i7/SLI 480 Rad advice...

A

AlvinMaker

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
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Hi guys-

I have seen a few similar posts here, and am trying to decide on my final parts for my cooling upgrade. Running a 920 on a V8 right now- was at 4ghz/no HT, but I went back to stock during a "troubleshooting" phase (turned out to be my 5870s- main reason I went "green" ;))

SO- I want to liquid cool my 2 480s and my CPU, of course. I settled on the XSPC Dual bay res, EK CPU block, and MCP655 pump. My 2 Koolance GPU blocks are on the way already. I am having a tough time figuring out how much RAD I need- INITIALLY I was going with a single 240 Black Ice Xtreme, but the more research I do, it seems this may not be enough for these "convection oven" 480s. Should I go with the 360 or 480, or ditch single idea altogether and get 2? (Case is Thermaltake Armor+).

Thanks for any input- I am definitely going to OC the CPU- the GPUs, i will prob run stock for now (just don't want the "wind tunnel" sound from the 100% fan speed). I want to do this right the FIRST time, as this is obviously my first time going water cool. Cheers!

AM
 
What is your goal? Silent, quiet, or just quieter than the 480's? Or are you going for performance cooling? For quieter than the 480's, I would go with a 360 radiator. You can also go quiet with a 360 radiator. I would get Gentle Typhoons, preferably the 1850 RPM model and use a fan controller to turn them down when your system is idling. I would get 6 if you can afford it so that you can run push/pull. Mid-high FPI radiator is what I recommend here.

Performance cooling, I would go with a 480 radiator or two 240 radiators with 8 1850 RPM Gentle Typhoons with a high FPI radiator.

Silent, I would want at least a 480 with 8 1150 RPM Gentle Typhoons and a low FPI radiator.
 
@Tsumi, so would you say he should go with a 360 or 480? You mention using both as what you would do. :)
 
ah sorry- I realize now I didn't realize what I was shooting for...

Performance is numero uno for me. The noise level coming down would be nice, but when i game, i tend to use my surround headset, so it's not THAT big of an issue- But I DO use my GPUs for 3D rendering on occasion, and having both of them at that noise level is a bit unnerving at times. So I would like to lower the noise level some- but it doesn't have to be silent.

All in all, I want to as much as I can out of my 920, and keep my 480s at a comfortable temperature/noise level when gaming/rendering.

Thanks for the tips. The amount of options available is daunting, to say the least!
 
SO- reading between the lines, the 240 is DEF not enough for all 3 components, no?

The single 480 RAD would be a good choice, then? (I was looking at the DD BI extreme 480). Sorry if this is redundant- i am still learning the ropes with the water cooling, and want to be sure I don't "under power" the rig. (My only reservation with the 480 rad was the sheer size/mounting location- but i am flexible on that)
 
I had the same setup, twin 480's and an O/C'd 920 to 4.0Ghz and found a Black Ice SR-1 480 did a reasonable job with GT 1850 fans. It kept the GPU's mid to upper 40's in game and the CPU didn't really go above 50 except in really heavily CPU dependent games (GTA 4 and BC2 were around 60-65 @ 1.375v)
 
IllegalEagle said:
I had the same setup, twin 480's and an O/C'd 920 to 4.0Ghz and found a Black Ice SR-1 480 did a reasonable job with GT 1850 fans. It kept the GPU's mid to upper 40's in game and the CPU didn't really go above 50 except in really heavily CPU dependent games (GTA 4 and BC2 were around 60-65 @ 1.375v)
Click to expand...

That's good news- sounds like the 480RAD + 1850s may be the ticket. My CPU definitely gets put through it's paces (when rendering out of C4D, all cores are stay at 100%). If i can get it down in the 60s at full load, i'll be a happy camper. :cool:
 
Not to nitpick, but the SR-1 is not the best radiator for those Gentle Typhoons. Low FPI radiators are less efficient with high static pressure fans that the 1850 RPM Gentle Typhoons are. Go with a high FPI radiator and you'll get better performance.

Go with the Black Ice GTX for best performance and you have room for a thick radiator + push/pull. Go for the Black Ice GTS radiator for just slightly worse performance, but in a much thinner package. I believe the GTX radiator is more than twice as thick as the GTS, and also twice as expensive.

240 radiators would work. But you'll most likely have to use 2500+ RPM fans to keep temps in control. Heck, a single 120 radiator would work if you mounted a 5400 RPM fan or higher on it.
 
Tsumi said:
Not to nitpick, but the SR-1 is not the best radiator for those Gentle Typhoons. Low FPI radiators are less efficient with high static pressure fans that the 1850 RPM Gentle Typhoons are. Go with a high FPI radiator and you'll get better performance.

Go with the Black Ice GTX for best performance and you have room for a thick radiator + push/pull. Go for the Black Ice GTS radiator for just slightly worse performance, but in a much thinner package. I believe the GTX radiator is more than twice as thick as the GTS, and also twice as expensive.

240 radiators would work. But you'll most likely have to use 2500+ RPM fans to keep temps in control. Heck, a single 120 radiator would work if you mounted a 5400 RPM fan or higher on it.
Click to expand...

Thanks- the GTX 480 is the one I MEANT to reference, so it looks like I may be on the right path here...
 
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