Watercooling only my GPU?

[Meesterjojo]

I'm pretty darn happy with my CPU temp, even under load it's maybe 37C at worst, using a big zalman 9500. Memory- no problem, cooled.

I won't go into my whole BFG RMA, but I think I was having temp problems with my previous card (GTX 260) which I thought might only be due to the fan. This 'new' 285 OCX has been put through it's paces the past 24 hours and has seen temps as high as 88C, with avg. 76C under load.

Not 'bad', but not what I want to see, especially considering how nicely the rest of my system is cooled.

So I'm thinking watercooling might be the best option. I'm hoping to lose 10C under load off my GPU. Problem is this would be my first time to WC anything.

I've been reading up on it, and the basics I roughly/sorta/kinda understand, it's the...worry over am I making an investment which is worthwhile, will I ruin my system, how much hassle will it be..etc.

I've selected a block from Danger Den: http://www.dangerden.com/store/dd-gtx285.html after having read some good reviews about it.

My problem from that point is, well, what now? I don't have enough experience to know what products I should line up which both A) are affordable, and B) will ultimately reach my goal of decreasing the GPU temp by at least 10C, but C) could be reused easily as I upgrade my system in the future and expand my knowledge of WCing.

Also, and this may be a factor as well, I'm using a rather old case- a CoolerMaster Praetorian, the older style mid-atx, 4 case fans. I'm not opposed to any parts being outside of the case, however.

Suggestions? Tutorials? Peptalk/advice?

 

[tom.slick]

Same basic rules apply to gpu cooling as cpu cooling.
as for a,b, and c

Full coverage gpu blocks work great and look great, but they to come with a large price tag and will only work on the model of card you purchased it for, with means that if you upgrade your card then you need to buy a new block.

Gpu only blocks on the other hand will cool the gpu better than a full coverage block, this is because as the name says, it is GPU only, so the water is only cooling one part of the card and that means that it heats up the water a little less
so you will need to find a way to cool the rest of the card, and that would be with air, so you will need to get heatsinks for the rest of the card, which is an added cost. But the cost of the gpu block and heatsinks is still lower then most full coverage blocks. If you upgrade your card then you (in most cases) can reuse your GPU block and headsinks

The only other difference between the two is that a full coverage block has a more restrictive flow than a gpu only block. All that means is that you want to start putting more blocks (add-in sli or NB/SN or your cpu) you might need a higher flowing pump. That is if you start with a pump that only big enough for what you have.

A good place to start (for a single gpu) would be with a 2x120mm radiator, there are lots of choices at many different price points.
Swiftech
XSPC
Hardwarelabs
Feser
etc. etc
A 2x120mm radiator will cool most single or SLI-Crossfire setups, even if you are just going to cool a single gpu I think a 2x120 is the smallest you should go. A 2x120 is efficient and does have the cooling head room to upgrade components in the future, a 1x120 might cool a single GTX285, but only just that card and only just okay.

Match the fans to the radiator
A good rule of thumb is if the FPI (fins per inch) is 12 or more medium to high speed fans, for less then 12 FPI medium to low speed fans work best. That's doesn't mean that a low FPI radiator like the Swiftech mcr qp series will not work with big 3000 rpm Scythe Ultra Kaze's, in fact it will cool better with the larger fans then say with the 1000 rpm Ultra Kaze's, but you can cool things just fine with lower rpm fans like the quiet 800 rpm Scythe slipstream fans. On the other hand using a low rpm fans on something like a Hardwarelabs Black Ice GTX series with 20 FPI might cause a big performance loss.

Pumps
Also lots of choices here, look for something with a flow rate of at least 500lph and a head of 2 meters. These are bare minimums of course, most of the popular models provide better ratings then this, the Danger Den CPX-PRO or Swiftech MCP350 both fit the bill for a low end pump. Both are also solid reliable choices.

