open air vs blower gpu cooling

[Puck]

puck, do you use the ek copper shim with your h70? i'm currently in the process of machining a deepcool dracula so the base will get contact with the die (i got this very cheap from a friend so i don't mind machining it)

 

how is the performance? i have read many review saying that heat transfer is poor... i wanna know your opinion if you're using one. my grinding stone is busted and local store currently run out of stock so my work is halted, and the shim thing crossed my mind.

 

In my case the 7970 has a recessed core so it needs a shim unless you want to risk pulling off the metal protecting plate. Not all cards need them - you can tell right away by looking at the base of your stock cooler. It's not like delidding a processor, the glue it has is way stronger and there are tons of SMD components all over the die so its not worth the risk IMO. I am using the EK shim and if installed properly will not have much of an impact on your temps. It is a perfectly flat .5mm thin plate of copper. It just makes it much harder to get a good mount since there are a lot more chances to make a mistake then just die>block. A GPU die is much larger then a CPU die so the line/drop method doesn't work since you would have to add a ton of TIM for it to spread all over. After three tries my best mount was using a razor to spread a very thin layer of TIM on the die, placing the shim down, then the same method on top of the shim. Once that's done you can install the block like normal...if using the "zip tie" method make sure you crank the zip ties TIGHT since it needs a firm mount.

 

Most waterblocks have thin bases so I would not try to mill them down. Air coolers should be fine though as long as they are not direct contact heat pipe models.

[ccokeman]

I would say stick to the blower fans on the GTX 770. Here's my reasoning and an example. Blower style fans will dump the thermals outside the chassis first and foremost. Second you will see an increase in CPU temperature as well as increases to the rest of your components that can lead to some instability when you start pushing the CPU clock speeds. 2 the NVIDIA blower fans are significantly quieter than the AMD and NVIDIA designs of the past and include vapor chamber cooling solutions that are very effective at cooling the GPUS down without dumping that load into the chassis. An example would be in my MSI GTX 770 Gaming review where the very capable MSI cooling solution was only 2 degrees cooler when I pushed the fan speeds to 100%. You reach the break even point on the cooling quickly with the same noise levels at stock speeds. The big thing is you eliminate the heat dump into the case. 

 

Another example was that I have my wifes system water cooled with the exception of the video card. I swapped out a water cooled 7970 for an open air cooled GTX 570 so she could finally use the GPU for folding. After 3 days and 4 restarts the card added so much thermal dump at 100% load that the case and cooling could not shed from the VRM and memory resulting in instability. Once I put a reference cooled card in all was well. As far as airflow through the chassis(NZXT Phantom in Pink) it has a 360 rad with push pull 120mm Noctua fans. 200mm intake fan , 120mm exhaust and a 240 rad with 4 noctua fans in push pull and it still could not shed the load.

 

I say get reference cooled then water cool them when you get the cash for the full cover blocks.  

[panjang110]

hmmm.... sounds complicated, at first i thought of delidding the metal protecting plate then shave it a bit with a file. but it's not worth the risk and i still have 2 more years warranty on this baby. i think even the shim method will not work with my case since the mounting on the deepcool dracula is off by atleast 0.5mm. ( this is the original dracula, not the 7970 version so the 54mm mounting is absent i just use the 53mm one) and i have to force it in a little bit. maybe i'll grind the mounting stud a little bit so it will not put any stress on the pcb

 

looks like i will have to wait for the grinding stone and continue my machining work

Edited August 17, 2013 by panjang

[IVIYTH0S]

With dual cards I would run blower style or water...that is a lot of heat to dump into your case!

I would say stick to the blower fans on the GTX 770. Here's my reasoning and an example. Blower style fans will dump the thermals outside the chassis first and foremost. Second you will see an increase in CPU temperature as well as increases to the rest of your components that can lead to some instability when you start pushing the CPU clock speeds. 2 the NVIDIA blower fans are significantly quieter than the AMD and NVIDIA designs of the past and include vapor chamber cooling solutions that are very effective at cooling the GPUS down without dumping that load into the chassis. An example would be in my MSI GTX 770 Gaming review where the very capable MSI cooling solution was only 2 degrees cooler when I pushed the fan speeds to 100%. You reach the break even point on the cooling quickly with the same noise levels at stock speeds. The big thing is you eliminate the heat dump into the case. 

 

Another example was that I have my wifes system water cooled with the exception of the video card. I swapped out a water cooled 7970 for an open air cooled GTX 570 so she could finally use the GPU for folding. After 3 days and 4 restarts the card added so much thermal dump at 100% load that the case and cooling could not shed from the VRM and memory resulting in instability. Once I put a reference cooled card in all was well. As far as airflow through the chassis(NZXT Phantom in Pink) it has a 360 rad with push pull 120mm Noctua fans. 200mm intake fan , 120mm exhaust and a 240 rad with 4 noctua fans in push pull and it still could not shed the load.

 

I say get reference cooled then water cool them when you get the cash for the full cover blocks.

Blower for sure if SLI'ing

[towhog66]

I would say stick to the blower fans on the GTX 770. Here's my reasoning and an example. Blower style fans will dump the thermals outside the chassis first and foremost. Second you will see an increase in CPU temperature as well as increases to the rest of your components that can lead to some instability when you start pushing the CPU clock speeds. 2 the NVIDIA blower fans are significantly quieter than the AMD and NVIDIA designs of the past and include vapor chamber cooling solutions that are very effective at cooling the GPUS down without dumping that load into the chassis. An example would be in my MSI GTX 770 Gaming review where the very capable MSI cooling solution was only 2 degrees cooler when I pushed the fan speeds to 100%. You reach the break even point on the cooling quickly with the same noise levels at stock speeds. The big thing is you eliminate the heat dump into the case. 

 

Another example was that I have my wifes system water cooled with the exception of the video card. I swapped out a water cooled 7970 for an open air cooled GTX 570 so she could finally use the GPU for folding. After 3 days and 4 restarts the card added so much thermal dump at 100% load that the case and cooling could not shed from the VRM and memory resulting in instability. Once I put a reference cooled card in all was well. As far as airflow through the chassis(NZXT Phantom in Pink) it has a 360 rad with push pull 120mm Noctua fans. 200mm intake fan , 120mm exhaust and a 240 rad with 4 noctua fans in push pull and it still could not shed the load.

 

I say get reference cooled then water cool them when you get the cash for the full cover blocks.  

love your wording. you have been verey helpful 3 more days and ill be making my order. ( you do reviews wow how cool )

Edited August 17, 2013 by towhog66

[ccokeman]

Indeed I do here at OCC! 

 

Let us know what you get ! 

[towhog66]

Indeed I do here at OCC! 

 

Let us know what you get ! 

ok i can posdt temps to... im using a open air 560 asus at the moment too..... so ill be abal to see whatr the temps are like