• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Recommend Me a Cheap Pump

X

xdivenx

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Mar 4, 2008
Messages
1,941
I've decided to build my first watercooling system. Can anyone reccomend a pump that is preferably under $70 dollars that is of decent quality? I would like it to be able to handle my processor, and 2 graphics cards. I would like it to be fairly small also.

Any and all suggestions are appreciated =)
 
Just spring for the MCP655. Yes, I know it's about 85$ when taxxed, but seriously, no other high flow pump beats it when it comes to reliability.

These things are tanks. Mine has survived 3 years so far, being repainted twice, gone through 4 loops, run dry on many occasions, etc.
 
Hell, you can get a MCP350 from Newegg for as little as $54.99 It has a 2.4"x 2.4" footprint and over 10 feets of head pressure, IMO the MCP350 is the best WC'ing pump for the $ ATM and if you gets a Petra'sTech DDCT-01s Pump Top the whole pump's better (this prevents you from being "locked" into any particular hose or barb size and while you can use reducers, etc I wouldn't recommend it) :p

Before anyone knocks :( the MCP350, I've gots two (2x) MCP350's, stock tops, folding 24/7 ATM on two (2x) E6600 cpu's (one OC'ed 3.0 GHz and one OC'ed 2.8 GHz) and I have never had any problems with either of them.(starting, stopping, noise, heat or any frigging thing ;) )

Both pumps, longer for the 3.0 GHz boxen, have been folding non stop other than shutting them them down for reg maint or an occasional power outage (no sweat now I have UPS's on em') , an "Act of God" (ain't had none of them lately) or anythin' else. I've read on a few forums they only had probs with the MCP355's and then it was the ones with the orange rotor vs the blue rotor in the newer pumps :p)

PS When I finally do get a Q6600 and a D-TEK FuZion WB (with the quad nozzle) I'll change out the E6600 for the new Q6600 and the E6600's WB (Apogee GT, bowed) for the new D-TEK (with quad nozzle) . Since I'll have an extra Apogee GT I'll incorporate it into the loop on my modified external kit that I have sitting on the floor collecting dust (it's a modified Nautilus 500 kit in a cardboard box, it's too big for the original case)

:eek: I just thought of something, the Nautilus 500 loop has an older MCP350 in it, the pump has a black rotor ( I took it apart trying to identify it). So that means I have three (3) MCP350 water pumps. (how's that go "I can't lose for winnin' or something like that):p

Oh yeah, both E6600 chips are sitting in Intel quad core capable boards They might only be "el cheapo" boards, but they're quad capable boards non the less. I hope to also pick up a Abit IP35-E mobo for a Q6600.

PS If this post is confusing don't sweat it because it confuses me. Lets just hope I know what I want to do and can do it without screwing up too much.

Edit: Ahh.. sheech, I stand corrected, there's a $7.00 dollar shipping charge like was pointed out by someone. (it seems most of the time you have to pay shipping charges unless the shipping is free and/or included in the price, I went to Jab-tech and they wanted $8.18 for me for a MCP655-B (non variable)


 
Not inc possible tax and of course shipping, Jab-tech has the 655 @ $69.95 (Sidewinder as well it seems) OK (and IN) respectively.... The NON vario version of course, although TBH I never found a need to use the speed settings on mine once, the entire loop and/or other components were always louder than the pump itself.
 
Ok, i appreciate everyone's input. It seems now that my final decision will be between the 355 and 655. Would the 355 (which has quite a lower gph) be able to handle atleast 2 vid cards+processor? What would be the capability with the 655? Would i be able to do a complete WC rig with the 655? Say 2 vid cards, hdd, ram, proc, and north +south?
 
xdivenx said:
Ok, i appreciate everyone's input. It seems now that my final decision will be between the 355 and 655. Would the 355 (which has quite a lower gph) be able to handle atleast 2 vid cards+processor? What would be the capability with the 655? Would i be able to do a complete WC rig with the 655? Say 2 vid cards, hdd, ram, proc, and north +south?
Click to expand...

Both have the ability to handle your loop... But why are you WCing the RAM and HDD? That makes no sense.

The 355, however, doesn't have the ability to stand up to the 655 in terms of reliability.
 
Well i just wanted to get an idea of what i would be capable of with the 655. If i could, i would like to have a full system loop in the future, so i could efficiently cool everything on water and only have 2 fans.
 
Arcygenical said:
Both have the ability to handle your loop... But why are you WCing the RAM and HDD? That makes no sense.

The 355, however, doesn't have the ability to stand up to the 655 in terms of reliability.
Click to expand...

As bad as I hate too (only kiddin' :D) I have to agree with Arcygenical's assessment.

