Suggest a quiet pump?

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Fire-Flare
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Suggest a quiet pump?

Post by Fire-Flare » Mon Dec 12, 2011 2:32 pm

I'm considering adding a small loop for my comp's Christmas gift this year to assist in overclocking my CPU.

I'm a total noob to liquid cooling, but I know the pump can be soft-mounted or suspended to reduce vibration. Even so, I don't want to hear ANYTHING through my case's vents.

I don't believe I'll need a 'powerful' pump since I intend for it to only service one block, a 140mm radiator, a reservoir, and ~5 feet of tubing.

Thank you in advance.

N7SC
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Re: Suggest a quiet pump?

Post by N7SC » Mon Dec 12, 2011 6:54 pm

The Laing DDC Pro, which is also sold by Swiftech as the MCP 350 is known as a pretty quiet little pump. The Pro is the 12 Watt version of the pump. Beware of the 18 Watt DDC Ultra, also known as Swiftech MCP 355, they are much louder than the Pro, but look exactly the same. Lots of other companies, besides Swiftech, put their own name on the Laing DDC pumps and sell them. The Laing DDC pumps are pretty unique in size and shape, you can spot one easily. The barbs for 3/8" ID tubing are the standard from the Laing factory. Some companies put a different top, with threaded openings, on the pumps they buy from Laing, so you can put on the fittings of your choice. Some are highly modified, some have a reservoir built on the top, etc.

Link to Swiftech MCP350 at FrozenCPU.com Use the breadcrumbs above the header for the MCP350 to get to the pumps page and check out all the other pumps too. Lots to learn there.

I have a Swiftech MCP350, and it is pretty darn quiet. It is mounted on its side, to the removable motherboard tray in my case, sits on a square of Petra's Gel Stuff (link) and has nylon screws securing it loosely (so they won't transmit as much vibration to the tray.). I am currently planning on putting a bracket on the motherboard tray, and mounting the pump normally, and letting it sit on a new block of Gel Stuff properly. The sideways mounting is squashing the Gel Stuff in places, and is not allowing it to do its best job of isolation. But still it is quieter than the Akasa Apache Black fans in my computer.

There is a PWM version of the DDC available from Swiftech, the MCP35X. Some users report that it makes a different noise than the regular DDC pumps. But I think it has the potential to be quieter because, in a properly designed cooling system it would be able to run at a lower power. But, that may well be a wrong assumption. Very technical review by Skinee Labs here.

By the way, your proposed setup looks like mine, except that I have a reservoir too (you'll probably need one). In my computer, the case fans are by far the loudest components, and I am working on controlling that right now.

Fire-Flare
Posts: 422
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Location: Seattle

Re: Suggest a quiet pump?

Post by Fire-Flare » Wed Dec 14, 2011 2:18 am

I see that adding their cheapest reservoir brings the price close to a modded Eheim pump with one built in. I can't find an English review that measures noise but I recall my research from a few years ago leading me to believe Eheim made the quietest pumps, is that still true?

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/6728/ ... 01329.html

N7SC
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Re: Suggest a quiet pump?

Post by N7SC » Fri Dec 16, 2011 8:04 pm

To keep the cost reasonable, you could put the reservoir on/in the radiator, not the pump, and since you are going to need a radiator anyway, it might work out less expensive than putting a reservoir on the pump.

Example: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/6570/ ... g30c97s709

I not researched the matter of how quiet the pumps are in depth lately, so can't answer your question from recent experience. All I can say is that in my recent and past search of reviews of the pumps, and forum entries, it seems that the comments about the pump being good and quiet are more numerous, by a quite noticeable margin, for the Laing pumps.

For what it is worth, way back in the early 1970's, when I was in my mid teens, I was very into the hobby of keeping and showing tropical fish. I really needed a life back then. At that time the Eheim pumps were quite a status symbol for any aquarist. I never had one, couldn't afford one. They were expensive and performed pretty well. They were no quieter than most other high-end water pumps of the day. Their reliability was about the same as most other high-end pumps, maybe slightly better.

The Eheim pumps are older designs than the Laing, and, if I am reading the specs correctly, the Laing pumps have higher flow rates, and higher head specs. The Laing pumps, with their higher flow rate, can be undervolted for smaller cooling systems, so they are quieter, if the full output is not needed. The Laing DDC pumps are also much smaller than the Eheim pumps, which makes it easier to find a place to put them and a way to quiet them down.

That is what I have found out, and more or less believe, and I may be way off. Only SPCR does the kind of noise testing that is worth a hoot, and they haven't ever tested the two pumps. Also, I think that like almost anything about acoustic perception, your individual expectations and biases are going to have a big influence. In other words, psycho acoustics play a very prominent role.

All that said, I do have experience with the Laing/Swiftech DDC Pro/MCP 350, and can vouch for how quiet it can be. And, mind you, mine is in an aluminum case, a big aluminum case (think lots of big panels that can vibrate and transmit noise), yet when properly isolated it is perfectly quiet.

Fire-Flare
Posts: 422
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Location: Seattle

Re: Suggest a quiet pump?

Post by Fire-Flare » Fri Dec 16, 2011 8:33 pm

In that case I believe I'll go with the Swiftech and one of their micro reservoirs.

Thank you very much for your informative advice!

N7SC
Posts: 179
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2007 7:22 pm
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Re: Suggest a quiet pump?

Post by N7SC » Fri Dec 16, 2011 8:42 pm

Fire-Flare wrote:In that case I believe I'll go with the Swiftech and one of their micro reservoirs.

Thank you very much for your informative advice!
Don't forget the Petra's Gel Stuff, it works wonders and is delightfully squashy. There is a link in my post above.

BTW, I am going to be undervolting my Swiftech MCP 350 soonish, prob. after the holidays. If you can wait that long to see how it goes, I may post the results. I'll probably use an intelligent and temp based controller so the pump can still respond to higher demand.

Fire-Flare
Posts: 422
Joined: Sun Jun 13, 2010 12:44 pm
Location: Seattle

Re: Suggest a quiet pump?

Post by Fire-Flare » Sat Dec 17, 2011 12:03 pm

N7SC wrote:If you can wait that long to see how it goes, I may post the results. I'll probably use an intelligent and temp based controller so the pump can still respond to higher demand.
Sure, the comp won't care if my gift is late. x3

TigerUK
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Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 5:33 pm

Re: Suggest a quiet pump?

Post by TigerUK » Mon Feb 20, 2012 1:51 pm

nice, this pump is really cheap in the used market, saw one go for £20. is the MCP350 suitable for a 240mm radiator. I have this radiator http://www.watercoolinguk.co.uk/p/Therm ... m_913.html that I bought used for £35.

It is huge 50mm thick.

rpsgc
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Re: Suggest a quiet pump?

Post by rpsgc » Fri Mar 02, 2012 6:19 am

I don't know if the Laing is the quietest pump, but I'm sure this would help!

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