News EKWB VTX pumps

EK just released VTX pumps with slightly better specs than the DDC pumps but same footprint.



A lot of projects here are designing around DDC pumps so I thought about sharing this. What are your thoughts?
 

duynguyenle

Airflow Optimizer
Aug 20, 2019
328
330
EK just released VTX pumps with slightly better specs than the DDC pumps but same footprint.



A lot of projects here are designing around DDC pumps so I thought about sharing this. What are your thoughts?

Well firstly it doesn't seem like they're releasing the pump for buying, it's only bundled with their reservoir at the moment.

Secondly, it's really not that much better (they cited 1100L/Hr compared to their own DDC at 1000L/Hr and 5.3m max head pressure compared to their DDC which is 5.2m). Remember, max flow rate is measured at zero restriction (i.e. not connected to a loop) and max pressure is measured at full stall (i.e. zero flow rate), both scenarioes are completely irrelevant to a real life application.

In any case, I would advise taking anything EK says with a large quantity of salt, becase even the P/Q graph on their DDC product page doesn't match up with their 1000L/Hr and 5.2m H2O claim (based on the graph it's more like 550L/Hr and 4.9m H2O)

 
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Protools

Average Stuffer
Original poster
Oct 10, 2018
69
42
Well firstly it doesn't seem like they're releasing the pump for buying, it's only bundled with their reservoir at the moment.

Secondly, it's really not that much better (they cited 1100L/Hr compared to their own DDC at 1000L/Hr and 5.3m max head pressure compared to their DDC which is 5.2m). Remember, max flow rate is measured at zero restriction (i.e. not connected to a loop) and max pressure is measured at full stall (i.e. zero flow rate), both scenarioes are completely irrelevant to a real life application.

In any case, I would advise taking anything EK says with a large quantity of salt, becase even the P/Q graph on their DDC product page doesn't match up with their 1000L/Hr and 5.2m H2O claim (based on the graph it's more like 550L/Hr and 4.9m H2O)

I guess it's true, but if they're the same price and after some reviews, it can be worth a try.

main advantage I'm hoping is the 11% minimum duty cycle. My DDC pump is a bit noisy for my taste...
 
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Vacceo

Average Stuffer
Mar 17, 2020
76
49
If EK can get a similar performance to a DDC in a less noisy unit for similar prices, that would be nice. Too bad they don´t sell the pump by itself yet.
 

fabio

Shrink Ray Wielder
Apr 6, 2016
1,885
4,325
I will try it this week! I will let you know How does it compare with the D5
 

Qzrx

Buried under radiators
Dec 29, 2019
90
219
I will try it this week! I will let you know How does it compare with the D5

Any updates on this? Have a stalled D5 order that I'm very tempted to swap to the new pumps if they're solid performers, especially since I'm building a fairly restrictive loop.
 

fabio

Shrink Ray Wielder
Apr 6, 2016
1,885
4,325
Well, waiting for EKWB to deliver since 1 week! I think I will test it during the weekend.
 

fabio

Shrink Ray Wielder
Apr 6, 2016
1,885
4,325
It's arrived!!!

I think EKWB is rising the price but also the quality. The metal square is actually nickel plated metal! Not plastic.

Here you can see the single parts. Seems that it is actually a pump made in house from EKWB. It's completely different from any DDC!





 

fabio

Shrink Ray Wielder
Apr 6, 2016
1,885
4,325
The Flow is incredible!!

VTX at 55%: 155L/h
D5 at 55%: 75 l/h


BUT, it's still noisier than the D5. Below 50% is inaudible though!

The bottom warms up a bit, but not like the DDCs, more similar to the D5.

I will do more test in the night, but I really like it!
 
Last edited:

duynguyenle

Airflow Optimizer
Aug 20, 2019
328
330
The Flow is incredible!!

BUT, it's still noisier than the D5. Below 50% is inaudible though!

The bottom warms up a bit, but not like the DDCs. I will do more test in the night, but I really like it!


Thanks for the photos. Do you have a DDC nearby to compare this pump vs a stock DDC? Is the diameter and height of the impeller the same as DDC? (I am mainly interested in whether or not this pump can fit into other tops/reservoirs designed to fit a DDC pump)
 

fabio

Shrink Ray Wielder
Apr 6, 2016
1,885
4,325
Thanks for the photos. Do you have a DDC nearby to compare this pump vs a stock DDC? Is the diameter and height of the impeller the same as DDC? (I am mainly interested in whether or not this pump can fit into other tops/reservoirs designed to fit a DDC pump)
The pump fits for sure the other EKWB DDC top, they say it also on the website. This means it fits almost 99% of all the other DDC Tops/Reservoir.

But is taller. The VTX measure 30mm when mounted (Not counting the bottom screws).

