Koolance and 8800GT Problem

Hi All,

I recently decided to try watercooling and purchased a Koolance Exos2 w/the CPU-305-V10 cooler for my Q6600 and the VID-278 for my new BFG 8800 GT OC2. I also picked up the Asus Maximus Formula SE w/the built-in NB/SB cooling block.

Everything is working properly with one major exception: I can't get the system to boot with the GPU block on the vid card. The Asus MB just gives me the same beep codes as when there's no video card installed at all.

The BFG card works perfectly if I put the stock heatsink/fan back on and I've spoken w/BFG support who says there's no reason the card can't be watercooled and have no idea as to what the problem may be.

Just to be sure, I've tried reattaching the fan connector while the block is installed but that hasn't helped. I've also tried supporting the block/card while booting to see if the weight was affecting the PCI-E connection, which also didn't help. When I've removed the GPU block it looks as though it's made a nice solid connection to the GPU and I can see the shape of the RAM and the other chips on the thermal strips.

I emailed Koolance support on the off chance that they could help but haven't received any response. At this point I'm really at a loss as to what the cuase is or what to try next, and would really appreciate any suggestions you folks may have!

If it's at all helpful, here's the cooling layout:
Exos2 3/8" to CPU block.
CPU block out to splitter: 3/8" to NB/SB and 1/4" to GPU block.
NB/SB out and GPU out merged back to 3/8" out to Exos2.

Thanks,
Tim

You've only got so many possibilities. Somehow the waterblock is grounding out the card or bowing the card too much. If your GPU and RAM seems to be making good contact, then temps shouldn't be an issue. I'm at a loss as to what else it could be.

Have you tried using a different card BIOS? There are plenty available and really easy to do.

Keep the stock HS, boot, flash the card, boot to make sure that card does work after the flash, attach the water block and then try again.

Not the most elegant solution (especially after voigts's) but its worth a try.

JM

theres no chance its the video card bios dont waste your time and warranty on that. with a koolance system like that it is actually possable that your video card is over heating.

I bet something on your block is shorting out the card. Check the mounting points (screws) see if they are making contact with anything.

Thanks for the replies.

voigts & Jas, I put a voltage meter on the block and sure enough, there was current. In the cooler's packaging there were screws w/rubber washers, which I would have used initially had the instructions not said "Koolance VID coolers are mounted using the original video card's heat sink spring-screws" (that's verbatim).

Anyway, I swapped those screws and washers and it booted right up!

My excitement didn't last long though because as soon as I installed the nvidia drivers the system hung. I did the usual uninstall, reinstall, try different versions, and then also tried it on a Vista install I have on the same box, but got the same result.

I can only assume that the card got hosed because of the electrical problem and may now be a $325 paperweight. Since my warranty was voided as soon as I removed the stock heatsink/fan anyway, maybe I'll try to re-flash the bios & see what happens.

You guys did nail my original problem though and for that "you rock!"

Thanks for the help,
Tim

TimT said:

Thanks for the replies.

voigts & Jas, I put a voltage meter on the block and sure enough, there was current. In the cooler's packaging there were screws w/rubber washers, which I would have used initially had the instructions not said "Koolance VID coolers are mounted using the original video card's heat sink spring-screws" (that's verbatim).

Anyway, I swapped those screws and washers and it booted right up!

My excitement didn't last long though because as soon as I installed the nvidia drivers the system hung. I did the usual uninstall, reinstall, try different versions, and then also tried it on a Vista install I have on the same box, but got the same result.

I can only assume that the card got hosed because of the electrical problem and may now be a $325 paperweight. Since my warranty was voided as soon as I removed the stock heatsink/fan anyway, maybe I'll try to re-flash the bios & see what happens.

You guys did nail my original problem though and for that "you rock!"

Thanks for the help,
Tim

Click to expand...

Well, your card may not be hosed. If you are able to boot into Windows, the card is working, albiet using a generic vga driver. The Nvidia driver is going to initialize the DirectX compnents, and kick in the 3d rendering. which is probably what made your system crap out.

I would clean your drivers off your system, including directx, and reinstall.

Use something like driver cleaner pro, or similar prog to clean the drivers off. Simply uninstalling them can leave remenants of the driver, and if you have a corrupted driver, it will persists across the installs.

One last thing, what PSU do you have?

Hi Jas,

It's an OCZ 850W PSU, so the power should be sufficient.

After trying the driver cleaner pro and still getting the same result I put the stock hs/fan back on & the card again works perfectly, and takes the new drivers just fine.

So there's still something funky w/the Koolance block. I'm beginning to be very disapointed in the Koolance purchase, particularly since their tech support still hasn't responded to my request.

I do still want to get it working though since I spent $100 on the block and really don't want to have to drain the system to install a different one. I'm going to call them on Monday and see if I can get someone to help.

Thanks,
Tim

Koolance is definately not know for their outstanding cooling performance. It is entirely possible that their GPU block design actually performs worse than the stock heatsink and is allowing your card to overheat. I also see that you are using a spitter with 3/8 on one side and 1/4 on the other. Almost all of your water is going to flow through the 3/8 side and leave the 1/4 side starved for flow. This makes me almost certain your card is overheating.

ua i would put the koolence block on and start it up and feel the card, if its really warm or even hot your getting no flow.

