How noisy is the Swiftech MCP350 pump? Please help me!

[wasserkool]

After receiving the first pump..i am amazed by its tiny size! I can't test the pump because my other watercooling gear are enroute from Deutcheland.

For those of you who have the pump, how noisy is the pump when placed inside a computer case? Due to the components i chose, they are very restrictive and I am thinking of adding a second MCP350 but i need to keep the noise in check as I am trying to SILENCe my computer...

also..does the pump make any high-pitched noise like some HD does? or just humming? I am planning to wrap it with sound-insulating foam

[kaotic504]

i don't hear mine over my 120mm fan when my fan is on high. it's pretty darn quiet. i do hear it only every so often a slight click but i think thats just air. oh btw my pump is mounted upside due to the Swiftech 1000 res/pump combo.

[cotdt]

It's quieter than most of the other pumps out there, but not quiet enough for some people. The pumps that are even quieter are the Eheim 1048 and the CSP-MAG.

[wasserkool]

also..does the pump make any high-pitched noise like some HD does? or just humming? I am planning to wrap it with sound-insulating foam

[cotdt]

It just hums, but will probably be louder than most hard drives even if sound-muffled. If you're really seeking silence, as quiet as the DDC is compared to most other pumps, there are even quieter options.

[Edge]

I found my mcp350 to be fairly quiet, but there is a high pitched component to its sound and it greatly benefits from vibration isolation from its environment. Initially I had installed an MCW-RES1000, but I found that its mounting of the mcp350 transfered vibrations to the case like a sounding board. I removed it from the metal bracket and laid it on some foam and then I had the mid to high frequency sound at a barely audible level at greater than 3 feet. The next step I took was suspending the mcp350 within dense foam rubber on elastics - this has been completely inaudible for me outside of 3 feet. This final solution does rely on the water loop to remove heat from the pump and in that sense is somewhat counter productive.

[wasserkool]

so i guess the MAG is the quietest pump ?

[Brians256]

The 1048 might be quieter. I'd like to see what people have to say. I'd heavily trust what SilentPcReview has to say.

[Dave]

"MAG is the quietest pump"

Depends, both pumps are manufactured by man, which means they vary somewhat.

Both pumps can only be heard if right next to your ear, under normal conditions.

They are about as quite as you can get, with the exception of a prototype pump we have based on sapphire on sapphire bearings.

[bobkoure]

Have you ever heard the Innovatek/Eheim HPPS?
It looks like a 1046, but due to the control board (it's 12V) has performance more like a 1048 (not that that's anything great) and is (to my ears at least) quieter than a 1046.
I'm hoping the sapphire-on-sapphire MAG is as quiet...

[mad mikee]

One of which is in my system now and I have to grab it to feel if it is running since it is that quiet. Get a gel heel pad and put it underneath, you won't even know it is there...

[Dave]

Bob, are you suggesting a HPPS is even quiter then a MAG or a proper running 1048?

If so I would be very impressed!

Even the noise reduction with new bearing system is very difficult to notice with human ear.

[slap]

I'm really happy with my switch from the D4 to mcp350.
Only quiet humming noise, and so small.

Mine is installed in the floppy compartment in Antec Sonata, with the foampad and an extra layer of sounddampening foam underneath. All this fit into the floppytray.

Isolate the vibrations and its really guiet. And size matters.

[bobkoure]

Originally Posted by Dave

Bob, are you suggesting a HPPS is even quiter then a MAG or a proper running 1048?

I'm suggesting that it's quieter than a properly running 1046, which is marginally quieter than a properly running 1048.
I can't make a comparison to a MAG as I haven't used one (busy with "my other life" and haven't been particularly interested in building PCs for friends lately).
It does vibrate a bit (as do the other Eheims), so it's actually noisy if you just put one on a bare case floor. The vibration seems to be perpendicular to the rotor axis (possibly true of all centrifugal pumps?) so it's particularly good at putting vibration into a sheet metal panel it's sitting on - sort of like a kid on a swing pumping h/h legs.
On a foam pad and pumping through soft silicone tubing (again, for vibration isolation) I have to put my hand on one to see if it's running (even in the dead of night in winter - low ambient noise).
However, the low noise comes at a price - relatively low performance and high price.

The MAG, by comparison has much better performance and lower price - and it must be quiet enough that your OEM customers aren't pushing for "quieter yet". You've also got a form factor that would probably let you damp any vibration more easily by changing the mount orientation.

I find vibration (and its abatement) an interesting area as I was (long ago) a motorcycle mechanic. Of course, the difficulty there was countering linear vibration with rotational action - which isn't a problem here at all. IMHO very interesting stuff, even now - but also very off-topic for pro-cooling...

To get back to the pumps, the Eheims like to be on soft thick foam pads as it's vertical vibration that needs to be damped. Heavier materials like neoprene and sorbothane that feel like they'd do a better job do not. I'd theorize that this is because those materials are better at damping side-to-side vibration (so wrong axis).
Suspension would probably work very well - but I haven't tried it.

[Dave]

Ok thanks, I suspect your 1048 or 1046 is making more noise then our 1048.

Comes down to how well the bearings are matched

So far, OEM's have been impressed with MAG level, in fact it is #1 feature for them.
What is really interesting, except for a recent request, most OEM's find MAG too big and too high flow.

[bobkoure]

Originally Posted by Dave

Ok thanks, I suspect your 1048 or 1046 is making more noise then our 1048.

Hmmm... I've had about five (maybe six) 1046s and at least two 1048s (I sometimes put w/c PCs together for friends - lets me play with new hardware without having to buy it all myself )
I haven't noticed that much variation in 1046s (although I've never had more than two at the same time). I remember the 1048s being a bit louder (although the only 1046 at the time was in my wife's PC with sound-damped case - even with the sidecover off I'd expect that to be reducing noise somewhat.
It's certainly possible that I got only loud-ish ones...

It sounds like you're saying that the MAG is no louder than a 1046...? That's plenty quiet enough for me. I'd gone from 1046s to HPPSs as there was a performance improvement - and no noise increase (was actually surprised with the first one as it was quieter).
Anyway, I suspect the HPPS has been "orphaned" - so I'll probably need to find replacements for the two I have in service when they finally do fail (the one in my under-desk PC runs 24x7, the other, well, I think it's also 24x7...)

[Roscal]

A MAG is louder than Eheim 1046/1048 and DDC, no comparison possible...

[Dave]

^ I think your talking a different MAG, we are discussing C-Systems MAG.
This pump produces much less noise then DDC.

[Roscal]

Definitely not, I have a DD CSP-MAG, 3 DDC and a lot of others pumps from Eheim to D5, AQX,etc... A MAG isn't quiet at all, sorry.

[Dave]

Then you have something wrong, RMA it back to DD or too us.

Also check chamber for any particles, the pump should be dead quite.

[Roscal]

No particles or others thing, it's a new pump for my comparative. Pump was on during 1 week to wear bearings a bit before make measurement.

[Dave]

Yep, something is wrong then, I have private messaged you for RMA.

[BillA]

Roscal
please note in your review that you recieved a mfgr selected sample to replace that which you obtained through commercial distribution channels

- this has all the ingrediants to be a fiasco,
and make a mess of any objective analysis

Dave
has it not occured to you that there may well be some systemic QC problems with AVT/C-Systems ?
seems each pump model has some problems

[satanicoo]

Hmmmm...

He's back! Isn't he?

[Etacovda]

hrm, looks like i might be fitting a 1048 into my next project then, i think.

Thats the 4th MAG pump that ive heard of having issues now...

** Etacovda gets back to work