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xs-1004-1Today we introduce an XSPC product that makes the flexibility and compactness some of its strength. The XSPC X2O 750 Dual 5.25" Bay Reservoir Pump offers the advantage of having the reservoir and the  pump in a single product, to be placed in front of the case, in 2 slots dedicated to optical drives.

 

[VERSIONE ITALIANA]

 

 

 

 

xspc-logo

But who is XSPC? Reachable at http://www.xs-pc.com , it is an English company known on the market for a wide range of products for specific use in the liquid cooling area. It has become famous for having created the much-loved XSPC Top Reservoir for Laing Pump, it is specialized in the design of both single components, such as tanks, pumps, waterblocks, etc., both accessories that complement and enhance the products of other brands such as the Top Reservoir mentioned before. Returning to the subject of our article, it is indisputable the first advantage: the compactness and ease of use/installation, as you does not need an upstream component separated from the pump, just the reservoir which ensures the continuity of the liquid in input, nor tubing for connection. This could make the XSPC X2O 750 Dual 5.25" Bay Reservoir Pump particularly suitable for those who want to make his debut in the world liquid cooling, but not only this. First of all, the specifications, 1.8 m prevalence and 750 l/h makes the pump suitable, at least on paper, to any task. Driven by the passion that unites us then, we analyze both the technical features, performance, and therefore the benefits of this solution.

 


Product presentation and Content

001a  001b

The product comes in a rather anonymous box compared to the competition, full of photos and inspection windows. Pleasant the matte black color, like all XSPC products is characterized by the company logo highlighted in blue that leaves no doubt as to the origin of the product. Front and the back are printed perspective views of the product enclosed in the package.

002a  002b

Opened the box, the first thing that pleasantly surprised us is the order and meticulousness in the packaging of the product, enclosed in a plastic bag and placed between two cages of white polyurethane foam, in order to avoid damage during transport. Below we show the bundle that accompanies the XSPC X2O 750 Dual 5.25" Bay Reservoir Pump

003a  003b  003c  003d

As you can see we have:

  • reservoir/pump body
  • 2 black or silver brushed aluminum masks
  • 1 molex cable attachment with at the end a LED diode (for the visual effect)
  • 1 Allen wrench (for tightening the screws that secure the front bezel to go)
  • 4 screws for securing the front bezel
  • 5 classic screws for clamping the tray to the chassis

 

As you can see XSPC provides well 2 masks to fit the reservoir to your case. Besides the Allen key for tightening the screws that go to secure the mask, the user will get only the 2 connections to fix the pipes to the reservoir body. You do not need other stuff for the operation of the pump, besides unscrew the cap and fill the reservoir of liquid. Follow us in the next section to learn the technical characteristics of the product in review.

 


Component Technical Properties

We begin with the measures of the reservoir body alone, respectively 149x100x85 (WxDxH) all expressed in millimeters. The empty reservoir weighs well 905gr without fittings and with mask included. Of course, most of the weight is due to the pump. Following are the technical specifications and sample photos.

004a  004b

The reservoir body where the pump is enclosed in transparent acrylic. Regarding the photo above, the front, rear and bottom walls (where the mask will be attached) have a thickness of 6mm, while the rest of the walls, then the top and lateral ones, have a thickness of well 13mm. Since the pump is inserted into the reservoir, it follows immediately that it is of immersion type, namely it works within the liquid. This should not mislead regarding the performance front, while regarding the noise side, being immersed in the liquid and placed in a closed body can only help reduce noise.

005

The pump is powered through the 12V molex connector, the XSPC assures a flow of 750 l/h with a prevalence of 1.8 meters. The article that we are showing you is the second version of the successful and appreciated X2O 750 Dual 5.25" Bay Reservoir Pump which XSPC has made ​​some improvements. They are reported below:

  • Less depth, giving more space to the tubes and ensure larger compatibility with smaller chassis
  • Quieter pump (without going to the expense of the power that has remained the same as the previous, thanks to electronics, which has been completely redesigned)
  • Greater durability and reliability

006

The unit (or reservoir) occupies 2 5.25" bays and is fixed by 4 screws that are supplied that must be screwed in the threaded bushings embedded in the side walls.

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The pump in turn is fixed both on the basis with 4 steel screws, screwed on a bracket, always in acrylic, fixed internally on the walls with special glue, both on the top of the bushing is chrome-plated steel, which primarily attaches to the upper 13mm wall and secondly acts as the connecting junction for the release of the liquid. As you can see from the photo below, an O-ring acts as a seal on the bushing which has a G¼ threaded hole.

008a  008b

The rotor is instead enclosed by a closed cylinder of ¾ inch in diameter. The function of this "half-shell" is to limit turbulence and expel the air bubbles which through the hole in the lower figure come out of the draught zone.

