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looking for some water cooling advice

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CtrlAltD1337

New Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2014
Hey Guys,
I'm totally new to water cooling and I'm trying to cool a CPU (4930K) and (3) R9 290x. I've been told two different things and need to know what to do.
First, I was told that I needed radiators with (2) 120mm fans each for a total of (8) 120mm fans. Then I was told that I didn't need that many because it wouldn't cool after a certain point and I only needed (2) 120mm for the first 2 units then 1 per unit after for a total of (6) 120mm fans.
I only have room in my case for (2) 3 fan radiators so it would be nice to have all 3 GPU and my CPU cooled. Thanks for your advice.
 
What do you mean "2 per unit"?

Radiators can come in many different sizes, etc. And it does not have to be in your case either - you can run the loop outside your case to help with airflow.

Personally I have never ran a setup as large as yours, but I know 3 R9 290x's can put out a lot of heat that will need dissipated.
 
I'd put two vid cards on a loop and the CPU and third vid card on the other.
 
Welcome to OCFs Crtl!

Please take the time and read up our stickies in yellow in this section. It will help you with the basic, maintenance and give you a better understanding of what you'll need to cool a setup like yours. Yes, your setup will produce a good amount of heat load.

Hope to hear from ya soon. :salute:
 
By "Unit" I meant individual CPU or GPU. So "2 per unit" was referring to 2 fans per GPU or CPU. I was going to use both radiators in the same loop one mounted on the top of my case and the other on the bottom. Is that possible or would it have to be two seperate loops?
 
CtrlAltD1337 said:
By "Unit" I meant individual CPU or GPU. So "2 per unit" was referring to 2 fans per GPU or CPU. I was going to use both radiators in the same loop one mounted on the top of my case and the other on the bottom. Is that possible or would it have to be two seperate loops?
Click to expand...

In watercooling, anything is possible with enough $$$.

So you are only trying to run 2*240 rads for your setup? You may want to have 4*240 rads or 3*360 if you want them cool at all. As the water cycles through the loop, if you do not remove the heat at the radiators, it will just continue to cycle through.

--Edit--
If you have never watercooled before, I would suggest to take a look at FrozenCPU
 
CtrlAltD1337 said:
No, sorry for the miss-understanding I'm trying to run 2 rads with 3*120mm.
Click to expand...

Oh I see. It still seems like too few in my opinion, especially if they are going to be ran inside the case. But again, I am not sure what you're doing with your machine (if you're maxing the cards) plus I have never had the pleasure of owning 3*290x's (yet).
 
The case is a In Win D Frame (open air case). What would you recommend? Just so I can see if I can find a way to mount "in" or "on" the case. I got 2 of these cards from my father-in-law when we upgraded some mining equipment.
 
Like I said, I am not experienced enough with that much power in a personal machine. Since the case is an open frame, I am sure that will help. But I will let someone else with more watercooling exp help you..
 
How much noise are you willing to live with?
2*360 radiators are going to need pretty noisy fans.
I wouldn't say it's impossible to cool with 2 radiators.
Are you looking to overclock this system or just have it run quiet?
 
I'm not really worried too much about noise. I just want to make sure that if I invest in the cooling loop and the extra card and water block (I have to already) that it is cool enough to run reliably.
I am looking to at least try a mild overclock.
If this does not cool enough, will 2 3fan (120mm) radiators be enough for 2 GPU and my CPU?
 
I'm sure 2*360mm can handle that CPU and 2 GPUs if they are proper dual stack radiators and you can manage to get decent fans on them. I am not so sure if you should invest in water cooling if you don't mind the noise and are not too big on overclocking.
Are you planning to use your rig for gaming purposes?
Crossfiring those cards will limit your OC potential anyway and with good air cooler you can manage mild CPU OC easily.
Do you have problem with those GPUs throttling or is there some other reason you want to go the watercooling route, like high ambient temp?
 
Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'll need WC the cards run really hot I'm currently living in AZ so thermal throttle and higher ambient temps here in the desert.
I'll be using this for video editing and gaming.
I do want to OC the cards but I'm trying to find the trade off between cooling and more cards generating more heat from the OC.
So if I can cool 3 GPU and a CPU I'll do that, but if I cant and 2*360 will cool 2 GPU and my CPU at a high overclock I'll do that.
After all its all going on a R4BE MOBO, 32GB of 2133Mhz RAM and a 4930k (so it is a build for OC)
 
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