Is it ok to use 3/8" and 1/2"?

[Stratus_ss]

ok here's the deal
I currently have a maze 4 acetal, a swiftech 6000-775, and a BIPII.

So essentially what I have got is 2 1/2" parts and the waterblock that is 3/8"
I would ideally like to get the MCP 350 pump.
with 1/2" tubing and clamps as long as I did a long bleed would that be ok?
or would you ditch the 6000 and get the 6002 and a different pump?

what do you think?

[AlanD911]

Does the mcp350 come with 1/2" barbs? I thought it only came with 3/8"

[batboy]

Obviously, the ideal situation would for it all to match, but you can use what you currently have and it should work ok. I would use 7/16" ID tubing. You can stretch it over the 1/2" barbs and clamp it tight with metal worm gear clamps on the 3/8" barbs. I have the same Swifty 6000 block and like it. My system is all 3/8" and it does fine.

[Stratus_ss]

Alan-
So far as I know it does only come in the 3/8" thats why I was wondering. Because since I dont have the pump and res yet it is still not to late to swap out the swiftech water block and find an alternate pump (like the 655)

[AlanD911]

Personally I have the mcp350 with a moded inlet so that it can support a 1/2" ID tube. I wouldn't recommend this pump for the following reasons. 1) If in the future you want to cool your cpu, and video cards, and chipset this pump will not be sufficient for a 1/2" setup since you will always have that 3/8" line. 2) you don't have the mod the bigger 1/2" pumps in order for them to be good on efficiency.

[voigts]

Its best to use all one size tubing if feasible as it makes putting things together much easier. As far as performance goes, you will be fine and probably wouldn't see much difference if you had all 1/2".

[AlanD911]

I would highly recommend getting a pump that comes stock with 1/2" barbs it will save yourself alot of headache when you want to upgrade your loop.

[Stratus_ss]

are there any converters out there for water blocks? I would want to go from 3/8s to 1/2

[Otter]

Most places that sell the MCP-350 also sell 3/8 to 1/2" adapters. If you modify the inlet for better flow, you'll only need one adapter.

Personally I have the mcp350 with a moded inlet so that it can support a 1/2" ID tube. I wouldn't recommend this pump for the following reasons. 1) If in the future you want to cool your cpu, and video cards, and chipset this pump will not be sufficient for a 1/2" setup since you will always have that 3/8" line. 2) you don't have the mod the bigger 1/2" pumps in order for them to be good on efficiency.
That 3/8" outlet isn't as restrictive as you think. Yes, 1/2" would be better, but it's not true that a single 3/8" fitting makes the entire loop perform like it would with 3/8" tubing. If that were true, then there would be no point is using 1/2" tubing in the first place, because even high-flow CPU blocks are more restrictive than a few inches of 3/8" tubing.

Compare Robotech's test results in the original mod article,
http://systemcooling.com/mcp350_mod-05.html
and you'll see that the modified pump compares surprisingly well with larger pumps, even with the 3/8" outlet. In the first, extremely low restriction test, the modified 350 delivers more flow than many pumps that have proven adequate for cooling both CPU and GPU. In the more restrictive loop on the next page, the modified mcp350 delivers slightly more flow than the mcp650.

The modified 350's strength is it's high head. Hence the more blocks you have in series, the better it will perform relative to most other pumps.