Questions for the cooling gurus on pumps
 

Hey people. im putting to gather a watercooling setup and i have a question on pumps.
1. What should the GPH be.
2. Do these pumps look like they would be a good choice. They are the Rio 180 and 600.
http://graystonecreations.com/acc.htm

I would try to get something a little better than Rio. Here is an outfit with some good options along with the Rio's. I think they are cheaper than GreyStone aswell.

http://www.aquatictech.com/pumps.html

Personally for budget systems I think the VIA is better as it is an Inline pump. I am pretty sure the Rio's are all submersable only. If you can afford it there are other options.

First could you post what ever you're planning for in your system otherwise. And pressure is more important than volume.

Hiya,
I'm not a guru here but I have done a lot of reading around and one name you'll see come up continuously with watercooling is the Eheim 1250.

I use this pump in my setup and have been very happy with it -- at first I had some problems with vibration (my wc setup is underneath my comp in a cabinet, and the vibration made it act almost like a subwoofer box - amplifying the sound!) A small piece of carpet padding underneath it made it *totally* silent. I'm very happy with this pump so far, it seems to be very high quality construction.

Hey I've got a VIA 1300 (370GPH), one word about the VIA you should listen to, BEFORE getting one:

Pros:

*Cheap ($22?)
*Powerful
*SMALL! (compared to the competition's 350GPH+ Pumps)
*Ceramic shaft

Cons:

*Makes an annoying HmmmmHmmHmmmm
*HEAT! I've left my system off with just the pump on and overnight the temps of my water were like 9C hotter than AMBIENT water temp, that's a lot of heat being produced, around an extra 10-12W
*Vibrates too much, I've had to suspend mine from my Res to even be able to bare it!

Conclusion: I've gotten used to the Con's, except the heat it produces, and for the MONEY/SIZE there is nothing that beats this pump! I have had it running for about a year now and there's no signs of it stopping...

BTW- I'm thinking of selling it and moving up to a Danner or Maxi-Jet, but I just can't afford to shop in the $40+ range for a comparable pump (350GPH+)
:(

Iv been pm'ed about what im planning to put in my system so here is what it will be.
CPU= P4 2.6G Need to buy
Hard drive= two. a 100 GB and a 15 GB already have them
Mother board= need to buy
Audio card= Sound Blaster audigy Platnium 2 (Need to buy)
Video= all in wonder 9000 Dv ( need to buy)

Im planning on cooling the video card, the cpu, and thats it. as i said befor i wont use tec's because of the horror storys

That videocard of yours (radeon 9000) emits less heat than a farting squirrel.

I wouldn't bother to watercool it.

I was also considering the Danner mag drive 3 - max head is 10 feet, and at the Via 1300's max head of 6 feet, the Danner is still rated at over 150 GPH.

I already ordered a Via though, so I'll see how it goes with that one before investigating something different.

If anyone has experience with a Mag Drive 3, I'd be interested in hearing about it. How's the heat/bvibration compared to a Via?

One last thing for the guy with the vibration problem, there's a mod posted on the web for the Via that almost completely eliminates the vibration you're hearing. I don't recxall the precise link, but it was posted on this board in another thread. I am planning on makling this mod to my Via before turning it on the first time.

I have a 9700 Pro, and it makes quite a bit of heat all on its own under load.

Sorry, I was referring to saton472.

Those are 2 totally different cards. The 9000 is an older Radeon 8500 renamed. It isn't near as hot as the 9700 which is a totally different GPU and much hotter.

Correction: the 9100 is the 8500 renamed

The 9000 uses a different core

I know - I upgraded from an 8500 to a 9700. :) I was just spouting off for the sake of comparative references (and because I don't have anything to do at work right now - grin).

I do have stuff to do at work now so I better get back to it! :D

Ahh my bad. I still use a 7200. :D

I would like to see a write-up of that comparison!:p

The danners are fine, and I've used the 350GPH variety. They are quiet and powerful.

The Eheim is very good. That is the most safe bet.

Vias and Rios have issues in watercooling systems. They are more difficult to set up, the front covers leak easily, and the materials they are made of break easily. They are also hotter than other pumps and LOUD.

You are better off spending a little more on a better pump, both in terms of reliability and ease of use.

1) I can't speak for RIO's, but I've had my Via 1300 for well over a
year now and I've NEVER; had a leak, Breakage or any other material hardware issue.

2) No offense, but you'd (not You) have to be a damn fool not to be able to apply some grease on 2 nylon nipples, then attach tubing and then clamp... It's pretty much fool proof? What is so difficult about using Via, Rio... Danner, Eheim etc... They all work with the SAME setup 1) inspect, 2) Clean, 3) Attach, 4) Inspect again, 5) RUN. Seems like theres a little bias going on about VIA's...


1) The heat issue, yes I'll agree with that steadily, but as you and other "guru's" have pointed out, that it's negilable heat at that.

2)Loudness, eh, compared to the other "good" pumps, yes, but compared to the usual HD spinning, fans, fans, and how's about another --FAN, you can't hear them... regarding the Via 1300; that noise is an anti-clog scheme, which I hope anyone who would even consider water cooling, could do a simple glue-mod and it's just as, if not more quiet than the "mighty" eheim everyone coo's over.

Finally... COST! Least for me and the other DYI'ers, watercooling is supposed to not only be effective, but almost even more important, CHEAP! My Via was a "loafty $22" over a year back, you nor anyone else will find a pump that is MORE powerful, quiet (see "glue-mod") for the MONEY. And again that reliability issue, I think you're just going along with the crowd. I've had mine for a while, running 24/7 and have taken my system apart tons of times and never once had a "problem" with MY Via 1300... Again no offense intended, with all the "you's" in there. :cool:

Hmm ... let me qualify this:

I bought a Via Aqua 1300 when I first started watercooling and found it didn't push near its advertised pressure. I didn't know any better, so this didn't bother me much. I went ahead and started screwing in barbs to it and noticed whitish stress stretching from the outward force from the threads. I figured it would be fine. Then, when reinstalling the front cover the damn thing cracked on one of the retention components leaving it open for leaking. At that point I threw it in a box in the back of my closet never to be seen again.

I picked up a Danner Pondmaster 350 for only $40 and the thing pumped much more fluid silently than that loud Via Aqua 1300 did. It was made out of strong materials and installation went off without a hitch.

Yeah, I'm a little biased against the ol' Vias. It didn't help much when I was talking to an aquarium guru where I bought my Danner and he told me that he stopped stocking the Vias when he got too many complaints about premature death.

It is my belief that you get what you pay for. Why get what many consider a substandard pump in every way when you can get a much better pump for only a little more?

Hrmm, interesting, I'll concede... mine has been running fine and dandy... eventually I probably will get a Danner or something fancy? No Eheims for me, too damn big, I first saw one and thought it was a 24-Liter Diesel-Locomotive engine scale model! HAHA, and the fact that I know they cost about $5 to mass produce them, then you get the BS exclusiveness of not marketing thrown in and now they are marked up 1000+% (literally) Which is just pure greed... I can't support Eheim just on sticklingness! Nice pumps though :rolleyes: