Cooling an ASUS Ares III

I have a problem I was hoping you guys here could help me with.

A few months ago I bought an Asus R9 295x2, ran it for a few months, it started artifacting. I RMA'd the card and an ASUS rep emailed me saying they couldn't give me the exact card I had, but they offered me an ARES III as my card was shot. I readily agreed to the upgrade, but it leaves me in a lurch. I wasn't ready to watercool just yet. I have the wrong case for it and right now I can't afford to change things up enough to do this right.

My question to you guys, my computer is in a Cosmos 2, I understand I can manage a 240mm radiator on the top of it. Can I skip watercooling the CPU, leave it air cooled for the moment, and set up a loop with just the one GPU attached? If yes, any suggestions? I've been looking hard at some of the XSPC setups, but I'm not nearly educated enough on the topic just yet to make decisions.

Any help you guys can offer would be appreciated!

Kits are decent,

Here is a few options

http://www.performance-pcs.com/ek-xres-140-d5-vario-incl-pump.html

http://www.performance-pcs.com/hot-coolgate-ultimate-performance-copper-tube-240mm-radiator.html

This particular rad will do well with medium and low speed fans

Just some tubing and fittings and you are set

I recommend PT Nuke w/distilled water

aaander said:

I have a problem I was hoping you guys here could help me with.

A few months ago I bought an Asus R9 295x2, ran it for a few months, it started artifacting. I RMA'd the card and an ASUS rep emailed me saying they couldn't give me the exact card I had, but they offered me an ARES III as my card was shot. I readily agreed to the upgrade, but it leaves me in a lurch. I wasn't ready to watercool just yet. I have the wrong case for it and right now I can't afford to change things up enough to do this right.

My question to you guys, my computer is in a Cosmos 2, I understand I can manage a 240mm radiator on the top of it. Can I skip watercooling the CPU, leave it air cooled for the moment, and set up a loop with just the one GPU attached? If yes, any suggestions? I've been looking hard at some of the XSPC setups, but I'm not nearly educated enough on the topic just yet to make decisions.

Any help you guys can offer would be appreciated!

Click to expand...

You can water cool the GPU and never watercool the CPU if you like. That is totally up to you. That card is a monster and bit harder to cool. I would recommend thick dualpass 360mm radiator, something with average to high FPI like Blackice GTX. Now higher FPI radiator (FPI = Fins Per Inch ) will be louder because it generates more air turbulence but with good fans it will effectively cool much better.
You could probably make due with smaller or lower FPI radiator but I would worry about the fluid temp putting excessive stress on the pump.
As for the XSPC. They are quite unknown brand for me and someone else can likely answer better about them.

One thing to consider when choosing a pump is that with only one radiator and good 450W-500W of heatload that card puts out, your fluid temperature will be high. I think you could easily break the 50c mark depending what kind of ambient temperatures you have around the computer. Something like D5 would be my recommendation for a pump. It is rated for 60c fluid temperatures.

The cosmos I I case..... I have one sitting at home can handle, depending on your motherboard and should you choose to loose your top 5 1/2" external drive a slim 360 rad with push pull fans or a medium low fpi 360 rad with a push or possibly a pull fan configuration up top as well you can drop in a 240 up to about 60 mm thick with a push pull or possibly an 80 mm thick rad in the bottom by removing the lower drive bays.

Thats a fantastic upgrade as only a 1000 of them were made worldwide, if I recall correctly. Pretty powerful piece of hardware you got there.

If budget permits, you could get a pretty good loop in your case for your CPU + GPU(s) (Dual GPU) if you'd like. If you do choose to go down this path, I would advise on reading our water cooling stickies and we'll assist you on your way. Knowing its a nice premium piece of hardware, I wouldn't skimp on anything.

Let us know on your final decision.

First off, thanks to everyone who replied!

