WC Loop - GPU's Only?

[L]imey

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jan 9, 2009
Messages
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Hi Guys,

With xmas coming up, this is the time of year where I get to snag new parts.

At the moment, I'm pretty satisfied with my build, except that my primary gpu gets noisy as shit because the fan wants to crank up to 70% with the gpu around 68 degrees.

I tried the "red mod" putting an AIO on that card, but wasn't able to make it work. Not sure where my fault was, but I could get it to boot, but as soon as I put any stress on the gpu, 100 degrees within a second, so clearly something was wrong.

So I scrapped that and went back to stock air cooling.

I don't feel the need to push my CPU any higher than it already is on air, but I'm wondering about the feasibility of building a custom water loop for just my 2 gpus, mostly to keep them quiet more than anything. I've never done any watercooling, so consider me a total noob.

If my research is correct, I'll need: Radiator, Pump, Reservoir, and 2 gpu blocks plus tubing and fittings. Is that everything? For a pair of 7970's, do I need 2 radiators, one per card? or can I take the water from one to another and then to the radiator?

Do enlighten a noob :)

Thanks in advance.
 
Yep, the ideal would be to use separate loops (one radiator per card) for each card because that way you're not feeding the second card in the loop with the warmer water from the first card. But that's not necessary as most just use a single loop - meaning one radiator for two cards.
 
Yep, the ideal would be to use separate loops (one radiator per card) for each card because that way you're not feeding the second card in the loop with the warmer water from the first card. But that's not necessary as most just use a single loop - meaning one radiator for two cards.

Separate loops are not necessary, all you need is a radiator large enough to dissipate the heat from the cards at the noise level wanted. Water temp will stabilize in the loop and the second card will not be given "warmer" water.

A triple radiator is best for two GPUs, but a double can suffice is space is a concern.

Good fans are also necessary depending on the radiator thickness/FPI.

My setup is fairly dated:

HWLabs GTX 360 - 6 Scythe Gentle Typhoon AP-15's
Laing DDC3.25 w/ XSPC Reservoir Top
XSPC Raystorm - Intel Core i5 3570k
2x EK FC680GTX - EVGA GTX 670 FTW's

I have all that on a fan controller and only run the fans at max during heavy gaming in warm ambient temps, otherwise fans run at 66%.

Without the CPU in the loop, I could probably run only 3 fans with the two GPU's for even less noise.

If you've got room, I hear the new Alphacool radiators are great. Either the UT60 or XT45 line's depending thickness you can fit in your case.

If price is a concern, Swiftech radiators are a great value, but quality control isn't as good as the more premium priced radiators.
 
Black Ice SR1, Alphacool UT60 and XT45, and the XSPC RX radiators are all low FPI radiators oriented towards low speed fans, and should be the type of radiators you would look at.

I'm running a Black Ice GTX 480 with 2150 RPM Gentle Typhoons, which I primarily set to run around 40% on my fan controller. When gaming, I only need to crank it up to ~70%. Obviously, the more radiator space you have, the less noise you'll have to cool the same amount.
 
Several years ago I had HW Labs build me a custom version of their X-Flow 120/3 radiator. I had them add additional inlet/outlets to each end so a single radiator could support two separate loops with dedicated pumps. I used a pair of CPX-1 pumps attached directly to the two lower outlets with those short threaded male to mail adapters. One pump for each loop, CPU and GPU, one loop had a T to a Fill-Port. It worked quite well and offered a second pump just in case one failed, it wouldn't be catastrophic.
 
This is interesting as Im also planning to WC 2 GPUs for noise. Please let us know what you chose and the results? :)
I'm thinking of getting a xspc 280mm rad for gtx770 or r9 280s in a corsair 650d. Think I have to add another rad...
 
This is interesting as Im also planning to WC 2 GPUs for noise. Please let us know what you chose and the results? :)
I'm thinking of getting a xspc 280mm rad for gtx770 or r9 280s in a corsair 650d. Think I have to add another rad...

You'd be surprised how good your temps are with a single 280mm rad. Video cards benefit immensely from WC. That setup would quiet them down significantly with lower temps to boot. Course having 2 280's will mean a block for each card and that will cost u a bit to get started.
 
for two GPU's you should be more than fine with a single 280, heck a 240 rad would be enough (on average) cooling capacity for two GPUs (again on average).

edit: To add, for the comments saying to have two separate loops and not "feed" one card "hot water" from the other card is bull. Water will equalize in temperature, at worst you will see a ~2c delta between entrance of one card and the other, AKA not enough to warrant two separate loops.
 
Was the pump working on the AIO? What AIO was it and what GPU? What retention kit did you use with it?

I picked up a H60 and a retention kit, installed and my GPU went from 80's with a screaming fan, down to 50's with a F12 running at 800rpm.
 
Yep, the ideal would be to use separate loops (one radiator per card) for each card because that way you're not feeding the second card in the loop with the warmer water from the first card. But that's not necessary as most just use a single loop - meaning one radiator for two cards.

Not a great idea, bro.
Single loop is always better/same performance as dual.

Reading material: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?254683-Dual-Loop-versus-Single-the-facts
That's not the only study.
 
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Hahaha that's my favorite link to post in this forum I think! I 100% agree. 1 loop ftw.

I said the exact same thing as that original post(2nd in thread) on a forum a few years back and was schooled in the same way.

I'm glad I was.
Without sounding like a stuck up dickhead, you really have to be careful with lending un-researched information when giving advice on water cooling. If you want to bring up points just make sure you word then as a hypotheses rather than concluded facts.

Dual loop could be fun, and that is why modders do it. Though in the end it isn't really beneficial.
 
I said the exact same thing as that original post(2nd in thread) on a forum a few years back and was schooled in the same way.

I'm glad I was.
Without sounding like a stuck up dickhead, you really have to be careful with lending un-researched information when giving advice on water cooling. If you want to bring up points just make sure you word then as a hypotheses rather than concluded facts.

Dual loop could be fun, and that is why modders do it. Though in the end it isn't really beneficial.

Yeah I think dual loops can be useful in some instances, though I'd say most of those will be for looks instead of performance.
 
Yeah I think dual loops can be useful in some instances, though I'd say most of those will be for looks instead of performance.

I'm setting up a dual loop system, and the only purpose for the dual loops is the looks ;)

However, I am doing it with a shared reservoir (Koolance RP-452x2), so the temperatures should balance out.
 
I'm setting up a dual loop system, and the only purpose for the dual loops is the looks ;)

However, I am doing it with a shared reservoir (Koolance RP-452x2), so the temperatures should balance out.

Yea I was thinking similar. Dual loop on a test bench off one res but idk lol. Dual loops are definately only for aesthetics.
 
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