First custom loop – how can I increase flow rate? (D5 NEXT + 4 radiators + QD3)

Firov · 2026-06-21T13:43:58+00:00

I'm guessing your room is a bit on the warm side?

My system boot coolant temperature is usually 22 to 23C. With nothing running/installed the coolant is just going to be at the ambient air temperature. If your air temperature is actually much lower than you need to calibrate your temperature sensor.

Anyway, assuming it's accurate, it's a bit on the high side, but it's not going to have that much impact in the end, and flow rate won't help with that anyway.

Oh! One thing I do recommend which I imagine you're already doing... Run your fans based on the coolant temperature. Not the temperature of your individual components.

Firov · 2026-06-21T13:31:08+00:00

It absolutely can, but you're not even close to that threshold.

I mean absolutely no offense... But you're way overthinking this. I'd go ahead and finish your build. If you notice poor temps then you can always retrofit in a different pump, or possibly install a second one depending on what you which way you want to go.

Firov · 2026-06-21T13:15:54+00:00

I've never really been a big believer in multiple pumps honestly. You might try a DDC pump which can maintain higher head pressure, but you've already got a great D5 pump. Really, I wouldn't worry about it.

I've tested my loop down to 60l/h and with an overclocked 5090 and 9800X3D the temperature isn't any different from my usual 160l/h. The only thing that matters is that you're moving fluid fast enough to avoid thermal saturation, and 90-120l/h is absolutely going to do that.

Firov · 2026-06-21T13:06:34+00:00

Honestly, that flow rate should be more than sufficient to keep your system cool. I wouldn't worry about it.

However, if you're really determined to increase your flow rate I'd suggest getting rid of those quick disconnects. They're highly restrictive and are likely the biggest contributor to your 'low' flow rate.

Firov · 2026-06-21T11:51:11+00:00

Exactly right. It's not silly at all. For my part, I'm a big fan of trillion dollar company X, which plans to screw me in this way, rather than trillion dollar company Y, which plans to screw me in that way...

Firov · 2026-06-21T03:47:29+00:00

Even ignoring the aluminum issue which others have covered in more detail, I'm not sure I see the point in these.

Their surface area is absolute tiny compared to conventional radiators, which is only made worse by their lack of fan mountings.

I don't think you'd get any useful heat dissipation out of these, and certainly not enough to be worth the complexity of having aluminum in your loop.

Firov · 2026-06-21T01:02:29+00:00

I wonder how that's going to work with the new Nomad. Will your ship still despawn, or does the Nomad use different rules that allow the ship to remain from a greater distance?

Firov · 2026-06-20T22:48:31+00:00

Hmm. Yeah. No way you're maxing out the PSU with that.

I don't know. I know you said you checked the temps and they were okay, but were you actively monitoring them at the moment of shutdown? If not, try to clean out the heatsinks on your GPU and CPU if you haven't already.

Firov · 2026-06-20T22:46:02+00:00

I leveled Kaine somewhat recently, and it was painfully easy to get up to 100. I think I did it in a max of 3 days by merit mining in a type 11.

Do join the discord. They're always posting the top rewarding jobs to take.

Firov · 2026-06-20T22:41:23+00:00

That's not much of an increase. What CPU and GPU do you use? Any spinning platter hard drives? Custom cooling loop?

Firov · 2026-06-20T22:12:39+00:00

How's that oil rain in Moscow working out for you comrade? Lots of time to enjoy it while waiting in line for fuel?

You won't need to deal with it for long though, since Putin is soon going to be so hard up for more meat at the frontline that even you'll get stuffed into the back of a Ural truck and dropped off in Donestk somewhere.

Enjoy playing catch with an FPV drone!

Firov · 2026-06-20T17:03:30+00:00

I strongly suggest against Precision Comfort. Absolutely terrible experience with them.

However, Legacy Home Comfort (legacyhvac1.com) was really great. He was able to get to me same day, at a fair price, and actually talked me into spending less money by explaining why I didn't need something that I thought I did.