I spent a lot of time last night and today reading and trying to educate myself some, also following up and reading about your suggestions. Witchdoctor's suggested rad would fit in my case, and would likely be ok, I hate doing things in half steps. What I'd like is to buy things I will definitely use in the rebuild I do this summer to do the water cooling correctly. After Basenut suggested I could manage some water cooling in this case I took out the tape measure, got some numbers and started agonizing over dimensions. I'm not sure that's the way to go either.

After a bunch of pondering, this is my thought: my case has a little compartment on the top of it with a grill u can remove, likely meant to support external fans or whatever. I'll get the Blackice GTX 360 and try to secure it down in this channel, it'll hang out past the end of the case, but I don't mind "Frankenstein'ing" my computer for now till I can do it up correctly. I can have two and a half fans under it, and hopefully I can secure fans to the top of it as well for a push pull. The upside is that my case has water inlet holes an inch or so under where the rad would hang over the case. The reason I liked the idea of XSPC was the dual bay pump/res they offered. After reading the watercooling stickys and reading about pumps, also reading reviews from skineelabs, I think I want one of these:

www.xs-pc.com/water-pumps/d5-dual-bay-reservoirpump-combo
www.xs-pc.com/water-pumps/twin-d5-dual-bay-reservoirpump-combo

One has dual redundant pumps, but can warp if kept at 60 too long, the other can go over but only has one pump. Any thoughts there? I've read reviews comparing it's flow rates to it's competitors, making it sound like a good choice.

http://forums.evga.com/Review-XSPC-D5-Dual-Bay-Reservoir-Combo-MartinsLiquidLabsorg-m1810617.aspx

I still think I only want the VGA in the loop till I get a chance to start over in a new case. Thinking this through, I had questions about the fans, it makes sense to me that in a push / pull setup you'd be drawing cool air through the rad, not the hot air from the PC right? So how much will this hurt my CPU temps? Right now my I7 usually sits at 43 - 50 depending on what I'm doing ( I run speccy all the time on my second screen).

So other than that, I need some distilled water... about how much? Some PT nuke to keep it clean. I need to decide on hoses and fittings, and I'm good to go?

Oh! Fans, I'll need better fans for the push pull! Suggestions there?

Don't buy anything yet. Just make a list and we'll edit it to your liking.

First of, you won't run into 60c water temps. That will take some time with high ambient temps for that to get that high but it is good to know the limits. Tubing has similar limits.

By your comments, I am going to assume you're taking the dive into water cooling. Just don't start purchasing as of yet. There are many options out there.

First, you need to tell us if you're going to go with a nice quiet build or noise won't matter but in the end, who would want to spend that cash on water cooling only to have a noisy rig that you get similar to air cooling.

Let us know if you're looking to replace the case in the near future because if you are, I would hold off on buying anything. If you bought a roomier case, why spend the money on small rads when you could have gotten bigger ones with a newer case.

I still believe you could get away with this case by having a 240 on the bottom section and a 360 up top with the fans positioned on the upper portion of the case in push at low FPI for a quieter build and enough to cool your CPU and dual GPU. Having a dual bay res combo pump will help since it can be tight working with the Cosmos II.

Again, it all depends if you have a tight budget whether you can grab some premium radiator fans and choice of fittings.

Here's a simple water cooling run down video that I like to post to newcomers.

Again, thanks for the help.

I'm definitely going to take the leap into water cooling, I want this video card in my machine. Also, a factor is that we're playing musical video cards in my house right now, one of my kids gave me back one of my old 6990's as my machine wont run the 4870 in the parts box and his will. He says he doesn't mind and doesn't notice a huge difference, but I want him to have his card back.

In as far as noise goes, not an issue. I live where it's always hot, so box and ceiling fans are always running. In fact, I find I CANT sleep without a fan in the background.

