DDC pump noise

[Deli]

I watch some youtube videos, that comment some DDC pumps are louder than the other. I think all DDC pumps are OEM from Laing. At least the motor and impeller are from Laing. There are 3.2 PWM, 3.25 DC, etc. But mostly the difference are the PCB and the housing. Manufacturer like Barrow can add their own PCB for extra control or RGB thing. However this shouldn't have much effect in term of noise. I only have a EK 3.2 PWM and a Barrow version of DDC pump. They have different RPM range. However at the same rpm, they sound pretty much the same to my ears, not louder or quieter what so ever. Pretty much close to silence below 2000 rpm. Two samples are too small a size to say things in general.

 

I wonder those "loud" DDC pumps, even at relatively low speed, are because of bad sample, out of balance impeller, etc. Or there are actually many variations of DDC with different internal components that affects noise.

 

 

[For Science!]

41 minutes ago, Deli said:

I watch some youtube videos, that comment some DDC pumps are louder than the other. I think all DDC pumps are OEM from Laing. At least the motor and impeller are from Laing. There are 3.2 PWM, 3.25 DC, etc. But mostly the difference are the PCB and the housing. Manufacturer like Barrow can add their own PCB for extra control or RGB thing. However this shouldn't have much effect in term of noise. I only have a EK 3.2 PWM and a Barrow version of DDC pump. They have different RPM range. However at the same rpm, they sound pretty much the same to my ears, not louder or quieter what so ever. Pretty much close to silence below 2000 rpm. Two samples are too small a size to say things in general.

 

I wonder those "loud" DDC pumps, even at relatively low speed, are because of bad sample, out of balance impeller, etc. Or there are actually many variations of DDC with different internal components that affects noise.

 

 

Another consideration I think is the overall loop restriction, more restrictive loops will cause a pump to whine more since it has to push harder.

[LogicalDrm]

-> Moved to Custom Loop and Exotic Cooling

[Deli]

13 hours ago, For Science! said:

Another consideration I think is the overall loop restriction, more restrictive loops will cause a pump to whine more since it has to push harder.

I'm curious if the little DDC pump is powerful enough to cause cavitation? Some of the pump top designs could be more prone to cavitation when running the pump at higher speed? Is that one of the reasons DDC is more noisy than D5 because DDC is designed to have higher static pressure?

[For Science!]

11 hours ago, Deli said:

I'm curious if the little DDC pump is powerful enough to cause cavitation? Some of the pump top designs could be more prone to cavitation when running the pump at higher speed? Is that one of the reasons DDC is more noisy than D5 because DDC is designed to have higher static pressure?

I doubt the speeds involved would actually cause anything close to cavitation. I think its more to do with size and rpm with regards to D5 vs DDC. D5 is larger and has a lower hum whereas the DDC is more of a whine.

[GER_T4IGA]

19 hours ago, Deli said:

I'm curious if the little DDC pump is powerful enough to cause cavitation? Some of the pump top designs could be more prone to cavitation when running the pump at higher speed? Is that one of the reasons DDC is more noisy than D5 because DDC is designed to have higher static pressure?

If watercooling pumps could caus cavitation I am sure we would have heard and seen a lot more videos about catastrophic material failure from people running them for to long without maintenance cavitating all day long, yet we haven't.

[Deli]

40 minutes ago, GER_T4IGA said:

If watercooling pumps could caus cavitation I am sure we would have heard and seen a lot more videos about catastrophic material failure from people running them for to long without maintenance cavitating all day long, yet we haven't.

I'm just curious why some DDC pumps appear to be noisier. It could be some with stock plastic housing, and people over-tighten the screws and causing clearance problem between the pump-top and the impeller. Or just production variations of individual pump components causing more vibration.

 

I don't have a DDC 3.1 with older design impeller. So not sure if the old impeller is more noisy than the newer design.

 

Because when some people recommend, say EK DDC is more quiet than Corsair's, or AlphaCool DDC is better than Barrow's. I got confused. Since I assume all DDC pumps come from Laing.