is really key to getting the most load out of the controller.

FYI,
I got six thermal tests done on the passive heatsink and found it's limit:
http://martinsliquidlab.org/2011/12/...w-guide-wip/8/

Fans loading Tests 1-4

Single Pump loading Test 5

Double Pump loading Test 6


It does depend A LOT on how much if any airflow you have over the heatsink, but in a completely passive heatsink test, I found the thermal limit to kick on with a 3 Amp/12V load turned down to 8V, but it handled 1.5Amps fine. I think it's somewhere in the 1.9Amp range total.

It's not a current limit though, it's the heat dissipation/thermal limit that becomes the bottleneck.

Bottom line, get the waterblock or plan on rigging some sort of cooling fan if you want to run > about 1.5 Amp loads total down to lower volts.

[lowfat]

Think the AQ5 would power a pair of DIYINHK DDC 3.2's @ 9-10V if it was cooled w/ waterblock?

[Martinm210]

Oh no... I may have pushed too hard...
Time to take it apart and see what I did..

[Church]

Ouch. I hope not irrecoverably. Would be great pitty to see burnt AA as showstopper to finish review. Out of curiosity - how?

[Odai]

Hello,

Thanks for the responses guys.

I've managed to figure out some of the issues I was having. The firmware problem fixed itself, I simply rebooted by system and the next attempt to update the firmware was fine.

Got the sensors and graphs setup, and also have some curve type controllers for the fans.

However, I am still having some issues which I haven't been able to find the answer to anywhere.

Using the Aquasuite 2012 software, how can I program the controller to either shut down the tachometer signal, or sound an alarm, when certain parameters are exceeded (such as an overheat situation on one of the sensed components)?

Also, I have experimented with the software sensor import function, but I am experiencing issues. Firstly, it seems to be the case that both the aquacomputer "software sensor" service, and the actual hardware monitoring tool (OHM in my case) have to be open all the time for this particular function to operate correctly. This means it is not possible to monitor core temperatures before the software is started (for example, right after a system boot), and so a core overheat would not be detected. There would be no communication at all with respect to those particular sensors until the software is opened, if I've understood correctly. Secondly, I have noticed that whenever the software sensor tool is closed, all data is lost and I have to re-calibrate the inputs every time it is restarted. I know this is still alpha, but am wondering if anyone else has any workarounds for now?

Thanks again!

Odai.

[Martinm210]

Ouch. I hope not irrecoverably. Would be great pitty to see burnt AA as showstopper to finish review. Out of curiosity - how?

When either disconnecting a pump or RPM connector (while running), it quit. That would be my fault though, it does say in the instructions not to connect/disconnect anything while running. I took the risk and got away with it when playing with the smaller load fan tests, but I'm guessing the sudden change and magnitude of the current changes with the pump tests was too much it seems.

Now when powered, all I get is heat building up at the small surface mount 10uF cap near the standby connector. It builds up to about 64C which I presume is the 5V channel feed cap? Anyhow, everything looks fine visually, just no go anymo...

Lesson learned, follow the instructions and don't connect/disconnect anything while it's running!

That's what I get for rushing. I've had the sample since July and was rushing to get the testing done. If nothing else, I can order an LT and swap out the XT goodies and carry on. I like the unit too much to not have one running long term anyhow..

[Martinm210]

Hello,

Thanks for the responses guys.

I've managed to figure out some of the issues I was having. The firmware problem fixed itself, I simply rebooted by system and the next attempt to update the firmware was fine.

Got the sensors and graphs setup, and also have some curve type controllers for the fans.

However, I am still having some issues which I haven't been able to find the answer to anywhere.

Using the Aquasuite 2012 software, how can I program the controller to either shut down the tachometer signal, or sound an alarm, when certain parameters are exceeded (such as an overheat situation on one of the sensed components)?

Also, I have experimented with the software sensor import function, but I am experiencing issues. Firstly, it seems to be the case that both the aquacomputer "software sensor" service, and the actual hardware monitoring tool (OHM in my case) have to be open all the time for this particular function to operate correctly. This means it is not possible to monitor core temperatures before the software is started (for example, right after a system boot), and so a core overheat would not be detected. There would be no communication at all with respect to those particular sensors until the software is opened, if I've understood correctly. Secondly, I have noticed that whenever the software sensor tool is closed, all data is lost and I have to re-calibrate the inputs every time it is restarted. I know this is still alpha, but am wondering if anyone else has any workarounds for now?

Thanks again!

Odai.

I'm not sure if alarm functions are built into aquasuite yet. That's one thing I've only seen in the device menus, but I'm sure they are working on including those features in a future update. They are the last of the device menus, so probably last to get written into the software.

You are correct in that they both need to be active and running, but there is nothing to stop you from adding both to your startup routine.

Not sure what you mean by recalibrate though. I changed the name of each sensor and that stayed put, but I never changed anything else. Any calibrations you do in aquasuite should be saved though.

[Church]

Martin: if you like XT's goodies, don't get LT. IIRC for AA5 many of those were integrated on PCB now, so unlike with AA4 LT, you cannot get anymore LCD screen & remote control working with base LT.
Though it will probably work for load tests only. But if you intend to have unit for long term use then probably another XT or Pro needs to be bought. From description it sounds not exactly RMA case, but you may try to PM Shoggy, maybe you can send unit to them for some cheaper fixing instead of new one purchase.