Pump / Res combo recommendaton.

decto

decto

decto

Soldato
Joined
24 Jan 2006
Posts
2,624
I'm rebuilding my PC after many years so considering water cooling.

TL;DR

I'm looking for recommendations for a PWM pump / res combo or componets that can be connected directly with a vertical cylinder res mounted directly above the pump in classic style. D5/DCC most likely with suitable res but I'm confused by all the options and flow rates on OC and elsewhere. Mutiple rads with CPU and GPU planned.


Detail

Planning
Case: Fractal R6
AM4 Ryzen 3000 , likely to be 12 core, but may be 16 if the price is right.
RTX 2080 / Navi may be added to the loop later.
Up to 3 240/280 rads in series with the CPU and GPU block.
Limit on rad sizes on the R6 as I still get a lot of use form my 5.25 bay.

Having looked at quality AIO etc, I figure if I buy a decent pump and res combo then I can add rads and blocks to suit my needs with more flexibility. Initially I plan to use barbs, soft tube and clips, but once I have a setup I'm happy with, most if not all will move to solid tube.

I can't see any recent recommendation on pumps and the D5/ DDC see to vary from 200Lt /hr to 1500 Lt/hr so a big difference by brand. That and the res combinations has me confused as there are a lot of combo's, many with minimal volume in the res. I'd prefer a bigger res > 200ml as I have space and the side panel will not be windowed as the case lives under the desk.

The best value pump res combo is ?????

Thanks in advance.
 
What thickness - 28mm or 40mm

Interesting idea I never though of it - does the pump just hang off the front radiator then?
 
I'm the combo I suggested I think I could retain the HDD wall so fix to that.

More likely option is to use a bracket I've seen in some builds which fixes to fan screw mountings on the back of the rad. But sets the pump/ Res back a couple of inches for airflow.

Not sure on thickness as I'd need to look at the case but I expect 45mm as top is offset to improve mobo clearance, bottom should be 45 but front I'd need to test how it sits with the bottom rad. Ideally 45 again.
 
Also have a R6 that I am planning to water-cool when the 3000 series comes out. Will watch this thread for suggestions on Pump res combo. I would like one were pump noise is minimal.
Will be going for 1 X 360 front and 1X 240 top with a 120 fan intake at bottom and 120 fan out take at rear. Video card is a Radeon 7 which gets noisy while gaming.
 
I'm yet to buy the R6, but it's the case in favour right now as it seems very flexible, accomodates big air coolers, or a multitude of AIO or custom WC options. I'm looking at the plain, non windowed version for that anonymous box look.
I've only started looking a water cooling properly in the last few days, as my elderly 2600k @ 4.5-4.7Ghz is trivial to keep cool on air. Currently around 60C at 4.5Ghz with the big Phantecs cooler.

Looking to get and assemble most parts in June ready for the X570 + Zen 2 in July.

I have dabbled in wc previously when parts were a lot more rustic, so the choice and complexity now seems crazy.
Back to the you tube vids and spec sheets!
 
ninezerofive said:
D5 is the only pump you should be looking at.
Click to expand...

D5 is looking favourable over DDC, PWM seems to be a gimmic but vario looks useful to control noise.
Really don't seem to be any decent vario D5 / pump tops on OC, why you can't filter on DDC, D5, other is amazing... it's like they are trying to make it difficult.
When I find something, it's out of stock or pre-order. Looks like I'll need to look elsewhere...
 
Nothing wrong with DDC pumps. Good, reliable, small, powerful. If you have a high restriction loop a DDC has more head pressure so may be able to deliver higher flow than the supposedly higher-flowing D5.

I've heard complaints that DDC get too hot and too noisy but I have two (in two rigs) and they're fine.
 
Well the case is here along with a 240 rad, hand full of fittings, tubing and an EK DDC pump res.

Went for the version with vibration mounts, heatsink and PWM which I'll mount in the airflow and hopefully be able to set at mid power for negligible noise but enough pressure for a loop with multiple turns and rads.

Went for EK as there seems to be plenty of support and options freely available to customise later if needed.

I figured the 240 rad would give me an idea how much space fittings, end tanks etc take up so I can work out the rest of the system.

Still somewhat tempted to ditch the BluRay and just use a pair of 360 rads, but then I'd end up with a USB DVD plugged in most of the time.

Edit: after an hour or so checking out fitting an fittings, fairly convince that 3 x 240 is the way to go. Squeezing a 280 in any of the locations would be a challenge.

Bottom: 180mm PSU leaves almost no space for cables with 280mm
Front: with 30mm rad on the bottom, at least once 280 should fit, but it would block 20% of the 240 in the base.
Top: If I want a DVD, have to stick to Fractal guidance. Even my very short drive would be pressing on cables though I might just squeeze it in.

3 x 240 is still decent cooling so now looking at radiator sizes and connection points.
 
Last edited:
Bit of a resurection, but I did mostly complete the build in July, though with work, holidays and family, it's taken until recently to get some of the software etc swapped over so I can finally retire my 2600k as daily driver.

I ended up sticking with 3 x 240mm 30-35mm rads and nice cheap Arctic P12 PWM PST fans.
With the Blu ray drive in place, it would have been near impossible to fit any bigger rads so seems to be the best comprimise.
The case could definitely house bigger rads in the top or front without a DVD, though a bottom 240 prevents a front 280/360 even with the DVD omitted.

I still have a temporary Ryzen 2600 along with Vega 64 under water and results are good.
After an couple hours of Horizon 4, GPU doesn't exceed 30C, (ambient 22C) though in continous 3dmark runs I can get it a little above 35C.

Fans spinning around 800rpm, though on a curve if the CPU temp gets above 45C and the PWM DDC pump running 50% duty Also on a CPU temp curve) is quieter than the fans though I can just hear it for a few seconds when the PC boots and before the fan profiles kick in, in the BIOS.

Overall, happy with the near silence, I can just hear a slight bit of white fan noise but that's in a totally silent room and it's much quieter than my previous air cooled build which had a number of slow 120mm fans and a 140mm HS, especially when gaming. When there is a little more activity in the house or the TV in on in the next room I can't tell if the PC is on without checking.

With flex tube, swapping the CPU will only take a few minutes once I decide.
 
The temps in game are good as with Horizon 4 @ 1440p ultra the GPU utilisation is only 75-80%, along with a 65W processor which again isn't pushed by the game.

I found today that my GPU settings had been lost then I upgraded the driver so the card was throttling @ 220W and my 3dmark temps were a little lower than full power running. Last time I tested was much warmer summer so I put the low temps down to cooler rooms in autum.

Anyhow for info.

Room temp ~20C according to Hive.

Idle after ~1 hour 22C (GPU) 29C (CPU)
OCCT after ~ 1 hour 25C (GPU) 47C (CPU)
Firestrike extreme ~1 hour repeated stress tests, throttle ~220W GPU 38C Max
Firestrike extreme ~1 hour repeated stress tests, -100mV +50% Power limit ~280W GPU 43C Max
Horizon 4 normal play ~1 hour 1440P ultra 75FPS 31C (GPU) 39C (CPU)

I can gain another 1-2C by opening the front door on the case

I'll take a few pictures at the weekend.
 
MikeTimbers said:
Nothing wrong with DDC pumps. Good, reliable, small, powerful. If you have a high restriction loop a DDC has more head pressure so may be able to deliver higher flow than the supposedly higher-flowing D5.

I've heard complaints that DDC get too hot and too noisy but I have two (in two rigs) and they're fine.
Click to expand...

3 faulty DDC pumps , all need to be gently tapped with a screwdriver to get them to start.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom