Aquacooler aquaero with a D5 + filter question

[sporktar]

After having TWO Lamptron fan controllers fail on me, i've been considering picking up an Aquacooler aquaero. I know some people here have experience with this controller, so i was hoping you could help me plan out my purchase before I start throwing money around.

First off, i can run 9 thermaltake riing fans (.2a, 2.4 watts) off of 1 fan port without dealing with a poweradjust expansion, correct? I ask to make sure i'm not doing my math wrong, my old fan controller claims it can handle 30 watts, yet i burned through two units running 21.9w of fannage.

I'm also a bit confused on the best way to run a D5 pump on this controller. I know AquaComputer has a D5 designed to work with their system, but it's double the price of a normal d5. I want to have some degree of monitoring for pump failure through their software, but i know my existing 2 pin molex powered pump won't suffice. Can i use a non-AquaComputer D5? Can the D5 be powered directly through the aquaero controller? (or does it even need to be)


I was also curious if anyone has any experience running filters in their loops? I know it's generally ill advised, since it has the potential to add a lot of restriction to your loop, and if you need a filter, you likely have other problems you should be addressing. However, those of you who have seen my buildlog know that i've had some issues with some contaminants in my loop causing damage to multiple gpu waterblocks, a pump, and almost all of my fittings. That's probably around $400 in compromised equipment in total.



I believe I have removed all of the questionable components, and contaminants, but i just installed a new gpu/gpu block, new hardline, and a replacement pump from the oc classifieds section, so at this point I can't be too safe. I noticed aquacomputer has a nice looking unit specifically designed for pc loops. Can you think of any reason i shouldn't pick one up for my loop?

Thanks for the help guys!

 

[GTXJackBauer]

Get rid of all the fittings and QDCs that gave you issue. Try going with the other companies like Bitspower fittings and Swiftech QDCs.

As for the Aquaero 6, I use a AQ 6 XT (Blue). One of my best purchases for a controller ever. Still have a barely used Lamptron FC5V2 collecting dust somewhere. The AQ has a learning curve as I did extensive research on such a premium priced product, it had to be done and happy I did.

First of, you have Voltage or PWM to choose from per channel @ 30w per. You could go higher slightly with the installation of a heatsink in the rear of the AQ and depending on the temps of the channels. It is possible, your fans spiked your last controllers max specs on start up and after a while gave up. I also read that a few folks were attempting to connect the Riing fans and their hubs to the AQ 6. Haven't heard much from them since. The Riings fans AFAIK, won't work without their hubs since the cables from the fans are 5-pin and the cable from the fan hub is a 4-pin PWM cable I believe. The 5th cable is used to power and change the LEDs on them for the RBG versions I believe.

Anyways back to the AQ 6. The only pumps that work with the AQ are the ones AQ sells like the AC D5 PWM or the preferred AC D5 Aquabus/USB. The ONLY other 3rd party pump that will work with the AQ 6 is EK's newest 2nd gen. D5 pump. Make sure that it is displayed as 2nd generation or it won't work. All the other D5 pumps from all other companies will not work. Fortunately for the MCP35X, the AQ WILL work, thank goodness because I use MCP35X2 in series. Have them plugged and monitored on one channel while the rest of the channels are split up to each rad. When connecting all of these thinks, most will prefer to connect via Aquabus. Its basically a bus on most of the AC additions used with the AQ that is used to communicate with each other instead of plugging everything to the USB header as USB is limited on some MBs. Pump wise, that would leave your fan channels open to only fans and pumps connected via aquabus for communications.

I used to use a koolance filter but since have taken it out because logic says, as long as you keep an eye on your loop, done the rad dances and cleaned the other components before installation, it isn't particularly needed and it will add lots of unwanted restrictions to the loop. You could put one in if you want but I feel you don't need one. If you're risking more flaking from the same fitting purchases, than yes I would install one than.

With the AQ, you could have AC's flow meter, LEDs (Farbwerk) based on temps, pumps, fans, temp probes (air/water) all setup with in the software and setup perimeters for either warnings or curves to ramp things up and down as your rig heats up or cools down. Its really is fun but it does come at a premium price. Nothing out there comes remotely close to this product AFAIK.

 

[sporktar]

Get rid of all the fittings and QDCs that gave you issue. Try going with the other companies like Bitspower fittings and Swiftech QDCs.

The issue seems to be with the black edition of my qdc's. I have replaced them with the standard koolance qdc's. Also using all new hardline and compression fittings in my build.

As for the Aquaero 6, I use a AQ 6 XT (Blue). One of my best purchases for a controller ever. Still have a barely used Lamptron FC5V2 collecting dust somewhere. The AQ has a learning curve as I did extensive research on such a premium priced product, it had to be done and happy I did.

What is the difference between the XT and the pro? From what i've been able to find, one comes with a heatsink and IR remote, but i haven't been able to locate a definitive "these are the differences" list. Most of the product descriptions are identical.

First of, you have Voltage or PWM to choose from per channel @ 30w per. You could go higher slightly with the installation of a heatsink in the rear of the AQ and depending on the temps of the channels. It is possible, your fans spiked your last controllers max specs on start up and after a while gave up. I also read that a few folks were attempting to connect the Riing fans and their hubs to the AQ 6. Haven't heard much from them since. The Riings fans AFAIK, won't work without their hubs since the cables from the fans are 5-pin and the cable from the fan hub is a 4-pin PWM cable I believe. The 5th cable is used to power and change the LEDs on them for the RBG versions I believe.

