I figure that we have a topic for fans, so we should have one for pumps as well. So tell us what you use and how you use it, formatted for easy reading.

1. Type of pump (Ehiem 1250, Liang D5, ect)
2. Power setting (Undervolting, Thermal control, etc.)
3. Sound characteristics (Whine, Hum, ect)
4. Sound contianment/reduction (Suspension, Isolation)

I have:
1. MCP655 / Liang D5
2. 12V, built in speed control set to halfway (#3 of 6)
3. High pitch whine that disappears at power setting #2; #2.5 and higher produce a fair amount of midrange hum. Only quiet at #2. Not really any different above power level #3, just louder.
4. Suspended by some spare Silicon hose. Pretty well isolated.

So, show us what you got.

Update, I got an EK water blocks replacement top for the MCP655, it's much quieter. More below.

damn... no replies yet??

I didnt know SPCR sucked this much in the WC area...

I came here to find some more info about a 2nd pump for if I upgrade my computer, but it seems there is not much info here yet

anyway...

I have the Danger Den D5 (by Liang) for about 4 years now
It is pretty quiet at the lowest speed (it is speed adjustable)
It is blocked between the bottom of my case and a drive bay with rubber and foam in between (otherwise it would shake the hell out of everything)

not sure how to describe the sound of it, I also don't have anything to compare it with

I also don't know how "good" (head pressure) it is at the lowest stand, which is why I came to look for alternatives here (I want to use my old pump for my future DX11 videocard and a new pump (complete new 2nd loop) for my future overclocked core i7 (which will heat up muuuuuuuuuuuuuuch more then my overclocked AMD a64 cpu)

Mastakilla, the D5 is a very good pump, at about half speed (on the built in controller) it can cool my overclocked Q6600 and a GTX9800. The GTX9800 has a full coverage block, and it never gets above 55C, the Q6600 has a Swiftech Storm,and peaks at 40C. And that's after 4 hours of Crysis. My radiator is a Thermochill 120.3 with 3 Scythe S-Flex 120mm fans.

That is with one D5 at half power, and it could probably go lower. Two D5s, one for each loop will likely be far more than adequate, provided you use dual or triple fan radiators.

I have a MCP655 vario. Once it is fully suspended, it eliminates a lot of the noise. I have mine running at setting 4, which I can't hear over the powersupply (crappy Coolermaster). I strongly recommend you use some elastic and suspend it if you haven't already!

Sounds like a fan, ie just a quiet hum. I don't (thankfully) have a high pitched whine at the speed setting I have it at.


In the interests of full disclosure... I live in HK, which is a very noisy city, in a room with noisy aircon. I am very interested in quiet, but may not notice how loud my computer is, at least until I move back to somewhere quiet!

Ek Water Blocks EK-D5 X-TOP Version 2 Custom Pump Top for D5 & MCP655

So I bought one of these, mostly for the cleaner shape over the normal MCP655. I didn't expect it to, but it made my pump quieter. With the stock top the pump seemed unbalanced, and had a lot of vibration, with a combination of medium and low frequency thrumming sounds with a high pitched whine. The medium and low pitch sounds are completely gone, and vibration is non-existent.

The water path seems more streamlined, as the stock top has a 90° turn immediately before the outlet. I believe that the X-TOP's offset outlet allows the water to exit with less impedance. It is possible that the water was hitting the wall of the bend and returning to the impeller.

Has anyone else tried one of these? What was your experience?

NCIX Product Link.

Hi,

I've got a Danger Den (Liang) DDC pump running at full 12V @ 4500 RPM and it's isolated by a square piece of Rattlepad (visit secondskinaudio) that I had leftover from my car install. I also installed an XSPC res-top which made it completely silent. Before when I used a Danger Den acrylic top it was so loud that I had to undervolt it to make it bearable. My fans are now louder than the pump, and that's saying a lot as there are three Scythe S-flex fans running at 1000 RPM and three Apple Mac Pro 38mm fans mounted to my Black Ice Pro III radiator running at 800 RPM. Overall, I am very pleased.

I use the MCP655 and found the stock mount was horrible for transferring noise to the case. I use 3/4 inch tubing throughout and simply let the pump suspend in the case which cleared up all my noise. The pump is quiet enough that the case can muffle the electrical noise.