The only reason I would replace this case is if it didn't work out for the water cooling project we're doing. What reading I've done says this is a horrible case for water cooling, and that Coolermaster went back and made the Cosmos SE for people who need the room for radiators. I don't mind the idea of replacing it, I've even seen some cases that make me relish the idea of it, but I need my computer to work for at least half the week right now. I can't afford real downtime till the summer. That also allows me to better plan the money.

I spent some time looking at radiator dimensions and the spacing of things in my case, perhaps there are some 360's that can fit by breaking the case done to it's bones and shoehorning it in, but I didn't see them. Besides, in what I've read so far, that Blackice radiator is excellent, until I hear differently from one someone I'm kinda hooked to the idea of it. In as far as using this case still, I can see fitting two 240's, I can see fitting the GTX 280 on top, but not the 360.

I suppose what it boils down to is the card. What will it take to cool the video card? Asus says the card is overclocked, but if you really look, they over clocked it 12mhz, from 1018 to 1030MHz, and the memory clock is the same. So minor overclock. Still it's the fastest of the current crop of cards, I can't see skimping on it's cooler. Asus themselves recommended this:

http://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-kit-l360.html

I assume because they (EK) made the custom full card cooler. So is Asus insinuating a 360 will cool the card and the CPU? If so then a 280 and a 240 would be fine, one for each?

Anyways, I'm rambling. I watched the video and did the beginners reading btw

A simple google search of "Cosmos 2 water cooling", will bring you up images like these.

Looks like you can place the fans up top. Make sure you can place 3 25mm fans for a 360mm rad.



A Alphacool ST45 (45mm), ST60 (60mm) or even a "Monsta" (80mm) radiater the bottom since it has threaded ports on the front, back and bottom of the radiator to better assist you in routing the loop.



And possibly a ST30 up top since that is the thinnest radiator from their line, AFAIK and most seem to be using a thin radiator up there for MB clearance.



Source

I knew I could fit smaller radiators into this case, but I was under the impression I needed a 360 for this card. From what I'm reading you're suggesting two separate loops, one for the VGA and one for the CPU?

You're right about the clearance up top:



The space between that fan and the motherboard is less than an inch. I could fit the ST 30 you suggested with fans over the top of it and put the case back together properly. It wouldn't be push pull, but it would fit.

Down below I have less room than that image as I'm using an AX1500i:



However, I can still fit that Monsta you referenced earlier. I just need some room for the power wires beyond the end of the PSU.

Are you saying this will be enough for the machine so long as I don't heavily overclock the gpu?

After reading more I see the ST30 360mm. I can fit it if I lower / remove the optical drive.

aaander said:

I knew I could fit smaller radiators into this case, but I was under the impression I needed a 360 for this card. From what I'm reading you're suggesting two separate loops, one for the VGA and one for the CPU?

Click to expand...

All one whole loop. No point in two loops.

aaander said:

However, I can still fit that Monsta you referenced earlier. I just need some room for the power wires beyond the end of the PSU.

Are you saying this will be enough for the machine so long as I don't heavily overclock the gpu?

Click to expand...

Should be more than enough since you're making it up with a thicker bottom rad. You should be able to OC and not have a screaming rig.

aaander said:

After reading more I see the ST30 360mm. I can fit it if I lower / remove the optical drive.

Click to expand...

Yes, I forgot to add in most cases, the top bay gets blocked by the radiator.

Ok, so at the moment we're at:

Alphacool ST30 360
Alphacool Monsta 240
XSPC D5 dual bay reservoir v2
a bottle of PT nuke

I need a CPU head, copper. EK supremacy EVO makes a head for my CPU (LGA 2011), or is there a better option?

I need fittings, hoses, and to get an idea how much more expensive compression fittings are than clamps.

Do the fittings need to be copper as well?

I assume someone makes angled fittings meant to lead out of your devices, to help avoid binding?

I need to decide on ID/OD for my hoses, color, and quality. Anything to know there?

aaander said:

Ok, so at the moment we're at:

Alphacool ST30 360
Alphacool Monsta 240
XSPC D5 dual bay reservoir v2
a bottle of PT nuke

Click to expand...

