Is the CSP-MAG ok to run on it's own?

Brodel · Post by **Brodel** » Sun Jun 11, 2006 3:05 am

Hey

All the websites I've looked at seem to list it as part of a loop system, as if you are expected to have another pump running somewhere in the loop as well.
After browsing on some forums though it seems that a few people use the CSP-MAG on it's own, with no other pumps in their system.

Does it perform well enough to still give good temps?

I'm looking for a loop to include a rad, res, cpu and gpu blocks and have been stuck finding a pump with a price tag I can swallow.

thanks in advance for the replies

Azazel · Post by **Azazel** » Sun Jun 11, 2006 1:28 pm

It'll run fine on its own. Caveat emptor though, a quick read on procooling will turn up very mixed reports. Lots of problems/failures there, with the company rep on procooling repeatedly insisting that all the problems are one-off, unusual and unrepeatable issues.

Those that have got working MAGs have had mixed results with noise. Some say they're great, some have major noise issues (which the rep insists must be shipping damage to the impeller). It seems that when it comes to csp pumps, your mileage REALLY varies.

From my reading and personal experience, some pump noise rankings at stock volts:

Eheim 1046 -> 1048 -> DDC/MCP350 -> 1250

Past that, they're all too noisy. The best of the MAGs seem to fall between the 1048 and the DDC. From what I've heard, if you isolate the vibration of the DDC and drop the volts a bit, a 5v yate loon is louder. I'll probably find out soon when my new WC project starts.

warriorpoet · Post by **warriorpoet** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 2:38 pm

The cheapest decent pump for performance/noise is likely going to be either a Laing DDC /Swiftech MCP350, Laing D5/ Swiftech MCP655, or an AquaXtreme 50z (found at cooltechnica). If you can spare a few $ jump for a DDC with a plexiglass top conversion (found at Alphacool or Performance-PCs); it has the power of a D5 with the lower heat dump and higher head pressure of a DDC.

Whatever you do, PLEASE don't cheap on a pump. It is literally the "heart" of your H2o system, and deserves every bit of the attention I'm sure your blocks have received.

zds · Post by **zds** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 8:13 pm

warriorpoet wrote:If you can spare a few $ jump for a DDC with a plexiglass top conversion (found at Alphacool or Performance-PCs); it has the power of a D5 with the lower heat dump and higher head pressure of a DDC.

And it looks like the plexiglass top also reduces noise noticeably. No wonder, it's a bit harder to make 20mm thick acrylic vibrate in sympathy with the impeller than the default ~1mm plastic, PVC or something similar.

nici · Post by **nici** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 4:57 am

And the acrylic top gives you the possibility to have the pump suck water from the top, supposedly inreasing flow quite a bit. I have both the top and the reservoir on top of the top. The resrvoir makes the pump extremely easy to flood too, youll damage it if you run it dry. The top is 20-30â‚¬ and the same for the resrvoir though, so it adds quite a bit to the price. The reservoir wont make it quieter or perform much better though.

And i think Swiftech calls the top material Noryl or somehting, and its bloody ahrd. sounds like metal even though its plastic..

Szandor · Post by **Szandor** » Sun Jun 18, 2006 7:14 am

There is a new MAG pump now available, the Danger Den MAG II - LE

http://www.dangerdenstore.com/product.p ... t=4&page=1

I ordered one last week, it'll be delivered on Friday

I'll let you know how it goes

Regards, Szandor

warriorpoet · Post by **warriorpoet** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:17 pm

Looks quite a bit different on the surface. Let us know how it goes

Szandor · Post by **Szandor** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 1:38 pm

514 L/hr @6" head using 18" long X 1/2" ID ClearFlex tubing on high flow 1/2" barbs on inlet & outlet

Pump runs quiet & cool after short 1/2 hr test

It had a few burrs on the impeller & in outlet housing that needed to be removed

Outlet housing only has a 6mm ID opening at bottom of threaded section. Look at outlet barb in the 3rd picture @DD & you can just make it out

I'll update again after its installed

Regards, Szandor

Update:

I replaced my Hagen 217GPH - 60" head max - 110V pump with the MAG II LE 150GPH - 97" max head - 12V pump

CPU temps in my server have remained the same

My guess is that the added head pressure of the MAG is making up for the reduced volume as my AquaXtreme WWLE is suppose to cool very well with higher pressure, low volume pumps according to the reviews I read

The MAG is very quiet currently, it can't be heard over the 2 x 120mm Yate Loons, 1 cooling the core & other as rear exhaust.

Looks like I need a 7V mod to quiet them down a bit more

I'll update again in a few weeks or should any problems arise with the MAG in the mean time

Brodel · Post by **Brodel** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 9:49 am

thanks for the replies guys, they've been really helpful.

I'm still on the hunt for a pump and to be honest I'm no closer to making a decision lol. I just want silence which the CSP-MAG seems to offer, but it has very low flow... but I still see quite a lot of people using it.

If I had to decide right now I think it'd be the DDC with plexi top and res but it's right at the top of my budget and then some.

Szandor · Post by **Szandor** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 12:13 pm

It really depends on what type of components, how many of them & how cool you want to run - IMHO - Its all a matter of degree

If you're looking to cool the latest, greatest, fastest, hottest components then obviously the cooling gear must be up to the task.

I've found that small, quiet pumps with lower flow & decent head perform well for my rigs which are only moderately OC'd & equipped which run quiet but not "silent"

The Swiftech 6000 series blocks, WWLE & a few others work quite well at lower flow rates of ~ 1GPM

Check out the articles, reviews & forums @ProCooling for some more info. The "Interactive Waterblock Test" comparison chart I found quite helpful:

http://procooling.com/index.php?func=articles&disp=131

Lee "Robotech" Garbutt has written some excellent articles on all facets of water cooling, heres a link to his work

http://leesspace.com/Published_reviews.htm

Bill Adams wrote this interesting piece shortly before he left Swiftech for Coolingworks - you might find it informative

"An Assessment of Radiator Performance"

http://www.swiftnets.com/Technical/Asse ... rmance.pdf

Good Luck!

Regards, Szandor