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Just the video cards...

G

Greatone123

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
May 10, 2006
Messages
1,293
I'm building me a new system based on the Phenom II...


Antec 1200
Phenom II 940 BE
Foxconn A7DA-S 790GX
blah blah blah...



I've been fighting keeping my video card cool during gaming sessions.. so with the new system I was going to water cool ONLY the video card(s)


I was also going to stick with the swiftech rad(s) and whatnot... I know a lot of people as what rad should I use for this or that.. but I rarely see anyone just cooling the video cards and not the CPU...

I would most likely try to find a full cover block to keep those VRMs cool as I know they get very hot.

since I'm not sure which video card solution I'll go with I've got a range of heat and would like to be prepaired when the time comes to make that choice...

What size rad would I need for each option?

single 4870?
single 4870x2?
Dual 4970x2?



with the 1200 I've got a bit of room to work with...
 
For dual 487s you'll need a triple radiator.
For dual 487X2's you'll need a quad radiator.

Koolance and EK both make great blocks for these cards.
 
OhMyGod said:
How do you figure?
Click to expand...

Well, I'm assuming the goal of this loop would be for silence, as GPU's don't exactly benefit from decreased temperatures.

A 4870x2 will dump around ~250w of heat into the loop. 2 of them will require a quad radiator.
 
so if 2 X2's could need a quad, does that mean if I only plan on using 1 4870 x2, then a dual rad would be enough?
 
Arcygenical said:
Well, I'm assuming the goal of this loop would be for silence, as GPU's don't exactly benefit from decreased temperatures.

A 4870x2 will dump around ~250w of heat into the loop. 2 of them will require a quad radiator.
Click to expand...

What do you mean GPU's don't benefit from decreased temps? They certainly overclock better when temps are lower.
 
I think he means the longevity of the cards.

I disagree. A double or triple rad would do the trick for two x2's
 
What about cooling 2 GTX 295s? I'm having a similar problem and I don't want to do triple loop unless I have to. Will 1 PA120.3 be enough? 2 PA120.3s in series? I'm using an MCP355 pump with the XSPC res top, 1/2" ID tubing, and Ek GTX295 blocks in the second loop.
 
Blkout said:
What do you mean GPU's don't benefit from decreased temps? They certainly overclock better when temps are lower.
Click to expand...

My GTX 260 doesn't suffer heat-related problems. It just can't clock faster than 729core/1460 shaders. Temps top out at 74 deg C with a BIOS modified fan profile, but even upping the voltage to GTX280 levels won't make my GPU happy at 750/1500.

I might watercool it to make it quieter, but it won't let me go any faster.
 
ki1obyte said:
What about cooling 2 GTX 295s? I'm having a similar problem and I don't want to do triple loop unless I have to. Will 1 PA120.3 be enough? 2 PA120.3s in series? I'm using an MCP355 pump with the XSPC res top, 1/2" ID tubing, and Ek GTX295 blocks in the second loop.
Click to expand...

a pa120.a would fit the bill nicelyf or the 295's
 
JeremyCT said:
My GTX 260 doesn't suffer heat-related problems. It just can't clock faster than 729core/1460 shaders. Temps top out at 74 deg C with a BIOS modified fan profile, but even upping the voltage to GTX280 levels won't make my GPU happy at 750/1500.

I might watercool it to make it quieter, but it won't let me go any faster.
Click to expand...

Every card reaches a limit no matter what temperature it runs. Most cards benefit from better cooling when overclocking. It's a known fact. If your card doesn't gain anything from water, you've just reached the limit of your GPU.
 
Blkout said:
What do you mean GPU's don't benefit from decreased temps? They certainly overclock better when temps are lower.
Click to expand...

Blkout said:
Every card reaches a limit no matter what temperature it runs. Most cards benefit from better cooling when overclocking. It's a known fact. If your card doesn't gain anything from water, you've just reached the limit of your GPU.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry, but I think you're mistaken here a bit. While true of the older generation cards (and CPUs), the newer cards don't clock higher with decreased temperatures (so long as they're operating within their designed norm). They almost always hit a speed wall before a temperature wall (in a well ventilated case).

In-Fact, I don't know a single, current generation, GPU that reaches a temperature limit, before a voltage limit, when overclocking. Even with stock cooling (with the exception of SOME single slot cards). I've never seen an 8800, GTX, or HDx3x0 that clocked higher with only better cooling.

Increasing voltage will almost always net a higher overclock. Decreasing your load temperature from ~80c to 45c has almost no benefit other than decreased noise.

lollerskater69 said:
I think he means the longevity of the cards.

I disagree. A double or triple rad would do the trick for two x2's
Click to expand...

A double radiator can dissipate around 300w of heat. A triple radiator can dump around 450w of heat.

A single 4870X2 has a TDP of approximately 270w. If we assume the actual heat output of a 4870X2 is 90% of it's maximum theoretical heat dump (TDP), we can assume that, in the worst case scenario, it will generate around 240w of heat under 100% load.

A double radiator, dumping 300w of heat, will be saturated almost immediately with 2 4870X2's dumping a total of 480w of heat. A triple radiator *could* cope with this heat load, provided you're willing to sustain at least 1800rpm's @ 1.5gpm... Not something that normally happens in a water loop.

There are *many* documented instances of a triple radiator being outpaced by a CFX setup over on XS's forums.

Greatone123 said:
so if 2 X2's could need a quad, does that mean if I only plan on using 1 4870 x2, then a dual rad would be enough?
Click to expand...

Yes, that's absolutely correct.
 
I know for a fact a PA120.2 can handle CFX 4870x2 because my brother has that setup in his system and his temps are nice.
 
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