Need a new reservoir and maybe a pump

[bfun_x1]

I'm putting together and old water cooling loop for my new AM4 system. I got a new water block and was about to assemble it tonight when I noticed my 11year old Swiftech MCRES has some hairline cracks around the barb ports. Rather than take a chance I've decided to get a new reservoir. I'm also wondering if I should get a new pump. I have the MCP350 and it worked fine when I tested it tonight but it's also about 11 years old with the last 5 years of its life in storage. Is a pump this old still reliable? If I needed a new reservoir and pump I'll probably just get a combined unit to save space. I don't display my system so I don't need anything pretty.

Should I keep the MCP350 and see how it goes? If not, any recommendations on a pump reservoir combo or should I stick with individual parts?

 

[aigomorla]

i believe the MCP350 has a RPM sense line you can plug directly to your motherboard to warn you incase of pump failure?

These guys are great however they had a major design flaw in that they overheated which lead to premature pump death.
IMO what exactly are you watercooling?
If you have gpu's in that loop, i would replace that pump because of the cost in hardware that is being watercooled.

Also 11yrs our hobby has changed a lot...
Infact i started the hoppy in 2005! lol watched it grow to what it is now.

Depending on the space restraints, i would probably get a pump integrated bayres or a tube res with pump if you looking to replace that section.

There are a lot of accessories for D5's now, and D5's haven't changed in the fact they are still tanks.

 

[bfun_x1]

For now, I'm just cooling a Ryzen 1600. I used to cool both a CPU and GPU but that was a total pain in the butt. I ran Water Wetter through the pump for about 5 years so maybe that helped preserve the rings. I just bought a Phobya Balancer 150 to replace the micro res. This time I'm going to try the silver kill coils. I've never cared for the died biocides but perhaps they have gotten better with time.

Ha! I just noticed that Danger Den shutdown. I guess that shows how long I've been out of the loop. Pun intended.

 

[aigomorla]

if your gonna run silver make sure u have no nickle.
silver + nickle doesn't play nice.

 

[Valantar]

Isn't a D5 massive overkill for a CPU-only loop, no matter the longevity?

 

[aigomorla]

Isn't a D5 massive overkill for a CPU-only loop, no matter the longevity?

no because now most d5's u buy are pwm.
meaning they ramp up and down with cpu / temps according to bios.

 

[Valantar]

no because now most d5's u buy are pwm.
meaning they ramp up and down with cpu / temps according to bios.

I was thinking more in terms of cost vs. what you're actually getting out of it.

 

[aigomorla]

I was thinking more in terms of cost vs. what you're actually getting out of it.

oh then again, no.

As the D5 has the most solid performance / reliability numbers ad well as upgradable, so if and when you do add that gpu to the loop you will not be lacking in the flow area..

The D5 is a great pump, and even more so now that we have a lot of pump options for it.

 

[Valantar]

The D5 is a great pump, and even more so now that we have a lot of pump options for it.

Not arguing against that, and no doubt the reputation for outstanding longevity is well-earned. I'm simply asking if it's worth the (rather significant) outlay considering that it's way overpowered for a CPU+single rad loop. Of course, longevity in and of itself is worth paying for. And if adding a GPU, more radiators, and so on and so forth are on the horizon, that might very well justify it. I just didn't get that impression from the OP's post.

 

[guskline]

Valantar, I have a 1800x @4Ghs WC with an EK AM4 Evo water block with 2 360 mm slim Magicool rads and an EK D5 140mm Pump res combo. I'm adding a gpu block to my RX480 (Vega is likely going to be awhile). I have also used Swiftech MCP35x pumps but prefer the tried and true D5 pump. Worth the $$$.

 

[Valantar]

Valantar, I have a 1800x @4Ghs WC with an EK AM4 Evo water block with 2 360 mm slim Magicool rads and an EK D5 140mm Pump res combo. I'm adding a gpu block to my RX480 (Vega is likely going to be awhile). I have also used Swiftech MCP35x pumps but prefer the tried and true D5 pump. Worth the $$$.