Good choice on ST30 and Monsta. Now you need some nice fans with that. I would look at the premium priced Noiseblockers B12 eLoops if you want silent fans that push some good air. Only buy for push as you don't need for push.

I would also give you options to another very nice dual bay reservoir. The Monsoon Series Two is a great reservoir with the choice of color trimmed to the res, a DDC or D5 pump, built in LEDs and 2 silver bullets for your biocide. Unfortunately it can only handle one pump instead of two for redundancy.

aaander said:

I need a CPU head, copper. EK supremacy EVO makes a head for my CPU (LGA 2011), or is there a better option?

Click to expand...

More affordable options would be the Swiftech XL and XPSC Raystorm. They both are top performers. With the Swiftech XL, you can get a custom plate for your themed build if you choose too.

aaander said:

I need fittings, hoses, and to get an idea how much more expensive compression fittings are than clamps.

Click to expand...

Fitting is up to you. Cheaper but uglier are barbs and the prettier more expensive are compression fittings. I use Bitspower. Tubing is a no brainer when going with PrimoChill Advanced LRT with the choice of your color. No color fluid as it will be distilled water with a silver kill coil or dead water in fluid form.

aaander said:

Do the fittings need to be copper as well?

Click to expand...

The fittings will be within spec if you go with a reputed water cooling company and not some knock off no name.

aaander said:

I assume someone makes angled fittings meant to lead out of your devices, to help avoid binding?

Click to expand...

You will need some angle fittings, that is for sure. You need to make a blueprint on how you want your routing to be. We always say, the shortest and simplest route possible, is the best way.

aaander said:

I need to decide on ID/OD for my hoses, color, and quality. Anything to know there?

Click to expand...

I am not familiar with the smaller sizes but use the thickest tubing (1/2"ID x 3/4"OD) since I have room for it (900D) but in your case, I would look at other builds and see which looks easiest to route with.


I linked you to most of the water cooling components. Performance-PCS is a water cooling shop that must of us use for our beloved hobby. Careful as the water cooling bug might bite as it is contagious. Just giving you a warning.

I'm starting to tally up pricing, especially once the smaller items start adding up. I think I'm going to have to go with my first idea of water cooling the GPU now, and coming back to the CPU. Though now I have a path to follow for it, so it won't be bad.

That said, I'm still going to get the ST 30 for the top case radiator
I found a version of the Monsoon Series Two with adjustable LED colors, so I like that. It is asking me for a choice of pump, I'm assuming D5, but as they all seem to cost the same amount of money I thought I'd list them:

Swiftech MCP655-B ($89.95)
Swiftech MCP655 Variable Speed ($94.99)
Swiftech MCP655-PWM ($94.99)
Alpahcool VPP Single Edition ($89.95)
Alpahcool VPP Single Edition-PWM ($94.99)
XSPC D5 Vario ($89.99)
Alphacool TPP644 ($89.99)

In as far as compression fittings vs barbs go, I know in other kinds of mechanics, car and paintball, compression fittings are far less prone to failure, and since failure is leaking water on my PC, I think we'll go with fittings.

The reason I asked about the copper directional fittings, I remember in the newbie reading it talked about making sure your loop was consistent using the same metals, that way you avoid corrosion. The ST-30 is full copper construction, so....

I've worked out the triangle I can form to run hoses around my CPU cooler based on the inlet locations on my VGA. I prefer the idea of the thicker water lines, I assume I can form a gradual "S" with it over 15 or so inches? I'm making a few assumptions here. Based on the fact both water channels on the VGA are threaded I can have fittings in on one side and out on the other side of it, and that a 90 degree fitting can be aimed at a 45 degree angle to the line of the card and still hold water integrity.


