Choosing the Correct Water Cooling Pump
A guide by charliehorse55
What flow rate do I need in my loop for the best performance?
Most loops achieve maximal efficiency around 1.0 GPM. Increasing the flow rate beyond this point as little to no effect on temperature for most modern blocks, and the extra heat dump from the added pumps required to reach higher flow rates can actually have a larger impact than the increase in flow. This is because the heat capacity of water is incredibly high. At 1.0 GPM of flow, it takes over 250W of heat to raise the water a single degree.
Math (Click to show)
Heat capacity of water = 4187j per kg
1.0 GPM of flow in litters per second = 0.063 kg/second
4187j*0.063 kg/second
A joule is 1 watt for 1 second, so the units of time cancel out:
4187W * 0.063 kg = 264W
264W to raise a 1.0 GPM flow of water by a single degree
Let's assume you are running a CPU + dual GPU loop. With a heat dump of around 200W per component, the last component in the loop will have the water entering the block at 1.5C higher than the first. If you increased your flow rate to 2.0 GPM, this would drop to 0.75C, lowering the GPU temperature by 0.75C. This is not a huge gain, but it is appreciable, until you factor in the added heat dump from the pump. To get to 2.0 GPM on a dual GPU + CPU loop you would need to add another 30W of pump at a minimum. Even with a quad radiator, this is going to increase your water-air delta by about 0.2-0.5C, effectively raising the temperature of all of your blocks by that much. All of a sudden these small gains become absolutely meaningless.
If the heat capacity of water is so high, why can't I have less than 1.0 GPM?
At low flow rates, the performance of your water blocks drops dramatically as the flow inside of them switches from turbulent to laminar. Turbulent flow occurs when a lot of water is going through a small pipe. When water is flowing this way, it creates random vortices that ensure the water is constantly mixing, and that fresh, cold water is constantly touching the waterblock. If the flow rate is low enough, the water switches to flowing in a laminar way. When water flows in this way, it does not mix as much, and the water on the edges may be significantly warmer than the water around it. This is bad for performance, as heat is not transferred away from the block as quickly.

Older water-cooling equipment used very open blocks with large openings for water passing through, making it very easy for a laminar flow to develop. This is why so many older blocks are incredibly flow dependent, requiring high flow rates to get good results. Modern blocks use very small channels, so that turbulent flow occurs at much lower flow. Almost all waterblocks today are designed to have turbulent flow at low flow rates, and as such the temperature gains from higher flow rates have largely disappeared. Most blocks will continue to perform down to about 0.6-0.7 GPM, but it's a good idea to have around 1.0 GPM to have some headroom.
How do I know which pump I need to achieve 1 GPM?
Pumps are rated on a pressure/flow curve. At lower flow rates, they can produce more pressure, and at higher flow rates, less pressure. The blocks in your loop provide restriction that scales in the opposite direction, as higher flow rates lead to a greater pressure difference being required. The flow rate of your loop is determined by the intersection of these two lines:

Since we are only trying to get 1 or more GPM, we can simply use the pressure values for 1 GPM and make sure we have a pump with more pressure at 1 GPM than the blocks add up to. Finding the pump becomes as simple as adding up a few numbers!
Can't you simplify this?
Sure. I've made a rough guide to get a general idea of how much pumping power you need. The data on the pumps is deadly accurate, however as there are many, many different types of blocks it would be mundane to list all of the pressure drops (and there isn't data available for everything!). Feel free to substitute any value in the first chart with ones specific to your parts. (You can find this data on review websites).
First, add up the restriction of your loop (these values are safe averages)
Pressure Drop figures for components
Radiators: 0.20 PSI each (the size of the radiator has no real effect)
CPU Block: 1.1 PSI
GPU block: 0.9 PSI
Motherboard block: 2.0 PSI (fullcover)
Fittings: 0.3 PSI for the entire loop
Tubing: 0.5 PSI per meter (3.3 feet)
Reservoir: Negligible
If you run your GPU blocks in parallel, divide the PSI drop by the number of blocks, so if you have 3 blocks in parallel you would only add 0.3 PSI to the total.
*Exceptions*
HW Labs GTX Radiators are around 1.2 PSI each
Anything by aquacomputer is about double the normal pressure drop
Now that you have the total pressure drop for your loop, find a pump that can handle at least that much pressure at 1 GPM of flow.
Maximum Head Pressure at 1.0 GPM
Iwaki RD-30: 13.72 PSI
MCP35X Stock: 6.52 PSI
MCP355 + XSPC Top: 6.14 PSI
MCP655 + EK Top: 4.95 PSI
MCP655 Stock: 4.72 PSI
MCP355 Stock: 4.63 PSI
MCP350 + Top: 4.48 PSI
DCP 4.0 Stock: 3.83 PSI
XSPC 750: 3.59 PSI
655-B + EK Top: 3.38 PSI
MCP350: 3.25 PSI
655-B Stock: 3.23 PSI
DCP 2.6: 2.55 PSI
Eheim 1250: 2.41 PSI
DCP 2.2: 2.08 PSI
Eheim 1048: 1.78
Eheim 1046: 1.02 PSI
Double pump setups are usually almost exactly double the performance of a single pump. Keep in mind, you should also choose your pump based on how loud it is, how much power it uses and how it will fit into your case. This is merely a guide to help you choose a pump that is powerful enough to handle your loop.
Feel free to ask anything, I will clear up any questions you may have and potentially add it to this post.
Edited by charliehorse55 - 5/2/12 at 5:55pm
A guide by charliehorse55
What flow rate do I need in my loop for the best performance?
Most loops achieve maximal efficiency around 1.0 GPM. Increasing the flow rate beyond this point as little to no effect on temperature for most modern blocks, and the extra heat dump from the added pumps required to reach higher flow rates can actually have a larger impact than the increase in flow. This is because the heat capacity of water is incredibly high. At 1.0 GPM of flow, it takes over 250W of heat to raise the water a single degree.
Math (Click to show)
Heat capacity of water = 4187j per kg
1.0 GPM of flow in litters per second = 0.063 kg/second
4187j*0.063 kg/second
A joule is 1 watt for 1 second, so the units of time cancel out:
4187W * 0.063 kg = 264W
264W to raise a 1.0 GPM flow of water by a single degree
Let's assume you are running a CPU + dual GPU loop. With a heat dump of around 200W per component, the last component in the loop will have the water entering the block at 1.5C higher than the first. If you increased your flow rate to 2.0 GPM, this would drop to 0.75C, lowering the GPU temperature by 0.75C. This is not a huge gain, but it is appreciable, until you factor in the added heat dump from the pump. To get to 2.0 GPM on a dual GPU + CPU loop you would need to add another 30W of pump at a minimum. Even with a quad radiator, this is going to increase your water-air delta by about 0.2-0.5C, effectively raising the temperature of all of your blocks by that much. All of a sudden these small gains become absolutely meaningless.
If the heat capacity of water is so high, why can't I have less than 1.0 GPM?
At low flow rates, the performance of your water blocks drops dramatically as the flow inside of them switches from turbulent to laminar. Turbulent flow occurs when a lot of water is going through a small pipe. When water is flowing this way, it creates random vortices that ensure the water is constantly mixing, and that fresh, cold water is constantly touching the waterblock. If the flow rate is low enough, the water switches to flowing in a laminar way. When water flows in this way, it does not mix as much, and the water on the edges may be significantly warmer than the water around it. This is bad for performance, as heat is not transferred away from the block as quickly.

