radodrill Posted April 27, 2008 Posted April 27, 2008 I recently acquired a pair of BFG 8800GTX graphics cards and mounted a pair of DangerDen full-cover waterblocks on them. The blocks came with a set of instructions, mounting hardware, thermal tape, and a tube of thermal grease. I also receiver a "stubby" barb for use in SLI configurations as well as a single-slot PCI-bracket, which totally frees up the adjacent PCI slot. They were well packed in foam padding to protect them from damage during transit . The actual blocks along with the accessories The blocks feature a Delrin top and machined copper base. The botton of the block has been machined for optimum contact with the core, RAM, and several other ICs. The barbs can be mounted on either side of the block; in single card usage this can make it easier to route the tubing, and in SLI it allows neater tubing runs as the output for the first block can be directly connected to the input of the second. (Sorry I didn't take detailed pics of the top/bottom of the block, so I'm attaching the stock DangerDen photos) The Instructions provided were quite easy to follow Here is the "naked" card with the thermal tape applied; note, I did not have nearly enough thermal grease applied (AS5 rather than the provided TIM) when I took the pic and ended up using about 1/4 tube for each graphics card to achieve full coverage of the core/RAM. The installation of the blocks went rather smoothly; however, both blocks did not include all the correct hardware for the mounting (not enough #4 washers) so I ended up having to go to Lowe's to have all the correct hardware. Both cards installed in the case in SLI configuration; note the adjacent PCI slot has been populated with a sound card. I had not done much in terms of testing the cards under the stock cooler (just checked idle temps during initial testing of the cards) as the blocks were installed about a day after receiving the cards. Under stock cooling, the cards were idling at ~70C, after installing the waterblocks the idle temps dropped down to ~50C. I did not notice an appreciable increase of the temps (with the waterblock) under load at the stock clock speeds of the cards; so the blocks do an effective job of transferring the heat from the card to the water. In my system there was also an appreciably lower noise level as the stock fans are substantially louder than the 120mm fans (regulated to low speed) attached to the radiator for extracting the heat from the water, Overall I feel that the waterblocks are well designed and constructed/manufactured and quite easy to install. However, the missing washers was a bit disappointing (would be nice if they had better quality control for the hardware and/or included some extras). Further, the significantly lower operating temperatures and lower noise level (cooling system dependant) is a very nice part of watercooling the graphics cards. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulktreg Posted April 27, 2008 Posted April 27, 2008 radodrill Great article. I've often thought about trying water cooling, not for overclocking, just peace and quiet! Regards paulktreg Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnUnknownSource Posted April 28, 2008 Posted April 28, 2008 It's MUCH quieter! Even with 2 separate loops in my rig, so 2 pumps and 6x120mm fans. My danger den Koosah's are awesome, My 7900GTXs idle at ~35C and load ~46C and I was quite impressed with the fit. I did notice that the old one that doen't have the nice finish to the inside surface idles slightly higher though... guess the 'looks' should have been less important : Nice article Rado, keep up the good work! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
radodrill Posted April 28, 2008 Posted April 28, 2008 It's MUCH quieter! Even with 2 separate loops in my rig, so 2 pumps and 6x120mm fans. Yeah the difference in noise levels is dependent on what fans are being used for the rad and how loud the stock cooler's fan is/was. I know the 7900GT fan was an extremely loud sucker; the stock fan on the 8800GTX is not nearly as bad, but it is still a bit louder than the fans on the rad(s). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry_Games Posted April 28, 2008 Posted April 28, 2008 rado: when you feel your article is ready, please read: http://www.diy-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=83822 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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