El_Capitan Posted March 16, 2011 Posted March 16, 2011 As long as those people know the dimensions, I don't see why not, if you feel like possibly losing a $250 graphics card is worth it. In this photo, you can see the overall inside of one of my set-ups. I have a 120.2 radiator on top of the case (in a push/pull config blowing air outside the case). It then goes into the CPU water block, which goes into GPU1, then into GPU2, then into the Dual Bay Reservoir which my pump is actually inside, and that feeds back into the 120.2 radiator. What's hard to see is that I have a 120mm fan sitting on top of the PSU (located at the bottom of my case) blowing air into the bottom card. In this following photo, you can see that I placed two 80mm fans on top of each card blowing air upwards. Below the bottom card is a 120mm fan, on top of the bottom card is a 80mm fan, and on top of the top card is another. This prevents the graphics cards power regulators from overheating. Those 80mm fans have a 7v and 5v resistor applied to them. They become super quiet, but still move a good amount of air. I can hardly hear anything coming from the case. I don't even know that's it's on without looking at it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigball1 Posted March 16, 2011 Posted March 16, 2011 I have been wanting to post something up about the 6950s as well, but i was going to wait until i actually got to mess with the stuff before i really started asking questions. But i am also curious about water cooling these as well. I have done a few Google searches, and read some of the basics of water cooling the graphics cards, but it seems i just can grasp it. what kind of water block would be ideal, what kind would be just sufficient? can i run 1 loop on 2 6950s? any suggestions/advice would be very helpful. what i have found so far is you can get generic universal blocks, but are they going to be cost effective. and the other gear i am going to need, should i just go to a Lowes and buy some tubing and what not to hook it up, or should i stick with computer manufacturer parts. just kinda overloaded with the info and need a guiding hand. Think your overload now just wait. For GPU blocks your going to find 2 different kinds. 1 that will cool just the GPU, and 1 that cools the GPU and RAM. You want the ones that cool both, (most common now). Now you will need to know if your going to be running SLI/Crossfire and not all blocks can be hooked up in these configs (most do now). For fittings there are 2 different kinds. Compression and Barbs. Compression are more costly but do not leak. Barbs are cheaper and can leak if not secured with a zip tie or something along those lines. Tubes, Tons of different options here. First you have to figure out what pump your using. Get to small of a tube and your pump will work to hard and cook. Get to big of tubing and it will be hard to install in your case as it will kink up. Now you can get "special" tubing made for water cooling which cost $3.50 a foot. Or you can go to canadian tire, home depot, lowes and get tuding made of the same stuff at a cost of $.25 a foot that will work the same. Now that being said dont count on finding tubing that will fit 100% if you have compression fittings or find that it does not bend and keeps kinking up on, from at these places. Took me a few places to find some but l did and it works perfect in my loop. 3/4 to 1in is what most people have in there systems. Radiators, This is one thing to not go small on. Bigger the better as you can never keep your system cool enough. Look at your case, is it made for one? how big? where is it? top,front,back? These are all taken in when looking for one. If not make a mock up of one using fans of the same size just to see where it will work best. Holes need to be drilled. Fans will need airflow. Just some thoughts as to what you need when finding a spot. Pump, This is your heart. It stops you stop. (Has happened to me and l didnt know it, cooked my CPU block) Most pumps now you come with a rpm sensor that you can plug into your MB just like a fan. Its Great. Pumps stops system will tell you so you can shut down before you cook a block. Look to see what the pump is rated for in letters per hour. Higher the number more it pumps and the bigger the hose you will need. Most are around the 500 l/hr Kits are great for a very basic generic system. Most cant handle high end cpus and gpus. So this is why people stay away from them. For basic setup with cpu,gpu, and 1 rad your looking at around $300-400 for everything. I could talk about this all day Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedway Posted March 16, 2011 Posted March 16, 2011 (edited) OK, 1st of all Rich Welcome