Controllers for watercooling setups

Dinko

New member
My loop currently consist of:

20 x EK-Vardar F3-120 PWM 120mm 1850rpm
2 x HWLabs BlackIce Nemesis L-Series 480 Stealth Radiators
2 x EK-D5 PWM Motors
1 x Koolance RP-452X2 v2 Reservoir
2 x EK-FC980 A+Ni GTX Water blocks
1 x EK-Supremacy EVO A+Ni CPU Block

Don't like Aquaero's proprietary aquabus interface accessory strategy. Also, I've read that it's PWM implementation doesn't work well with any other PWM controlled D5 pumps than their own variant.

Been looking at the Lamptron CW611 but it doesn't offer 4-pin PWM.

I've also looked at the Koolance TMS-205 and it's TMS-EB205 expansion board but they seem to have entered legacy mode and are hard to find in stock from anywhere where I live. Also, no 4-pin PWM control either.

Should I get an Aquaero? How locked in do you get by their aquabus accessory flora or is it somehow compatible with other non-aquabus hardware components such as flow meters, temp sensors or whatever else there might be?

Saw that EK was starting development of a controller a few years back called the "EK-Ascendancy" which looked really nice, but that seems to have turned into a dud. No further info than their initial public announcement from way back in 2013 and also no reply back from EK with questions about it since months.
 
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It's a shame you have dismissed the Aquaero; imo there is no better hardware to control and monitor your water cooling system.

Ask yourself, do you really need to control and monitor things? For example most people find the sweet spot of their pump speed and keep it there 24/7, the same for fan speeds (7v). The enthusiast requires more.

I like the variability and autonomous control the Aquaero provides. For example in idle mode my water cooling system runs practically passively, only in the summer months do the fans kick in. Load up the computer and the pump speed increases (only from 10% to 65% max) and the fans increase accordingly.

As it's hardware based, if your PC locks up the Aquaero will continue to function. This is also a reason why you should never rely on software temperature sensors; if Windows locks up during benching or whatever, the reading is no longer reliable.

I use the coolant temperature delta (in and out) to determine the above behaviour. If you were to use the CPU temperature for controlling, the water cooling would go up and down erratically, not ideal.

All this and more is possible with the Aquaero. Good luck finding an alternative :).
 
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