How do you test pumps? Especially ones that are designed for different size hoses? After much debate in the GruntvillE virtual office it was decided that the pumps would be tested on a system with ½ ID tubing and 3 blocks. Each pump would be installed, the system bled, and then run for a few days to ensure that there are no bubbles or air pockets in the loop. Temperature measurements were taken using Motherboard Monitor for the case and CPU temp, ATI Catalyst drivers for GPU temps, and a basic thermal probe for room temps.
Once the system was bled and ready we took idle readings. CPU load was generated by running 2 instances of Folding@Home for 6 hours before any readings where taken. Then we add in the GPU load by firing up 3DMark 05 to run along with Folding. We did not do any Overclocking tests, but it is safe to assume that the lower the temps on the tests we did, the better the chance of getting a good OC.
For the test bed I used the Megadeth case, which is a modified Lian Li PC-70 with the following hardware and cooling:
• MSI 875P Neo FIS2-R Motherboard
• Intel Pentium 4 3.0ghz CPU
• (2) 512mb Corsair XMS3200XL Pro
• HIS Radeon X800XT IceQ II video card
• Danger Den Black Ice Extreme II dual 120mm radiator
• (2) Panaflo 120 “M” fans
• Primoflex 1/2ID Green Tubing
• PolarFLO TT Series CPU Block
• PolarFLO TT Series Chipset block
• PolarFLO TT Series GPU BLock
• Primochill Dual 5.25 Bay Res
• Raidmax 500 watt PSU
When testing the MCP-350 I added 2” of 3/8ID tubing and a 3/8 to ½ adapter on both the inlet and outlet. The flow was setup like this Pump – Radiator – CPU. Since the CPU has two outlets one was connected to the chipset and one the GPU then the reservoir and back to the pump.
The following table shows the average reading for each temperature that was measured. The important thing to keep in mind is the Room/CPU/GPU delta. This is the measurement of how much higher then the ambient room temperature the CPU and GPU are. The first number is the delta for the CPU, second is the GPU. The lower this number the better the cooling provided by the system. All temperatures are in Degrees Celsius.
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