XSPC D5 dual bay res question

GoogalyMoogaly · 27 Apr 2011 at 15:26

Hi all.

I've been thinking of changing my XSPC X20 750 pump/res combo for a Laing D5 Vario pump. Due to the fact that I'm water-cooling in a CM 690 II case there's not a massive amount of room for a pump or res, hence why I opted for the XSPC X20 750 initially. I'm not sure if this pump is the best and have heard good things about the D5 one of which being the 5 speed settings.
Now because of the space restrictions I was going to put the D5 in a dual bay res like this (except I'd try to find somewhere that actually has them in stock).

Now it look like that res keeps the pump out of the water and allows access to the pump while it's in place. My question is, with the pump in the bay res, can you still get to the speed adjustment mechanism?

Also, probably a silly question, can you connect the pump to a fan controller and control the speed of the pump like this?

Thanks for any replies.

dazzerd · 27 Apr 2011 at 15:38

Personally I would avoid that res and pick up a koolance or danger den one as they are higher quality but thats your choice.

Regarding access to the speed regulator you can but it depends on the rotation of the pump when you place it into the top and if I remember when I was messing about with one I needed a right angled screwdriver.

You cannot attach a vario directly to a normal fan controller; if I remember you need a rheostat type (I think) fan controller to do it safely.

Other option will be to pick up a mcp35x like I recently did comes with a pwm wire so you can either control it through the motherboard or through a pwm fan controller. You can also pick up bayreses for these too.

GoogalyMoogaly · 27 Apr 2011 at 15:47

Yeah, I did also look at a MCP355 and bay res, but wasn't sure how much better than the X20 750 they would be.

dazzerd · 27 Apr 2011 at 15:51

mcp355 and mcp35x are slightly different pumps only the x version allows you to control the pump via pwm. Either way both are far superior to the poo which comes with combos. The mcp35x/355 actually has more power (head pressure) than the d5 vario which is a great pump too.

Marvin · 27 Apr 2011 at 16:08

GoogalyMoogaly said:
My question is, with the pump in the bay res, can you still get to the speed adjustment mechanism?

Also, probably a silly question, can you connect the pump to a fan controller and control the speed of the pump like this?

No, and it depends. I think if you rigged up a Molex - 3 pin fan adapter you could, but you'd get no RPM readout as there is no signal wire from the pump.

If you modified an allen key with a trusty dremel to be a flat-head, you probably could adjust the pump in situ, but there's no cut-out/hole to slide a screwdriver through.

GoogalyMoogaly · 27 Apr 2011 at 16:10

dazzerd said:
mcp355 and mcp35x are slightly different pumps

Ah, had not realised that, thanks.
I take it they are compatible with the same tops and reservoirs though?

If so it would be about £6 more for an MCP35x and res than a MCP655 and res.
So either is doable.
What sort of current do the MCP35x require as my Fan Controller only has 1A per channel?

GoogalyMoogaly · 27 Apr 2011 at 16:13

Marvin said:
If you modified an allen key with a trusty dremel to be a flat-head, you probably could adjust the pump in situ, but there's no cut-out/hole to slide a screwdriver through.

Could a hole be drilled into the res so a screwdriver could be used?

Either way a PWM pump does seem much more convenient.

GoogalyMoogaly · 27 Apr 2011 at 20:28

How much difference would a pump make to my temperatures do you think?
I have a XSPC V3 Delta CPU block, 5870 + EK water-block (or hopefully will do soon), and EK 240mm Rad and an XSPC RS240 Rad.

Marvin · 28 Apr 2011 at 00:07

GoogalyMoogaly said:
Could a hole be drilled into the res so a screwdriver could be used?

Either way a PWM pump does seem much more convenient.

You'd also have to do a hole in the 5.25" bay holders to match. My main concern is that the plastic might crack if you drilled it, it just seems like that type of plastic...

GoogalyMoogaly · 28 Apr 2011 at 00:12

Marvin said:
You'd also have to do a hole in the 5.25" bay holders to match. My main concern is that the plastic might crack if you drilled it, it just seems like that type of plastic...

I see your point.
This MCP35X is seeming better and better. I just looked at the D5 because it seemed to be the best (albeit most expensive) pump.

Why is being able to vary the speed of the pump useful? Is it just a noise thing (like with fans)? I assume there's an advantage to having a more powerful/faster pump?

Marvin · 28 Apr 2011 at 00:57

GoogalyMoogaly said:
I see your point.
This MCP35X is seeming better and better. I just looked at the D5 because it seemed to be the best (albeit most expensive) pump.