I've never had a bit of trouble with my MCP350's, but then I've only had cpu loops and I hardly ever shut them down. I think from reading many posts that the MCP655 pump might be better for a multi block loop like you're planning. 10.8 ft @ 116 GPH = MCP350, 15 ft @120 GPH = MCP355 and 11 ft @317 = MCP655-B (non variable, these figures are from the Petra's Tech Shop Web site, IMO a "dynamite" water cooling resource)

I'm not sure about the reliability thing (I've always trusted Swiftech and Laing products) and the only defects I've read about concerning the DDC pumps were for the older MCP355's (orange rotor), but I seriously wouldn't take the chance. Besides the MCP655 looks more industrial, but if you're worried about space it could be a problem, plus the MCP655 draws 24w vs 9w for the MCP350 and 18w for the MCP355 which may or may not be important to you.

From what little understanding I have the problem of not starting, high temperatures and excessive noise with the MCP355 was due to a bad impeller/rotor (the orange one) From what I understand Laing replaced the orange impellor/rotor for the MCP355 with a blue impeller/rotor. The only drawback was as I understand it is a 1ft to 3ft drop in head pressure for the MCP355. (these figures were taken from Laing Pumps Web page, IMO the makers of the best pc water cooling pumps)

Good luck with whatever you decide and if you're new to WC'ing "Mucho Welcome". IMO there's nothing like it. :p

Only my opinions and experiences :)

 
Ugh, yet another question. Im looking at this Right Here and its only 6 more dollars than the 355. However, its 1/2 inch, whereas i was looking to get 3/8 inch water blocks. Is it not recommended to use hose adapters? Will this create turbulence or hamper my liquid flow?
 
xdivenx said:
Ok, i appreciate everyone's input. It seems now that my final decision will be between the 355 and 655. Would the 355 (which has quite a lower gph) be able to handle atleast 2 vid cards+processor? What would be the capability with the 655? Would i be able to do a complete WC rig with the 655? Say 2 vid cards, hdd, ram, proc, and north +south?
Click to expand...

The 355 should handle two vid cards, a CPU, and chipset. The OEM version of that pump is used in the Dell XPS 720 gaming rig.

The Apogee GTX would be a great CPU cold block to mate with it. It's close to the Dell cold block for flow.
 
xdivenx said:
Ugh, yet another question. Im looking at this Right Here and its only 6 more dollars than the 355. However, its 1/2 inch, whereas i was looking to get 3/8 inch water blocks. Is it not recommended to use hose adapters? Will this create turbulence or hamper my liquid flow?
Click to expand...

Okay, here's the scoop as I see it, a legend in water cooling (the inventor of the "White Water" WB) a man by the name of Cathar did a controlled test to debunk the idea that tubing size makes that big a difference between 3/8" ID and 1/2" ID cooling tubing. In another test by him I also read where head pressure is as important or more important than flow (within reason) I think now a days 7/16" tubing is becoming very popular. Below is a link to his tubing results :)

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1200495

The only size tubing I've ever used was 1/4" ID tubes in my early Koolance days and the 3/8" ID tube "all same type of metal cooling loops" I use now. Be advised I have only used WC'ing for my cpu (cpu only loop) and used fans, HS's or a combination of both for everything else (NB, SB, RAM, HD, etc)

The Laing D5 (MCP655) or any of it's differently sponsored brothers and sisters are made with structually fitted 1/2" OD barbs (in other words the barbs are a molded part of the pump, not interchangable or in some cases unrepairable) and is made by Laing.

The DDC 2 pump (MCP355) or any of it's differently sponsored brothers and sisters are all made with 3/8" OD structually fitted barbs and are also made by Laing. (IMO the best pump makers in the world today)

From my understanding 1/2' ID tubing is difficult to use. (bend, fit, etc) so many people have gone over to 7/16" ID tubing (I think you can stretch it over your original 1/2" OD barbs which can save you some $ and time) or 3/8" tubing. (which I prefer)

The reason you were looking at 3/8" ID tubing is probably because you were looking at a DDC 2 pump (the MCP355) I did some research since my last post and according to the Laing Web site and several water cooling gurus the original MCP355 had a "orange/red" impeller/rotor, a 18w heat dump and little more head than the new MCP355 (DDC 3.2) with a 15w heat dump, blue impeller/rotor and 10.8 ft of head.

In all honesty IMO you should think about heat dump, head pressure, size and a pumps constant noise with a non variable adjustment. I would also be interested in how many custom top/sides were availiable because I would want the freedom to decide when and where I would use a certain size tubing. I think that may be important in a multi block loop. :confused:

To any chompin' at tha' bit critics out there just relax, this post is only the conclusions I've made independently from my own experiences and searching the Internet for experts in their field like the above mentioned Cathar.

Peace

 
I would say get the 355 and later spring for an XSPC top although Frozen has them for $19.99. Very small, very quiet, and supposedly the DDC-3.2 (blue rotor) are more reliable than their older brothers. I have had 3 diferent DDC 2's and two 3.2's and never had a problem with any of them. I have thought about trying a 655 but don;t want to losse the extra space..

my $.02
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top