A pump along with a reservoir are essential parts of the computer water cooling system, there are so many brands and types out there which can make you a bit confused, should I get this or that? Will this pump be enough? What’s the right order?… etc.
In this post I’m going to talk about a reservoir/pump combo, this is especially for people who don’t want to think and spend a lot of time on making separate parts work together.
No offense, but you may want to reconsider your choice of this specific res/pump combo and you’re going to know why in the next few seconds.
XSPC X2O 750 Review
A pump reservoir combo made of high-quality acrylic with Two 5mm LED holes.
The maximum water temperature is 50 C and the acrylic will start deforming afterward.
This XSPC x2o 750 has got some really bad reputation, the most common issue or complaint is its short life span.
Features
- Low noise
- Low vibration
Cons
- Short life span
Some people recommend against getting a pump reservoir combo because of the leaking problem and its short life span, they recommend getting them separately instead, laziness can cost you a lot, so dig more and watch a lot of videos on how to install pumps and reservoirs separately.
Unfortunately, this product is not currently available on Amazon but here is a good alternative, if you still insist on getting a pump reservoir combo I recommend you get this one.
Thermaltake Pacific DIY LCS PR22-D5
With a capacity of 300ml, this Thermaltake pump res combo contains a heat-resistant acrylic tank that is durable and can resist a temperature of up to 55 C.
The pipe wall is 6mm thick which can sustain a maximum pressure of 99 PSI (pounds per square inch), it can be used with copper components so you don’t have to worry about corrosion.
This model also comes with a manual speed control knob to control five different speeds.
It can support up to two GPUs and three radiators at the same time.
Make sure to read all the precautions before and after you install it like leakage testing and the recommended coolant to use… etc.
The maximum head is 15 feet, and the maximum flow rate is 1135 L/Hr.
The pump speed ranges between 1800 and 4800 RPM.
Features
- Easy to install
- Low noise levels
- G ¼” Thread Ports
Cons
- Bad LED wires
- No AM4 bracket
Check it out on Amazon
Recommend Reservoirs
Below are some of the good if not the best reservoirs in the market, 3 different reservoirs from 3 different brands.
XSPC Photon Tube Reservoir, 270mm
This 690ml XSPC reservoir is made of toughened glass and the cap material is Acetal, and the bracket material is aluminum.
Most reservoirs out there are made of either acrylic or plastic but a few are made of glass and this is one of them.
The ability to choose whatever color you like is amazing by replacing the 5mm LED at the bottom of the center pole.
Pros
- Easy to re-solder a new color on the plastic rod.
Check the price at Amazon
uxcell Cylinder T-Helix Suspension Water Cooling Tank Reservoir
A unique reservoir with a beautiful helix design.
It also comes in 3 different colors: black, clear and blue.
Tube materials are POM and PMMA.
Cons
- You can’t change the helix color
Check it out on Amazon
EKWB EK-RES X3 250 RGB Reservoir
With a capacity of 440ml, the EKWB reservoir’s tube is made of premium quality acrylic and POM Acetal end caps which are black colored.
It’s compatible with popular RGB sync technologies from big motherboard manufacturers.
The reservoir comes with 5 ports which is good and bad, I’ve listed this below in the pros and cons sections and here’s why, you’re not going to use all ports, right? So the unused ports should be closed, the product does come with plastic plugs but it won’t fit and make the reservoir leak eventually.
This pump also features a nice PWM control which runs automatically to save more power when your system is not that hot.
Pros
- Lots of ports.
- PWM control
Cons
- Non-Standard Connectors at the Bottom.
- Lots of ports.
Check the price at Amazon
Recommend Pumps
Pumps can be tricky sometimes, you need to ask someone first before getting one if the pump is good enough for your custom loop or not, my guess is you’re looking for a powerful pump yet quiet, check out the ones mentioned below to see which one is good for you.
PrimoChill Enhanced D5 Liquid Cooling
This powerful pump can handle big loops which contain up to 3 GPUs, 2 CPU blocks and even 2 RAM blocks, got a huge 560mm radiator or two 360mm radiators? No problem, it can handle that as well.
Pros
- Low noise level
Cons
- No O-Ring
Check it out on Amazon
Yosoo 12v DC Low Noise Water Pump & Pump Tank
This pump from Yosoo comes with a pump tank unlike other pumps listed here, the noise level is 23dB and the water tank capacity is 150ml so I guess you won’t need a reservoir.
I’m amazed by how good this pump is for its low price.
Pros
- Quiet
- Good value for money
Cons
- Even though I stated above it was quiet but some people experienced the opposite.
Check the price at Amazon
XSPC D5 Vario Pump with SATA Power
This XSPC pump comes with a speed dial that lets you control the pump speed as you like.
Unfortunately, you’ll have to order a D5 top D5 reservoir in order to use this pump.
The input voltage ranges between 8 – 24V.
Pros
- Quiet
Cons
- No RGB included
Check it out on Amazon
EKWB EK-XTOP SPC-60 PWM
The EKWB features a PWM control to automatically control the speed of the pump according to the temperature.
This particular pump is recommended for small builds if you’re building a custom loop in a mini ITX case.
The maximum flow rate is 250 L/Hr.
The pump runs quietly even if you have 2 of them installed in your system.
Pros
- A small pump, good for small builds.
Cons
- No RGB included.
Check the price at Amazon
If you didn’t see your favorite pump or reservoir listed here let me know below in the comments section.