008c  008d

Logically, the reservoir must be watertight, so that even the power cable of the pump is protected by an airtight plastic bushing. To give a pleasing effect to the eye you can use the supplied LED, or choose one of another color. For this purpose there are two inserts indicated by the arrows in the figure where to insert them.

008e

 


Mounting scheme

 

Before inserting the reservoir into the case, you must select the aluminum mask to use among the supplied ones, silver or black, depending on what you like best.

009  010a  010b

Without the protective anti-scratch transparent sheet, tighten the mask to the reservoir body with the 4 provided screws with the Allen key. We then proceed with the fixing of the 2 connections, we have chosen two of the 13mm fittings from Phobya. Hooked up the hoses and tightened with clamps you can proceed with the placement of the reservoir in the prepared compartment, but without fix it, because we must top up the liquid when the level will drop due to the filling of the circuit. We recommend for novices to perform a leak test of the circuit to the external of the computer. To start the power supply without the system, and so without the pump, just short the green and black wires as shown in this page on our forum.

 


Test System and Test Methodology

To test the performance of the pump, we used the following hardware platform

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While below is the table of components used for the liquid cooling system

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To test the pump both in idle and under load, we have created situations of increasing load. In a first test (see photo below) we did operate the pump in idle, that is only connecting the flow meter for the collection of flow data. Recall that the Aquacomputer flow meter used for testing is known and appreciated for its precision and lack of restrictiveness. In order to be sure it was tuned to perfection, always before each round of testing we carry out a manual calibration by adjusting the calibration on the controller.

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In the next test we have applied as the only load the radiator.

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Then we introduced, upstream of the radiator, CPU waterblock, to see the behavior of the pump with increasing loads.

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Finally we completed the installation by inserting also the VGA waterblock.

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Logically in all cases we make sure the system was purged before taking over the values. In order then to make the readings as real and stable, we kept the pump under test for at least 1 hour for each setup, just to make sure that the plant was at fully steady state. In the next section we give you the test results.

 


Test Results

Here are the values ​​of the pump with increasing loads.

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In the following graph, we have instead compared the XSPC X2O 750 with pumps of other brands we have tested in the past. The full load is intended with the radiator, CPU water block and VGA water block.

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Below instead is the graph of the values ​​(in decibels) of noise of our pump, compared to other pumps already included in the previous test. The measurements were made at a distance of 40cm.

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Finally, the comparison chart of the minimum startup values of the pump

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Conclusions

We came to give a final judgment of the X2O 750 Dual 5.25" Bay Reservoir Pump. It's rare to see a product so complete, ready to use and easy to install. This aspect is its strength as it is suitable for the beginners range that for the first time enters the field of liquid cooling. Moreover, even the cost rewards this product, with only €68.56, certainly below the cost of a large reservoir and a good pump. Aesthetically it has much appeal, thanks to the 2 masks (black and silver), made available by XSPC. These also allow an immediate reading of liquid level, information much useful in order to preserve the health of our submersible pump. The manufacturer, in this version, has made its efforts to reduce the depth of the reservoir in order to make it compatible even with the smaller cases, where the first version of the product did not fit. Even from the point of view of technical specifications, XSPC has made ​​the second version of the pump, while maintaining the same power than the previous model and while reducing both the noise that the power consumption, in fact, at standard regimen of 12V, the pump consumes just over 10 watts.

Despite the many advantages, one needs also to assess other not so positive aspects. The pump indeed does not hold the comparison with modular products (i.e. "stand-alone" pumps, that is not complete with reservoir) that can achieve significantly higher flow values. Another aspect that we must stress is the cleaning of the pump. Since this is enclosed in a very robust reservoir but not dismountable, it is impossible to clean. So, to anyone willing to buy, we recommend an in-line filter downstream of the pump that keeps the system clean. Clearly we advise that for all those plants with a single waterblock and not much restrictive. We doubt that the more experienced user with a more professional system will be satisfied with such low flow rates, albeit with only one water block, the XSPC X2O 750 Dual Bay can get away without any problems. We recommend the product, given the excellent selling price, to users who are preparing for the first time a liquid cooling system for PCs, in order to simplify the installation inside a case. The pump is also suitable for those who want a very quiet system.

But we do not recommend buying it to those who want high performance system, with professional components.

 

 

PROs:

  • Aesthetics
  • Ease of Use
  • Cost
  • Build Quality
  • Comfort (inaudible)

 

 

CONs:

  • Poor performance
  • Impossible to clean it

 

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Packaging/Bundle

5 stelle

Performance:

3,5 stelle

Aesthetics

5 stelle

Materials

5 stelle

Quality/Price ratio:

4,5 stelle

Overall Rating

4 stelle - copia

 

Thanks to Aquatuning for sending us the product, allowing this review.

Valter d'Attoma

Translated by Marco Comerci

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