Production Aquanaut Basic/Extreme - Ultra Low Profile CPU Block & Pump Mount Combo

[Nouvolo]

Something to look at is the apogee drive ii. It is a reverse flow pump block. Though it has a pin based cold plate design vs the normal fins.

I am not sure if it should really cause any real difference though. You will have the same amount of water flowing through the coldplate either direction. And most are designed around low restriction. I am probably missing something.

It could be water coming together vs splitting at the coldplate causes more turbulence and more resistance?

Lehman

A thought experiment => Worst case scenario = condition is same as having flat plate (assume non-functional micro channels)

Read that the jet plate is to force the water travel through the micro channels. Water may just laze above the fins under low pressure. But then one can still consider that as a flat plate, and how bad can that be?

I think as long as there is enough head pressure from the pump and decent flow rate, then it doesn't really matter which way the flow is.

 

[Shatrod]

Looks great!

 

[Protools]

@Nouvolo will you try with the new VTX pumps from EK? I think you could get better results if you can manage to source their pumps in bulk.

News - EKWB VTX pumps

EK just released VTX pumps with slightly better specs than the DDC pumps but same footprint. https://www.ekwb.com/news/vortex-powered-tubular-combos-introduced-by-ek/ https://www.techpowerup.com/266186/ek-waterblocks-unveils-vtx-powered-kinetic-reservoir-pump-combo-units?amp A lot of projects...

smallformfactor.net

 

[Nouvolo]

Got both DDC and SPC on hand for measurements. Hopeful for SPC compatibility ?. Lets see if they can use the same water block, otherwise it will be higher cost ? (higher price for you) to have separate versions.

Update: After some initial measurement, I think probably need 2 separate versions...

 

[srekal34]

I think majority will buy DDC, I dont think it makes sense to do one for SPC.

 

[Protools]

yeah, don't bother with the lesser pump if it's not compatible. My guess is that SPC pump impeller is not the same height of DDC.
I'd suggest going for only DDC/VTX compatible top.

 

[Nouvolo]

yeah, don't bother with the lesser pump if it's not compatible. My guess is that SPC pump impeller is not the same height of DDC.
I'd suggest going for only DDC/VTX compatible top.

Yea, DDC seems to be more common. LoL but since I got the SPC myself I may make one just for myself ? . It really is that much smaller.

 

[srekal34]

@Nouvolo
Would you have an estimated release timeframe?

 

[Allhopeforhumanity]

@Nouvolo
Would you have an estimated release timeframe?

Probably hard to give any concrete timelines on most boutique products right now. Likely sometime after the global supply chains settle down following the pandemic.

 

[Nouvolo]

@Nouvolo
Would you have an estimated release timeframe?

First thing first, it will be after the date of our release of lockdown ? . After that, we will see...

 

[flar]

I'd rather have a pump that can be powered from a 12w fan/AIO header on the motherboard. For an SFF case I'd like to avoid running any unnecessary wires and there is a convenient source of 12w power right next to the CPU. I've heard that some MB do allow up to 24w on a fan/AIO header, but my ITX MB does not.

If the block only supports DDC then I can still use the 10w DDC310 with it as I'm currently doing with my bulky Apogee II base, but I'd like to get rid of the Apogee unit and go with a more custom block. I could continue using my DDC310, but the specs on the SPC seem nicer - lower power, quieter, PWM control (and better flow if you believe the graphs the manufacturer provides).

I'd already bought the DDC310 and the Apogee base when I learned of the SPC and looking back I'm not sure how I would have used the SPC if it wasn't compatible with the Apogee base which is also designed for DDC.

Having said all of that, what is the status/future of the SPC-60? EK shows it EOL with the plexi top and out of stock for the acetal top. It may be that they just decided not to create more plexi tops for it, but given that they are introducing the new VTX line, how much manufacturing love will the SPC continue to receive?

 

[Shatrod]

Have you considered using a dc-lt pump from alphacool? They are very small, so small actually that you can probably fit two in series on this block

 

[srekal34]

EK SPC is the rebrand of the Syscooling pump available with various tops as P60 and P67. Its not a bad pump(I am using one in my current setup), but they are not very reliable(always have one spare, costs around 15USD)

@up Alphacool DC-LT is far inferior to both DDC and SPC. No contest really.

 

[flar]

Have you considered using a dc-lt pump from alphacool? They are very small, so small actually that you can probably fit two in series on this block

I wasn't sure if you were talking to me, or in general.

I have a DC-LT. I ordered it first, but then ordered the Apogee base/DDC310 after looking at the performance of various options and reviews that gave up on the DC-LT in similar applications (2 rads, though). I even set out to use it as it would have looked a little cleaner, though routing the tubes to fit in the case looked a little more problematic than with the Apogee base.