Why is being able to vary the speed of the pump useful? Is it just a noise thing (like with fans)? I assume there's an advantage to having a more powerful/faster pump?

I think there's more to pumps than just flow rate. There's pressure too (the D5 will hold a higher pressure for a higher flow rate {EDIT: - ah, that's not true when compared to the 35X, but with a decent top: D5 MCP35X it's closer given a flow rate.} and heat produced by the pump that is dumped into the loop. Also the quietness is a factor for many. I always found the DDC derived pumps to be annoying sounding, even when turned to 50%.

dazzerd · 28 Apr 2011 at 16:05

To be honest there is not much of a relationship between flow rate and temp. Once you get over a certain rate (can't remember the rate) the temp difference is negligible.

So yes the main factor in having the ability to control pump power is noise; however the more complex and restrictive your loop the more pump power you will need to achieve the ideal flow rate.

One thing I noticed from moving from a d5 to mcp35x was a much lower heat dump accounting for about 2 degrees lower water temp when using the 35x; not that it makes any difference in the real world but surprising none the less.

Regarding cost the mcp35x is about the same price as a stock mcp355 plus decent top. As the swiftech top which comes with the mcp35x seems to produce the best results I think it's a no brainer you also don;t void your warrany as there is no need to replace the stock top.

JeffyB · 28 Apr 2011 at 16:14

For the majority of loops flow rate makes very little difference to temperatures and with restrictive loops your better off with higher head pressure than all out flow rate anyway. The new mcp35x does look like a fantastic pump and is getting very good reviews from reputable people.

GoogalyMoogaly · 28 Apr 2011 at 16:34

dazzerd said:
Regarding cost the mcp35x is about the same price as a stock mcp355 plus decent top. As the swiftech top which comes with the mcp35x seems to produce the best results I think it's a no brainer you also don;t void your warrany as there is no need to replace the stock top.

Unfortunately I think I need to put it in a Bay res as I don't have anywhere else to put the pump.
either way I'd have to buy the pump and a reservoir though so the cost wont be changed. Shame about voiding the warranty though. I also imagine i'll have fun with the O-ring when trying to put it in a res/top.

Since I can't say the X20 750 pump I'm using is all that noisy (although the noise it makes isn't constant, its sort of alternating between making a noise and not every second or so), I'm not sure it's worth the £120+ outlay. But at least I'd know I had a good pump.

GoogalyMoogaly · 15 May 2011 at 23:34

Just bought a MCP35X and XSPC dual bay res. I went on the presumption that the MCP35X can use the same tops as the MCP350/MCP355, is that right?

Must admit I'm a little disheartened to learn that dazzerd is now selling his due to an annoying noise it makes

Maybe I should've gotten a D5 instead after all

dazzerd · 16 May 2011 at 12:38

Noise is subjective of course. At 1 or 2 pwm it is very quiet but I use my pc to watch tv in the evening as well and the high pitch noise can drive me mad. It's just one of those things that once you notice the noise you can't take your mind off it.

In normal situations: gaming, listening to music or watching a movie at a decent volumes you cannot here it above the fans or music. So I wouldn't let that put you off.

If I didn't use my pc to watch TV in the evening (I live in a flat so I can't have the volume too loud for fear of annoying the old dragon downstairs) then I wouldn't be trying to get get rid of it. I may still keep it anyway have an urge to do a duel loop build......

ps you can use the same top yes but I assumed that if you are putting it in the bay res that acts as the top anyway?

JeffyB · 16 May 2011 at 12:56

Is the mcp35x really that noisy? I have a d5 vario (speed 2) and was considering a mcp35x. I use my pc for home cinema as well so built my loop around being as silent as possible without going passive.

dazzerd · 16 May 2011 at 14:15

Noisy isn't the word for it kind of emits a hum but at 1 or 2 it is virtually silent if isolated from the case. It is certainly more audible than a d5 across the whole setting range though.

The issue is whether or not you think the pump is going to provide sufficient flow at the lower settings.

JeffyB · 16 May 2011 at 14:23

Not sure how the mcp35x speeds relate to % but looking at some data it looks like a d5 on speed 2 and a mcp on 30% are pretty close on flow, mcp is slightly higher. Curious which is noisier, d5 on 2 or the mcp35x on 30%?

dazzerd · 16 May 2011 at 15:55

mcp35x on 30% is louder than a d5 on 2 which is virtually silent. I would suggest the 35x is pushing more water though.