Noise of CPX Pro & MCP350

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angelkiller
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Noise of CPX Pro & MCP350

Post by angelkiller » Sun May 17, 2009 9:03 am

I've recently started a project of watercooling my PC. My questions are simple. How much noise will each of the following make?
  • DD CPX Pro
  • Swiftech MCP350
I'm not looking for dbA measurements, I just want some subjective measurements from people who've had some experience with either pump. Oh, and I won't be running them at the same time.


And since we're here, generally speaking, how will Black Ice GT Stealth rads perform with 800pm S-Flex(s)? I have one 240 rad and one 120 rad.

Thanks. :)

1398342003
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Post by 1398342003 » Mon May 18, 2009 12:16 pm

And since we're here, generally speaking, how will Black Ice GT Stealth rads perform with 800pm S-Flex(s)? I have one 240 rad and one 120 rad.
Generally speaking, Black Ice radiators are designed for high air pressure. 800 RPM fans don't provide the optimal pressure for these radiators. In addition, using a 240mm and a 120mm radiator is generally worse than using one 360mm radiator, but better than using only the 240mm. Performance will doubtless be acceptable though. A better choice would be the Thermochill 120.3, as it is designed to work with lower pressure. But as you stated, you already have the radiators.

I can't really comment on the pumps because I don't have either. I use one of the MCP655s, AKA Laing D5. It has quite an annoying high pitched hiss that is difficult to block with foam, even with decoupling it from the case. It does have a speed control built in, which can easily lower the sound level below acceptable levels (IE quieter than the HDDs) while keeping temperatures low.

Be forewarned, there is a version of the MCP655/D5 that doesn't have speed control, it costs about $10 less, but it's worthless.

angelkiller
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Post by angelkiller » Mon May 18, 2009 2:56 pm

Ah, thank you for your answer. There is no room in my P180 for a 360mm rad unless I made some extensive modifications. I wanted to keep everything internal and it was hard enough with a 240mm rad and a 120mm one. Plus, I can't afford a Thermochill anyway. :wink: But I have what I have, I guess that's what I get for not doing any research. At least they were half price.

Also, thanks for the noise evaluation of the MCP655. Anyone else know how either a MCP350/355 or a CPX Pro sound? Thanks.

e v o
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Post by e v o » Mon Jun 01, 2009 9:49 pm

I have the CPX Pro and the Db-1(CPX-1) which is like the little brother of the CPX Pro. The CPX Pro made too much noise via the vibrations for me to use. I've had a CPX-1 die on me after about a year though. The CPX-1/Db-1 is very quiet if placed on some anti-vibration stuff (ie petra's gel stuff). I also have a P180 housing my system.

angelkiller
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Post by angelkiller » Tue Jun 02, 2009 11:38 am

e v o wrote:I have the CPX Pro and the Db-1(CPX-1) which is like the little brother of the CPX Pro. The CPX Pro made too much noise via the vibrations for me to use. I've had a CPX-1 die on me after about a year though. The CPX-1/Db-1 is very quiet if placed on some anti-vibration stuff (ie petra's gel stuff). I also have a P180 housing my system.
Thanks for your response. Fortunately, I was planning to use the MCW350 instead of the CPX Pro. Hopefully the MCW350 will be quieter. At least I know the CPX Pro vibrates alot. thanks again.

thatguyX
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Post by thatguyX » Tue Jun 02, 2009 1:36 pm

i'm running the mcp350 with XSPC RX120 and 240 rads. The only noise I'm hearing (I think) is some wind noise thru the rads (both push) and my harddrives. The fans are noiseblocker 1200rpm rans running at 7V and 5 V. I have the pump mounted on Petra's gel stuff with an XSPC res top and if it was making any noise, it's definitely overpowered by the noise from my 2 HDDs (Seagate Barracuda 1TB & WD Caviar 320GB)

angelkiller
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Post by angelkiller » Mon Jun 22, 2009 9:18 am

thatguyX wrote:i'm running the mcp350 with XSPC RX120 and 240 rads. The only noise I'm hearing (I think) is some wind noise thru the rads (both push) and my harddrives. The fans are noiseblocker 1200rpm rans running at 7V and 5 V. I have the pump mounted on Petra's gel stuff with an XSPC res top and if it was making any noise, it's definitely overpowered by the noise from my 2 HDDs (Seagate Barracuda 1TB & WD Caviar 320GB)
Sorry for the late response and thanks for your input. I just got my MCP350 up and running and I can confirm your findings.

The MCP350 is very quiet. I have a Petras's DDCT-01 top on the pump and the pump is mounted on Petra's Gel Stuff. It's running at full speed with nothing else running in the system. (no fans, no nothing) Sitting about 3 feet away with the system on a table, the pump is inaudible. The water turbulence in the reservoir makes more noise. If I put my ear about 6in away from the pump I can then hear the faint whirring sound that it makes. I think any fan or hard drive would drown out the pump's noise. So for all the silent watercoolers out there, the MCP350 is a recommended pump. (by me at least :wink: )

The CPX-Pro that I have will be going into another system I plan to build. I'll post the results.

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