Bitspower D5 Vario Pump

[VSG]

We take a look at the Bitspower D5 Vario pump today. A product that helped put the brand in many PC builds and minds, it is extremely well built and has a custom top and body mod kit. Compact and in a matte black finish, this pump aims to meld into your PC case, which doesn't mean it can't be the focal point if the right decisions are made.

Show full review

 

[Agent_D]

Nice write-up!

In the graph for noise, you have Position 5 listed on both of the tests for the Vario

 

[mouacyk]

Tried and true pump. Mine is still going after 4 years, at setting 5. For some reason, this one is expensive. Is it the housing?

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Only one year warranty large pass.

 

[Chrispy_]

The thing that bugged me when I was building a loop recently was the shitty molex connector from 30 years ago. I honestly though components aimed at high-end PC enthusiasts would have dumped that irritating, ugly, fire hazard by now....

 

[ThrashZone]

The thing that bugged me when I was building a loop recently was the shitty molex connector from 30 years ago. I honestly though components aimed at high-end PC enthusiasts would have dumped that irritating, ugly, fire hazard by now....

Hi,
I don't see much point in sata on a pump
Don't like molex just hard wire and solder it or use what ever connection you prefer.

But here's one with 5 year warranty if they ever are stocked again lol

Xylem D5 Pro Pump - PWM + SATA

Xylem D5 pump to power your Absolute reservoir system. COMPLETE RESERVOIR REQUIRED PARTS: Reservoir Tube Reservoir Cap Pump Top Pump Bottom Vortex Breaker Reservoir Screw Package Xylem D5 Pump (you are here) Mounting Method Xylem D5 pumps are the king of watercooling. Strong, silent, and...

optimuspc.com

 

[Chrispy_]

Hi,
I don't see much point in sata on a pump
Don't like molex just hard wire and solder it or use what ever connection you prefer.

But here's one with 5 year warranty if they ever are stocked again lol

Xylem D5 Pro Pump - PWM + SATA

Xylem D5 pump to power your Absolute reservoir system. COMPLETE RESERVOIR REQUIRED PARTS: Reservoir Tube Reservoir Cap Pump Top Pump Bottom Vortex Breaker Reservoir Screw Package Xylem D5 Pump (you are here) Mounting Method Xylem D5 pumps are the king of watercooling. Strong, silent, and...

optimuspc.com

SATA is a dying standard too. Many custom loop PCs omit SATA drives.

The default standard for anything 12V up to 75W in a PC these days is the 6-pin, which all modern PSUs have in abundance.

I ended up soldering my D5 into a modular PSU cable to get rid of the stupid molex adapter but something as mainstream as watercooling shouldn't be using such a crap, obsolete connector in the first place!

 

[timta2]

The thing that bugged me when I was building a loop recently was the shitty molex connector from 30 years ago. I honestly though components aimed at high-end PC enthusiasts would have dumped that irritating, ugly, fire hazard by now....

You're the first person I've seen mention this being a "fire hazard". Can you cite some examples of this?

 

[Voodoo Rufus]

You're the first person I've seen mention this being a "fire hazard". Can you cite some examples of this?

My first Athlon PC build melted a pair of 12V pins on the 20-pin ATX on first startup.

 

[Overclocker_2001]

The thing that bugged me when I was building a loop recently was the shitty molex connector from 30 years ago. I honestly though components aimed at high-end PC enthusiasts would have dumped that irritating, ugly, fire hazard by now....

Molex connector - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

seems that sata connector is way fire-hazard like than Molex connector
ps sure molex can provide some arc between pin connection, but only if not correctly mated... but you have the same problem with every connector that have male-female pin, so also atx, P4 and pci-e connetor have the same issue.
sata and AT on the other hand use spring-like connection so arc is really difficult to occur... but max rated current per pin is way lower

SATA - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

(3*1.5A rated current vs 1*11A)
assuming safty factor of 2 (respect to max rated current of 11A) you can sips 5.5A from "those crappy" molex.
well.. i do not understand needing to go fancy in watercool... i bought a dc pump rated at 18W wuth a fixed input of 1/2" and 1/4"G threaded output and flow is around 2.5 GPM with a vga block (with angled twisting connector) and a radiator.

if you're going to build super cool rigid tubing then ok, you want best looking part, otherwise is pure gimmik.
no case can give home to MO-RA radiator, but they are the top performer :-D

 

[ruff0r]

@VSG that is a lot of FPS

 

[VSG]

Nice write-up!

In the graph for noise, you have Position 5 listed on both of the tests for the Vario

@VSG that is a lot of FPS

Ugh thanks, I've corrected both instances now

 

[Chrispy_]

You're the first person I've seen mention this being a "fire hazard". Can you cite some examples of this?

Molex connectors are prone to arcing and melting since each time you plug them together the friction fit splays the female connectors wider apart. After a few connects/disconnects they are very prone to arcing between 12V pins which can cause the plastic block the pins are housed in to melt or even catch fire.

It's a widely-known issue if you were building PCs in the '90s and one of the many reasons that SATA drives switched to a different standard even though they continued to use the same 5V/12V delivery that molex provided. It's in the wikipedia page for molex connector, even.