to OCC Are those 6970(flashed 6950) temps at idle? I know my ASUS 6970's, nor the MSI 6970's I have run anywhere near that hot, even when in Tri-Fire at idle! Heck I think at full load the hottest card in Tri-Fire was in the high 70's, idle they were running in the 30's and 40's! When it comes to your PSU and 3 6970's OCed to 1GHz, I would think you are very close to pushing it with the 850w As far as water cooling goes, you can run 1 loop for all 3 gpu's and cpu. Running 2 loops will drop your cpu temps slightly, which may give you additional OC headroom, if that is a concern. But, you can easily get away with a single loop! The only thing that sux in your situation, is we have no idea what the temps are looking like on the new AMD cpu's, unless that info has already been leaked. Not sure, as I haven't been keeping up with latest AMD cpu news. But, I did read that the FX-8130P is going to be 125W TDP. But, if AMD stays true to their roots, then their temps shouldn't be a problem. But, it is new tech so you never know! When it comes to WCing, I recommend reading up on it for at least a week, then start deciding on the components, and finally before you buy anything, it's not a bad idea to make a drawing or map out how your loop will go! It has been sd, EK blocks are solid, as well as Koolance, really you can't go wrong with either, they both usually outperform everything else. On the pump, I highly recommend the Liang D5, which has been more commonly known as the Swifttech MCP655 (a rebranded D5). It will last forever, and it moves water! There are 2 versions of this pump, one has a speed controller, one does not. When it comes to the radiator, of course ThermoChill's are the best, but you pay a premium for them! But, you would be fine with XSPC, Swifttech, and Black Ice. My thoughts on a WC setup are, you will have it forever, why not spend the money and get the quality from the beginning! The pumps and rads last forever, so the only additional cost down the road would be new blocks, if you upgrade cpu or gpu's! Fans are another story, it really depends on what your looking for in terms of performance. The higher CFM fans, like the Scythe Ultr Kaze fans are going to be very loud. But they move some air! If you are looking for something quiet, then the Yate Loon's are pretty popular! You probably have more choices when it comes to the fans than anything else, so like I said, it comes down to what type of performance (OverClocking) you are wanting! Some WC component eShops: Sidewinder Computers - Prob my fav, but I am biased as he is local But still a great site! FrozenCPU Jab-Tech Koolance - I personally love their blocks, would never buy one of their rads! Their version of the D5 pump is called the PMP-450(s) Edit: I also have to humbly disagree with Capi and anyone else who says to use a certain liquid in the loop! Distilled water and a silver coil is CHEAP, and much easier to clean out your loop when it's time to flush it....oh yea, you will have to flush your loop every so often. At least once or twice a year is a good idea! If you use a colored liquid, then flushing your radiator becomes more difficult! Edited March 16, 2011 by SpeedwayNative Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waco Posted March 17, 2011 Posted March 17, 2011 Edit: I also have to humbly disagree with Capi and anyone else who says to use a certain liquid in the loop! Distilled water and a silver coil is CHEAP, and much easier to clean out your loop when it's time to flush it....oh yea, you will have to flush your loop every so often. At least once or twice a year is a good idea! If you use a colored liquid, then flushing your radiator becomes more difficult! Agreed. Distilled water with a silver coil is all anyone should ever use. Dye, funny fluids with promises of magical performance, etc are all far more of a pain in the butt than anything else (and they cost more). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richaemry Posted March 17, 2011 Posted March 17, 2011 Would this kit plus 3 blocks and a link work well at all? http://www.frozencpu.com/products/12222/ex-wat-162/XSPC_Rasa_750_RS360_Universal_CPU_Triple_Radiator_Water_Cooling_Kit-_HOT.html The pump has pretty good reviews but the radiator looks thin. I could add more fans but I'm still not sure. That would drop the price significantly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richaemry Posted March 17, 2011 Posted March 17, 2011 Is there an app that can show me if I am overloading my PSU? I think I have plenty of headroom on my PSU HX850w single rail at continuous voltage. Some reviews have put up to 1100w of stuff on them and it ran fine and overclocked hard. I'm unopposed to picking up a second