Need help, water cooling some old components

[Tolkirum]

Hello there,

I have had a Strix GTX 980 for about 3-4 years now and I have recently discovered that one of the fans is not spinning - I think it stopped spinning some months ago, when my performances started being significantly lower than before (and yes, it is kind of stupid that I didn't figure out what was the problem). Since this morning, I have been trying several things, veryfying all the power cables and everything, but I'm not sure I am going to get it to work, and anyway, I think that switching from air cooling to water cooling would be a nice thing for this card model that is getting quite old now - five years since realease, if I'm not wrong.

Other thing is, my CPU is also a bit old (and was not the best at the time I bought it): it is a i5-4440. I am considering upgrading to a i7-4790k, if I can find a plan on eBay or something. But I would definitely consider water cooling my processor.

As you may understand, I do not want to buy a new grahpics card and spend a ton of money into new stuff. So, do you have any ideas, solutions for me? I don't want to spend 500$ for a watercooling system. I know there are some solutions - Corsair made some - that adapt to any GPU, but is this really a nice thing? And, what if I want to overclock both GPU and CPU, since they are all-in-one pieces? I guess I would have two loops and two rads, which seems a bit stupid.
Anyway, I'd really love to have less sound from my computer, since my GPU (well, the one fan that still spins) is making a ton of noise and I love quiet evironments.

Even if the card is getting quite old, I have seen a few waterblocks for the Strix architechture, as this one: https://www.ttpremium.com/product/pacific-v-gtx-980-v2/
(I absolutely need to use a block that is made for my precise architechture, right? I admit I may look stupid by asking this question. But I want to be sure, I can't use a block that is made for the reference design?)

I could use any help or advice, thank you in advance

P.S.: I don't give a monkey - to be polite - about aesthetics, I use a big black opaque Silencio case and never feel like I want to see what happens into it.

Also, I precise that my final goal here is to be able to freely overclock my GPU and CPU.

 

[EarthDog]

I wouldnt spend the money on watercooling that GPU, honestly. You can buy an arctic accelero and go on from there. I just dont think watercooling this GPU is worth it. Youd be better off with that GPU on air, getting a 4790k and overclocking it.

Please create a signature and/or list system specs (mobo, ram, psu, etc) so we know what you are working with.

 

[Tolkirum]

Please create a signature and/or list system specs (mobo, ram, psu, etc) so we know what you are working with.

Sure. Here is a list:
- Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87-D3HP
- CPU: [email protected] (cooled by Intel's basic CPU fan)
- GPU: GTX 980 (Asus Strix card)
- Memory: 2 x Crucial 8GB DDR3-1600 UDIMM
- Power: Cooler Master GX 550W (it came with my case - Silencio 550)
- Storage (does that even matter? anyway): 512Go Samsung SSD 860 PRO (games) + 120Go SanDisk (system)

By the way, I have to admit that after removing my CPU fan in order to remove the dust - I don't open my case that often -, I couldn't fix it back on the motherboard, one of the plastic things that attach to the card - thanks Intel : - looks broken. So, for now, my PC is not working, I need to fix cooling for both GPU and CPU. And I'm seriously thinking of replacing the CPU fan by a water loop.

 

[Zerileous]

Not looking to spend a ton of money and water cooling (even to some extent closed loop/all in one liquid coolers) don't mix. The money spent on a custom loop would almost always be better spent on nicer hardware, unless you're already at the top of the line.

In other words you could easily take the $300 (probably close to $600 for a custom loop, including fittings etc) you'd spend on liquid cooling and purchase a 1660Ti to blow that old card out of the water (I take no responsibility for the awfulness of that pun ). For a more budget friendly solution as EarthDog said you could easily replace it with an aftermarket air cooler.

I'm not sure what you mean about the CPU. I'm not particularly familiar with your generation of hardware, however after looking at some images of your motherboard, it appears that it uses a typical back plate design with stand offs that the cooler screws down into. If the broken piece is part of the CPU cooler and not the motherboard, then simply replace it with a budget air cooler like the Hyper 212. This will perform significantly better than your stock solution. Don't forget to order new thermal paste as well.

If you really want to purchase a new CPU and overclock it (I really wouldn't advise spending much money on this current setup) you can purchase a closed loop cooler. We'd need to know what case you're using to see what will fit. A 120mm (fits in some 120mm fan locations) cooler will probably be marginally better than the Hyper 212 and worse than an air cooler of similar price to the liquid cooler itself. A 240mm (fits in some locations that would accommodate 2x120mm fans) will probably match the best air cooler money can buy, and a 360mm would exceed that.

If you want to do the custom loop for fun and as a hobby I completely support that, however save up the budget to do it right, and try to do it in a way that you're not spending hundreds of dollars on components that only work with hardware that is already 5 years old.