Sorry for the long delay, but I finally got myself a Ek Water Blocks EK-D5 X-TOP Version 2 Custom Pump Top for my D5. Between lack of funds and out-of-stock issues, its taken a while. Anyway, I got it, and installed it... and I have to agree, it has reduced the noise. Not by a lot, but its made it so the difference between 1 and 5 is one of pitch more than anything. The pump is now not noticeable on 5 to me -- and perhaps most importantly, I think the high pitched noise is gone. Not entirely sure yet, will be once its quieter later tonight.

So yeah, at this point, the pump top seems like win! Thanks 1398342003 for the tip

NP, all ways happy to help.

The high pitch whine is actually a HDD...! its a new noise, I think the drive might be on the way out

Hi all,

I see many positive things about the EK-D5 X-TOP G1/4 Rev.2

I was wondering if the EK-D5 Dual TOP 2-LOOPS is as good in quality and noise. (I will use 1 loop for the CPU and 1 loop for the GPU / mobo)

This is what it looks like:






Also can anyone tell me if the mounting of the EK-D5 Dual TOP 2-LOOPS and the EK-D5 X-TOP G1/4 Rev.2 is easy?
I currently have the stock D5 and it wasn't very easy to get it silent (I needed to squeeze it really tight between the bottom of my case and the HD case with lots of rubber / foam in between)

Thanks!

I don't have experience with the Dual Top (only the single), but it appears to be identical (albeit with 2 pump slots) as the X-TOP. So it should perform the same, and EK's stuff is generally high quality.

Mounting the top to the pump is very easy, unscrew the old top, and you have 4 pieces (pump, bottom part of the top, top part of the top and O ring) to fit together. Anyone can do it, don't worry about that side of things.

Mounting in the case may be interesting, as its quite a large block, but the same rules apply as without a top, suspension or insulation from the case is required. Don't expect the top to work magic with the noise, you'll still need to de-couple it from your case.

Thanks for the answer

Hopefully someone can jump in who has experience with both

Cause I really would like a comparison in noise between the 2 (otherwhise I can just as well buy 2 of the single tops for almost the same price)

About the mounting:
I was wondering about using the supplied mounting system to mount it in a 5.25" drive bay... But of course I would only do that if this gave the best possible accoustic result... So I hope some also has experience with that...

Thanks!

I've had experience with these pumps:

DDC 1 in Swiftech bay res
DDC 1 out of bayres
DDC 3.2
DDC 3.2 with acetal top (MCP355)
DDC 3.1 with acetal top (MCP350)

D5 vario (MCP655)
D5 (no vario)

EK DCP2.2 (Jingway DP-400?)

Out of the box the D5 is clearly the loudest, which is NOT helped by the speed control in mine- as it is slowed high-pitched electrical noise increases. My wife (who has fairly sensitive hearing) does not notice- so it might not be an issue for you. Keep in mind the D5 does not perform as well as a DDC with top in most cases, and dumps much more heat into the loop (though it's ultimately negligible compared to heat-generating components liek CPU, GPU, etc.)

The set speed D5 is not worth considering for quiet PC use.

The DDCs are all quieter than the D5s at full speed, significantly so with an acetal top, which may be a result of the stiffer top material dampening vibration. The DDC 3.2 is the quietest of those I have tried, strange as it is also the higest speed. For some reason, my DDC 3.1 is "rumblier" than the 3.2 was. All of the DDCs I've used generate most of their noise through vibration.

I softmounted the pumps using the stock rubber grommets on a UN bracket, and softmounted the UN bracket with Petra's Gel Stuff to kill nearly all of the vibration noise. What's left is a low-pitched "hum", that can be partially attenuated with sound dampening foam and eliminating direct sound paths, but not entirely eliminated. Sound signature and volume outside the case are roughly equivalent to a ~550-600 RPM Nexus 120 in free air.

The EK pump is a different cat altogether. Very low vibrational qualities, very low heat dump, and adequate performance for very little money. I am extremely impressed with this little pump in my low-restriction system. Set on the stock mounting pad and a layer of Paxmate it's completely inaudible inside my noise-damped ATCS 840. You won't see the flow of the DDC monsters, but you don't have to deal with the (minimal) noise, either. It's also less expensive than an Aquastream.