Swiftech MCR Drive series

[cbn]

http://www.swiftnets.com/products/installation_guide_MCR%20DRIVE-english.pdf

I found this product while doing a search last night. Has anyone at Anandtech forums used it?

It looks like a very smart design with the radiator, res, and replaceable DDC pump built together as one unit. Pic here

Would this system be easier to maintain/drain/bleed that a loop made up of separate components?

 

[Kenmitch]

Kinda looks like a cool setup for a case without alot of room.

Is less water\coolant a good or bad thing. I figure more is better for longer heavy loads....Always wonder but never seems to be in the guides.

 

[nitromullet]

Kinda pricey...

Swiftech Radiator - MCR220 Res series: $59.95
Swiftech MCP350™ 12 VDC Pump: $54.95

vs:

Swiftech MCR220-DRIVE 2 x 120mm Radiator w/ Integrated Pump Housing ( WITH PUMP): $174.95

Is it worth $60 to have the pump integrated into the rad? Maybe for some it might be... It probably really depends on your installation.

 

[mhouck]

it looks like a pretty good kit. I think the $60 premium is fine for somebody that needs space, is new to WC, wants to get all the parts at once, and doesn't want a lot of tubes connecting the separate components.

 

[cbn]

Is less water\coolant a good or bad thing. I figure more is better for longer heavy loads....Always wonder but never seems to be in the guides.

Performance curves of the radiators and pump are similar to their respective non-integrated counterparts. However, overall system pressure drop is noticeably improved compared to a traditional setup due to a substantial reduction in the length of the flow path, as well as in the number of fittings (2 fittings instead of 6). An additional performance benefit is the new-found ability to run the MCP350 pump with 1/2" lines.

This is what Swiftech has to say about the reduction in flow path length.

P.S. I am a little bit confused why the Swiftech website is mentioning 1/2" lines? Does the included DDC pump come with a different top?

 

[Tullphan]

Personally, I just don't know if I like the looks of an external radiator.

 

[Kenmitch]

This is what Swiftech has to say about the reduction in flow path length.

P.S. I am a little bit confused why Swiftech website is mentioning 1/2" lines? Does the included DDC pump come with a different top?

The advantage of 1/2 lines is less restriction. The radiator is the pump top isn't it?

I would still think more water would be better tho as it would take longer to heat up because of the volume. Well at least sounds Spokish

The price premium would be offset by the simplicity of installation and minimal space requirements. Just kinda look at it as a customizable H50.

 

[nitromullet]

This is what Swiftech has to say about the reduction in flow path length.

P.S. I am a little bit confused why the Swiftech website is mentioning 1/2" lines? Does the included DDC pump come with a different top?

The rad is the pump top in this situation, so you can use whatever tubing you have barbs for on the rad.

 

[thilanliyan]

Personally, I just don't know if I like the looks of an external radiator.

Exactly...internal is just so much slicker.

 

[cbn]

The rad is the pump top in this situation, so you can use whatever tubing you have barbs for on the rad.

So for someone planning on buying an aftermarket DDC top this feature saves them $20?

 

[nitromullet]

So for someone planning on buying an aftermarket DDC top this feature saves them $20?

Not necessarily. It really depends on how well the Swiftech drive rad performs in comparison to an aftermarket top.

You could look at it this way too:

XSPC Premium Acrylic Reservoir for Laing DDC: $39.95
Swiftech MCP350™ 12 VDC Pump: $54.95
Swiftech Radiator - MCR220 Quiet Power Series Dual 120 mm: $49.95

vs.

Swiftech MCR220-DRIVE 2 x 120mm Radiator w/ Integrated Pump Housing ( WITH PUMP): $174.95

...it's still more expensive to buy the integrated setup, and the XSPC res/top is known to perform well.

Then again, it really depends on what you want. If you want a decent, fairly easy, but not particularly elegant solution the drive series rad is not a bad choice. If you want an internal, upgradeable, but potentially more complicated setup you will want separate components. The $20-30 difference either way is pretty negligible in the long run if you get a system you're happy with.

 

[cbn]

Not necessarily. It really depends on how well the Swiftech drive rad performs in comparison to an aftermarket top.

You could look at it this way too:

XSPC Premium Acrylic Reservoir for Laing DDC: $39.95
Swiftech MCP350™ 12 VDC Pump: $54.95
Swiftech Radiator - MCR220 Quiet Power Series Dual 120 mm: $49.95

vs.

