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Cathar · 08-10-2005, 08:37 AM

Sure, there'd be big interest, the amount of which depends on the final cost. If it costs upwards of $100, then the market interest will be quite small. Get it into the $75-80 range and the demand will be competing directly with the other established DC pumps, despite the specs of this pump being better. Get it into the sub-$70 range and the entire mid-range and above enthusiast market is pretty much your oyster.

We're talking about something with slightly less heat dump than 2 of the AQX-50Z/MCP600's in series, but equalling effectively 3 x AQX-50Z/MCP600's in series in terms of pressure. Even in an approximated "wet dream" specs format with the 90% OEM RPM impeller speed, such a pump would stand head and shoulders above any other single pump on the market out there. Throw in the low-noise factor, make sure it's reliable, and coupled with its small size then people would be very hard pressed to find a reason NOT to buy it.

About the only reasons why people would choose something else would be:

Hard cost/budgetary constraints - not soft constraints. In this market I've seen that generally if you give people enough of a good reason to spend an extra $25, they will do so.
Ultra-low noise crowd (i.e. Eheim 1046/1048's would still be the favorites here). These would be the people who favor silence above all else, and as such a super-performance tweaked pump still means little to them if they can save 5dBA on pump noise.
Low heat load applications (<50W). For people using very cool running CPU's even a ~16W pump heat dump becomes a liability, but the size of this market who are also water-cooling is quite small, and generally cross-over somewhat with the ultra-low-noise crowd.
Low radiator capacity crowd. The pump as defined with its heat dump would "blur" somewhat performance wise against other pumps in very low radiator capacity scenarios. By that, meaning people with radiator C/W's of ~0.1 and higher. Again, this would represent quite a small section of the overall market as even a single 12cm fanned radiator with a low-moderate quiet fan will achieve better than 0.1 C/W's.

My feeling is that the market is very, very hungry for a pump that does it all. If AVT make this pump, and make it to a level of finish and quality that is comparable with the better alternative 12vdc pumps on the market, then AVT will stand to capture a huge amount of marketshare with such a pump if marketed correctly, and even futher, it will create a greater market for itself just because it exists.

How big would that market be? I'd be surprised if it were less than 10K units over time with a sub-$75US price-point.

08-10-2005, 08:37 AM	#19
Cathar Thermophile Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 2,538	Sure, there'd be big interest, the amount of which depends on the final cost. If it costs upwards of $100, then the market interest will be quite small. Get it into the $75-80 range and the demand will be competing directly with the other established DC pumps, despite the specs of this pump being better. Get it into the sub-$70 range and the entire mid-range and above enthusiast market is pretty much your oyster. We're talking about something with slightly less heat dump than 2 of the AQX-50Z/MCP600's in series, but equalling effectively 3 x AQX-50Z/MCP600's in series in terms of pressure. Even in an approximated "wet dream" specs format with the 90% OEM RPM impeller speed, such a pump would stand head and shoulders above any other single pump on the market out there. Throw in the low-noise factor, make sure it's reliable, and coupled with its small size then people would be very hard pressed to find a reason NOT to buy it. About the only reasons why people would choose something else would be: Hard cost/budgetary constraints - not soft constraints. In this market I've seen that generally if you give people enough of a good reason to spend an extra $25, they will do so. Ultra-low noise crowd (i.e. Eheim 1046/1048's would still be the favorites here). These would be the people who favor silence above all else, and as such a super-performance tweaked pump still means little to them if they can save 5dBA on pump noise. Low heat load applications (<50W). For people using very cool running CPU's even a ~16W pump heat dump becomes a liability, but the size of this market who are also water-cooling is quite small, and generally cross-over somewhat with the ultra-low-noise crowd. Low radiator capacity crowd. The pump as defined with its heat dump would "blur" somewhat performance wise against other pumps in very low radiator capacity scenarios. By that, meaning people with radiator C/W's of ~0.1 and higher. Again, this would represent quite a small section of the overall market as even a single 12cm fanned radiator with a low-moderate quiet fan will achieve better than 0.1 C/W's. My feeling is that the market is very, very hungry for a pump that does it all. If AVT make this pump, and make it to a level of finish and quality that is comparable with the better alternative 12vdc pumps on the market, then AVT will stand to capture a huge amount of marketshare with such a pump if marketed correctly, and even futher, it will create a greater market for itself just because it exists. How big would that market be? I'd be surprised if it were less than 10K units over time with a sub-$75US price-point. Last edited by Cathar; 08-10-2005 at 08:44 AM.