Now how do I cool this monster?

I have a EVGA 680I SLI LT motherboard and the MCP fan is driving me nuts. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I can really install any waterblock on that sink to replace the fan. (pictures below).





I currently have an Eheim 1048, 7/16" tubing everywhere, a MCR220-QP with two fans on it, a 5 1/4" HDPE reservoir, and a Fuzion block on a Q6600.

I can't move the 8800 GTX down to the other PCI-E slot as it would then hit my pump.

I know that I could buy a block for the 8800GTX which might make more room for a block on the Southbridge, but I don't think that my two fan radiator would be able to handle the CPU, video card, and chipset.

I guess I could purchase a different pump which might allow me to move the video card down into another PCI-E slot and then purchase the chipset cooler, but I'm leary of buying a pump that will add a lot of heat to the water or be much louder than my Eheim.

Another option would to buy one of the 1/4" chipset blocks that has elbows on it and then put in some T fittings that will drop down to 1/4" tubing for that block.

I could also buy some other motherboard entirely, like the full evga 680I which only has the one fan and the heatpipe connecting northbridge to southbridge.

I don't think I've even got room to squeeze a Thermaltake Spirit II in there instead of that stock fan.

Opinions or ideas?

Thanks!

Steve

How about this?

Option 1 Link

Option 2 Link

If you put a waterblock on that 8800, you should be able to get some sort of block on that

Rysjimmy1994 said:

If you put a waterblock on that 8800, you should be able to get some sort of block on that

Click to expand...

I don't think I'd be able to cool the 8800, a chipset, and the CPU. After more looking, it appears that the PCB of the GTX lays directly over the fan, so even with a waterblock on it, I think pretty much all waterblocks are too tall.

I had a similar problem and the Thermalright HR-05 SLI was my solution. It does an amazing job and I am running it passively. The IFX wasn't out when I got mine though but it just looks like an upgraded version of the SLI.

Im sure you can find a block that would work... something like this http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=241&products_id=21849

Rysjimmy1994 said:

Im sure you can find a block that would work... something like this http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=241&products_id=21849

Click to expand...

I might just do that. For the time being, I did order a HR-05 IFX. Hopefully it will clear the big shroud around my evga 8800GTX cooler?

I'd just go with a TR HR-05 SLI

No need to watercool a SB, and the TR will perform extremely well, even passively.

Clockwork_Apple said:

I'd just go with a TR HR-05 SLI

No need to watercool a SB, and the TR will perform extremely well, even passively.

Click to expand...

It 's weird, because of all of the reviews that I had read about this board said that the Northbridge fan was the loud one. I'm sure that the Southbridge is the loud one on my computer, since I temporarily unplugged the Northbridge and I figured out which fan was the loud one. (also dropping the MCP fan speed in Nvidia Control Panel confirmed this)

Are the temp readings in Everest to be trusted? It says that my MCP temp is 136 F (58 C) with the fan speed at 100%. If I use the Nvidia Control Panel and drop the MCP Fan down to 10% or so, the MCP temp goes up to around 165 F.

Has anyone used the EK-NF4 rev1.1 on a Southbridge and squeezed it underneath the PCB of a video card?

Steve

Good news and bad news. I got the HR-05 IFX SLI but it doesn't fit on the EVGA 680i LT board. The good news is that I got it to fit by not using the included hardware.

The upper bolt is right where the video card sits. Even if I were to cut the bolt down, there still wouldn't be enough clearance. So I looped a cable tie from the back of the motherboard, through the bracket, and then back under the motherboard. Had to angle to the heatsink a bit to get it to fit, but it's in there. idle temps on the MCP are now around 100 F instead of 136 F. Temp on the video card is a bit higher, since I think it must be sucking some heat off of the heatsink. Oh well. Picture below:

very nice