Double check your Koolance VID-278 and make sure it is actually contacting the gpu properly. When i first installed the VID-280 on my evga 8800gts there was only a pea sized area that was contacting the GPU. I had to file the 4 brass posts around the GPU slightly so the heatsink would actually contact the GPU properly.

Fortunately I noticed this before I installed the card.

Thanks for the feedback.

When I've removed the block it has had thermal paste from the gpu transferred to it, so it seems it's making good contact. Also, I can see the imprint of the ram and other chips on the thermal pads, so those seem ok as well.

When I first hooked everything up I was worried about the 3/8" to 1/4" split, but was surprised to see the fluid moving through the 1/4" branch quite well. I'll still see the occasional pinhead-sized air bubble go through the tubes and I can see it fly through the 1/4" branch.

What I don't understand is that if it's overheating, why would the card work w/standard VGA drivers but then hang when the nvidia drivers load? I had it running for quite a while w/the standard drivers, which I would think would give it ample time to overheat even though I wasn't doing anything GPU intensive.

One last question... Since the intake, CPU, and NB/SB blocks are 3/8" and the GPU is 1/4", what would you all do about splitting them for the best circulation?

Thanks again,
Tim

This is a tough one to diagnose.

Lets make sure we have thre symptoms correct. The card will boot up fine with Generic VGA drivers with the Koolance block. However, installing the Nvidia drivers causes a crash with the Koolance block on, but NOT with the stock HS.

You said you have flow going through the 1/4", the question is, how much, do you have air trapped in the GPU block?

Here's what I would do, run everything in series, instead of using a splitter, just use A 3/8 to 1/4 adapter. Go, CPU -> GPU -> NB in series.

Hi Jas,

Yes, that is an accurate descritpion of the problem.

I just got off the phone w/Koolance and they've apparently received similar problem reports from some other customers, although their solution was to use the Koolance washers/mounting screws, which only fixed part of my problem. Their techs are trying to reproduce the problem & I'll post an update when they get back to me.

Regarding running in series, I'm just curious how much of a loss of cooling effeciency on the CPU do you think will result from taking the 3/8 CPU output to 1/4, effectively cutting its flow by 1/3? I'm a n00b at water cooling, so I don't really know what to expect, but I know that when everything is working I'd like to try & take my Q6600 up to at least 3.4GHz.

Thanks,
Tim

It's hard to say how much if any flow loss you will get. The best thing you could do it to try and position the 3/8 to 1/4 adapters right before the cpu block.

If you want my Honest opinion, you should send that koolance block back, get a refund and buy a better block with 3/8" barbs.

At this point I'd hate for this block to screw up your Graphics card.

Jas & All,

Thought I'd post an update in case anybody cares about the Koolance issue.

First off, let me clarify that getting the block with 1/4" connection was my mistake. You can actually put any size nozzle on it.

Koolance did follow up and indicated they couldn't reproduce my problem & asked for photos and the meter readings. I reassembled everything to take pics and note the voltages & sent it to them Wednesday, but haven't heard back yet.

I actually told them I just want to return it and I decided to try the BlastFlo Siberian instead. In the test bit-tech did comparing it to the DD-8800GTX it kept things about 8ºC cooler under load & OC'd, so hopefully it will perform well. Plus, it's modular and uses custom cooling plates for specific cards, so I can just get a new plate whenever I get a new card.

The only downside was there are no US distributors, so I had to order from the UK. Shipping wasn't too bad though.

When I get the new cooler I'll rerun everything in series & let folks know how the BlastFlo works out.

Thanks again to all for the guidance & assistance,
Tim

Good to hear, I hope it works out for you!

Thanks for the update. No one around here recommend Koolance products for a variety of reasons, some of which you found out.

What is a BlastFlo Siberian? I can't even get google to come up with anything on that. Is there a reason you don't just go with a good solid block like a Swiftech MCW60?

Hi voigts,

You couldn't Google it because I dropped the "w" in BlastFlow. Here's the main link: http://www.blastflow.com/products and here's the test bit-tech did: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2007/09/01/blastflow_siberian_modular_vga_waterblock/1.

The first part of the decision was based on wanting a full coverage block for two reasons:

1. I don't want ramsinks venting heat into the case and making the fans run louder.
2. As I thought about comments in this thread, I decided that I also don't want to split the loop to feed a ram cooling block as that would have to have some impact on cooling the GPU and/or general flow throughput. (Don't get me wrong - obviously this setup works quite well, I'm just trying to think "optimum scenario".)

Having decided on a full coverage block, I then looked at performance and cost effectiveness. As I mentioned previously, the BlastFlow temps look good compared to a respected DD block for the GTX, and the ability to change cooling plates means I don't have to shell out $100+ when I change to a new card.

So that was my reasoning. Since this is my first WC attempt it is of course all theory - we'll see how the "actual" measures up when the new block is installed!

Thanks,
Tim

I hadn't seen that waterblock before. I would like to see some pics of it when you get it. How much did it cost?