The clincher, though, was when I went to do the build and the machining on the bracket on the one I got was so bad that I would have had to use either a dremel or a hammer to get the parts to fit together, so I ditched it and went with the Apogee/DDC310 and it is fine, though it was more fiddly to assemble. It was past any return date on the DC-LT at that point so I consider it a loss worth losing.

Anybody want a spare DC-LT for their build that you'll have to dremel/hammer the bracket together? It basically just looks like they over-painted the bracket near the tips that are supposed to slide past each other and even leaning my 200+ lbs of weight into it couldn't get them to budge.

 

[Shatrod]

I wasn't sure if you were talking to me, or in general.

I have a DC-LT. I ordered it first, but then ordered the Apogee base/DDC310 after looking at the performance of various options and reviews that gave up on the DC-LT in similar applications (2 rads, though). I even set out to use it as it would have looked a little cleaner, though routing the tubes to fit in the case looked a little more problematic than with the Apogee base.

The clincher, though, was when I went to do the build and the machining on the bracket on the one I got was so bad that I would have had to use either a dremel or a hammer to get the parts to fit together, so I ditched it and went with the Apogee/DDC310 and it is fine, though it was more fiddly to assemble. It was past any return date on the DC-LT at that point so I consider it a loss worth losing.

Anybody want a spare DC-LT for their build that you'll have to dremel/hammer the bracket together? It basically just looks like they over-painted the bracket near the tips that are supposed to slide past each other and even leaning my 200+ lbs of weight into it couldn't get them to budge.

Actually, I would love your dc-lt. I used to use an alphacool eisbaer (has a dc-lt inside) that I had nothing but good experiences with right up until it died. But the temperatures were great and it lasted for many years, I have been wanting to revive it to use in some other project.

I know it's inferior to a DDC but for many applications, especially sff, it is quite capable.

 

[Nouvolo]

EK SPC is the rebrand of the Syscooling pump available with various tops as P60 and P67. Its not a bad pump(I am using one in my current setup), but they are not very reliable(always have one spare, costs around 15USD)

@up Alphacool DC-LT is far inferior to both DDC and SPC. No contest really.

LoL, if you posted earlier then you would have saved me some money buying the EK version. ? .

So based on posts so far, we have :
- DDC (priority)
- SPC (EK, P60, P67)
- *DC-LT (alphacool)

*Apparently the Fractal Kelvin s24 AIO with detachable block-pump uses a LT pump, and jayz tried it with Ghost [link] and it wasn't quite strong enough to push through the restrictions?

Just need to compile a list so that I can organize my priorities and CAD files. At this moment I will focus on DDC, SPC, and need more info from you guys on LT.

 

[Shatrod]

That is curious that the s24 was not strong enough. Optimum tech did a video with an alphacool eisbaer (dc_lt) with a gpu block and a dual rad in a ghost and it was performing quite well:


Edit. Specifically I am curious about the performance of two dc-lt pumps in series. If one is good enough for a cpu block and a radiator surely having two should provide enough pressure to add a gpu block? And they are small enough that I think it's doable in this design

 

[flar]

Optimum Tech used a single rad for his main build and he tried both the DC-LT for the original build and then went back and tried the Apogee Drive II for comparison (see here). He found the temps within about 1c between the two.

I don't think I saw Optimum Tech with a dual rad setup, though they did have a crazy stacked setup with 2 main chassis stacked and a large tophat between them. I didn't even look at what they were trying to do with that setup.

JayzTwoCents did two builds. One was the black Ghost where I think he used an NZXT. The other (linked above) was the silver build where he used 2 radiators and the Kelvin pump wasn't strong enough to clear all the bubbles out of a dual rad/CPU/GPU loop. He then switched to the Apogee Drive II and was much happier.

 

[Nouvolo]

Optimum Tech used a single rad for his main build and he tried both the DC-LT for the original build and then went back and tried the Apogee Drive II for comparison (see here). He found the temps within about 1c between the two.

I don't think I saw Optimum Tech with a dual rad setup, though they did have a crazy stacked setup with 2 main chassis stacked and a large tophat between them. I didn't even look at what they were trying to do with that setup.

JayzTwoCents did two builds. One was the black Ghost where I think he used an NZXT I think. The other (linked above) was the silver build where he used 2 radiators and the Kelvin pump wasn't strong enough to clear all the bubbles out of a dual rad/CPU/GPU loop. He then switched to the Apogee Drive II and was much happier.

I see, so dc-lt is probably still good with 1 rad. I didn't notice that jayz was using 2 rads with that one Kelvin s24 pump. I may do dc-lt but at a later stage, coz seems only alphacool is the only manufacturer of that standard.

 

[brandotherhymer]

There's another guy here that has been working on a similar product. You guys should collaborate.
https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/fr33flow-48mm-cpu-block-pump-res-maybe.9837/