- Joined
- Sep 14, 2007
- Location
- Florida, US
is it worth it to water cool the GPU?
-
Welcome to Overclockers Forums! Join us to reply in threads, receive reduced ads, and to customize your site experience!
GPU cooling
- Thread starter SuperMiguel
- Start date
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2007
- Location
- Maryland
I personally think it is. If your not over clocking then it will certainly make the life of your product longer. also, it looks damn cool too. For over clocking it will make your GPU run more stable because it will be colder then normal.
well thats just my 2c
well thats just my 2c
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2004
- Location
- Swindon England
If you are running the card at stock and you can not here the fan and the air flow in your case is good then probably not.
OP
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2007
- Location
- Florida, US
- Thread Starter
- #4
how can i check my gpu temp?? cpu-z doesnt show it
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2006
- Location
- UK
Use Rivatuner to check GPU temps.
As for whether it's worth it, that depends on the quality of the stock cooler and whether your current radiator is capable of dealing with the extra heat dump.
What card is it?
As for whether it's worth it, that depends on the quality of the stock cooler and whether your current radiator is capable of dealing with the extra heat dump.
What card is it?
OP
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2007
- Location
- Florida, US
- Thread Starter
- #6
8800 GTS 640 MB, and i have a dual radiator black ice, with the zalman water block
- Joined
- May 24, 2005
That is a very vague question. It depends on what you want to accomplish.
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2006
In my opinion, it depends. If you are volt modding or extreme overclocking, yes it is worth it. If not, high end air cooling is about the same cost as waterblocks and you don't have to fumble around with it.
If you are going to watercool, then to me it makes no sense not to watercool the GPU when the GPU often sees the greatest reduction in temps. I can overclock my GPU as high as it will go and still have temps never go over the lower 40s (this is without voltmodding). And this is with the dead quiet that my watercooling setup affords. Why go through the trouble to watercool the CPU and not run one more line to include the GPU? This is not to mention that most GPU coolers are very noisy.
Your dual rad will work fine to shed the heat of one CPU and one GPU.
Your dual rad will work fine to shed the heat of one CPU and one GPU.
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2003
- Location
- Tallahassee, FL
i'd say the biggest downside currently to WATER cooling GPU's is the damned blocks being card specific now. I'm still up in the air on getting a new block for my 8800gts as my Maze4 doesnt fit it, and i'm just not sure how long i'll keep this card..
I know theres a couple blocks out now to support multiple cards, debating going that avenue...oh the fun of cracking open the whole rig again
I know theres a couple blocks out now to support multiple cards, debating going that avenue...oh the fun of cracking open the whole rig again
I am not sure about most people, but of the 5 8800GTXs I have installed for myself and friends, they all ran around 70-80 degrees Centigrade with the stock cooler. This severely reduces the life of the product, and it's long-term stability.
On the other hand, blocks for GPUs are expensive... very expensive. You just have to weigh the pros and cons. If you plan to overclock, I would say, most definitely watercool them, otherwise, leave them as-is and hope for the best.
On the other hand, blocks for GPUs are expensive... very expensive. You just have to weigh the pros and cons. If you plan to overclock, I would say, most definitely watercool them, otherwise, leave them as-is and hope for the best.
i'd say the biggest downside currently to WATER cooling GPU's is the damned blocks being card specific now. I'm still up in the air on getting a new block for my 8800gts as my Maze4 doesnt fit it, and i'm just not sure how long i'll keep this card..
I know theres a couple blocks out now to support multiple cards, debating going that avenue...oh the fun of cracking open the whole rig again
Aircoolers are no different. They change as cards change also. The MCW60 is a good VGA block that will fit all current cards.
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2003
- Location
- Tallahassee, FL
tru, and thats partially the reason i havent even pulled the stock sink off this card. I'll prolly buy a block in the next couple months. As mentioned previously these 8series cards run a bit warm for my taste...just hate to rebuild the rig again (just redid the loop couple weeks ago).
That swiftech block looks like a good deal, but these being soo hot nowadays i'm aiming more for full coverage, just wish it wasnt triple digit price range, $99.99 please
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2001
- Location
- Santa Clara, CA
That swiftech block looks like a good deal, but these being soo hot nowadays i'm aiming more for full coverage, just wish it wasnt triple digit price range, $99.99 please
But reviews show that full coverage GPU blocks perform worse than their GPU specific counterparts?
QuietIce
Disabled
- Joined
- May 7, 2006
- Location
- Anywhere but there
Except the nVidia GS series.
I really like Swiftech but this puts me in a bind ...
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2006
- Location
- UK
Which GS card wont it fit?Except the nVidia GS series.
The way I see it, there are very few options for GPU cooling. Get a Maze4 or a Swiftech MCW60.
I dont like the idea of full coverage, they cool worse than GPU-only blocks, and cost a lot. RAM and mosfets can be adequately cooled by heatsinks.
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2003
- Location
- Tallahassee, FL
Maybe i'm just bitter that my maze doesnt fit my newer 8800.
QuietIce
Disabled
- Joined
- May 7, 2006
- Location
- Anywhere but there
7800 GS ALL KNOWN MAKES AND MODELS No
7600GS ALL KNOWN MAKES AND MODELS No
7300 GS ALL KNOWN MAKES AND MODELS No
7300 LE ALL KNOWN MAKES AND MODELS No
7300 GT ALL KNOWN MAKES AND MODELS No
IDK what I'm going to do for cooling on my grandsons machines since I bought a pair of 7600GS's for them ...
Except the nVidia GS series.
I was looking at the 8800 series of cards. I didn't notice that the earlier GS series aren't covered.
I'm going to wait until the next Nvidia cards come out and snatch up someone's used 8800.
QuietIce
Disabled
- Joined
- May 7, 2006
- Location
- Anywhere but there
Yeah - the grandsons aren't old enough to need high speed video and this way I can SLI the 7600GS's in the future and replace one with a modern card. Still don't know how I'm going to cool them, though. 
Good idea - it's what I did with my 7900 GTX soon to be running in SLI ...
Good idea - it's what I did with my 7900 GTX soon to be running in SLI ...