The fans you recommended came in differing RPM's. The reading I did said the ST-30 was outstanding with low to mid speed fans, so then Noiseblocker NB-eLoop B12-P 120mm x 25mm Ultra Silent Bionic Blade PWM Fan - 800-2000 RPM or the 400-1500 RPM?

OK, tomorrow i'll take a long look at fittings and hopefully make a final parts list, let you look it over, then get it ordered!!

Go with the Swiftech MCP655-PWM or the Swiftech MCP655 Variable Speed. (If you won't have more than 1 PWM header on the MB to control the pump and fans separately, you could still go PWM for the pump and non-PWM fans for voltage control via fan controller.) The variable speed has a small dial in the back that ranges from 1 being the weakest flow to 5 being full bore. In most cases, folks use setting 3 or 4, depending how long and restrictive the loop is. An efficient loop runs in the range of 1-1.5 GPM.

The metals that are used now are ok as long as aluminum isn't mixed or it can and will be disastrous.

As for the fans its up to you on which ones you're interested in. The lower your RPMs the more silent the rig will be. I am not sure which ones I would pick since I like having extra room to ramp them up but I usually don't go above 1200 RPM. I would personally go with the 400-1500 RPM. Also, since they are PWM, I would look for a PWM Splitter.

For the time being, you could go from the Reservoir/pump (straight fitting) to the GPU's nearest thread with either a 60 or 90 degree, than out to the rad and than rad back to reservoir. The side I am talking about is in the image below.

OK, looking at fittings:

2x Bitspower Matte Black Triple Rotary 90 Degree Compression. http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/bibpmabltrro.html I assume without rotary you get the angle where the fitting snugs up?

2x Bitspower Matte Black 1/2in ID - 3/4in OD Rotary 45 Degree Compression Fitting http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/bimabl3id1od2.html

2x Bitspower Matte Black Rotary Compression Fitting http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/bimablrocofi.html

When it comes to purchase time, I'll look for these fittings on the Performance PCS site, try to get everything from the same vendor.

You mentioned PWM heads, my motherboard (EVGA X79 Dark) has 6 PWM heads, and my case has a basic fan controller. Hopefully I'll be ok in that regard.

So, parts list:
The above fittings
Monsoon Series Two Premium D5 / MCP655 Dual Bay Reservoir w/ Quick Change LED Control - Matte Black w/ Black Trim
Swiftech MCP655-PWM
ST-30 360mm
a bottle of PT nuke
PrimoFlex Advanced LRT 10ft Tubing - 1/2in. ID X 3/4in. OD - Bloodshed Red
a couple gallons of distilled water
3x Noiseblocker NB-eLoop B12-P 120mm x 25mm Ultra Silent Bionic Blade PWM Fan - 800-2000 RPM

The loop flows Pump-->VGA (inside inlet)-->radiator-->pump

When I return to do the CPU:
redo water and PT Nuke
2 more 45 degree fittings
the monsta and 4 fans
more hose
CPU head
probably 2 45 degree fittings for it


Does anyone sell that PSU cycle plug? The part of my brain that thinks in terms of safety won't let me be comfortable sticking a paper clip into a power socket, no matter what I know of how it works.

Two more questions, when I get the second batch of stuff and do the CPU, what's the flow order then? And, let's say in a year I manage to ebay another of these cards, will the cooling system be able to handle 2 VGA's and a CPU?

Thanks a ton for the help, if I had done this based on reading and minimal input I'd have missed small details that would have made the installation a nightmare. (Still might be a nightmare, not ruling that out just yet)

aaander said:

OK, looking at fittings:

2x Bitspower Matte Black Triple Rotary 90 Degree Compression. http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/bibpmabltrro.html I assume without rotary you get the angle where the fitting snugs up?

2x Bitspower Matte Black 1/2in ID - 3/4in OD Rotary 45 Degree Compression Fitting http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/bimabl3id1od2.html

2x Bitspower Matte Black Rotary Compression Fitting http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/bimablrocofi.html

When it comes to purchase time, I'll look for these fittings on the Performance PCS site, try to get everything from the same vendor.

