Suggestions for noisy pump in 011 distro plate?

GilesGuthrie · 24 Nov 2020 at 12:12

I have an EK 011 distro plate (the side-mount one) mounted in an 011 XL, and I'm using the Gigabyte SIV utility (on an X570 Aorus Pro ATX board).

The distro plate was connected to SYS_5_PUMP on the motherboard, and I had 3x fans connected to CPU_FAN, 3x fans connected to CPU_OPT, and 1 connected to SYS_FAN1.

I just recently replaced all my EK fans with Lian Li Unifans, which are connected to the Lian Li controller. The controller is set to PWM, using the CPU_OPT as a signal source, which can use the fluid temp (EC_TEMP1) as an input. The reasoning here being that the fluid is keeping the CPU & GPU cool, so if that temp starts to rise, the fans need to blow harder over the rads to cool things down.

The distro is connected to the CPU_FAN header.

This has achieved the goal, whereby the system overall is a whole lot quieter, since I don't have fans boosting on CPU temp fluctuations. Overall, the system and fluid temps are staying constant with the fluid around 6 deg over ambient, rising to 10 deg over ambient after 3hrs' gaming.

So far, so good, however...

I have the fan curve on the CPU (driving the fluid pump) set to 50% for CPU temps for up to 50 deg, rising to 100% by the time the CPU hits 60 deg. Firstly, should I worry about this? Is running the pump at 50% (which, actually, is 2000rpm, so is really 66%) bad for it?

Secondly, this is the result of some experimentation. Between 2200RPM and 2600RPM, the pump has a resonance that is a really unpleasant noise. Unfortunately, with the system as a whole being much quieter, the resonance is now driving me nuts.

So I'm looking to you for suggestions.

Is it possible to mount the pump into the case differently, e.g. using some grommets or similar as dampers, in case the resonance is actually a case vibration?
Should I just run the pump between 1000RPM & 2000RPM, avoiding the speed where the resonance happens?
Should I RMA the distro plate to get another one?
Or, more dramatically, but I would consider it, should I bin the distro plate and use a different pump/res combo?

Any advice you have would be appreciated

Brizzles · 24 Nov 2020 at 15:03

You can run it at 50% without issue.

Infact there is little reason to have the pump ramp up to 100% with temperature increases ( it'll make no difference to the temps just adds noise )

Put it on its own pwm header and set at a fixed % ( what ever you deem acceptable noise wise 30%-50% ) , my DDC pump/distroplate is set up like that ( constant 2000rpm )

The fans and radiators do 99% of the cooling- pump speed makes little to zero difference in a normal loop

Hakanese · 25 Nov 2020 at 03:29

Exactly as Brizzles mentioned above, just because pumps in custom loops can go 100% there's barely any need, unless you have a very restrictive or large loop. Put your pump on a seperate header, and put your rad fans on the cpu_fan header. Set the pump at around 50% and if it's quiet leave it there. I used to run my d5 in an old build at 40%

Don't get strung up on higher pump speed=better cooling, as it's much more complicated then that. Your Radiator fans are the main things you want to focus on for the cooling.

rankftw · 25 Nov 2020 at 07:49

I use a program called Argus Monitor to control all the fans and pump in my setup. You can set fan curves based on multiple controllers and also based on an average temperature over x amount of time. So for example I have an average of 25 seconds on my CPU temperature so the fans don't spin up based on temp spikes but I also have the fans set to ramp up gradually when the GPU hits a certain temp. It really is a great program. You can trial it free for 30 days and then a 3 year sub costs about £10. It gets updated regularly and really give you complete control over your fans and pump.

Here's a wee snapshot for example.

GilesGuthrie · 25 Nov 2020 at 09:35

Thanks everyone for the responses. I've pulled the pump speed down to 50%, so it's quiet again, and I've flattened the curve, so it stays there. I'll keep an eye on temps (TBH, since I implemented the custom loop I've been pretty obsessed with the temps!)

wookiee87 · 25 Nov 2020 at 13:41

GilesGuthrie said:
Thanks everyone for the responses. I've pulled the pump speed down to 50%, so it's quiet again, and I've flattened the curve, so it stays there. I'll keep an eye on temps (TBH, since I implemented the custom loop I've been pretty obsessed with the temps!)

its you lucky day my freind i have a spare pump from a damaged plate i cracked during maintance, i bought a new distroplate/pump unit but before i threw out the plate i took the ddc 3.1.01t pwm9 pump off and its been packed in bubble wrap ever since, i have it for sale in the mm if your ever in need of a spare

Brizzles · 25 Nov 2020 at 16:15

It goes against what you would normally think - faster is better.