Swiftech MCR220-DRIVE 2 x 120mm Radiator w/ Integrated Pump Housing ( WITH PUMP): $174.95

...it's still more expensive to buy the integrated setup, and the XSPC res/top is known to perform well.

Then again, it really depends on what you want. If you want a decent, fairly easy, but not particularly elegant solution the drive series rad is not a bad choice. If you want an internal, upgradeable, but potentially more complicated setup you will want separate components. The $20-30 difference either way is pretty negligible in the long run if you get a system you're happy with.

http://martin.skinneelabs.com/DDC32PumpTopTesting.html

This article points out that a pump inlet with a 90 degree bend (like the stock DDC top) hurts efficiency.

However, according to this post the MCR drive series is acting like an "aftermarket top".

 

[nitromullet]

http://martin.skinneelabs.com/DDC32PumpTopTesting.html

This article points out that a pump inlet with a 90 degree bend (like the stock DDC top) hurts efficiency.

However, according to this post the MCR drive series is acting like an "aftermarket top".

I'm not sure what you are trying to refute with the above post, as the res/top I linked to doesn't make a 90 degree bend.

The one thing almost everyone doing any water cooling agrees on is to use an aftermarket top for the DDC pump. The stock top kinda sucks, and it limits you to 3/8" ID tubing.

We already know that MCR drive series is acting as a pump top. What we don't know is how good of one...

 

[Tullphan]

I'm not sure what you are trying to refute with the above post, as the res/top I linked to doesn't make a 90 degree bend.

The one thing almost everyone doing any water cooling agrees on is to use an aftermarket top for the DDC pump. The stock top kinda sucks, and it limits you to 3/8" ID tubing.

We already know that MCR drive series is acting as a pump top. What we don't know is how good of one...

I've seen "tops" for sale, but didn't really understand what they did.
I claim stupidity when it comes to water cooling.

 

[cbn]

I'm not sure what you are trying to refute with the above post, as the res/top I linked to doesn't make a 90 degree bend.

The one thing almost everyone doing any water cooling agrees on is to use an aftermarket top for the DDC pump. The stock top kinda sucks, and it limits you to 3/8" ID tubing.

We already know that MCR drive series is acting as a pump top. What we don't know is how good of one...

When I wrote that post and asked that question at XS I was still confused on the direction of the pump flow. For some reason I kept thinking the DDC MCR Drive pump was pushing water through the radiator (rather than pulling water through). This caused me to be confused on whether the inlet was "center" or "side" (even though I was being told "center").

Okay now back to pump top testing. How can an experiment be set-up to compare pump tops? How can we isolate variables when possibly less tubing is needed when using the integrated Swiftech system? I am assuming the Swiftech MCR drive top could be removed from the radiator, but does this introduce any new variables (besides extra tubing length) that wouldn't exist on a completed system? Like you said, until this happens we don't know much better or worse this system is compared to a system made up of separate components.

However, If you look at that link to martin.skineelabs.com I gave the single most important factor determining flow is the restriction of the other components (besides the pump top). In fact, a stock DDC pump flows almost twice as much as a DDC pump w/ XSPC top if other components in the loop are more free flowing.

How much difference in pump top design is potentially offset by having the DDC pump directly connected to the radiator with a "center" inlet design? Looking at those graphs we can see there is only ~10% spread between the best center inlet pump top and the worst center inlet pump top, but the potential exists to increase flow ~100% with stock DDC to 200% w/ center inlet DDC if the restriction is reduced from other components in the loop.

 

[cbn]

I've seen "tops" for sale, but didn't really understand what they did.
I claim stupidity when it comes to water cooling.

From what little I know, an aftermarket DDC pump top does two things:

1. Allows 1/2" tubing to be used (lowering restriction)

2. Removes the efficiency robbing 90 degree turn if the aftermarket top is "center inlet deisgn". However, keep in mind not all aftermarket tops are "center inlet design". Some like the Alphacool Plexi Res Top are "side inlet" just like the stock DDC.

According to these tests, replacing a stock DDC pump top and replacing it with a XSPC Reservoir top will net the folling gains:

9.6 % gain in flow compared to stock DDC pump when other components in the loop are classified as "high restriction"

32.2% gain in flow compared to stock DDC pump when other components in the loop are classified as "medium restriction"

55.3% gain in flow compared to stock DDC pump when other components in the loop are classified as "low restriction".