Dual Opteron & Dual GPU WC Project

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kelson

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Feb 17, 2005
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I've been working on designing a new system for home, and the cooling is a bit of a challenge.

I'm looking at the new Tyan Thunder K8WE w/ dual Opteron 250 CPU's, and dual ATI X800 XT PE based video cards.

With all of these hot processors, it would be a veritable storm coming from the case. So, I'm looking at what I would need to cool...

2 x Opteron 250's
2 x ATI GPU's

I'm not sure if I would also need to do chipset cooling w/ the PCI-E chipsets. I'm also looking at cooling the primary drive in the system, because I want to run a 15k RPM U320 HD for fast OS disk I/O.

I'm looking at the ThermalTake Armor VA8000SWA chassis to hold the EATX mainboard.

As far as the WC setup, I'm looking at whether I should run a single close loop w/ 1/2" ID hose, or two separate loops at 3/8" ID. I'm concerned about the amount of space between the various cooling points. I'm not planning to OC, but just want to run the system as silent as possible. I'm looking at eventually upgrading the CPU's to dual core Opterons once they are released.

Has anyone done anything like this? In all the pics and such, I'm not seen an examples of dual cpu WC installs.

Suggestions?

- Kelson
 
Dual ATI GPU's would do nothing, they aren't SLI, you'd have to get any of these PCI-E cards:
* GeForce 6800 Ultra
* GeForce 6800 GT
* GeForce 6800 LE
* GeForce 6800
* GeForce 6600 GT
* NVIDIA Quadro FX 4400
* NVIDIA Quadro FX 3400
* NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400


I hate thermaltake cases, personally if you are going to spend that much I'd get a Stacker or a Lian Li E-ATX case.

The chipsets look passive currently, so I wouldn't bother cooling them.

I would just do a single loop with low pressure blocks. Are you going to cool the GPU?
 
unless of course his goal was multiple moniters.... you know, like maybee FOUR of them

And since the mobo isn't SLI capable, getting nVidia cards just because they have SLI capabilities is kinda a moot point, now isn't it?

I like the DD maze 4 GPU coolers w/ the acetal tops. And for running multiple loops, if you do, go with 3/8 and the mcp-350 / ddc-12v pumps and a 120mm rad for teh GPU's and a dual 120mm rad for the proc.

as for a single loop, dont know what the best way to pull that off would be.
 
NVIDIA Quadro FX 4400
Click to expand...

does anyone know if those will actually play games well...i know thats not what there designed for but they gotta be pretty kickass
 
If you get a large enough case you are probably best off running with two loops, whichever size tubing you can fit. If you run a single loop I would advise you to get two pumps, or one really good pump like an iwaki. I would either go with 2 AQX-50Z or one Iwaki MD-20
 
NVIDIA vs ATI - Yes, I'm not looking for SLI capability, I'm looking to drive multiple 20" LCD's. These should be sufficient for most gaming, as I'm not a cutting edge die hard gamer. I'm actually a Mac user, and I want a solid 64-bit dual x86 box for a little gaming, along with some other windows based applications. I'll probably end up dual booting Windows XP and Solaris 10 x86 on this box.

My preference is to overbuild systems, then keep them for a long time. So I wait for certain technology inflection points, in this case I wanted the dual 64 bit CPU w/ PCI-E support. I don't see any major technology breakthroughs coming for the next 3-4 years in the fundamental system architecture.

So, back to cooling....

I've got a couple of goals here....

1. I want this system to be very quiet. I've gotten past the whole stage of having half a dozen computers roaring away in the background.

2. I want to cool both GPU's and CPU's only, the HD is optional. I do not plan to do any overclocking, if I want a faster processor, I'll buy one. So, while money is an issue, my ceiling is reasonably high. Not attempting to OC the box should also reduce my cooling requirements.

3. I want this to be asthetically pleasing. I would like to be able to do this with the smallest piping possible. The huge pipes bulging out of the motherboard is not the look that I want to achieve. I'm actually a network engineer by profession, so the look for very well groomed cabling is appealing, I'd like my tubing to be the same.

My understanding is that the more units I'm looking to cool in a single loop, the bigger the flow I'm going to need. It seems I've got a few options....

1. Single loop, 1/2" ID tubing. Run it through multiple radiators with shrouded fans for maximum efficiency. Say 2-3 Black Ice rads.

1a. [PUMP] -> [GPU] -> [GPU] -> [CPU] -> [CPU] -> [RAD] -> [RAD] -> [RES]

1b. [PUMP 1/2 ID] -> [Y-Con Out A] -> [GPU] -> [CPU] -> [RAD]->[RES]
[Y-Con Out B] -> [GPU] -> [CPU] -> [RAD]/

A higher powered pump will let me get more through parallel tubes at 3/8" than a single 1/2" serial architecture.

2. Dual loops, 3/8" ID tubing, with each running through a Black Ice Extreme II radiator, with shrouded fans. Potentially using dual DDC-12V pumps. This brings up an interesting set of options tho......

2a. [PUMP] -> [GPU] -> [CPU] -> [RAD] -> [RES] (each)

2b. [PUMP] -> [CPU] -> [GPU] -> [RAD] -> [RES] (each)

2c1. [PUMP] -> [CPU] -> [CPU] -> [Big RAD] -> [RES]
2c2. [PUMP] -> [GPU] -> [GPU] -> [Sma RAD] -> [RES]


Grand Daddy.....