Honestly, I would probably have gone for a D5 or something similar if I could afford it myself. I just couldn't face down a ~25% increase in my water cooling budget just for a better pump, plus the size of it made me wary as I plan to move my setup to an mITX case down the line. Instead, I ended up getting the EK-XRES 100SPC 60 MX, which was pretty much the cheapest pump+res combo I could find. I only installed it last week, but so far it's doing a very good job running my loop (CPU, GPU, 120 rad, 240 rad). There's very noticeably less flow than when I was testing it previously with just a single rad attached, but it seems to do the job. I haven't tried adjusting the speed of it, though, but it's barely audible at max speed. And of course, I have no idea how long it'll last.

 

[bfun_x1]

Finally got around to building the loop. The pump still works and I have it directly over an intake fan so I think it will be fine. The Phobya Balancer 150 worked well. The motherboard does report the pump speed. Is there a way to generate an alert if it ever stopped?

 

[thilanliyan]

I'm running a D5 myself but was seriously considering a MCPXX pump as I've read it has better head pressure. Unfortunately I couldn't find one in stock anywhere at the time I was buying.
Anyway, is the D5 actually more reliable than the MCP pumps (if you cool it properly)?

 

[bfun_x1]

I'm thinking about changing my set up again. The MCP350 still works but it does vibrate more than I remember and if it touches the case it's loud. I'm planning to get a D5 pump but I'm not sure which one yet. I really like the idea of the XSPC D5 Photon reservoir pump combo. It'd be perfect in a mid tower but reports of vibration and noise issues after a year of use are worrisome. If I just get the pump I'd like an acrylic top of some sort rather than the barbs. I'm thinking something like EKWB EK-XTOP Revo D5 PWM.

 

[aigomorla]

if you dont mind the waiting time..
These guys are fairly cheap, and very simular to a D5.
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...32616705065.html?spm=2114.12010612.0.0.xkdx6s

 

[bfun_x1]

Actually, I was just browsing aliexpress looking for D5 toppers and fittings. I wasn't too sure about ordering a pump though. Have there been good reports for that pump?

 

[aigomorla]

i just started playing with barrow gear.

And well, its the same stuff like bitspower, and other things made in china.

As for full on reliability, i cant speak for it, as i just dont have enough testing time with them, however i am gonna make a guess and its a OEM version of Laing, and not overcut on price after 2 vendors have a piece of the cost pie.. the first being Laing and 2nd eK.

 

[bfun_x1]

What are your thoughts on rigid tubing? I had everything in my cart to do my first rigid tubing build and then I began to wonder if it would be a long term pain in the butt. Moving any components or even swapping a CPU could be a major undertaking. The visual appeal would be a lot better but I'm wondering if I'd regret the lack of flexibility later on.

 

[aigomorla]

im very mix'd about rigid tubing.

When i was a hardware tester, rigid tubing would of been the bane of my existence.

Needing to drain the system to do any sort of hardware replacement.
With soft tubing, you can QDC it, u cant do that with rigid.

However after i gave up my hardware testing, and there isnt a lot of hardware swaping, im sorting of wanting rigid.

The benifits of rigid, is since the tubing isnt porous, id think you'd lose less water, and top off's would decrease.
Less chances of kinks, also you would have shorter runs.

I think when i build my X299 system, i will probably hybrid rigid and soft.

 

[bfun_x1]

I ordered the Barrow pump but unfortunately it took the seller about a month to ship it. Now I'm waiting the 2 to 3 weeks for it to cross the ocean. In the mean time I've been playing around with radiator designs for my next build and this is what I've come up with. I know its overkill for one CPU block and I know it's not super-efficient or maybe even pretty but I got the parts, I got the space, and why not.