Tubbing and Clamps
All kinds of tubbing are on the market today, Tygon, Durelene, ClearFlex, colored tubbing, UV reactive tubbing, tubbing with silver embedded in it. That part is up to you, from a technical stand point the only thing that matters is the size of the inner diameter or ID.
3/8" and 1/2" tubbing are the two most common and neither has a notable performance advantage over the other, so just pick the only that matches the barbs of your other components and you'll be fine. Another choice of late is to use 7/16" tubbing on 1/2" barbs. It's slimmer then 1/2" tubbing and fits tighter on the barbs, also some people claim to not use clamps with this combo and have no leaks. That leads me to hose clamps, and the first thing you need to know about hose clamps is Always use hose clamps. If you put a hose on a barb, use a hose clamp, prevent leaks, pennies will save you hundred of dollars if there is a leak. Hose clamps are cheap and you can get them anywhere, the hardware store, an auto parts store, Target, Wall-mart, just about anywhere. Metal worm-drive clamps work best, but simple zip ties work fine too. It's upto the individual on what type to use, just use them.

Filling Bleeding, and Draining the loop
There are several ways to accomplish this. The simplest and cheapest is a T-Fitting, a length of tubbing and a plug. Place the T in a high point in the system, run the hose up, and use the plug to plug the hose. That's it, you can fill, bleed and drain you loop through that tube. Will it sounds the simplest at least, but in practice it takes quite awhile to fill and bleed the system this way. A reservoir ,while adding cost, is the easiest way to fill and bleed your loop. Then come in various shapes and sizes, from drive bay reservoirs to large tubes with lights running through them to a soda bottle with a fittings attached to the top and bottom as an inlet and outlet. A reservoir is a convenience and that is it. Your choice. Both work, so you decide. Draining the loop is simple too, you can drain it trough the same spot you fill it of add a T-fitting, tubbing, and plug to a low point in the loop. Also your choice.

Coolant and Additives and Galvanic Corrosion
Long topic, but lets keep it simple. Distilled water and a biocide. If you have no mixed metals in your loop (which I will address in a minute) then that is all you need. Distilled water is going to carry the heat away from your block better and release that heat in the radiator better than anything else available to the average person. A couple of drop of biocide that you could get from the pet store will keep the algae from growing inside of your loop and you are good to go. Instead of a biocide you could also use a kill coil, it works great and you only need to put it in there once.
If you do have mixed metals any of the commercial water cooling coolants with do. Or a little anti-freeze from the auto-parts store too. Always mix as recommended by the manufacture.
Galvanic corrosion is an electrochemical process in which one metal corrodes preferentially when in electrical contact with a different type of metal and both metals are immersed in an electrolyte. (got that one out of the dictionary) All that means to us is if we you dissimilar metals in our loop then we will have corrosion in it. What metals? Well the main one that we need to worry about is aluminum. Copper and aluminum don
t mix, so avoid aluminum if at all possible, and if it's not, well then find a way. But if after all you can't then look at the previous paragraph and use an anti-corrosive additive. The only other metal to watch out for is steel, steel is made from iron and in the long term it will rust. But if you use mixed metals and use an additive in the correct ratios then you should not have a problem.

Okay now you need a way to mount everything the CoolerMaster Praetorian is not the best case for water cooling. With out heavy modding that radiator will never fit in that case. So that leaves two choices. Mount the radiator on the out side on top of the case. The second option is to make a box to hold everything in. Cut up an old tool box or mini-atx case or something . put every thing inside of it, add an old power supply to power the fans and pump and your set. Only draw back to that is now you have a computer and a seperate box, and long hoses.

 

[lilfiend]

if you never ever ever really wanted to get into water cooling but wanted the benefits of it, use a full cover block every time you upgrade. But if you want to eventually get into water cooling then put your gpu under water with a gpu block and a small pump, like the mcp355 and the xpsc res (reservoir) top, its a decent, small, quiet pump that has a reservoir on top of it, simplifying the loop and making it really really easy to bleed

For tubing, i went 1/2" but 3/8" is a LOT smaller and MUCH easier to deal with. Unless you are trying to get it as close to ambient as possible 3/8" will make your water cooling loop much easier to work with.

for the rad (radiator) i would get a mcr220 (swiftech 2X120 rad) with some medium speed late yoons (good quality for low price) i used low speed but i had a 3X120 for a cpu only loop.

if your good at diy and want to try something new make a volenti cooler, naja002 made a horizontal one and i thought it would be very easy to make, my only problem was justifying making it after i had a fully functional water cooling loop. From what i understand it really doesnt increase humidity too much if the room is a decent size
here is a link
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1421694&highlight=naja002

he has a link to nub builds a better volenti cooler or something, that is what i wanted to make, just a large fanless swamp