Pump Questions

[rafitxl22]

Hey guys,

I plan on fitting my computer with a custom watercooling loop in the very near future.
The only part I'm not yet sure about is the pump.

Preferably it would be a 12V variable speed pump with head pressure >3m and practically silent at lower speeds, of course.
The price point I'm looking for is <=40€.

The two pumps I found, which almost perfectly meet those criteria are the Phobya DC12-260 and the Phobya DC12-400.
However, the one gripe I have with these pumps is that they're powered via 3pin (or 4pin, there are pwm versions) and I'm not sure how many amps can safely be pulled from a 3pin or 4pin motherboard header.
I've tried to research this for my motherboard (the GA-990FXA-UD3 rev. 4) and have only come up with vague "meh about 2 amps" answers.

So here are my questions to you:
1. Is it safe to pull 18W at 12V (=1.5A) from a single fan header on my motherboard or indeed any motherboard for that matter? What's the maximum amperage that is safe for fan headers?
2. Are there any molex/sata powered pumps you know of (perhaps with speed knobs on the back of the pump) that would be equivalent in price and performance?

Thanks a lot guys.

 

[Warchild]

1. Not ideal as motherboard fan headers support up to 1.0Amps
2. Fan controllers such as the Aqua aero computer allow pump control via 3pin or 4pin and will also control all your fans.

As for price/performance, at that mark you might have difficulty finding one with a molex or sata connector. In my opinion when it comes to the water cooling side, you can get good bargains on everything else and sometimes sacrifice quality for price. But when it comes to pumps, you really should get a good quality one as this is your heart of the system. If the pump dies / burns out the fan header and stops working, then your CPU and GPUs are at risk also.

 

[rafitxl22]

Thanks for your quick answer.

Although I'm sure the Aqua aero computer would be a worthwhile investment, it's a bit too pricy for my taste. If necessary, I might solder a molex to 3pin cable with a resistor together or something.

However, if anyone has another pump recommendation I'm all ears.

 

[Warchild]

Thanks for your quick answer.

Although I'm sure the Aqua aero computer would be a worthwhile investment, it's a bit too pricy for my taste. If necessary, I might solder a molex to 3pin cable with a resistor together or something.

However, if anyone has another pump recommendation I'm all ears.

There are cheap controllers like that. I just used that one as an example.

Lampton CW611 handles 3pin pumps but not 4pin pwm for example.

I have used my old EK DCP4.0 on a fan header in the past but NEVER at full speed. Highest I ever went was 40% and that was more than enough. However even then, it is not really recommended.

 

[tolagarf]

I've had the EK version of the Phobya DC12-260 pump, and let me tell you that sob was noisy as hell. It's possible I've been unlucky of course.

 

[rafitxl22]

Well what pump would you recommend instead?