The DDC with the heatsink (EKWB) Measure 27mm with the screws.

The DDC With the stock plastic cover is 20mm.
 

teodoro

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Oct 8, 2018
109
77
if you were building with noise in mind without as much concern about space savings, would you favor a d5 or the vtx (or would it not matter)? to your ear is there any substantial difference in tonality of the noise between the two?
 

Cyirak

Case Bender
New User
May 7, 2020
2
3
Hi All, I've just joined SFF mainly to say thanks to to fabio for this information.

There is not a huge amount of information out on the VTX pump and this has been invaluable. I actually have the same query as teodoro as i'm looking to build my first water loop tho not in sff case but the flow rate fabio has described seems a huge improvement.

I'm looking to installed 1 x 420mm rad 1 x 280mm rad 1 x 140mm rad, 1 x GPU block and 1 x CPU block. as a complete beginner to watercooling ive done my research and where i have 30mm rads in order to fit in my case i believe this increases the flow resistance which is where the DDC and VTX pumps then are a better choice than the D5. The noise is my primary concern as i want to achieve a decent balance of noise vs performance (which i'm sure everyone does).

Anyway thanks again :)
 

fabio

Shrink Ray Wielder
Apr 6, 2016
1,885
4,325
if you were building with noise in mind without as much concern about space savings, would you favor a d5 or the vtx (or would it not matter)? to your ear is there any substantial difference in tonality of the noise between the two?
The D5 is the D5. If you need more pressure because your loop has a lot of 90 degrees fittings, the VTX/DDC is the best. at 20% has more flow than the D5 at 60%, and the noise is the same.
Any fan above 20% will cover the pump noise for sure! Compared to the DDC, has better and neutral pitch noise, not high as the DDC.
 

fabio

Shrink Ray Wielder
Apr 6, 2016
1,885
4,325
I will try to record the sound later today/tomorrow, with the fans off
 
Last edited:

fabio

Shrink Ray Wielder
Apr 6, 2016
1,885
4,325
Hi All, I've just joined SFF mainly to say thanks to to fabio for this information.

There is not a huge amount of information out on the VTX pump and this has been invaluable. I actually have the same query as teodoro as i'm looking to build my first water loop tho not in sff case but the flow rate fabio has described seems a huge improvement.

I'm looking to installed 1 x 420mm rad 1 x 280mm rad 1 x 140mm rad, 1 x GPU block and 1 x CPU block. as a complete beginner to watercooling ive done my research and where i have 30mm rads in order to fit in my case i believe this increases the flow resistance which is where the DDC and VTX pumps then are a better choice than the D5. The noise is my primary concern as i want to achieve a decent balance of noise vs performance (which i'm sure everyone does).

Anyway thanks again :)
But of course keep in mind the the flow rate is relative about the general performance.
As you can see here I've tested the 3 pumps that have different flow, but even with the DC-LT with a flow of 85l/h, the temp were almost the same!
 
Last edited:

duynguyenle

Airflow Optimizer
Aug 20, 2019
328
330
But of course keep in mind the the flow rate is relative about the general performance.
As you can see here I've tested the 3 pumps that have different flow, but even with the DC-LT with a flow of 85l/h, the temp were almost the same!

I think there's a lot of variables at play here, and flow rate is only part of the equation. Higher flow rates comes more into play in loops with multiple high-restriction components concurrently with high thermal load. Could you elaborate more on the hardware you're testing it with, which CPU + GPU combination, what ambient temperature you're testing at, what are the components in the loop (blocks, radiators, how many elbow/90degree fittings, what kind of tubing etc...)
 

fabio

Shrink Ray Wielder
Apr 6, 2016
1,885
4,325
I think there's a lot of variables at play here, and flow rate is only part of the equation. Higher flow rates comes more into play in loops with multiple high-restriction components concurrently with high thermal load. Could you elaborate more on the hardware you're testing it with, which CPU + GPU combination, what ambient temperature you're testing at, what are the components in the loop (blocks, radiators, how many elbow/90degree fittings, what kind of tubing etc...)
I know! If you open the link in every pictured there is the Ambient Temp, (26 degrees Average) Coolant temp, ecc. I'll post it here also.
The Pumps were external for an easy swap.

About the exact setup:

AMD 3950X
Titan RTX
EKWB Vector RTX GPU Block
EKWB Magnitude CPU Block
EKWB 240 Classic SE
AquaComputer mps 200 Flow Meter
x5 EKWB 90 degrees Torque Fittings
x1 EKWB 45 degrees Torque Fittings
x6 EKWB Torque 10/16 fittings
x2 Sets Quick Disconnect Koolance QD3
EKWB 10/16 ZMT Tubing

D5


DC-LT


VTX (DDC)