Traditional reservoirs vs. distro plates

[Paradigm Gaming]

I'd be interested in getting thoughts on this topic.  

 

I've not built with distribution plates yet, but I intend to in my current Enyo build.  I won't be using a distro plate with a pump, I'll only be using it as an aesthetic to control the loop.  I still prefer a more traditional approach to reservoirs, but even so I've found myself moving away from tubular to the newer square designs like Watercool's Heatkiller and Raijintek's Antila.  Bitspower even entered the square reservoir market not too long ago.

 

I was curious about distro plates when they were a novelty a few years ago, but I think Singularity and Lian Li have moved them into the mainstream.  Hell, even Thermaltake now offers an open air chassis with a complete distro plate back.  Bykski and Barrow have since developed dozens of case specific distro plates.  Bitspower's hexagonal water reservoirs are also very interesting, although not optimal for large volumes of fluid.

 

As water cooling gains popularity, it seems like enthusiast manufacturer's have pushed to envelope on reservoirs.  Monsoon actually produces a completely modular reservoir system now (MMRS - Monsoon Modular Reservoir System) where you can actually custom create a modular reservoir with all of the parts and pieces available in different colors.  It's quite fascinating.

 

If you build with water, how do you lean?

Edited February 17, 2021 by Paradigm Gaming

[Cerberus]

Performance>aesthetics, they both accomplish the same task, go the easiest route IMO, 80% of my WC stuff is second hand/pre installed when I bought them (1080ti from ocn member)

 

 

Edited February 17, 2021 by Cerberus

[Avacado]

9 hours ago, Paradigm Gaming said:

I'd be interested in getting thoughts on this topic.  

 

I've not built with distribution plates yet, but I intend to in my current Enyo build.  I won't be using a distro plate with a pump, I'll only be using it as an aesthetic to control the loop.  I still prefer a more traditional approach to reservoirs, but even so I've found myself moving away from tubular to the newer square designs like Watercool's Heatkiller and Raijintek's Antila.  Bitspower even entered the square reservoir market not too long ago.

 

I was curious about distro plates when they were a novelty a few years ago, but I think Singularity and Lian Li have moved them into the mainstream.  Hell, even Thermaltake now offers an open air chassis with a complete distro plate back.  Bykski and Barrow have since developed dozens of case specific distro plates.  Bitspower's hexagonal water reservoirs are also very interesting, although not optimal for large volumes of fluid.

 

As water cooling gains popularity, it seems like enthusiast manufacturer's have pushed to envelope on reservoirs.  Monsoon actually produces a completely modular reservoir system now (MMRS - Monsoon Modular Reservoir System) where you can actually custom create a modular reservoir with all of the parts and pieces available in different colors.  It's quite fascinating.

 

If you build with water, how do you lean?

Good question. Aside from aesthetics, distro/pump combos tend to have more restriction and weaker pumps. The usual EK stuff that conforms the the Lian Li OXD/XL series have older, weaker DDC 3.1 pumps witch need replacing or the user will suffer from decreased flow. 

 

Again, most veteran custom loop builders including myself are partial to tube/topper and multi-pump setups. 

 

If you are going to go res/pump, make sure it's a D5 or an upgraded DDC like the MPX.

[Zonalo]

9 hours ago, Paradigm Gaming said:

I'd be interested in getting thoughts on this topic.  

 

I've not built with distribution plates yet, but I intend to in my current Enyo build.  I won't be using a distro plate with a pump, I'll only be using it as an aesthetic to control the loop.  I still prefer a more traditional approach to reservoirs, but even so I've found myself moving away from tubular to the newer square designs like Watercool's Heatkiller and Raijintek's Antila.  Bitspower even entered the square reservoir market not too long ago.

 

I was curious about distro plates when they were a novelty a few years ago, but I think Singularity and Lian Li have moved them into the mainstream.  Hell, even Thermaltake now offers an open air chassis with a complete distro plate back.  Bykski and Barrow have since developed dozens of case specific distro plates.  Bitspower's hexagonal water reservoirs are also very interesting, although not optimal for large volumes of fluid.

 

As water cooling gains popularity, it seems like enthusiast manufacturer's have pushed to envelope on reservoirs.  Monsoon actually produces a completely modular reservoir system now (MMRS - Monsoon Modular Reservoir System) where you can actually custom create a modular reservoir with all of the parts and pieces available in different colors.  It's quite fascinating.

 

If you build with water, how do you lean?

As far as I can tell, I am not near the experience level of most of the other members here but I do have some background in other areas of custom building. Plus you said you are looking for thoughts...

 

I think that anything that is primarily flashy/form-over-function that is in a role to do work is a novelty. I am of the opinion that in a lot of ways, a reservoir is doing work. I don't know how much effect water (fancy water/coolant) capacity has on actual thermal delta, but my system system is seldom on long enough to heat soak and it is because I have a lot of water (big tube res and HUGE 280 rad). I imagine the distro plates may make up some of that capacity with the tremendous amount of additional lines required, but all the additional required lines just add to feel of it being novelty to me.

 

My current system is a bit of an extreme example, but it is black acetal covers, thick wall black rubber hoses, big tube top with EK pump and really big rad. All business and no party

 

 

 

disclaimer: I DO have a Lian Li 011, a whole box of RGB fans and a controller that I dream of using to build something that is mostly pretty but still capable of doing work. For now, it just sits though.