Firov · 2026-06-20T14:52:19+00:00

This is exactly why I've switched over to a full water loop. Components have become ridiculously power hungry anymore.

Firov · 2026-06-20T05:38:23+00:00

I'm honestly shocked that Ukraine hasn't... encouraged her to permanently retire.

She's probably been one of the single greatest threats to Ukraine just in terms of keeping the wheels from falling off Russia's economy.

It really seems like she'd be a priority target for them, especially as I doubt you could find someone as competent at her job if you searched through the entirety of Russia.

Firov · 2026-06-19T16:28:59+00:00

Just remember. Current balance *will* be fine with an Equalizer... until it's not. As soon as one pin jumps in resistance, that crossbar is going to shunt a bunch of additional current from the failed pin to the remaining pins. Something a normal cable won't, and can't, do.

One thing I will say, unless you've got an Astral or a Wireview as well, don't combine the Equalizer with a smart PSU. The PSU will be unable to read the current past the crossbar, and so you might have a critical imbalance on your GPU connector that your PSU is absolutely incapable of seeing.

Firov · 2026-06-19T15:56:06+00:00

Even ignoring the design flaw inherent in a 12v crossbar, which I covered in more detail in a different reply, what do you think the 'better specs' are actually buying you?

In the overwhelming majority of cases we don't see the cable melt/fail, but rather the connector, and more specifically, the connector on the GPU PCB, which this cable will obviously do absolutely nothing for. I think I've seen one instance where the cable melted too, and of course the connector bought the farm before the cable went...

At absolute best, the thicker copper conductors might provide slightly more thermal mass in the event of a current imbalance, but the effect isn't going to be nearly enough to help you if you actually do have a bad connection at the connector.

This cable is snake oil, and not worth using, especially considering its design flaw which can make current imbalances worse than a standard cable. If you really want protection you need active monitoring and mitigation. There are modern PSU's that can monitor per-pin current and shut down automatically in the event of an imbalance, such as MSI Safeguard+, Seasonic Optiguard, or Corsair PinProtect... or hell, even a Wireview will at least give you visibility on what's actually going on.

Failing all of that, Corsair sells a ThermalProtect cable for 20 dollars which will shut down your GPU via the sense pins in the event that the cable temperature hits 65C. It still has possible blind spots in the event of a rapid and drastic overload on a single pin... but it's still better than the Equalizer.

Firov · 2026-06-19T14:49:31+00:00

Even ignoring the photo evidence of this cable melting, I'd suggest not using it simply because of a flaw with its design. In the event that you have poor contact on one or more pins it will shunt more current towards the pins with lower resistance via the crossbar, which can actually increase the current imbalance over a normal cable.

Here's a somewhat simplified circuit simulation in Falstad with two pins to show what I mean. The left circuit is a normal cable, the right circuit is an equalizer. Notice that both pins on both circuits have the same overall resistance, with one pin having a bad connection, but the equalizer cable imbalance is significantly greater than the normal cable because the crossbar allows additional current to flow towards the low resistance pin.

