Liquid Flow Restriction

I use a Swiftech MCP50X pump with a FrozenQ 400mL cylindrical reservoir. The pump is powered by a direct SATA connection to an EVGA 1300G2 PSU and is controlled by an Aquacomputer Aquaero 6 XT. There is a previously calibrated in-line flow meter and a Dwyer 490 Series 1 wet-wet manometer to measure the pressure drop of the component being tested. Every component is connected to the manometer by the way of 1/2" x 3/4" tubing, compression fittings, and two T-fittings.


Hey look, all the XSPC blocks are together in the test group above. I suppose that is good in that XSPC has not made any one of their blocks very different from the others, although the only real comparison here should be the RayStorm Neo to the RayStorm Pro, with the older RayStorm employing a simpler cooling engine, which should show more markedly in the thermal performance test. Given the Pro and Neo use the same cooling engine, the minute difference here comes down to instrumental precision as well as any minor changes during production for the specific samples we have here. As part of the larger group, the RayStorm Neo would be classified as a high-flow, low-restriction CPU block. For some context, the previous block we reviewed here on TechPowerUp measured in at 3x the pressure drop (the Swiftech Apogee SKF). This means you will be able to get away with a weaker pump or have more components in the loop without having to worry about loop coolant flow rate.