[bundymania User Review] Alphacool Laing DDC-SilentBox

bundymania

bundymania

bundymania

Associate
Joined
30 Dec 2008
Posts
320
Location
Hannover / Germany
Hello guys,

the watercooling pump Laing DDC 1T is a well known and popular candidate on the watercooling-market since many years. I think this product could have been established, because of its great performance and its compact dimensions. The pump offers flow-rates, which guarantee enough power reserves for almost any kind of water-cooling-solutions in your PC.
The customer can choose between a great variety of component parts, like tops from different producers with G ¼” threads, which reduces as well the noise-level of the pump to maximum silence. Silence is exactly the topic of the following product: The new Alphacool Silentbox for the Laing Pump. The box should absorb the operating noise. Therefore let us take a look, if it is possible to reduce the sound level of the pump with this box (I will show you as well the different assembly options of the box)
I used in my the test the Laing DDC-1T Plus, which is identical in construction to the Koolance PMP-400, in combination with the favorable Alphacool POM Laing Top.
The pump including the top fit in the silentbox:

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Some impressions of the Alphacool Silentbox:


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Technical Details:

Material: Steel, Cellular material
Color: black paintwork
Seize (LxBxH): 100x102x66mm
Standard assembly option: 2x 3,5” Bay
Additional mounting holes:
Bottom Side: 8x M4 Threads
Sideward: je 2x M3 Threads
Weight: 474g

Scope of supply:

Alphacool Laing DDC-SilentBox
8x mounting screws

Price: ca. 15 EUR


The box has nice black paintwork and is filled with black foam material, in order to reduce the noise level of the pump. It has apertures on the top and foreside, which are big enough to connect fittings and tubes up to a size auf 19/13mm (you have to cut out the holes by yourself, for your preferred size). The Alphacool Silentbox comes in a decent black retail-box and is well wrapped in bubble-foil. The scope of supply contains 8 black assembly screws. In order to decouple the box itself, it has different threads at the bottom and on the sides, so you can choose between great varieties of assembly options for buffers. An additional idea is to install a “Phobya Noise Destructor” under the box. On the backside you will a find a small hole, which should be used for the electric-cable of the pump.
The Alphacool Silentbox has a nice decent design and the processing quality is in a good relation to its price of 15,00€. Here and there, you might find some very small errors in the paintwork, but they are not disturbing the good appearance of this product.
I think the ambient temperature is another interesting point concerning this Silentbox.
I have installed a sensor in the Silentbox in order to give you a small impression of the inside temperatures. Gauging temperatures after one hour results in a plus auf three degrees celsius over room temperature (I think a good value with no dangers for longer usage).





On-road test:

I used for the On-road test the Laing DDC 1T Plus including Alphacool Top in the Silentbox and started to test the different noise level with my ears. My first thought was a testing of the noise level by an Android Smartphone App, but I think those tool are not precise enough and I did not have as well enough money to buy an expensive checking device. Therefore I did a small video-clip, which shows the operating of the whole combination.

Alphacool Laing DDC-SilentBox with Alphacool POM Top and Laing DDC 1T Plus - YouTube

Because of the Silentbox, the noise level is a bit lower and less high-frequent, which sounds much more comfortable. I am sorry, but I think the microphone of my camera is not good enough the express the real sounding of the pump.

The Alphacool Silentbox gets the Price-Performance Award.

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Conclusion:

Taking the used materials and the material-thickness into account, you should not expect wonders like total silence, especially if you use a pump-top (like I did), which is not the most quite candidate. Nevertheless you will hear a difference in using the Silentbox or not. In relation to its price, the reduced noise level is on an adequate level. Additionally the box offers a great variety of assembly and decoupling options.


PS: Sorry for any errors, english is not my first language :)

Thanks to the manufacturer Alphacool for supporting my short review !
 
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Just watch you pump over heat quicker and kill it self quicker. The pump needs air flow around it and encasing it in a sweet box is not the best of idea's. Why do you think you can get a Heat sink for the DDC pump 18w and 10w.

Bad product and i bet ppl using these will see there pumps dye a lot. If you would like quieter pump add a Heat sink, get a fan controller and dial it down. In fact dont go DDC go D5 it will save you money in the long run and you wont need to kill you VERY expensive pumps at all.
 
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mlwood37 said:
Just watch you pump over heat quicker and kill it self quicker. The pump needs air flow around it and encasing it in a sweet box is not the best of idea's. Why do you think you can get a Heat sink for the DDC pump 18w and 10w.

Bad product and i bet ppl using these will see there pumps dye a lot. If you would like quieter pump add a Heat sink, get a fan controller and dial it down. In fact dont go DDC go D5 it will save you money in the long run and you wont need to kill you VERY expensive pumps at all.
Click to expand...

I agree, ddcs get very hot, the majority of the noise from these pumps come from case vibrations not from the pump housing itself. Best to just isolate the pump by some form of "soggy sandwich" or equivalent, or even better suspend it directly to the bottom of a res using tubing.

Nice idea in theory though.
 
3° more or less is no problem for such a pump ! A pump needs no airflow at all. The pump was original designed many years ago for a Macintosh PC, which has no airflow on the pos. , where the pump was placed.
 
The pump had air natural air flow around it in the mac mind you the pumps didn't last that long anyway due to the corrosive liquids they used in them. It wasn't stuck in side would i could only can call a heater box and the padding on that will not help at all. Test the pump side by side over a long period of time (not just a couple of hours for review) and i bet that the Pump dies in the box much sooner that a pump that has natural air flow around it.

DDC pumps are not cheap and this will not help in any way. If the box had some sort of Heat sink that was some how connected to the base of the Pump then had padding around it, it would be more effective as then you are helping the removal of heat from the pump how ever the only way for the heat to escape in this set up is via the water in the pump and its well know that it doesn't work that well and will increase the temp of the over all system and the pump make the life of the pump drop.
 
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You can attach little rubber grommets under the pump in the silentbox if you want and et voila it has better heat transfer to the motor :)
 
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Cleeecooo said:
Is it possible to liquid cool the pump o.O
Click to expand...

Would you believe it some one has and it works. But companies all so have created a heat sink that you can add a small fan too, to alleviate the problem. I have had lots of DDCs in my time and i now how much these things heat up as do many users hence the idea above is a bad one. Im not having a go at the reviewer but i believe that adding to a problem and making things literally destroy them self is not a good idea just for cosmetic reasons.

Personally if i was a pump re-seller i would void any warranty they had if the added it into such a casing.
 
I personally prefer to use the XSPC Res top along with a foam pad at the bottom - does a very good job of keeping the noise down ;)
 
zoomee said:
I personally prefer to use the XSPC Res top along with a foam pad at the bottom - does a very good job of keeping the noise down ;)
Click to expand...

Same here, 200ml XSPC res top and a couple of layers of foam and nylon bolts do the trick, i have added some Swiftech VGA ramsinks around the pump casing to try and dissipate more of the heat the pump motor can produce.

Edit: This is a nice idea too for decoupling and cooling a DDC pump, Martinsliquidlab.
 
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If its suspended in the air then I can see little vibration noise, if the fillport is resting on the case then there will be some
 
It looks like the T fitting is fixed to vthe case thats why i asked, could maybe add a neoprene washer either side to help in any case, looks neat tho.
 
Might try it myself when i feel the need for a rebuild, might lose the res top and go for either a nice bay res or a tube res.
Edit: Had my setup running around 4 months now and the coolant in the res has maybe dropped 3-4mm, never had the need to top up yet :)
 
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