 

[Arcdar]

Thanks for a very good and extensive write up .
The most interesting part for me is, still, how below 10€ pumps (material/production value) can become so "fancy" that they end being sold for those prices.... 40€ with a top (without AGB) should be the norm, not 140€ (especially looking at how long they are in production with nearly completely the same design/etc - which should have resulted in declining prices thanks to optimized production capabilities, etc. etc.).

 

[Voodoo Rufus]

VSG, which wattage version of the DDC was tested? I'm guessing it was an 18W pump.

 

[VSG]

VSG, which wattage version of the DDC was tested? I'm guessing it was an 18W pump.

Yup, the 18 W version. That's pretty much the only thing sold by the usual suspects in PC DIY watercooling.

 

[Voodoo Rufus]

Alphacool sells the 10W version with a nice heatsinked chassis for a good price. I also got a 6W PWM version which has a totally different impeller design, pretty much silent but flows a pitiful amount.

Any chance you might test those in the future, or need test samples?

 

[Chrispy_]

Yup, the 18 W version. That's pretty much the only thing sold by the usual suspects in PC DIY watercooling.

Can 18W be run off a fan controller or is that pushing your luck? Most fans these days consume (much) less than 5W each

 

[VSG]

Can 18W be run off a fan controller or is that pushing your luck? Most fans these days consume (much) less than 5W each

These pumps are powered directly by the PSU via full size MOLEX, so no worries about the motherboard fan header power limits.

Alphacool sells the 10W version with a nice heatsinked chassis for a good price. I also got a 6W PWM version which has a totally different impeller design, pretty much silent but flows a pitiful amount.

Any chance you might test those in the future, or need test samples?

I thought they were prioritizing the DC-LT compared to the lower wattage DDC? I can talk about it to them, but it's a low priority item. I have another Bitspower CPU block to write up before moving to RTX 3080 blocks in this category.

 

[Voodoo Rufus]

Here's the 10W version: https://www.amazon.com/Alphacool-La...&keywords=alphacool+ddc&qid=1612287916&sr=8-2
On ebay for like $60.

I can't find the 6W anywhere easily, but I got mine included as part of an EK reservoir pump combo. Picture attached.

 

[VSG]

Here's the 10W version: https://www.amazon.com/Alphacool-La...&keywords=alphacool+ddc&qid=1612287916&sr=8-2
On ebay for like $60.

I can't find the 6W anywhere easily, but I got mine included as part of an EK reservoir pump combo. Picture attached.

I had that same EK reservoir, as well as one of their original AIOs using the same pump. It was fine for AIOs, but definitely not a good open loop pump. Never tested the 10 W version though!

 

[Voodoo Rufus]

Impeller design seems identical to the 18W pumps, but it just runs around 3150rpm instead. Would be easy to just run one of the faster pumps down at that speed.

 

[duynguyenle]

SATA is a dying standard too. Many custom loop PCs omit SATA drives.

The default standard for anything 12V up to 75W in a PC these days is the 6-pin, which all modern PSUs have in abundance.

I ended up soldering my D5 into a modular PSU cable to get rid of the stupid molex adapter but something as mainstream as watercooling shouldn't be using such a crap, obsolete connector in the first place!

You shouldn't need to solder, I think most D5 pumps just uses 12V and ground lines for power, you can snip off the cables at the Molex end and crimp the wires with the appropriate pins to insert directly into a Minifit-Jr connector header (most modular PSUs I've seen uses Minifit Jr for the PSU-side connectors).

But in general, I agree with your sentiment, there's no reason modern pumps should use the antiquated Molex 4-pin connector.

 

[Chrispy_]

You shouldn't need to solder, I think most D5 pumps just uses 12V and ground lines for power, you can snip off the cables at the Molex end and crimp the wires with the appropriate pins to insert directly into a Minifit-Jr connector header (most modular PSUs I've seen uses Minifit Jr for the PSU-side connectors).

But in general, I agree with your sentiment, there's no reason modern pumps should use the antiquated Molex 4-pin connector.

I had to look up Minifit Jr, but yes that's exactly what I did. I just soldered the D5 cables into the Minifit pins for peace of mind, since it wasn't a new connector but an unused (molex + fdd) modular cable that I cannibalised solely to steal the Minifit Jr plug.

 

[duynguyenle]

I had to look up Minifit Jr, but yes that's exactly what I did. I just soldered the D5 cables into the Minifit pins for peace of mind, since it wasn't a new connector but an unused (molex + fdd) modular cable that I cannibalised solely to steal the Minifit Jr plug.

I see, in that case I guess soldering the wires should be OK. For your future reference, it might be a bit easier just to buy a 6 or 8pin MinifitJR header (depending on which connector your particular PSU uses) and then crimp Minifit terminals onto the pump wires, insert them into the header, and then you can plug the pump directly into the PSU using its native modular sockets. Minifit terminals are designed to be solderless crimps, and is mechanically quite simple. I find this solution pretty clean and tidy, and pretty easy to do (assuming you already got the tools to crimp Molex terminals of course)