So what I'm thinking is two 240 radiators overlapped. In the picture below the two black boxes are the radiators. The red boxes are 120 fans. The blue boxes are 140 fans and the gray lines are the case walls. The air comes in from the right and exits left into the case. The design does have some possible issues with the front fans. The 140s are both functional and cosmetic LED fans. They don't look like they belong but I don't want to move them. Because of the ~1mm case wall the front fans wont have a good seal over the radiator. The top 140 isn't an issue but the middle 120 will be pushing through 2 radiators and I’ll need a seal between the fan and first radiator and maybe between the first and second radiator. The seal will probably just be very thin weather stripping. The bottom 140 might be the biggest problem. I'm not sure what to expect with the fan overlap. The 140 will be spinning at a lower RPM than the 120 in front of it. My concern is that the overlap might cause air turbulence resulting excess noise or wear on the fans. If the overlapping fans aren't too much of an issue I'm thinking this will look quite interesting when I finally put it together.

 

[aigomorla]

keep me updated on that pump...

i would love to see pictures / your thoughts on it, especially the rants.

But as i said, i can vouch for the borrow fittings / tubing.
Its near bitspower quality at half the cost.

 

[bfun_x1]

37 days later I got the PWM version of the pump in hand. It looks and feels really solid but it's a lot bigger than I expected. I knew it's length but I hadn't bothered to check the diameter. I might have to drop to one radiator or mount the pump horizontal to the top of the case. I ran it on a test loop for a few minutes. There were minimal vibrations and it was very quiet at 20%. It certainly seems like it will be better than my aging MCP350. My only concern is that it appeared to get stuck at 90%. It could be a motherboard setting. A few minutes isn't enough time to really test it and I probably wont be able to play with it again until the weekend.

The Barrow fittings seem nice. At first I was disappointed that they didn't have the screw driver notches that my my XSPC fittings had and I figured they'd get real stuck and scratched when trying to remove them from anything. Then, when I turned one on it's side, I notice hole was actually a hexagon. Brilliant! An Allen wrench should make easy work of any stuck fitting. The XSPC is actually slightly bigger that the Barrow. Maybe .5mm. Both are too big to use at the top of my reservoir next to the fill hole plug. If I decide to use that port I'll need to use a barb.

 

[aigomorla]

keep me updated on that pump!



i am wanting to play with them....

 

[bfun_x1]

I’ve had the pump in my system now for about a week and I really like it. The PWM function works well and the pump is very quiet. I keep the RPMs between 20% and 30% for normal running and I found that taking it to 90% for just a few moments is a good way to get rid of hidden air bubbles.

I noticed that a lot of places are now calling it a Barrow D5 pump but I have no way to confirm that it is or isn’t an actual D5. If it’s not, the performance must be very similar.

Buying the pump and top combo from Aliexpress was a good deal. It shipped with the pump, top, and aluminum housing for $76. I bought the reservoir for $22 so the total was $98. On the down side I did have to wait 37 days to get it. Buying the parts separately would run about $150. It also looks like Amazon has all the parts for about $150 and they will ship a lot faster.

Thermaltake and XSPC both have a D5 pump reservoir combo for about the same price but the Barrow system certainly has more design options. The reservoir comes in 90mm, 130mm, and 210mm sizes. The pump top comes in black, white and clear. The aluminum body comes in red, green, blue, white silver, gold, purple, and black. All of the parts are modular so I can change the color if I ever go with a different color scheme in my case.

Here are my complaints. The mount included with the pump top isn’t very versatile. It’s small and only has a few holes. The reservoir comes with better mounts but since they wrap around the reservoir they aren’t as aesthetically pleasing. The pump combined with all the parts is quite large. It needs twice the space of my old MCP350 and reservoir combo.

I’ll be posting pictures later.

 

[aigomorla]

sigh so i am addicted to aliexpress....

The only killer is the waiting time... but the prices are just incredible.
I spent less on more stuff totaling 2 builds at aliexpress, vs using stateside stores...

:T