Watercooling PC

Haider · Jul 2, 2016

Hi,

I want to get a water-cooled system (for the noise factor & cooling) my graphics cards and CPU (Intel i5-760 3.6 GHz). I have a Fractal Design Define R4 case so could mount a 120mm radiator & fan in the back case fan slot. I was wondering could this cool a RX-480 & Intel i5-760 3.6 GHz or would 120mm radiator be too small for this?

Thanks
Haider

ATMINSIDE · Jul 2, 2016

Have you read our water cooling stickies?

Haider · Jul 2, 2016

Yes I read the guides but since my CPU is quite old, I'm hoping the CPU will not require much cooling as it's big on nm side compared to newer CPUs - the wires inside are bigger so don't burn so hot when electrons drift along them...The CPU is 45 nm.

ATMINSIDE · Jul 2, 2016

Age means nothing, it's all about how much power it takes.
Did you check the total wattage you'll be cooling?

GTXJackBauer · Jul 3, 2016

Also, there's a good chance you'll be bottlenecking with that CPU.

Haider · Jul 3, 2016

Not really sure how to work that out as the CPU is overclocked. I remember V=IR and P=VI or P=I squared R but don't have the voltage, current or resistance values to plug into the equations...

Haider · Jul 3, 2016

On GTA 5 via HWInfo the CPU is getting hit hard 80-90 per 3 cores, one has still room but not maxed out that is though with my 7950@1075MHz, so getting the RX 480 might change the equation.

Itachiii · Jul 3, 2016

Haider said:
On GTA 5 via HWInfo the CPU is getting hit hard 80-90 per 3 cores, one has still room but not maxed out that is though with my 7950@1075MHz, so getting the RX 480 might change the equation.

As Jack said above, there is a pretty good chance that you bottleneck your system with that CPU. Changing the GPU doesn't mean you'll get the extra performance you want

You might want to look into a new CPU/mobo as well.

Haider · Jul 10, 2016

Itachiii said:
As Jack said above, there is a pretty good chance that you bottleneck your system with that CPU. Changing the GPU doesn't mean you'll get the extra performance you want You might want to look into a new CPU/mobo as well.

From Wikipedia, font of all wisdom % overall performance increase per clock cycle: -
Nehalem->Sandybridge 11.3
Sandybridge->Ivybridge 6.0
Ivybridge->Haswell 3.0
Not so grand total of 20.30%

An extra 20% doesn't sound much to stop bottle-necking?

Seems like Intel have reverted back to type since they finished of AMD with their financial muscle...

Itachiii · Jul 10, 2016

Haider said:
From Wikipedia, font of all wisdom % overall performance increase per clock cycle: -
Nehalem->Sandybridge 11.3
Sandybridge->Ivybridge 6.0
Ivybridge->Haswell 3.0
Not so grand total of 20.30%

An extra 20% doesn't sound much to stop bottle-necking?

Seems like Intel have reverted back to type since they finished of AMD with their financial muscle...

Yea, that's just on paper.I mean, sure, the performance gain since SB is just 20% but when Intel makes a new CPU it doesn't just take an older one and bumps it up by 5%. A lot of things change like, IMC, the lithography, steps, instructions, everything! That's a 6 generations old CPU so by nature, it can't keep up with a brand new GPU.

Haider · Jul 10, 2016

Itachiii said:
Yea, that's just on paper.I mean, sure, the performance gain since SB is just 20% but when Intel makes a new CPU it doesn't just take an older one and bumps it up by 5%. A lot of things change like, IMC, the lithography, steps, instructions, everything! That's a 6 generations old CPU so by nature, it can't keep up with a brand new GPU.

Hmmm I'll have to do it in stages. I can benchmark GTA 5 as is. then update the graphics card RX 480/GTX 1060 then upgrade to Zen/Haswell and benchmark again...I'm sceptical but happy to be proved wrong...

Haider · Jul 11, 2016

I downloaded 3D Mark and ran Firestrike: -
6929 Total
8243 Graphics 37.97, test1 FPS 37.97 test2 33.93
6527 Physics FPS 20.72
Combined 3296 15.33 FPS

I'm trying to understand this: -
1.) does the Physics FPS means that CPU is holding back the GPU from delivering the full 37.97 FPS potential?
2.) I have a reference point, Intel I7-3930K overclocked to 4.2 Ghz, scores 15005 (130% increase) on the 3DMark Firestrike physics test. That's 6 core vs my 4. Apparently it can hit 4.5GHz. Beyond that you move out of the sweet spot - diminishing returns per £ of investment. An i7-4820 is about the same price point and can be reasonable pushed to 4.8GHz. So that would put me in roughly in the same ball-park. So having double+ score does that mean in real-world games it has the potential for 2x performance in the CPU department?

