EK predator: remove qdc?

[MkaiL]

I was wondering if the qdc on the predator actually restricts the water flow? I decoupled it once and saw that the liquid is flowing through a tiny hole. I never liked the look of the qdc, unfortunatly they don't sell a 360 predator without it. So I'm changing the tube next year when it's time to drain it and clean the predator.

 

Would removing the qdc give me better temps and make the pump less noisier? If it does, I might do it right now since the pump on the predator speeds up according to the temp. The pump is not very loud since it's overkill for my cpu alone, but until 40°C you can't hear the pump and right now I get just over 40°C with the 6700k under load making it speed up and slow down constantly. 

[Technous285]

Basically: No, removing the QDC won't really improve anything with the loop as they don't impinge on the flow all that much. Heck, QDC's are usually added to make it easier to adjust the loop and add/remove things without a full draining of the loop.

 

Also, the Predator's an AIO which typically isn't MEANT to be taken apart and drained (it's possible but a pain usually), unlike a full custom loop.

[RollinLower]

20 minutes ago, MkaiL said:

I was wondering if the qdc on the predator actually restricts the water flow? I decoupled it once and saw that the liquid is flowing through a tiny hole. I never liked the look of the qdc, unfortunatly they don't sell a 360 predator without it. So I'm changing the tube next year when it's time to drain it and clean the predator.

 

Would removing the qdc give me better temps and make the pump less noisier? If it does, I might do it right now since the pump on the predator speeds up according to the temp. The pump is not very loud since it's overkill for my cpu alone, but until 40°C you can't hear the pump and right now I get just over 40°C with the 6700k under load making it speed up and slow down constantly. 

the pump is PWM tho, right? you could just try setting a custom fan curve for the pump alone. or just make it so it runs a constant value. my pump always runs on 80%, regardless of the temps. (and stays super quiet while doing so!)

 

to answer the question: yes, the qdc's will restric flow a bit. so getting rid of them will help flow to a certain amount. ultimately, it might just be enough to keep the pump from getting to 40%, but a custom pump profile fixes this too.

[Mr.Meerkat]

1 hour ago, MkaiL said:

I decoupled it once and saw that the liquid is flowing through a tiny hole.

When it's connected, the hole would get bigger...just sayin  

[MkaiL]

8 minutes ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

When it's connected, the hole would get bigger...just sayin  

When decoupled the hole closes itself, it doesn't get bigger or smaller when plugged in or out. It just opens up. Here's a pic where I highlighted the hole in red. It's about 5mm in diameter. 

[MkaiL]

56 minutes ago, RollinLower said:

the pump is PWM tho, right? you could just try setting a custom fan curve for the pump alone. or just make it so it runs a constant value. my pump always runs on 80%, regardless of the temps. (and stays super quiet while doing so!)

 

to answer the question: yes, the qdc's will restric flow a bit. so getting rid of them will help flow to a certain amount. ultimately, it might just be enough to keep the pump from getting to 40%, but a custom pump profile fixes this too.

Yes the pump is pwm. It runs through the hub on the predator itself and the fans are connected to it too. I'll connect the pump directly to the motherboard and set a profile as you suggested. But still I feel like the pump wouldn't have to work that hard without the qdc making it push through a 5mm hole while the tubes are much larger in diameter. 

[MkaiL]

1 hour ago, Technous285 said:

Also, the Predator's an AIO which typically isn't MEANT to be taken apart and drained (it's possible but a pain usually), unlike a full custom loop.

Technically the predator is not like other AIO's. This one is a prebuild aio made from custom watercooling stuff. EK self advises to drain and clean it up every year like a custom loop. It's build with fittings that you can take apart and expand if you want, change tubes, add colored liquid...

[RollinLower]

5 minutes ago, MkaiL said:

Yes the pump is pwm. It runs through the hub on the predator itself and the fans are connected to it too. I'll connect the pump directly to the motherboard and set a profile as you suggested. But still I feel like the pump wouldn't have to work that hard without the qdc making it push through a 5mm hole while the tubes are much larger in diameter. 

i agree that the qdc doesn't look all that great, and it is a (small) flow restriction. the predator is made out of the same parts as a fully custom loop, so draining it, fitting a new tube without qdc and filling it back up is actually very easy. getting a bit of black tubing and some new fluid should be less then 20 bucks. even less if you re-use the old fluid!

[MkaiL]

@RollinLower

If it doesn't make that much of a difference, I'll just wait till I have to clean the AIO next year to remove the qdc. I might even get clear tubing and add a color to the liquid. Although the matt black tubes also look good imo.

 

Thanks for the help guys

[aberdie]

I was actually planning on getting two predators (one for cpu and one for gpu) and changing out the tubing for clear ones.  So it would be like running dual loops?

 

Anyways, also interested if it affects flow.