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

Fitchew

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Feb 2, 2019
111
63
Today I finally got my Aquanaut. Delivery took a very long time. But because of the covid nothing can be done about it unfortunately.

What can I say. As many have already noted, the big screws with springs are not the most convenient to use, since my future system will also be used as an open bench for testing processors, then the screws will be used constantly, remove the block, install and remove again, repeat. Although the screw heads are large its a plus, but they are collapsible and slippery, which will strain me with constant use. A good suggestion was to cut the notches or sand them, but there was nothing to do with collapsible. I will look at some alternatives.
As for the mounting plate, there are several imperfections on it, which most likely appeared when cutting and painting. There is a chip on one of the edges. But what worries me the most is the inner cutout, as there are some pretty sharp crumbs along the edge that will most likely scratch the acrylic, o-ring or coldplate.
There were no complaints about the o-rings during inspection. I'll see how they behave after the assembly of the block.
Also, I have no particular complaints about the coldplate itself. The quality is quite satisfactory. However, I cannot overlook the fact that there are milling marks visible both on the inside and on the outside.
There is nothing to mention about the screws.
But about the jetplate I can say that the surface is mirrored only on one side and the traces of the cutter are visible on the sides. I don't know if this matters, but I would like to see a well-finished part.
As for the acrylic parts, unfortunately, mine also has some imperfections, all of which can be attributed to the quality of the polish.

Tomorrow I will try to take pictures in good daylight to show what I have written about.
In general the impression from the product is positive, I can give a solid four of five. So far, I can not assemble the liquid loop, since the pump and reservoir have not yet arrived in my country from Aliexpress.

PS: Forgive me for my bad english.
 

einmannbude

Caliper Novice
May 22, 2016
25
18
Early in the thread someone mentioned a DDC pump, which is only powered by a 4 pin PWM motherboard header. I think it was from EK. I am not able to find such a pump on their website. Am I missing something, or is is simply no longer available?

I also have a hard time finding a pump that can be controlled via PWM and is NOT powered by good old Molex. If a motherboard header one-cable-solution is not existing, I would rather have the pump powered by SATA than my Molex, because then I would not need an extra PSU cable providing Molex power.
 

DrHudacris

King of Cable Management
Jul 20, 2019
918
1,720
Early in the thread someone mentioned a DDC pump, which is only powered by a 4 pin PWM motherboard header. I think it was from EK. I am not able to find such a pump on their website. Am I missing something, or is is simply no longer available?

I also have a hard time finding a pump that can be controlled via PWM and is NOT powered by good old Molex. If a motherboard header one-cable-solution is not existing, I would rather have the pump powered by SATA than my Molex, because then I would not need an extra PSU cable providing Molex power.

Just cut and recrimp! The more powerful (<12 watt) pumps are generally split power and pwm to different headers.
 
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Vatzz

Chassis Packer
Sep 29, 2020
15
14
Early in the thread someone mentioned a DDC pump, which is only powered by a 4 pin PWM motherboard header. I think it was from EK. I am not able to find such a pump on their website. Am I missing something, or is is simply no longer available?

I also have a hard time finding a pump that can be controlled via PWM and is NOT powered by good old Molex. If a motherboard header one-cable-solution is not existing, I would rather have the pump powered by SATA than my Molex, because then I would not need an extra PSU cable providing Molex power.

EK discontinued that pump sadly. As mentioned above, you would have to rewrite it yourself into the one four pin fan header.
 
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flar

Average Stuffer
Jan 19, 2020
78
46
Early in the thread someone mentioned a DDC pump, which is only powered by a 4 pin PWM motherboard header. I think it was from EK. I am not able to find such a pump on their website. Am I missing something, or is is simply no longer available?

I also have a hard time finding a pump that can be controlled via PWM and is NOT powered by good old Molex. If a motherboard header one-cable-solution is not existing, I would rather have the pump powered by SATA than my Molex, because then I would not need an extra PSU cable providing Molex power.
It depends on your MB fan header power limits. A lot of fan headers only support 12w and most DDC pumps are in the 18w+ category. Some MB have 24w fan headers and so they could easily support that. Check the limits with your MB manufacturer and then check the power draw of the pump.

In order to avoid the "why did your pump blow my MB fan header" issues most pumps will come with a separate power cable.

I ordered a DDC310 (a 10w DDC pump) from PerformancePCs in Florida and they had an option on their order page to sleeve the cables. I emailed them and asked them if they could also rewire to a fan header and they sent me back an email with instructions on ordering it that way. The result? A DDC310 with a single fan header cable, sleeved. It cost a few dollars more than just having them do the sleeving, but it was well under my time/money threshold...
 

Nouvolo

Creator
Original poster
Silver Supporter
Sep 8, 2018
759
1,711
www.nouvolo.com
New thumbscrews for intel 115x/1200 mounting:

aqn-thumbscrews-115x-top.jpg aqn-thumbscrews-115x-side.jpg

All looks good, not touching the water block and easier installation with screw driver looking down on the mb from above. Will ease the new thumbscrews into the newest batch.

Next week, will contact directly those who were in the early testing phase.
 

einmannbude

Caliper Novice
May 22, 2016
25
18
I ordered a DDC310 (a 10w DDC pump) from PerformancePCs in Florida and they had an option on their order page to sleeve the cables. I emailed them and asked them if they could also rewire to a fan header and they sent me back an email with instructions on ordering it that way.

Since I am not gifted when it comes to soldering, it would be great if someone could do the rewiring. Here in Germany Caseking offers some custom service. Maybe I will send them an email. Thanks for the idea.

My motherboard is ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming ITX and has a 24W fan header.
 