Older water-cooling equipment used very open blocks with large openings for water passing through, making it very easy for a laminar flow to develop. This is why so many older blocks are incredibly flow dependent, requiring high flow rates to get good results. Modern blocks use very small channels, so that turbulent flow occurs at much lower flow. Almost all waterblocks today are designed to have turbulent flow at low flow rates, and as such the temperature gains from higher flow rates have largely disappeared. Most blocks will continue to perform down to about 0.6-0.7 GPM, but it's a good idea to have around 1.0 GPM to have some headroom.
How do I know which pump I need to achieve 1 GPM?
Pumps are rated on a pressure/flow curve. At lower flow rates, they can produce more pressure, and at higher flow rates, less pressure. The blocks in your loop provide restriction that scales in the opposite direction, as higher flow rates lead to a greater pressure difference being required. The flow rate of your loop is determined by the intersection of these two lines:

Since we are only trying to get 1 or more GPM, we can simply use the pressure values for 1 GPM and make sure we have a pump with more pressure at 1 GPM than the blocks add up to. Finding the pump becomes as simple as adding up a few numbers!
Can't you simplify this?
Sure. I've made a rough guide to get a general idea of how much pumping power you need. The data on the pumps is deadly accurate, however as there are many, many different types of blocks it would be mundane to list all of the pressure drops (and there isn't data available for everything!). Feel free to substitute any value in the first chart with ones specific to your parts. (You can find this data on review websites).
First, add up the restriction of your loop (these values are safe averages)
Pressure Drop figures for components
Radiators: 0.20 PSI each (the size of the radiator has no real effect)
CPU Block: 1.1 PSI
GPU block: 0.9 PSI
Motherboard block: 2.0 PSI (fullcover)
Fittings: 0.3 PSI for the entire loop
Tubing: 0.5 PSI per meter (3.3 feet)
Reservoir: Negligible
If you run your GPU blocks in parallel, divide the PSI drop by the number of blocks, so if you have 3 blocks in parallel you would only add 0.3 PSI to the total.
*Exceptions*
HW Labs GTX Radiators are around 1.2 PSI each
Anything by aquacomputer is about double the normal pressure drop
Now that you have the total pressure drop for your loop, find a pump that can handle at least that much pressure at 1 GPM of flow.
Maximum Head Pressure at 1.0 GPM
Iwaki RD-30: 13.72 PSI
MCP35X Stock: 6.52 PSI
MCP355 + XSPC Top: 6.14 PSI
MCP655 + EK Top: 4.95 PSI
MCP655 Stock: 4.72 PSI
MCP355 Stock: 4.63 PSI
MCP350 + Top: 4.48 PSI
DCP 4.0 Stock: 3.83 PSI
XSPC 750: 3.59 PSI
655-B + EK Top: 3.38 PSI
MCP350: 3.25 PSI
655-B Stock: 3.23 PSI
DCP 2.6: 2.55 PSI
Eheim 1250: 2.41 PSI
DCP 2.2: 2.08 PSI
Eheim 1048: 1.78
Eheim 1046: 1.02 PSI
Double pump setups are usually almost exactly double the performance of a single pump. Keep in mind, you should also choose your pump based on how loud it is, how much power it uses and how it will fit into your case. This is merely a guide to help you choose a pump that is powerful enough to handle your loop.
Feel free to ask anything, I will clear up any questions you may have and potentially add it to this post.
Edited by charliehorse55 - 5/2/12 at 5:55pm










I have also asked Juggalo23451 to determine sticky eligibility; he will be responsible for making it so in that case.