The New D5 Standard? Alphacool Eispumpe VPP755
EEL here.
We always knew the day would come when the D5 finally met its replacement. We've seen 'false prophets' before such as Koolance's PMP-500, but they just didn't hit the mark; loud, clunky and personally speaking, not all that sexy looking (it looks like I should be plugging my airbrush into it!). Thinking back on the D4 being replaced by the D5, I'm wondering if this new model pump that has come out of the ether will also be transcending in the proposed possibilities?
Waxing watercooling poetic aside, here it is. Finally. A supposed step forward we all long for, but it seldom comes.
It's possible Alphacool has accomplished this feat. Alphacool!
Perhaps I don't give the company a fair shake. Being an old-school watercooler from the beginning of this century (or, as I like to refer to as the 'PC watercooling Dark-Ages') I always viewed the company as 'budget-tier', and I don't intend for that to sound judgemental in any fashion. I've seen a ton of their products in the past out of the packaging either from prior client projects utilizing their stuff (such as the original acrylic DDC top with res attachment -- was awesome at the time!) or more recently from work-related ventures, and I'd generally find QC issues such as scuffs, scratches, dents, etc., but in all fairness their QC has improved over the last 4-5 yrs that I've seen. Newer radiator series such as the latest generation NexXxoS arrive with better finishes on them, fewer 'bent fins', and sexier design aesthetic. They're trying, and it's being noticed.
Alright, moving beyond my dramatic hyperbole, and much like making homemade crunchy-style peanut-butter, let's get to the nitty-gritty shall we?
Alphacool's new Eispumpe VPP755 is a beautifully-executed cylinder pump, personally speaking. The auto-paint gunmetal gray exterior really pops compared to the old D5 cylinder. Obvious differences include pre-sleeving from factory (which isn't the best of sleeving jobs, but it works), and end of the cylinder has all the technical info etched into the paint itself.
Interestingly, the pump has a version of PWM control as well as speed-dial capability. I would say a majority of D5 users who do still run a D5 vario probably sets the speed at a certain point and leaves it there. I mean, who really wants to reach inside their PC to turn a dial when they decide to frag some zombies at 1440P after finishing that crappy term-paper they're working on? I find the possibility of dialing it where I want it and allowing the system to adjust it as well rather convenient. According to the manual, by setting the dial at full-speed it will allow the system to adjust rotational speed based on that power level. PWM-level control basically runs performance percentage of 25%, 50%, 70%, 85%, and 100%. Vario dial goes from 1800, 2500, 3200, 3900, and 4500.
8-13V DC / 14W, with a 'lift height' of 4m. Based on those numbers, it would be an interesting comparison in the middle of the DDC 18W and the good ole' D5 itself. Hopefully you won't get the annoying (to me, anyway) DDC whine you get from the 18W model at full-bore, and you'll have more capability and less noise than the D5. Alphacool themselves suggest a 12% increase over the D5 in performance, whilst being quieter.
The VPP755 has the typical molex-level power connector and PWM/3-pin tach pass-thru. It would be cool to see a SATA-level power connector, but that's just nitpicking.
Coupled with one of Alphacool's Eisdecke V3 D5 tops, it shapes up to be one sexy-looking set-up. The fact that their top allows 3 inlets and two outlets, it's perfect for a dual-loop set-up as well as allowing direct filling from, say, a top fill-port or something to make the air bleeding process that much easier. Or even easier than that, you can couple this pump with one of their reservoir/pump combo tops. The VPP755's listing does state 'Note: '*Will NOT fit tops made before 2011*', so I'm assuming Alphacool meant their own tops.
This seems to be a pump tailor-made for my typical requirements for a watercooling pump, as I don't need tons of power (i.e. NOISE) nor do I need Draconian control capabilities as I tend to have efficiently laid out and fairly simple loops. I'd love to actually plug one in and see what it can do, but I won't be doing that at this time. This is more of an 'auto-show' kind of thing, as I appreciate how sexy this thing looks. And I'd be more than willing to give it a go when the time comes for a new rig.
Regardless, sweet lookin' pump Alphacool!
Frag on,
Jeremy "E.E.L. Ambiense" B.
P.S.-
You can now get our sexy new pump/top combo titled the Über Zwei complete with optional custom mount dress-up covers, located -->HERE<--!