I don't think startup spikes were the cause, as my machine was on most of the time. I did notice that the mofset got insanely hot, even burning the finish off of the heatsink and softening the solder so the mofset/heatsink would start to sag. in hindsight, i probably should have made building a better heatsink a priority instead of letting it fail, but i assumed the product would live up to it's specs, given lamptron's good reputation. I was wondering if i had missed something in my math, since it seems to be so far from the spec'd point of failure. (by the way, I'm not using RGB Riing, just standard 3 pin single color fans, so the 5 pin is a non-issue here)

Anyways back to the AQ 6. The only pumps that work with the AQ are the ones AQ sells like the AC D5 PWM or the preferred AC D5 Aquabus/USB. The ONLY other 3rd party pump that will work with the AQ 6 is EK's newest 2nd gen. D5 pump. Make sure that it is displayed as 2nd generation or it won't work. All the other D5 pumps from all other companies will not work. Fortunately for the MCP35X, the AQ WILL work, thank goodness because I use MCP35X2 in series. Have them plugged and monitored on one channel while the rest of the channels are split up to each rad. When connecting all of these thinks, most will prefer to connect via Aquabus. Its basically a bus on most of the AC additions used with the AQ that is used to communicate with each other instead of plugging everything to the USB header as USB is limited on some MBs. Pump wise, that would leave your fan channels open to only fans and pumps connected via aquabus for communications.

So we have the EK, the AC PWM and the AC Aquabus/USB . What benefit would i get with the Aquabus/usb model over the standard PWM controlled pumps? To me it seems like the Aquabus is just more expensive, and has more cables coming out of it. I'm planning on running 2x D5's, so there's a $40 difference between my options.

I used to use a koolance filter but since have taken it out because logic says, as long as you keep an eye on your loop, done the rad dances and cleaned the other components before installation, it isn't particularly needed and it will add lots of unwanted restrictions to the loop. You could put one in if you want but I feel you don't need one. If you're risking more flaking from the same fitting purchases, than yes I would install one than.

I'm fairly sure the cause of the issue has been addressed, but a $30 filter would go a long way to keep my mind at ease, since i've thought i had the issue fixed a couple of times already. I'm due for a flush soon, so I'll inspect the water and make a judgement from there.

With the AQ, you could have AC's flow meter, LEDs (Farbwerk) based on temps, pumps, fans, temp probes (air/water) all setup with in the software and setup perimeters for either warnings or curves to ramp things up and down as your rig heats up or cools down. Its really is fun but it does come at a premium price. Nothing out there comes remotely close to this product AFAIK.

I've been using speedfan since my controller died, but i ran into a lot of limitations with stuff it can't control. For example, i want fan speed to be controlled by coolant temp, not component temp, and there's no way to address that right now. The main selling point for me was looking over the software that works alongside the controller. It has enough features to keep me tinkering for weeks, and really unlocks the potential of an overkill build such as mine. The build quality of aquacomputer hardware looks to be fantastic, the software seems stable, and there is a lot of depth to what you can do with it. For my use, i can justify that price tag.

 

[GTXJackBauer]

What is the difference between the XT and the pro? From what i've been able to find, one comes with a heatsink and IR remote, but i haven't been able to locate a definitive "these are the differences" list. Most of the product descriptions are identical.

The XT comes with a remote, touch control screen and LEDs with the choice of blue or red. Just make sure you grab the right LED colored unit as they aren't interchangeable within themselves other than replacing the whole face. The pro doesn't have all of that and just a few buttons up front.

So we have the EK, the AC PWM and the AC Aquabus/USB . What benefit would i get with the Aquabus/usb model over the standard PWM controlled pumps? To me it seems like the Aquabus is just more expensive, and has more cables coming out of it. I'm planning on running 2x D5's, so there's a $40 difference between my options.

The biggest benefit is relieving the channels for fan duty. Most grab the Aquabus version as you can chainlink all the aquabus devices if you were to add more things to the AQ. Its almost like a USB line. You also get your own Pump tabs in the software under the bus otherwise if its plugged into the PWM headers, it will show up under the fan category as a fan with RPM reading as shown in the picture from my AQ software. While I don't own these pumps, from what I have read these pumps have more features. You can add a temp probe to the pump and much more, hence the price difference.

I've been using speedfan since my controller died, but i ran into a lot of limitations with stuff it can't control. For example, i want fan speed to be controlled by coolant temp, not component temp, and there's no way to address that right now. The main selling point for me was looking over the software that works alongside the controller. It has enough features to keep me tinkering for weeks, and really unlocks the potential of an overkill build such as mine. The build quality of aquacomputer hardware looks to be fantastic, the software seems stable, and there is a lot of depth to what you can do with it. For my use, i can justify that price tag.

Here are a few shots of my setup to give you a taste of whats to come. Think of it in a engineering standpoint. The AQ was build and thought of in that sense. There are so many other things it can do.



Tip: Make sure to configure each fan channel what you're connecting to it. Many make the mistake when plugging something in PWM because the channels by default out of the box IIRC are set to voltage control.


Delta Temps from all the air and water probes to HWiNFO64 software temps.




Pump and Fan curve controls based on water temps.