[J7SC_Orion]

4 hours ago, Avacado said:

Good question. Aside from aesthetics, distro/pump combos tend to have more restriction and weaker pumps. The usual EK stuff that conforms the the Lian Li OXD/XL series have older, weaker DDC 3.1 pumps witch need replacing or the user will suffer from decreased flow. 

 

Again, most veteran custom loop builders including myself are partial to tube/topper and multi-pump setups. 

 

If you are going to go res/pump, make sure it's a D5 or an upgraded DDC like the MPX.

 

^^That ! For a variety of technical reasons, I usually go with dual D5s per loop anyhow, but there's nothing stopping someone to add a D5 to one that comes with the distro. BTW, there are several 'custom' distro plates by ThermalTake for the Core P5 as well as Bykski and Barrow - or the whole Core P5 '''case''' is a distro...first shown several years ago, now finally available...must be pretty heavy though...

 

 

 

[Paradigm Gaming]

I'd be interested to know the thermal variation between dual D5 vs. dual DDC 3.2 in a complex loop.

 

Like most others, I'm a D5 fan, even though they are harder to 'blend in', but there's something to be said for the pressure that a DDC can produce.  It doesn't move the volume of water, but it moves it more forcibly.

 

Granted the heat disposition can be an issue, but what is the thermal variation between dissipating that heat back into the fluid (D5) and dissipating it back into the air (DDC)?

 

DDC's have a higher fail rate than D5's, so it would beg the question that if it was thermally advantageous to move fluid with more force, given the amount of 90 degree turns involved with multiple water cooled components and radiators, wouldn't it make more sense in a dual motor setup to use dual DDC's since one of the core advantages of dual pumps in a loop is the ability of the loop to survive a pump failure.

 

 

 

  

Edited February 18, 2021 by Paradigm Gaming

[Avacado]

3 hours ago, Paradigm Gaming said:

I'd be interested to know the thermal variation between dual D5 vs. dual DDC 3.2 in a complex loop.

 

Like most others, I'm a D5 fan, even though they are harder to 'blend in', but there's something to be said for the pressure that a DDC can produce.  It doesn't move the volume of water, but it moves it more forcibly.

 

Granted the heat disposition can be an issue, but what is the thermal variation between dissipating that heat back into the fluid (D5) and dissipating it back into the air (DDC)?

 

DDC's have a higher fail rate than D5's, so it would beg the question that if it was thermally advantageous to move fluid with more force, given the amount of 90 degree turns involved with multiple water cooled components and radiators, wouldn't it make more sense in a dual motor setup to use dual DDC's since one of the core advantages of dual pumps in a loop is the ability of the loop to survive a pump failure.

 

 

 

  

It's a good rationale. The problem is most pumps and their housings are usually stored in corners or wedged up against side panels, thus decreasing their ability to be cooled passively by case airflow. 

[J7SC_Orion]

5 hours ago, Paradigm Gaming said:

I'd be interested to know the thermal variation between dual D5 vs. dual DDC 3.2 in a complex loop.

 

Like most others, I'm a D5 fan, even though they are harder to 'blend in', but there's something to be said for the pressure that a DDC can produce.  It doesn't move the volume of water, but it moves it more forcibly.

 

Granted the heat disposition can be an issue, but what is the thermal variation between dissipating that heat back into the fluid (D5) and dissipating it back into the air (DDC)?

 

DDC's have a higher fail rate than D5's, so it would beg the question that if it was thermally advantageous to move fluid with more force, given the amount of 90 degree turns involved with multiple water cooled components and radiators, wouldn't it make more sense in a dual motor setup to use dual DDC's since one of the core advantages of dual pumps in a loop is the ability of the loop to survive a pump failure.

 

 

 

  

 

...DerBauer had an interesting comparison between D5 and DDC at Caseking 'TV' channel on YouTube...Caseking is one of Europe's bigger distributors and also does commercial and gamer custom builds (they also own overclockers.co.uk). Long story short, both D5 and DDC are good pumps...DDC gets a bit hotter etc but there is one major point to consider: D5s have a larger diameter and can 'technically' flow a larger volume, but also are more susceptible to pressure drops due to their larger diameter when encountering hotspots (ie air pockets). HOWEVER, dual D5s in series pick up much more flow than single D5 when compared to dual DDCs vs single, and the at least potential pressure drop problem is completely gone.

 

I've built quite a few w-cooled quad GPU + w-cooled CPU systems and always use dual D5s in series...5 separate water blocks (plus plumbing) can hide a lot of air pockets even after thorough bleeding whereby dual D5s tend to flush it all out while maintaining pressure if one D5 has a bit of a hiccup. The other reason for dual pumps is of course fail-over, especially in workstation and other commercial applications. One of these days I try a build w/ DDC, but it is also a question of inventory management - always using the same pumps and only one or two different types of rads makes it easier and cheaper to operate inventory.

[Sir Beregond]

Not from experience, but just from what I've heard, distribution plates tend to be more restrictive and have weaker pumps. 

 

I have an O11-D as well but opted to use a regular pump/reservoir unit. It does make it a little trickier for longer GPU's though, which many are stupidly long these days. So there are definite tradeoffs depending on the case and what parts you are using.