one, but I'm kinda stuck in the 850w variety each due to the UPSes I run. As for the temps I have no clue why they are so high, but I think it's due to the fact that 6950's are smaller than 6970's and the extra 3 inches allows for a larger heatsink. Mine get almost this hot when I put the 6950 bios back on. It's really frustrating and loud hence the water. Card 3 is at 41C Card 2 is at 49C and card 1 (primary) is at 59C. Fan speed is 45% and it's humming in here. I had 2 XFX 5850BEs before this and the first card got hot, but not this hot. I'm not getting full performance out of them either no matter how many cards I run or whenther I OC them or underclock them have them run as 6950's or as 6970's I get the exact same FPS in everything. I'm assuming that's a CPU bottleneck, but I could be wrong. Maybe my cards are faulty but I doubt it. I just installed Windows 4 days ago so I don't know what that issue is. Going to try other drivers as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waco Posted March 17, 2011 Posted March 17, 2011 Card 3 is at 41C Card 2 is at 49C and card 1 (primary) is at 59C. Fan speed is 45% and it's humming in here. I had 2 XFX 5850BEs before this and the first card got hot, but not this hot. Those temps are perfectly acceptable. If you leave them on automatic fan speed what temps do they hit? Do they even break 90 C? If not, and they aren't crazy loud on automatic, I wouldn't even bother. You'll spend a LOT of money getting your watercooling done well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richaemry Posted March 17, 2011 Posted March 17, 2011 Those temps are perfectly acceptable. If you leave them on automatic fan speed what temps do they hit? Do they even break 90 C? If not, and they aren't crazy loud on automatic, I wouldn't even bother. You'll spend a LOT of money getting your watercooling done well. They get so hot I blue screen. Don't know exactly how hot, but it's at least 90. I have MSI afterburner with user defined auto fan control running, I went to regular CCC fan control and they went up 10 degrees in a minute. Put user defined back on and in 30 seconds I'm back below 60C Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richaemry Posted March 17, 2011 Posted March 17, 2011 http://www.frozencpu.com/products/12368/ex-wat-164/Ek_H30_Supreme_HF_360_Advanced_Liquid_Cooling_Kit_EK-KIT_H3O_-_Supreme_HF_360.html#blank Some people have been recommending this kit with these blocks http://www.frozencpu.com/products/12576/ex-blc-875/EK_Radeon_HD_6970_VGA_Liquid_Cooling_Block_-_Acetal_EK-FC6970-Acetal.html and this bridge connector http://www.frozencpu.com/products/10972/ex-blc-759/EK_FC_Bridge_Triple_Serial_-_SLI_Connection_EK-FC_Bridge_Triple_Serial.html I'm willing to drop the cash to do this. You only die twice eh? I just can't drop another 2k into cooling LOL. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richaemry Posted March 17, 2011 Posted March 17, 2011 Is nonconductive coolant really non conductive? I don't want this stuff to break if it leaks. Once again sorry about all the posts, I'm just really excited! And I don't know anyone else who does this kind of insanity to the degree I do, so thanks for letting me pick y'alls collective brain! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
El_Capitan Posted March 17, 2011 Posted March 17, 2011 You can argue about Distilled Water and coolants all you want, but I did my research, and am willing to pay a little extra for the PrimoChill PC Pure. Never had any gunk or issues yet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boinker Posted March 17, 2011 Posted March 17, 2011 Speedwaynative Quoted. "Sidewinder Computers - Prob my fav, but I am biased as he is local But still a great site!" My opinion, Go to these people. One stop shop there and they have plenty to choose from. Looks like you are looking to spend some bills on that WC set. Im getting rid of mine. speaking of which. If your going to go with a VGA cooler do not whatever you do loose the Stock HSF. you will need it when you wish to git rid of it. Like El Capitan said It is best if you find a passive ram and mostfet cooling system that goes with a standard Water block (WB) this way they can move from system to system and you are not JUST stuck with them. If I were you I would get my feet wet Before I dived in. Get you either a kit from XSPC EK or Swiftech (failtech IMHO) To cool just the CPU. This way you get a feel for how everything works before you make the plunge. IMHO. If you can try to Stay away from swiftech. The owner of that company does not stand behind anything he puts out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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