AIO GPU water cooling solution?

Was maybe considering water cooling on a bit of a budget (what with a wedding coming up and some other expenses). Can't really justify a full loop at this time, however i was thinking about finally overclocking my CPU and GPU. More importantly the GPU over the CPU but whatever. Currently i have an i7-3770k and an EVGA GTX 970 FTW+ GPU (and a silverstone RL-01 redline case). An AIO solution for the CPU is easy (and ive had one in the past on my OC'd C2Q but sold it when i sold the mobo/cpu), however im a little more stumped on the GPU. I know it wont be as pretty as a custom loop but it'll get the job done. I could have a 240mm AIO setup on the top of my case for the CPU but could probably only do a 120mm/140mm either on the exhaust or the intake of my case for GPU use. Other than the corsair bracket, which im not sure will even fit, do you guys have any advice? Im also looking to keep it as low maintenance as possible. Currently my temps aren't the best but they are fine (but not for OC'ing). GPU can sometimes get to 80c under load and the CPU gets to like 74c max with a hyper 212+. Case has 3 120mm fans on it: 1 intake in front, 1 intake on top, 1 exhaust on back. Thanks in advance!

After a little research i found that a few solutions exist: NZXT Kraken G10 and Corsair Hydro HG10 N970. Gotta find out if they are both compatible with my GPU and am also concerned about tube length of a closed loop cooler. Not sure i want to mount this on the bottom of my case, unless thats better than mounting it as an exhaust? Or mounting it as intake in the front might be good too, if the tubes were long enough....

For what it's worth the ACX 2.0 cooler that comes on these FTW series is more than capable for handling a fairly hefty OC. In fact I would venture to bet you would get near equal temps with up to a 240mm AIO. This is all speculation of course. I have yet to see a side by side comparison of the two. I just know how good the FTW+ GPU's overclock on their stock air cooler.

Yeah but i dont really feel that my GPU getting to almost 80c under load while gaming really gives me much headroom for overclocking, no?

For what it's worth the ACX 2.0 cooler that comes on these FTW series is more than capable for handling a fairly hefty OC. In fact I would venture to bet you would get near equal temps with up to a 240mm AIO. This is all speculation of course. I have yet to see a side by side comparison of the two. I just know how good the FTW+ GPU's overclock on their stock air cooler.

EDIT: This is a very good read. ATMINSIDE make some very valid points.

Well, don't know about the 970. One thing is for sure, when I swapped the TFII cooler on the MSI 780ti gaming in sig for an universal GPU, temps dropped by +/-25c (65c to 40c on load).

The temperature drop allowed an 80 extra MHz stable overclock with the same voltage (347.42 drivers), from 1400MHz to [email protected].

just read that thread, blaylock. Thanks. I see mentions of people getting good OC results with the ACX 2.0 cooler, however they say their temps are under 80c. Im already at just under 80c and i haven't even OC'd.........

EVGA GTX 970 FTW+ TDP = 145w
MSI 780ti gaming TDP = 250w

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Helgaiden said:

just read that thread, blaylock. Thanks. I see mentions of people getting good OC results with the ACX 2.0 cooler, however they say their temps are under 80c. Im already at just under 80c and i haven't even OC'd.........

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Are you still using the factory TIM? This would be the first place I'd check. You likely just need to replace it.

Blaylock said:

EVGA GTX 970 FTW+ TDP = 145w
MSI 780ti gaming TDP = 250w

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Are you still using the factory TIM? This would be the first place I'd check. You likely just need to replace it.

Click to expand...

yeah, factory TIM. Guess i'll have to look into doing that. Any feedback on my case and its fan setup? Maybe thats affecting the temps too then. Silverstone Redline RL-01, front 120mm intake (factory fan), rear 120mm exhaust (rosewill 70-ish cfm unit), top 120mm intake (also rosewill 70ish cfm unit).

Blaylock said:

EVGA GTX 970 FTW+ TDP = 145w
MSI 780ti gaming TDP = 250w

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Are you still using the factory TIM? This would be the first place I'd check. You likely just need to replace it.

Click to expand...

It's not only a matter of TDP, it's a also matter of temperature.

Helgaiden says he is around 80c.

By lowering the temps, he'll be able to increase his OC by a good margin.

I used to run 2 980's ACX 2.0. By puting the rig outside in (mediterranean ) cold winter, I could increase my OC by a good 50MHz.

I was on the high 70's with a 25c ambient, and on the low 50's with 5c ambient.

Edit: I agree with you on 2 points though: 80c at stock is high and changing the tim and improving airflow would be the first things to do

I just looked up a couple reviews on your case(I do like Silverstone cases, but I'm not familiar with this particular one). Seems to be a pretty good case. This was mentioned though.

custompcreview said:

"With a rear fan installed, we can clearly see that our temperatures have decreased by almost 10 degrees. Our CPU temps have dropped into a more than acceptable range. The GPU temperature is still slightly high, but is still 5°C cooler than what we had before. If you’re considering purchasing this case, definitely pick up an extra fan or two with it."

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I would flip the top fan to exhaust and add an intake to the bottom of the case if your PSU isn't to big. Also clean out the intake filters if they're dusty of course.

Tír na nÓg said:

It's not only a matter of TDP, it's a also matter of temperature.

Helgaiden says he is around 80c.

By lowering the temps, he'll be able to increase his OC by a good margin.

