Pump/Res Combo vs Separate Pump & Reservoir?

[Spev]

Okay so I have decided to go hard and water cool my entire rig. This will include my GPU and CPU. I am using one 360mm rad on top, and one 240mm rad in front. Here are my options I am thinking of currently.

 

1. Single 5 1/4 drive bay reservoir, leading to Swiftech MCP655 pump on the floor. 

2. Mount a separate tube like reservoir here, then leading to MCP655 on the floor: (posting pic so you can visualize)

 

 

3. Attach pump/res tube style combo to the pump shown above.

 

The pump will need to be strong enough to pump through CPU, GPU, a 360 and 240mm radiator and all the tubing. Along with suggestions on the options above, I am wondering about pump/res and desperate pump and res. Are the separate pump with separate reservoir more reliable than a pump/res combo? The pump/res combo obviously has a plus for convenience.  I'm trying to decide what I should do, any suggestions would be helpful!

 

It may not be the best pic to see, but here is the front of my case currently. I have my 240mm rad mounted with fans. If I go with option 1/2 with the MCP655, I would mount the res in the drive bay or on the mounting plate, and the MCP655 would go right next to this on the floor, I also should be able to mount it to the bottom of the case with screws.

 

[Shaqo_Wyn]

There is no performance difference between a pump/res combo and having the pump and res separate. Go with the one you prefer.

 

Pump/res combo: for example, EK X-RES D5 140 + MCP655

 

Pump and res separate: for example, Bitspower Water Tank Z-Multi 150 + MCP655

 

A bay res on the other hand can be very annoying. They can be harder to fill/drain and also harder to drain. 

 

The MCP655 has more than enough pumping power for your needs.

[Spev]

There is no performance difference between a pump/res combo and having the pump and res separate. Go with the one you prefer.

 

A bay res on the other hand can be very annoying. They can be harder to fill/drain and also harder to drain. 

Yes that was pretty much my assumption. I'm not worried about which will perform better. I'm worried about reliability, noise level, and how long it will last.

[Shaqo_Wyn]

Yes that was pretty much my assumption. I'm not worried about which will perform better. I'm worried about reliability, noise level, and how long it will last.

 

Same story, no difference. Added some recommendations to original post.

 

Noise level and reliability are determined by your pump and the MCP655 is a great one (it's virtually silent at setting number "3"). There are many other D5 rebrands out there that perform just as well too.

 

As long as you put an aqua pipe in your res to avoid the waterfall noise of the liquid falling back into the res, you won't have any noise there either.

[overclocking]

I agree with vetran having made a fair few watercooled rigs I would say go with what you think looks better. I would also like to say that a bay res is not only harder to fill but they tend to be harder to make to look good as you have tubes running downnfrom your 5.25inch bays. The pump res combos are good for your first time but if you buy a seperate pump and res it means you could hide your pump and the tubes that go to it. Good luck I found watercooling very rewarding and great for your hardware. Hope it goes well

[Spev]

Same story, no difference. Added some recommendations to original post.

 

Noise level and reliability are determined by your pump and the MCP655 is a great one. There are many other D5 rebrands out there that perform just as well too.

 

As long as you put an aqua pipe in your res to avoid the waterfall noise of the liquid falling back into the res, you won't have any noise there either.

 

Oh yeah =/ I like the Bitspower res but it doesn't have one of those, which is unfortunate. Yeah, I'm really leaning towards the MCP655. Even Linus says it is quiet, and we know he's a quiet freak. From what I know it's really reliable with a good warranty and plenty strong. It's a bit more of a hassle to do separate pump/res but I think I really like the MCP655 with speed controller. I have used a bay res in the past and yeah it was bad, mostly because of the case I was using. In this one if I did do that I would use a single bay one, and put in on the lower of 3 open slots. The top 2 are empty and I can remove the covers for the slots in like 5 seconds. So there would be two 5 1/4 inch bays above the res for room to fill it. But yeah, still annoying....it was just an idea, I'm more leaning towards using the bracket, that way it would be easier to fill and I could also see it for the "look" factor as well. 

 

Also thanks for the suggestions! I can't for for my GPU block to be released Checking EK's page daily now it should be anytime.

[Shaqo_Wyn]

Oh yeah =/ I like the Bitspower res but it doesn't have one of those, which is unfortunate. Yeah, I'm really leaning towards the MCP655. Even Linus says it is quiet, and we know he's a quiet freak. From what I know it's really reliable with a good warranty and plenty strong. It's a bit more of a hassle to do separate pump/res but I think I really like the MCP655 with speed controller. I have used a bay res in the past and yeah it was bad, mostly because of the case I was using. In this one if I did do that I would use a single bay one, and put in on the lower of 3 open slots. The top 2 are empty and I can remove the covers for the slots in like 5 seconds. So there would be two 5 1/4 inch bays above the res for room to fill it. But yeah, still annoying....it was just an idea, I'm more leaning towards using the bracket, that way it would be easier to fill and I could also see it for the "look" factor as well. 

 

Also thanks for the suggestions! I can't for for my GPU block to be released Checking EK's page daily now it should be anytime.

