Pump Top Performance Testing

With the pump itself isolated and tested, it is now time to see how the integrated pump top in the Maelstrom D5 X100 performs. To do so, I used the same pump on various Laing D5 tops from various companies—some standalone, some integrated into reservoirs. The testing methodology to generate a P-Q curve was the same as before, though only with a 100% PWM duty cycle this time around.


There is a fair amount of variation from top to top, with some focusing on providing a higher max head at the expense of flow rate and others going the other way round. A good balance of the two ends up being the best overall in realistic scenarios, and here, the integrated pump top in the Swiftech MaelstromD5 X100 does not disappoint with excellent overall performance. Swiftech has had a history of high-performance tops for a while now, sometimes at the expense of aesthetics even, and it is refreshing to see them carry on with their high performance metrics in an updated acrylic/acetal top to meet end user demands.

If you are interested in seeing some typical performance and noise measurements for the pump, feel free to check them out here. Given this reservoir/pump unit has the same pump that was tested before, the results there are more than applicable here as well. As far as using the reservoir goes, I would have appreciated a larger fill port, but the larger volume available for the coolant does help lower the number of steps required to fill the loop. Using the bottom ports for inlet and outlet also means there is a minor hindrance when it comes to bleeding air but the loop was pretty much good to go after 6-8 hours of it running with pump speeds varying from 40% to 100% PWM.