Which pump should I get?

mjallan123 · 18 Sep 2011 at 15:55

I'm currently looking to build the best bang-per-buck water cooling loop I can. The stuff I'm going for might not be the best, but will perform close to it and cost significantly cheaper.

I think I have already decided on my other main components, just need to decide on which pump to get.

CPU Block:
XSPC Delta V3 - £28.79

GPU Block:
EK-VGA Supreme HF - £37

Radiator:
Magicool SLIM Triple (£36) + Magicool SLIM Dual (£30)

I need a pump that is capable, reliable and quiet, but does not cost an arm.

Any suggestions?

bilston · 18 Sep 2011 at 16:35

The swiftech laing is by far the best. But at 75 quid it's probably out of your price range. Personally, Id go for that anyway, you get what you pay for with pumps. I still got the v1 swiftech going strong after maybe 4 years

mjallan123 · 18 Sep 2011 at 16:49

I was thinking that I might need to spend a bit more on the pump. Would you suggest an after market top as well? Not really sure exactly what they do and whether they are worth the added cost?

bilston · 18 Sep 2011 at 17:01

Depends if you are after 1/2" ID (which the D5 comes with as standard) or something else? I have 1/2" ID throughout the system so havnt needed to mess around with different tops

mjallan123 · 18 Sep 2011 at 19:41

I was under the assumption that these tops increased the performance of the pump to a degree, but I am not sure if this increase justifies the additional expense.

What type of warranty do you get with the Swiftech Laing?

moogle · 18 Sep 2011 at 19:49

mjallan123 said:
I was thinking that I might need to spend a bit more on the pump. Would you suggest an after market top as well? Not really sure exactly what they do and whether they are worth the added cost?

The aftermarket tops increase the flowrate (probably due to bigger outlet/inlets) and pressure.

Better pressure (and decent flowrate) means a better flowrate through your blocks.

You could have a pump with double the flowrate of the laing pump but not a lot of pressure, but when you put it with your cpu and gpu block it may end up with a lower flowrate than the laing pump because it doesn't have the pressure to force the water through the pins/channels.

Not sure if I can post links but google "martins liquid labs aftermarket ddc top" and click the 4th link and have a look at the bar graphs at the bottom. It shows how the aftermarket tops increase the flow.

HTH

bilston · 18 Sep 2011 at 21:02

Ah I have learnt something today it seems! Will look in to these tops

EDIT: Hmm, just skimming through this article and noticed at the bottom... "In the end the tops likely won't amount to more than 1 degree of improvement regarding temperature over stock".

That says it all for me, not worth the effort.

moogle · 19 Sep 2011 at 07:27

Yeah, they're only if you want to use your own barbs, don't like the look of the stock top, want to increase pump efficiency or flow rate a restrictive loop.

I suppose then the EK DCP 2.2 Pump might be for the OP as it is the cheapest and quiet.

OLDPHART · 19 Sep 2011 at 09:51

I'm using Swiftech MCP35 PWM Pump + MCP35X Reservoir, can't fault it at all works like a charm. Its Gigabyte's dodgey software

that is at fault, once you have set your Pump PWM profile using Easytune 6, click on the icon and exit or you will get the BSOB, don't worry the pump is still running.