 

True, you can't go wrong with a Swiftech branded pump. If you can get it for cheaper the Alphacool VPP655 is also very solid.

 

The main components of your rig are very similar to my upcoming build. Same CPU, GPU, RAM, HDD, PSU.

 

How are you liking the GTX 970 FTW? How's the noise, temps, fps?

 

Good luck with your water cooling project. 

[Spev]

True, you can't go wrong with a Swiftech branded pump. If you can get it for cheaper the Alphacool VPP655 is also very solid.

 

The main components of your rig are very similar to my upcoming build. Same CPU, GPU, RAM, HDD, PSU.

 

How are you liking the GTX 970 FTW? How's the noise, temps, fps?

 

Good luck with your water cooling project. 

Well I went ahead and ordered most of my parts. I ordered both the Bitspower Reservoir you suggested as I quite liked it and I also ordered the MCP655TM, the one with the speed controller. I also ordered the XSPC Raystorm CPU block, 2 more Noctua NF-F12s for my top rad, a dust filter for my back fan (which will be intake), and a lighting strip that works exclusively with my case. It was a decent lump of cash but I got the worst behind me now. All I need are tubing, fittings, and my GPU block when it's released, then I'm all done and ready to build.

 

About the GTX 970: I love my new rig so far! The GTX 970 FTW is great. On my new PC I have been playing everything optimized via NVIDIA GeForce with no problems, Crysis 3 & AC Unity are the most demanding games so far. Both ran great, despite people complaining about AC Unity I have had great performance. The noise is very quiet, I can't hear it with my headset on at all. Without my headset off, I can barely hear it, and only when it's at max load. It's silent when not gaming or light gaming. Under a certain temp the fans don't even spin, similar to Asus Strix, actually exactly the same, idk why EVGA didn't market this like Asus did. The temps are very consistent, under load like playing FC4 or a demanding game, or benchmark, the max is always 71-72c, I have really never seen it lower or higher during max stress, it's always around there, haven't seen it above 72c ever. My only complaints are the physical things. The card isn't really "flashy" compared to G1 gaming or Strix, which might be a bummer if you care. The power connectors aren't on the end of the card, they are on the long side and start about an inch down. It's just kinda annoying, I would have liked them towards the tip of the card, but it's not a big deal. It kinda covers up the FTW logo and stuff slightly because my power cables get in the way because of where the power connectors are located. Anyways just a few complaints, the card runs great and I have really enjoyed gaming lately as I upgraded from a GTX580 about a couple months ago, huge difference obviously. 

 

Btw I love this EVGA PSU btw The ram is also excellent, you won't regret either.

[Shaqo_Wyn]

Well I went ahead and ordered most of my parts. I ordered both the Bitspower Reservoir you suggested as I quite liked it and I also ordered the MCP655TM, the one with the speed controller. I also ordered the XSPC Raystorm CPU block, 2 more Noctua NF-F12s for my top rad, a dust filter for my back fan (which will be intake), and a lighting strip that works exclusively with my case. It was a decent lump of cash but I got the worst behind me now. All I need are tubing, fittings, and my GPU block when it's released, then I'm all done and ready to build.

 

About the GTX 970: I love my new rig so far! The GTX 970 FTW is great. On my new PC I have been playing everything optimized via NVIDIA GeForce with no problems, Crysis 3 & AC Unity are the most demanding games so far. Both ran great, despite people complaining about AC Unity I have had great performance. The noise is very quiet, I can't hear it with my headset on at all. Without my headset off, I can barely hear it, and only when it's at max load. It's silent when not gaming or light gaming. Under a certain temp the fans don't even spin, similar to Asus Strix, actually exactly the same, idk why EVGA didn't market this like Asus did. The temps are very consistent, under load like playing FC4 or a demanding game, or benchmark, the max is always 71-72c, I have really never seen it lower or higher during max stress, it's always around there, haven't seen it above 72c ever. My only complaints are the physical things. The card isn't really "flashy" compared to G1 gaming or Strix, which might be a bummer if you care. The power connectors aren't on the end of the card, they are on the long side and start about an inch down. It's just kinda annoying, I would have liked them towards the tip of the card, but it's not a big deal. It kinda covers up the FTW logo and stuff slightly because my power cables get in the way because of where the power connectors are located. Anyways just a few complaints, the card runs great and I have really enjoyed gaming lately as I upgraded from a GTX580 about a couple months ago, huge difference obviously. 

 

Btw I love this EVGA PSU btw The ram is also excellent, you won't regret either.

 

Awesome mate! Also, Bitspower has aqua pipes if you need one. http://www.frozencpu.com/products/11863/ex-tub-713/Bitspower_G_14_Silver_Shining_Aqua-Pipe_I_BP-WTP-C17.html http://www.frozencpu.com/products/11865/ex-tub-715/Bitspower_G_14_Silver_Shining_Aqua-Pipe_II_BP-WTP-C18.html#blank

 

Thanks for the info on the components, I'm even more excited now. Just a few more months of work and I can build. Cheers!