aio pump speed and fan question

davethe11 · 7 Dec 2016 at 11:16

I have the recent ocuk 6700k bundle with 120mm cpu aio cooler, I was wondering if is ok to vary the pump speed or should it be at 100% constantly (mainly a question about not damaging the pump).

Also, I'm setting up fan profiles for my case (Fractal Design Define S, three 140mm intakes, single 140mm exhaust, and the two 120mm push fans with the rad top mounted) - is frequent spinning up/down of the fans going to affect the lifetime of the fans?

I'm aiming for a constant positive pressure setup, and currently have set up the following:

Front Top and Front Middle intakes always on

Front Bottom intake only kicks in at 55c (to feed the gpu when gaming)

Exhaust kicks in at 50c (didn't want to waste intake air at lower temps)

The aio pump and fans are always on, but on a curve.

How does this sound? Am I overthinking this?

Tealc · 8 Dec 2016 at 07:29

Pump: If the AIO cooler pump allows PWM control then it is designed for this and you shouldn't need to worry about it.

I wouldn't worry about fan life, they are generally rated at several thousand hours. Fans stopping and starting can be an annoyance to the ear though. If you want this then ensure the fan comes on at a slow speed to start, not full speed as that would sound awful. Better to have a low constant speed than fans switching on to 100% and then stopping two minutes later.

davethe11 · 8 Dec 2016 at 09:09

Thanks for the advice Tealc. The pump is 3 pin not 4, but so far it seems happy enough on a curve so far. I have all the fans set up on curves so the noise is all good. Dust is my main hate, is a can of compressed air still recommended for an occasional spring clean? I've just got that new-build head on where you're ocd about setup lol

doyll · 8 Dec 2016 at 12:26

Most of the AIO (really CLCs) I know of are fixed speed pumps, not variable speed. They ae barely to move enough coolant at full speed.

davethe11 · 8 Dec 2016 at 12:41

doyll said:
Most of the AIO (really CLCs) I know of are fixed speed pumps, not variable speed. They ae barely to move enough coolant at full speed.

Would running it at a lower than max speed potentially damage the pump?

doyll · 8 Dec 2016 at 12:53

davethe11 said:
Would running it at a lower than max speed potentially damage the pump?

Lots of variables involved, but yes, it could potentially damage the pump, depending on how much lower the voltage is.

What CLC do you have?

davethe11 · 8 Dec 2016 at 15:57

doyll said:
Lots of variables involved, but yes, it could potentially damage the pump, depending on how much lower the voltage is.

What CLC do you have?

It's the ocuk tech labs one, this one I believe (it came with an ocuk black friday bundle). It's my first water cooler of any kind, so I'm just getting clued up on the do's and don'ts

doyll · 10 Dec 2016 at 11:32

davethe11 said:
It's the ocuk tech labs one, this one I believe (it came with an ocuk black friday bundle). It's my first water cooler of any kind, so I'm just getting clued up on the do's and don'ts

OcUK does not give us much in the way of specifications, so I don't know. Basically it's just another Asetek OEM CLC .. originally they called them LCLC for Low Cost Liquid Cooling. The radiator is aluminum using very dense fin spacing that requires very high airflow and pressure rated fans to cool adequately ... lots of noise .. and a pump that only marginally moves enough coolant to keep the waterblock cool. I wouldn't use an Asetek if it was given to me. Fact is I have tested a fair few and couldn't get them out, packed up and gone fast enough. Sadly I have to keep a couple around for comparison testing.

It will probably do you an okay job, but keep an eye on it for leaks and have a backup cooler in case the pump fails .. because when it does you will have no cooling until you replace it.

The Alphacool OEM coolers are the lowest priced / lowest quality I will consider using. Most have copper radiators, pump that moves more coolant, a fill plug, and pipe fittings with pipe that can be replaced. Asetek are completely factory sealed .. something goes wrong and it's all junk.

davethe11 · 11 Dec 2016 at 10:03

doyll said:
OcUK does not give us much in the way of specifications, so I don't know. Basically it's just another Asetek OEM CLC .. originally they called them LCLC for Low Cost Liquid Cooling. The radiator is aluminum using very dense fin spacing that requires very high airflow and pressure rated fans to cool adequately ... lots of noise .. and a pump that only marginally moves enough coolant to keep the waterblock cool. I wouldn't use an Asetek if it was given to me. Fact is I have tested a fair few and couldn't get them out, packed up and gone fast enough. Sadly I have to keep a couple around for comparison testing. It will probably do you an okay job, but keep an eye on it for leaks and have a backup cooler in case the pump fails .. because when it does you will have no cooling until you replace it.