2d. [PUMP] -> [Y-Con A] -> [CPU] -> [Y-Con Reconnect]
[Y-Con B] -> [GPU] -> [Y-Con Reconnect] -> [RAD] -> [RES]

[PUMP] -> [Y-Con A] -> [CPU] -> [Y-Con Reconnect]
[Y-Con B]-> [GPU] -> [Y-Con Reconnect] -> [RAD] -> [RES]

With this setup, I'm running dual pumps, with a 1/2" or 3/8" ID coming out of it, where I do a Y-connector to go from either 1/2" to 3/8" dual pipes, or from 3/8" to dual 1/4" pipes. Or even to get better flow with the 1/4" tubing, go from 1/2" to 1/4" at the Y-Con. At this point, each of my 4 connections goes to service a single processing unit, giving me a very managable tubing system.

I bring them back together after they service their respective processing unit, into their respective Black Ice Extreme II radiator unit for cooling and return to the res.

Part of my reasoning on the increased level of parallelism is that the temperature delta between the liquid and the processor will provide better cooling if I don't have any cooling points in parallel.

I have noticed that some waterblocks like the Storm G5 provides very good cooling at lower flow rates, based on the testing at procooling.

Thoughts?

- Kelson
 
actually the storm G5 provides very poor cooling at lower flow rates, the G5 has quite a steep CW vs Flow graph while a block like the swiftech 6000 has a very shallow slope. The less the slope, the less dependant the block is on flow for more cooling. Also, the G5 is a VERY restrictive block, as restrictive as they come, you really dont want to be running 2 G5s in the same loop, not to mention you will never be able to get your hands on a G5...I think there are only 2 people who even have one, not sure whether the first batch is out yet though.

Anyways, if you run everything in a single loop, I think you will either have to run two mcp600s in series (or something similar) or get a big beefy pump like an Iwaki. You may be able to get by with only one pump since you are not concerned about overclocking. In that case I would suggest you get cpu blocks like the Swifty 6000 since they are less dependant upon flow rates. Silverprop Fusion SL, or the new single slot Maze4 would work well for the GPUs.

Running 2 loops would probably increase the efficiency of the system, but might add a bit to the tubing mess.

Oh yeah, the temperature difference going into the first gpu, and coming out of the last cpu in your first loop (all one series) will be less than 2C...and since you aren't concerned about overclocking at all you shouldn't concern yourself with that, merely concern yourself with getting enough flow through the system.
 
WOW this is going to be a amazingly fast computer, can not wait to see it when it is finish, you are going to post pictures right, WHEN do you think it will be finish and how much you think it is going to cost? or do you already have the parts and now how muh it costs?
 
cell_491 said:
does anyone know if those will actually play games well...i know thats not what there designed for but they gotta be pretty kickass
Click to expand...

Ummm I would not play games on that card that is a graphics design card not a gaming card... and if it was SLied I dont think anything would be able to even play on it at all. Can you SLi those anyways?
 
Erasmus354 said:
Anyways, if you run everything in a single loop, I think you will either have to run two mcp600s in series (or something similar) or get a big beefy pump like an Iwaki. You may be able to get by with only one pump since you are not concerned about overclocking. In that case I would suggest you get cpu blocks like the Swifty 6000 since they are less dependant upon flow rates. Silverprop Fusion SL, or the new single slot Maze4 would work well for the GPUs.

Running 2 loops would probably increase the efficiency of the system, but might add a bit to the tubing mess.

Oh yeah, the temperature difference going into the first gpu, and coming out of the last cpu in your first loop (all one series) will be less than 2C...and since you aren't concerned about overclocking at all you shouldn't concern yourself with that, merely concern yourself with getting enough flow through the system.
Click to expand...

Alright, so running two loops would probably be the best route. Looks like the flow rates are fast enough that the water does not increase very much per processing unit, making the ordering a non-issue.

I would really like to reduce my tubing to a 1/4" ID. The Opterons are rated at approx 90 watts. Since I am not overclocking, do you think I would still be able to achieve adequete cooling with the restricted flow rates?

It would be possible for me to drop from the Opteron 248/250's (still looking at ROI) to the Opteron 246 HE, which runs at 55 watt. This should significantly reducing my cooling needs, leaving the GPU's on the X800's as the most significant cooling points.

Thoughts?

-Kelson
 
R!P13y said:
WOW this is going to be a amazingly fast computer, can not wait to see it when it is finish, you are going to post pictures right, WHEN do you think it will be finish and how much you think it is going to cost? or do you already have the parts and now how muh it costs?
Click to expand...

Well.....

Opteron 248 HE x 2 = 1022.00$
Tyan K8WE = 590.00$
TT Armor Case = 180.00$
TT PSU = 160.00$
1GB Corsair PC3200 ECC x 2 = 600.00$
ATI X850 XT PE x2 = 1330.00$
Seagate 15K 36Gig = 298.00$
Seagate ATA 300Gig x 4 = 840.00$
Soundblaster Audigy ZS Gamer = 120.00$
Plextor PX-712SA/BPS-BL = 150.00$

Total 5290.00$

Plus watercooling & monitors.....

Hoping to finish by April, as that is when I get married, so my chances of building ridiculous machines like this go way down.....

- Kelson
 
If you want good cooling with small tube diameter, go German. Aqua-Computer or Innovatek. Pricey, but very good performers. Also, Alphacool's NexXos HP block is very good.
 
please read the whole thread before posting some, shall we say, 'uninformed' comment like that.
 
hey i can not wait to see how this system is going to look when your all done, and good luck with the marriage
 
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