Reservoirs/pumps

lrlcr

lrlcr

lrlcr

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I'm trying to piece together the last piece of my watercooling puzzle that has really been getting to me, to the point that I can't sleep.

The D5 seems to be a superior pump to the DDC so I'll probably go for one of the topless alphacool D5 vario ones. Mounting any pump is a pain, so I've pretty much decided get one of three options:

a)Danger Den Monsoon D5 Premium
b)EK-D5 X-RES TOP 140 with a longer tube mounted to the rear of the HAF
c)XSPC dual bay for D5

The XSPC has me worried with the build quality, and it might be tricky to bleed compared to the DD.


Primarily I want to be able to keep this build pretty quiet so will be replacing my fan controller with a Lamptron as I'm not hugely impressed with the NZXT one and running the pump from it.


Is there anything obvious I've missed with opting for a pump/reservoir combo, most people seem to use the tube reservoirs and separate pumps. Is it a noise thing or just convenience?
 
The XSPC X-top rev2 improves the D5's performance (about 10%) and makes it quieter.
Combo D5 bay res at best, are on par with the stock top - some are worse.
Normally picked for bling or cases with limited space.
Loops with bay res's need extra tubeing to make filling/bleeding easier (or a cleaver fill port)

Also because the pump is a moveing part it's generally better to isolate it from the case.

I have my EK tube dirrectly attached to my D5 via a male/male threaded connector.

Skinney labs 'Danger Den D5 Monsoon Premium' review has some good graphs on different res and stand alone pump tops for the D5
 
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I had a similar concern but actually it depends on the restriction in your loop

the MCP355's and now the 35X (DDC's ) have a greater head pressure so they push water against restriction better

the D5's are also great but have better flow through less restricted routes ..

I went for 2 x Laing DDC 8w MCP355 in series in one loop with 2 rad's 3 GPU's and a CPU

IMO that was the best way for me .. you need to look at how much kit you areputting in your loop
 
Also the XSPC bual bay res I have has so far (over 12 months) caused me no concern and I've screwed countless compression fittings and other items into it .. and removed and replaced the pump fittings (for cleaning purposes) several times with no ill effects ... their kit is good ..

if you want a cylinder rez .. it;s all about the looks ... I'd actually seen more problems with them cracking than the bay resses at the time i purchased
 
I'm still really struggling to decide, I've got plenty of space for just about anything in terms of pumps/reservoirs (could probably get a 400mm tube res in fairly easily)

I want something really neat, but that isn't going to prevent me expanding down the line.
 
If you want silence I would recommend avoding the xspc bay res, it can produce an annoying resonance. Just grab a normal res and stick the pump on a soggy sandwich or some other absorbent material.

If you really want to put it in a bayres have a look at the koolance or danger den ones they are better build quality and are supposed to dampen the vibrations better than the xspc.

I'm tempted to grab the koolance myself but don't know if I can be bothered rebuilding.
 
the D.N.A tubes are gorgeous, there's so so many combinations and permutations of kit .. keep digging till you find something that makes you say "Want THAT one !"

and you'll be golden ... you're the one that has to live with it though :)
 
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