Kenrou · Jul 11, 2016

6700k 4.7ghz for reference :

Itachiii · Jul 11, 2016

Haider said:
I downloaded 3D Mark and ran Firestrike: -
6929 Total
8243 Graphics 37.97, test1 FPS 37.97 test2 33.93
6527 Physics FPS 20.72
Combined 3296 15.33 FPS

I'm trying to understand this: -
1.) does the Physics FPS means that CPU is holding back the GPU from delivering the full 37.97 FPS potential?
2.) I have a reference point, Intel I7-3930K overclocked to 4.2 Ghz, scores 15005 (130% increase) on the 3DMark Firestrike physics test. That's 6 core vs my 4. Apparently it can hit 4.5GHz. Beyond that you move out of the sweet spot - diminishing returns per £ of investment. An i7-4820 is about the same price point and can be reasonable pushed to 4.8GHz. So that would put me in roughly in the same ball-park. So having double+ score does that mean in real-world games it has the potential for 2x performance in the CPU department?

1)The Physics FPS is mostly depending on your CPU so the low score means (as we previously said) that your CPU is bottlenecking your system.

2)Tests work a bit differently than real world gaming. You will definetely get a performance boost but it's not a fixed %

Haider · Jul 11, 2016

Itachiii said:
1)The Physics FPS is mostly depending on your CPU so the low score means (as we previously said) that your CPU is bottlenecking your system.

2)Tests work a bit differently than real world gaming. You will definetely get a performance boost but it's not a fixed %

That's what I'm thinking it's down to the software and the resources that needs. Looking at RX 480 Firestrike scores that's less than double my current card approx about 50%. Have to have a look at what my GTA 5 GPU utilisation is like. If that is maxed out sustained the GPU is the bottleneck - I know the the CPU still has between 10-20% fat in there...

Itachiii · Jul 11, 2016

Haider said:
That's what I'm thinking it's down to the software and the resources that needs. Looking at RX 480 Firestrike scores that's less than double my current card approx about 50%. Have to have a look at what my GTA 5 GPU utilisation is like. If that is maxed out sustained the GPU is the bottleneck - I know the the CPU still has between 10-20% fat in there...

Generally, GTA 5 is a cpu intensive game. Bottom line is I would just upgrade that CPU/mobo because they are super old. I don't think it will be able to handle anything from Q3 of 2016- 2017 upcoming games.

Haider · Jul 11, 2016

Itachiii said:
Generally, GTA 5 is a cpu intensive game. Bottom line is I would just upgrade that CPU/mobo because they are super old. I don't think it will be able to handle anything from Q3 of 2016- 2017 upcoming games.

It's not the age what counts but performance. For me it is for each £ I spend how much extra FPS I get? Target the money to deliver the best performance in the games I use or plan on using GTA 5, like look of Hitman, the new Deus EX, Squadron 42, Dirt Rally all at @1080P. RX 480 8GB or GTX 1060 6GB look interesting. Other than that keep the noise and thermals down.

Itachiii · Jul 11, 2016

Haider said:
It's not the age what counts but performance. For me it is for each £ I spend how much extra FPS I get? Target the money to deliver the best performance in the games I use or plan on using GTA 5, like look of Hitman, the new Deus EX, Squadron 42, Dirt Rally all at @1080P. RX 480 8GB or GTX 1060 6GB look interesting. Other than that keep the noise and thermals down.

Well, as a matter of fact age counts. When newer products with better performance are on the market then it's logical that if you got an outdated system it will underperform compared to newer systems or won't give you many score points in tests.

Anyway, your CPU is bottlenecking your system. Yea both GTX 1060 and RX 480 look good! You can wait untill GTX 1060 is out and you get the first benchmarks, compare that to the RX 480 and go for whatever you like most

Kenrou · Jul 11, 2016

Itachiii said:
You can wait untill GTX 1060 is out and you get the first benchmarks, compare that to the RX 480 and go for whatever you like most

Been out for a week now - http://wccftech.com/nvidia-gtx-1060-3dmark-benchmarks-leaked/

Itachiii · Jul 11, 2016

Kenrou said:
Been out for a week now - http://wccftech.com/nvidia-gtx-1060-3dmark-benchmarks-leaked/

Oops! Missed that. Thx Kenrou.

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