That is generally the case with fans, but with pumps its more complicated.

'Faster pump speed moves the heat away from the blocks quicker, must be better' - Flipside, the faster moving fluid will also spend less time in the radiators cooling.
'Slower pump will keep the fluid cooler as it stays in the rad longer ' - Flipside, it will also move slower over the key areas you want to move heat away from.

Ultimately a normal loop will reach equilibrium regardless of pump speed.

GilesGuthrie · 26 Nov 2020 at 08:57

wookiee87 said:
its you lucky day my freind i have a spare pump from a damaged plate i cracked during maintance, i bought a new distroplate/pump unit but before i threw out the plate i took the ddc 3.1.01t pwm9 pump off and its been packed in bubble wrap ever since, i have it for sale in the mm if your ever in need of a spare

Thanks for the offer. I'm a way short of getting access to the MM quite yet, but after following @Brizzles advice, things are nicely quiet in the room again.

Brizzles said:
It goes against what you would normally think - faster is better.

That is generally the case with fans, but with pumps its more complicated.

'Faster pump speed moves the heat away from the blocks quicker, must be better' - Flipside, the faster moving fluid will also spend less time in the radiators cooling.
'Slower pump will keep the fluid cooler as it stays in the rad longer ' - Flipside, it will also move slower over the key areas you want to move heat away from.

Ultimately a normal loop will reach equilibrium regardless of pump speed.

Yes, this is what my experimentation is leading me towards. Unexpectedly, I have found that one of the more useful "investments" I've made in terms of running the system, is the purchase of a room thermometer. I've found that the delta between fluid temp and ambient is 4-10 degrees, with the fluid temp maxing out at 36 deg after over 2hrs of running the GPU at 100% and the CPU at whatever the game I'm playing needs. This has been consistent since April, so includes the UK summer. Generally speaking, the thing that needs cooling the most in the room now is the operator, as after a reasonably long session, the room temp gets uncomfortable for me, but the fluid never climbs above 36 deg.

Thanks to your advice, we're all quiet and temps are stable, so I can stop worrying about it again!

tyler_jrb · 27 Nov 2020 at 20:39

Temps between max speed and even min speed should be nothing a few degrees at most. If noise is of a concern then that sacrifice isnt much.

From testing around 1780-1800rpm is the quietest speed on a D5. Shouldnt be any issues with flow at that speed.

V5ilver · 29 Nov 2020 at 02:54

What sort of flow rates are people aiming for?
I got a ddc3.2 pump on my o11 d distro and am maxing out at flow rates of 2LPM with pump at 100%
Saw pictures of other peoples builds and they were getting double that!

Drumroll · 11 Dec 2020 at 19:25

Brizzles said:
You can run it at 50% without issue.

Infact there is little reason to have the pump ramp up to 100% with temperature increases ( it'll make no difference to the temps just adds noise )

Put it on its own pwm header and set at a fixed % ( what ever you deem acceptable noise wise 30%-50% ) , my DDC pump/distroplate is set up like that ( constant 2000rpm )

The fans and radiators do 99% of the cooling- pump speed makes little to zero difference in a normal loop

This. Set the pump at an acceptable noise level/flow rate, depending on your system. 3 rads, CPU/GPU, flow meter and few angled fittings, D5 at 50% is plenty. But as I've mentioned, depending on how restrictive your blocks and rads are.

GilesGuthrie · 12 Dec 2020 at 15:23

Thanks all. I've been running the pump at 2000rpm, where it's now quieter than the fans again. The fans ramp up with fluid temp which is fine, because the only time the fluid temp really rises is during gaming, when I've got my headphones on, so can't hear the fans.