I used to run 2 980's ACX 2.0. By puting the rig outside in (mediterranean ) cold winter, I could increase my OC by a good 50MHz.

I was on the high 70's with a 25c ambient, and on the low 50's with 5c ambient.

Edit: I agree with you on 2 points though: 80c at stock is high and changing the tim and improving airflow would be the first things to do

Click to expand...

I agree completely. Was just pointing out the difference in TDP's between the 2 cards. Makes for a much bigger difference. Also, your 2x 980 were running the ACX 2.0 cooler while the MSI 780ti gaming is running a Twin Frozr IV. Although the TF4 is a good cooler it's not as good as the ACX2. Just for comparisons your 980's TDP's were 165w, so only slightly higher than the 970. Comparing the 980 on water to air would make a better comparison than the 780ti. Did you water cool your 980's by any chance?

EK can sell you a GPU-specific waterblock that is prefilled and has a quick disconnect, intended to add to one of their Predator AIO CPU kits. Looks just as easy to set up as an AIO. A full "custom" loop for under $400, not sure if that fits your intended price range.

Blaylock said:

I agree completely. Was just pointing out the difference in TDP's between the 2 cards. Makes for a much bigger difference. Also, your 2x 980 were running the ACX 2.0 cooler while the MSI 780ti gaming is running a Twin Frozr IV. Although the TF4 is a good cooler it's not as good as the ACX2. Just for comparisons your 980's TDP's were 165w, so only slightly higher than the 970. Comparing the 980 on water to air would make a better comparison than the 780ti. Did you water cool your 980's by any chance?

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Nope unfortunately not...

What I mean is that the nVidia cards seem to be quite sensitive to temperature and scale very well with it. Was the case with my 780, 780 ti's and 980's.

The ROI is much higher on GPU's than CPU's nowaday I believe.

I might be wrong though!

In any case, a better choice, IMO, would be to sell the 970, and with the cash and money that would have been spent in the AIO, to buy a 1060, or better, an on sale 980 ti for a few extra bucks...

Tír na nÓg said:

Nope unfortunately not...

What I mean is that the nVidia cards seem to be quite sensitive to temperature and scale very well with it. Was the case with my 780, 780 ti's and 980's.

The ROI is much higher on GPU's than CPU's nowaday I believe.

I might be wrong though!

In any case, a better choice, IMO, would be to sell the 970, and with the cash and money that would have been spent in the AIO, to buy a 1060, or better, an on sale 980 ti for a few extra bucks...

Click to expand...

yeah the goal is to OC the **** out of this card if i can do it on a budget, but if the budget approaches the cost of a 1070 then it isnt worth it. I would just rather sell the 970 and buy a 1070 if i have to spend over $300.

Blaylock said:

I agree completely. Was just pointing out the difference in TDP's between the 2 cards. Makes for a much bigger difference. Also, your 2x 980 were running the ACX 2.0 cooler while the MSI 780ti gaming is running a Twin Frozr IV. Although the TF4 is a good cooler it's not as good as the ACX2. Just for comparisons your 980's TDP's were 165w, so only slightly higher than the 970. Comparing the 980 on water to air would make a better comparison than the 780ti. Did you water cool your 980's by any chance?

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I have 2 water cooled EVGA 970 SC's that had ACX2 coolers. While the coolers did a decent job the temps were in the 70ish range if I recall at stock (this was a year ago so not 100% on that). Now they rarely break 50 in my loop with a 4970k at 4.8 1.3v and the 2 970s with a +98 oc on the core and my loop isn't ideal. I have a 240 54mm thick rad as a front intake and a 240 30mm thick rad top exaust in an R4 with all the fans at 7v (delta AFB1212L). My CPU gets in the mid to upper 70s.

jaymz9350 said:

I have 2 water cooled EVGA 970 SC's that had ACX2 coolers. While the coolers did a decent job the temps were in the 70ish range if I recall at stock (this was a year ago so not 100% on that). Now they rarely break 50 in my loop with a 4970k at 4.8 1.3v and the 2 970s with a +98 oc on the core and my loop isn't ideal. I have a 240 54mm thick rad as a front intake and a 240 30mm thick rad top exaust in an R4 with all the fans at 7v (delta AFB1212L). My CPU gets in the mid to upper 70s.

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Well, going with a full coverage waterblock for the regular FTW probably helps. They arent really available for the FTW+ (tho i heard the regular full coverage EK one for the FTW fits). But then im looking at custom loop again and not interested in the expenditure. My friend has an EK block on his G1 Gaming 970 and is at nearly 1800mhz boosted, would be nice to get up there. Getting the memory clock within striking distance of 8ghz would be nice too.

1800 boosted is not even golden, it is diamond.
In the 1600's is already better than good.

http://forums.evga.com/EVGA-GTX-970-SC-with-NZXT-Kraken-G10-and-Corsair-H90-Installed-m2284090.aspx

this guy sure got some good temps. Sucks about the VRMs and memory though, would be awesome if the Corsair hydro unit would fit. For now i'll have to redo the thermal paste and flip my fans around, reconfigure and figure this all out. The AIO method will be stuck in the back of my head though.

There you go. Thanks for the clarification JaymZ. Does the EK predator fit the FTW+? It's a borderline custom. Not sure of the price. Also what resolution do you game at? That will make a huge difference if you're considering an upgrade.