Click to expand...

Yup, rotary gives you the extra elbow room to turn the fitting without wrecking the threads once its already tightened for positioning for your routes. The 90 degree fittings I would use are these but that's just personal preference. The ones you chose are fine but just showing you two different types of fittings with the same angle. I use the same size fittings but in silver while now I wish they were in black. lol I would also buy extra's just in case or you could go with what you have and than order if needed down the road.

aaander said:

So, parts list:
The above fittings
Monsoon Series Two Premium D5 / MCP655 Dual Bay Reservoir w/ Quick Change LED Control - Matte Black w/ Black Trim
Swiftech MCP655-PWM
ST-30 360mm
a bottle of PT nuke
PrimoFlex Advanced LRT 10ft Tubing - 1/2in. ID X 3/4in. OD - Bloodshed Red
a couple gallons of distilled water
3x Noiseblocker NB-eLoop B12-P 120mm x 25mm Ultra Silent Bionic Blade PWM Fan - 800-2000 RPM

You mentioned PWM heads, my motherboard (EVGA X79 Dark) has 6 PWM heads, and my case has a basic fan controller. Hopefully I'll be ok in that regard.

Click to expand...

For the PWM headers, I would be very careful. My X99 Classified came with 2 CPU PWM headers. The main one works just fine on my pumps in PWM but the second that controls my PWM fans doesn't. My fans are constantly running at full speed. I am not sure why but have heard the same thing from others. It could possibly be that splitting the PWM signal so many times for 9 fans on 2 PWM splitters could be weakening the PWM signal or its not intended to be PWM even though its advertised so. I can't say for sure but I would either go PWM on either the Pump or Fans and go voltage regulated on the other to be sure. I would also give a call to EVGA's 24/7 tech support and ask them. Shouldn't take too long on that.

aaander said:

The loop flows Pump-->VGA (inside inlet)-->radiator-->pump

When I return to do the CPU:
redo water and PT Nuke
2 more 45 degree fittings
the monsta and 4 fans
more hose
CPU head
probably 2 45 degree fittings for it

Click to expand...

aaander said:

Does anyone sell that PSU cycle plug? The part of my brain that thinks in terms of safety won't let me be comfortable sticking a paper clip into a power socket, no matter what I know of how it works.

Click to expand...

I am not an electrician nor confident enough to be one so no worries as I was in the same boat. This will take care of your issues. Just make sure your core components aren't plugged in during your 24hr leak test phase.

aaander said:

Two more questions, when I get the second batch of stuff and do the CPU, what's the flow order then? And, let's say in a year I manage to ebay another of these cards, will the cooling system be able to handle 2 VGA's and a CPU?

Click to expand...

Just continue and do this.... Res/Pump ---> Bottom rad (Monsta) ---> GPU ---> CPU ---> Top 360 Rad ---> Res/Pump. Your loop will reach an equilibrium say after 30 mins of full load. In other words, it will even out.

If you purchased another GPU (Aries III), remember that two things, only 1000 were made so its a very, very rare GPU to find and secondly, its a dual GPU. You will need at least another 360mm rad to cool another one of those GPU's at minimum, imho.

I guess, if you did find one, I am also guessing that's when you'll be case buying as well.

aaander said:

Thanks a ton for the help, if I had done this based on reading and minimal input I'd have missed small details that would have made the installation a nightmare. (Still might be a nightmare, not ruling that out just yet)

Click to expand...

Its a fun and addicting hobby. Take your time and do it the right way, the first time around. Its a great accomplishment and the end result is well worth it.

Warning!! Custom water cooling can be Very dangerous to your wallet

gkline said:

Warning!! Custom water cooling can be Very dangerous to your wallet

Click to expand...

This!