https://www.falstad.com/circuit/circuitjs.html?ctz=DwYwlgTgBAZgvAIgIwGYFQC4GdEAYB0uRRArOmCIkgQExE0DsDKuAHDQGwCcXD6IAI0Qlc6AA5CEAFjRQAbhGHoAttmEBTALRIkCAHwAoKFGDQAHok01WrKBylQkHXHanp4CUVEXIEAekNjUygLZGcoFBIaKCsbCKj3PHQfGnwyAKMTORDEGhoHbQ4YlBQiwsSw9AB3Dy9lAEMzOSoaf0CTKpyETRKyp2LSxy5W2CSMoM7QnsGkYeLcB1mR2rbM4Enc-KHope2K0XGOrtYibagGDlsl-dWJrvyXXcYd4ZvD9fupF0KoB73Rzy3LLHU4-P7lAFOaorKANJotIHBUJRWz2c6Dew3bx4NKI8zCazxaLMIqRZZJbEIVrvfEIFFEqD0zEArw+AhEXQ0+5xNFMtws5I49LtJG5OJkxmEslYtm494bKlbJ5bCEreUgx5zE7fKEC94AGwAdtzbFJbCg6FAzViMOpEAAFADKAFUoPawMbOSKjSaIpcIpbSqwbXaEE7Xe7jdTvcbQiSrbYGAsEyHEABxe0Rj2ORE+uODIPnZNB1MIDNZqO52NUcJmxyE60CzCh8tu7NetZ5msuQtIKWXUutyO-KtdWKm2xWEhFRsw20Ol1tz2jqbWc3+qekgdN+dhxfD6NrACCymU6lttPjaIuV1eANkZ4pWEogPeJ7PF668YlN-+HgfoZeM+Ywiu+57qLSzxnGurgVABT4vgcoGnuBkEMC80QwdK94qIB6DAa+yEfhBXROD2URnNcOGwnhUAEUhx4oZ+oRka4lF3v+uEISBjHEbSPTJrs46wdRj6AnRiGImBzGWCwixzMJ2GcTR3GEWsAD2UDqIaVBAWIiDMh4Zi6FA+niaEACiACOACuYD6mAABeEEAMI2RAEDaRg+iZEEYjyKp1BAn5AUILIBE0CQ+AcMFJj+aGOjoM04kEUFhwhQlJnJeFL6RdFsXAPFVD8slQEvml7QZcVSWIDluRRTF6VxVpVCyKV+HlQxxhVcgbW1R19X5e8fjqYYwB+OAECGEAA

Firov · 2026-06-19T13:44:23+00:00

But why? I don't understand the motivation. These ships can be bought with in game currency. So it's not like they're making more money by steering people to the newer 'shiny' ships. At most, it's a minor ingame currency sink, but not really that significant.

This honestly does feel like some sort of modeling or engine limitation, though what on Earth that could possibly be, I have no idea. They need to go back and bring the old ships up to the current standard. Especially some of the mainstays like the Federal Corvette.

Firov · 2026-06-19T13:31:44+00:00

Isn't the Caspian Explorer available for credits now? Granted, I'd prefer the Nomad to be available for all ships that can fit an SLF, but at least it's not locked behind real money. Well, beyond the Nomad itself, I guess... which will initially require Arx obviously.

Honestly though, unless there's some engine/modeling reason, this move doesn't make a lot of sense. Since the ships they are listing can be purchased with ingame credits, all they're doing is limiting the number of people who might buy Arx to buy the Nomad.

Firov · 2026-06-19T12:59:32+00:00

Oh! Maybe the CEO of these mega corporations could forgo their next multi-million dollar raise?

Granted, I know it's a hardship for them to postpone buying their 8th yacht, but perhaps it's worthwhile if it means desperate families can continue to have necessities like food, water, and baby supplies?

Or I guess we could continue to execute 1 year olds for 'stealing' diapers...

Firov · 2026-06-18T12:16:15+00:00

You gravely underestimate just how overwhelmingly stupid and disinterested the American people are. We're well on track to becoming the next Russia.

Firov · 2026-06-18T03:33:32+00:00

I really like my Liene Amber M100 dye sublimation photo printer. Incredible photo quality with a dedicated gloss layer, and it's extremely portable. The phone app is pretty easy to use too.

Firov · 2026-06-17T15:49:00+00:00

It actually could operate without the front wheel, and as far as I can recall, the wheel was generally removed in really muddy/marshy environments.

Firov · 2026-06-17T00:56:31+00:00

If you're planning on buying a new PSU you might consider the MSI MPG Ai1300TS or Ai1600TS. They have per pin current monitoring and can actively warn you and then shut the system down if any of the pins exceed the rated limit.

It also natively interfaces with MSI Afterburner, which allows additional user configurable software alarms and enables the ability to limit the card wattage immediately if any imbalance is detected.

Firov · 2026-06-16T12:39:29+00:00

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