The Alphacool OEM coolers are the lowest priced / lowest quality I will consider using. Most have copper radiators, pump that moves more coolant, a fill plug, and pipe fittings with pipe that can be replaced. Asetek are completely factory sealed .. something goes wrong and it's all junk.

Originally I was going to get a noctua air cooler, but when this bundle came up plans changed a little. OCUK supplied two Noiseblocker BlackSilent Pro PLPS 120mm pwm fans for the rad, but I do have a single 120mm Gentle Typhoon AP-53 (same as AP-15) 3-pin from my old build - I was tempted to pick up another and put them on the rad, do you think this would be a good option considering the dense fins?

doyll · 11 Dec 2016 at 10:37

davethe11 said:
Originally I was going to get a noctua air cooler, but when this bundle came up plans changed a little. OCUK supplied two Noiseblocker BlackSilent Pro PLPS 120mm pwm fans for the rad, but I do have a single 120mm Gentle Typhoon AP-53 (same as AP-15) 3-pin from my old build - I was tempted to pick up another and put them on the rad, do you think this would be a good option considering the dense fins?

Too bad you didn't go with an top tier air cooler.

Changing fans will help lower fan noise and if you are not pushing high wattage at it will cool okay. The thing is these CLCs only cool as well as top tier air at full speed, and at full speed they are 2-8 times louder than top tier air doing the same job. As far as I can tell you basically have same thing asa Corsair H100i with labeling and different fans. It is an Asetek OEM CLC. Here is a chart showing CLC and top tier air coolers .. and Swiftech H220 X & H240 X. Compare the dB level to CPU temperature. Notice the H100i is 58-62dB compared to top air being 33-38dB at same temps, but when H100i fans were slowed down to less than 40dB it has 2.5-4c CPU temps. 38dB sound 50% louder then 33dB. 62dB sounds almost 800% louder than 33dB. This testing data does not show pump noise.

Georges%20data%20w%20all%20coolers_zpscmcly46l.png~original

At a guess with a 2nd AP-15 (if you can find one) it will be quiet enough to use .. assuming pump noise does not bother you. An AP-15 will be about 20 quid, and you can get a good quiet air cooler for 40-50 quid. If you decide to cut your looses and go air, let me know and I will help you find a good value air cooler with similar cooling abilty to what you now have.

davethe11 · 11 Dec 2016 at 11:00

doyll said:
Too bad you didn't go with an top tier air cooler.

Thanks for the advice and info doyll. Originally is was going to be the NH-U14S air cooler, I've always avoided water cooling because I knew for it to be really worth it you need to spend out a little, and I've always been happy on air. To be honest I'm pretty happy with this aio, the pump does buzz at 100% but as long as that is normal for these coolers then no probs. I'm always going to be paranoid about leaking though, maybe if I see a bargain on the noctua air cooler in the future I'll swap.

doyll · 11 Dec 2016 at 11:29

davethe11 said:
Thanks for the advice and info doyll. Originally is was going to be the NH-U14S air cooler, I've always avoided water cooling because I knew for it to be really worth it you need to spend out a little, and I've always been happy on air. To be honest I'm pretty happy with this aio, the pump does buzz at 100% but as long as that is normal for these coolers then no probs. I'm always going to be paranoid about leaking though, maybe if I see a bargain on the noctua air cooler in the future I'll swap.

I would not limit myself to Noctua. For example TRUE Spirit 140 is as good as NH-U14S. TRUE Spirit 140 Power is better, especially if a 2nd fan is added. At least now the NH-U14S price is competative to similar performing single towers . and honestly the difference between single tower and twin towers is margin if different at all.

davethe11 · 12 Dec 2016 at 09:32

doyll said:
I would not limit myself to Noctua. For example TRUE Spirit 140 is as good as NH-U14S. TRUE Spirit 140 Power is better, especially if a 2nd fan is added. At least now the NH-U14S price is competative to similar performing single towers . and honestly the difference between single tower and twin towers is margin if different at all.

Thanks for the recommendations, I'm gonna hold on to the aio for now, but will check out the True Spirit range for a potential switch back to air in the future.