What size pump should I get for my water cooling system?

Hey everybody,
I'm quite the n00b when it comes to water cooling, but I'm learning. I'm trying to find a good pump and was wondering what you guys would recommend. I'm considering either the Mag2 or 3. My only concern is that the first may be too weak and the second too strong. Whatcha think?


Pumps

if you're a n00b i recommend looking into the new koolance cases... www.koolance.com/products/pc2 getting one premade like this lets you see how one is set up without having to do any guesswork (although some say that's half the fun)

i have one and i haven't hit over 100 F with it...but don't order from overclock-watercool.com --a certain member ordered one from there weeks ago and hasn't gotten it yet (i ordered mine from infotechnow.com and had it in about a week)

i dont think you can have a too powerful pump, to slow down the pump put a knik in the tube or use a valve. i have just realsied that N00b is newbie, not what i thought

the overclocker said:

i dont think you can have a too powerful pump, to slow down the pump put a knik in the tube or use a valve. i have just realsied that N00b is newbie, not what i thought

Click to expand...

what did you think it meant?



and, yes, there is such a thing as too powerful a pump...too much power and your tubing could get unclamped and that sure wouldn't be a pretty site.....

In my opinion, build it yourself... so much better to say you put it together and built it all yourself... Just be sure to read every single water rig review or article you can first... that way you know at least partially what your doing... but as for what pump... I bought 2 pumps from the local hardware stores... there not the best but they work well and are decent for there price...

All I M O

Lots of people here say anything between 200-300 GPH should do you on your standard watercooled system. I say anything over 600 GPH is overkill. Then again, those crazy fools over at ArsTechnica swear they use 1250+ GPH pumps in their water rigs.

~RT~

Pump sizing depends on the pressure drop from your block and your radiator. For example a Maze block and Cooling Cube work best with a pump like the Danner Mag 7.

Big magdrive pumps don't put out enough pressure to blow a hose off a barb if you use a clamp. I have used an 1800 GPH pump with no problems.

Remember, you can always restrict the flow of a pump. If you size the pump too small from the start, you will never know that a larger pump may yield better results.