DrHudacris

King of Cable Management
Jul 20, 2019
918
1,720
Since I am not gifted when it comes to soldering, it would be great if someone could do the rewiring. Here in Germany Caseking offers some custom service. Maybe I will send them an email. Thanks for the idea.

My motherboard is ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming ITX and has a 24W fan header.
There's no soldering involved! You just cut to the length you want, strip the wire end, and crimp new terminals and insert them into a new fan header (or reuse the old one).
 

hwytodangerzone

Caliper Novice
Oct 15, 2020
32
52
Since I am not gifted when it comes to soldering, it would be great if someone could do the rewiring. Here in Germany Caseking offers some custom service. Maybe I will send them an email. Thanks for the idea.

My motherboard is ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming ITX and has a 24W fan header.

You work it from the other end as mentioned before ... it's not hard, just fiddly but once you get the hang of it, then you can make all your own custom cables. I can't solder to save my life.

Get a good wire stripper and then you'd want a decent crimp tool, something like this, and pins and a female fan connector like this. I just sleeved and re-cabled my liang ddc last night. I also have the same exact motherboard and it's running great connected to the fan/pump header.

Oh, but pay attention to where the wires are on the original fan plug. My pump has green and blue swapped from standard pwm.
 
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jouz

Trash Compacter
Oct 9, 2020
51
92
I

I have the exact same question, just got mine. All the other orings are nice and tight except this one

Can someone chime in on this? I've just started assembling, and also noticed that the o-ring for the cold plate seems way looser than the other ones.
I figured it has a lot of room to compress, but not sure if I should tighten it that far?
Am I supposed to tighten it until the mounting plate doesn't wobble anymore?
 

matador1182

Chassis Packer
Feb 16, 2020
17
5
Can someone chime in on this? I've just started assembling, and also noticed that the o-ring for the cold plate seems way looser than the other ones.
I figured it has a lot of room to compress, but not sure if I should tighten it that far?
Am I supposed to tighten it until the mounting plate doesn't wobble anymore?

I realized it was fine, just make sure you have the backplate on before you put in the print and screw in the cold plate. The cold plate shouldn't move when all is said and done
 

Vatzz

Chassis Packer
Sep 29, 2020
15
14
New thumbscrews for intel 115x/1200 mounting:

View attachment 828 View attachment 829

All looks good, not touching the water block and easier installation with screw driver looking down on the mb from above. Will ease the new thumbscrews into the newest batch.

Next week, will contact directly those who were in the early testing phase.

Have you already started shipping out the new screws?
As I'm waiting for the second one after I broke the first, I'm using the one I have to mock up my loop. I'm still waiting for another fitting to arrive before I can say for sure but I believe the current screws will interfere with where I want the fittings because they're so high and the new ones look a lot shorter.
 

Nouvolo

Creator
Original poster
Silver Supporter
Sep 8, 2018
759
1,711
www.nouvolo.com
Have you already started shipping out the new screws?
As I'm waiting for the second one after I broke the first, I'm using the one I have to mock up my loop. I'm still waiting for another fitting to arrive before I can say for sure but I believe the current screws will interfere with where I want the fittings because they're so high and the new ones look a lot shorter.
nope, new screws are not yet included in the new shipment yet. Possibly Dec.
 

Van0

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Mar 29, 2019
129
166
Unfortunately received the customs bill in the mail today from FedEx (UK). Thought I’d gotten away with it! VAT amount seems correct at £11 but then FedEx adds their £12 service fee. Ouch.

I ended up reusing my LT240 mounting screws to stick with the all black theme. Not sure if there’a much of a pressure differential but just to be sure, I’d purchase the new screws if/ when available
 
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Valantar

Shrink Ray Wielder
Jan 20, 2018
2,201
2,225
Unfortunately received the customs bill in the mail today from FedEx (UK). Thought I’d gotten away with it! VAT amount seems correct at £11 but then FedEx adds their £12 service fee. Ouch.
Same here, got mine a few days ago, something like 120 SEK for the VAT and then 160 SEK for the processing fee... Those fees ought to be banned (or regulated to a fixed level), it's downright extortionate.
 
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arthasdklol

Trash Compacter
Nov 14, 2019
40
27
Same here, got mine a few days ago, something like 120 SEK for the VAT and then 160 SEK for the processing fee... Those fees ought to be banned (or regulated to a fixed level), it's downright extortionate.
Yeah, my favourite was 3DKK of VAT and then extra 160DKK "the f. you gonna do about it?" fee from Postnord.

I wish you could "pre-pay" or pre-register that stuff and pay in advance so it just gets let through after verification...
 
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Valantar

Shrink Ray Wielder
Jan 20, 2018
2,201
2,225
Yeah, my favourite was 3DKK of VAT and then extra 160DKK "the f. you gonna do about it?" fee from Postnord.

I wish you could "pre-pay" or pre-register that stuff and pay in advance so it just gets let through after verification...
AFAIK the EU is working on a system for automatic VAT payments for online stores in other countries, but last I saw the timeline for it arriving was 2021 - and I really wouldn't be surprised if it took longer than that. Before I moved to Sweden the same thing was discussed in Norway, with the conclusion being "we'll wait and see what the EU comes up with", meaning they'll probably have to wait another few years :p From what I've seen the plan is for a voluntary opt-in programme seemingly targeting major online stores though, so I guess it remains to be seen how accessible it will be for smaller stores. I mean, how hard would it be to implement an online system where you submit your tracking number and the value of the goods and pre-pay the VAT? All the shipping company would need to do would be to verify the product value matches the customs papers. Should be easy enough.