 

[EarthDog]

I believe he is talking about the push pins on the stock intel cooler. First, they are a bear to get in/on right in the first place... second, they do break.

Also, what case do you have Tolk?

 

[DaPoets]

Yeah my rule #1 is to get the best hardware you can in your budget, and then after that if cooling/performance is an issue then look toward better cooling solutions. Cooling an old part doesn't make sense, UNLESS you just seriously have the WaterCooling bug and want to watercool all the things and money isn't an issue... Buy better parts and enjoy the system.

I priced $600 for my custom loop I just made and ended up spending over $1,000 because crap adds up. Granted I can bench at 5.4ghz stable now and I run cooler than how I look wearing shades, but price to performance was it worth it? Absolutely not lol

 

[Tolkirum]

Thank you all for your responses!

Not looking to spend a ton of money and water cooling (even to some extent closed loop/all in one liquid coolers) don't mix. The money spent on a custom loop would almost always be better spent on nicer hardware, unless you're already at the top of the line.

In other words you could easily take the $300 (probably close to $600 for a custom loop, including fittings etc) you'd spend on liquid cooling and purchase a 1660Ti to blow that old card out of the water (I take no responsibility for the awfulness of that pun ). For a more budget friendly solution as EarthDog said you could easily replace it with an aftermarket air cooler.

If I change it, it is for a big one. By "big one" I mean the ones designed for high resolution and mutliple monitors. I game on 1440p165Hz and usually have 3 monitors (the two others are 1080p and 720p), and even if something like the 1660Ti can run newer games easily, I'm not sure it would do the job for me, even if it is much more recent than my old GTX980, which still delivers strong performances on some games (well, mine only stands for 1 min, after what it is too hot because of this stupid fan).

I'm not sure what you mean about the CPU. I'm not particularly familiar with your generation of hardware, however after looking at some images of your motherboard, it appears that it uses a typical back plate design with stand offs that the cooler screws down into. If the broken piece is part of the CPU cooler and not the motherboard, then simply replace it with a budget air cooler like the Hyper 212. This will perform significantly better than your stock solution. Don't forget to order new thermal paste as well.

Yeah, it's quite a stupid thing to happen, but it is the CPU cooler that I should replace. But here is the question of a loop cooler.

So, my case is a Cooler Master Silencio 550. And, I'm not sure. Maybe you're right, I should just buy a new air cooler and make my PC work as it did before, and nothing more. But I was interested in trying overclocking. Maybe tomorrow, I will go and buy a new CPU air cooler.

I believe he is talking about the push pins on the stock intel cooler. First, they are a bear to get in/on right in the first place... second, they do break.

Quite exactly.

Yeah my rule #1 is to get the best hardware you can in your budget, and then after that if cooling/performance is an issue then look toward better cooling solutions. Cooling an old part doesn't make sense, UNLESS you just seriously have the WaterCooling bug and want to watercool all the things and money isn't an issue... Buy better parts and enjoy the system.

I priced $600 for my custom loop I just made and ended up spending over $1,000 because crap adds up. Granted I can bench at 5.4ghz stable now and I run cooler than how I look wearing shades, but price to performance was it worth it? Absolutely not lol

Ok. Maybe I'll keep the idea of water cooling in mind for my next setup, if I have the time. But I still find that the fans make too much noise. I'll first look for a solution to my GPU cooler, and then I will see.

 

[Tolkirum]

So, I've ordered and received yesterday (thanks Amazon ) a Hyper 212 and I could turn my PC on again. So, the CPU problem is fixed.

But still, I'm looking for a solution with my graphics card... I can't find any replacement fan, so I've looked for solutions like Accelero Xtreme IV, but they don't say anything about compatibility with the actual cards. They say it works with a 980 GPU, but nothing about the architecture of the card. I've seen people having troubles on installing it on the Strix 980Ti. And I have no precise knowledge on graphics cards, and I don't want to buy this without being sure it will work.

 

[DaPoets]

So, I've ordered and received yesterday (thanks Amazon ) a Hyper 212 and I could turn my PC on again. So, the CPU problem is fixed.

But still, I'm looking for a solution with my graphics card... I can't find any replacement fan, so I've looked for solutions like Accelero Xtreme IV, but they don't say anything about compatibility with the actual cards. They say it works with a 980 GPU, but nothing about the architecture of the card. I've seen people having troubles on installing it on the Strix 980Ti. And I have no precise knowledge on graphics cards, and I don't want to buy this without being sure it will work.

ASUS Strix tends to do their own PCB design (I have the Strix VEGA 64) and it is different. It would need to specifically say it's compatible.

 

[Zerileous]

You will get good results on that for the money spent. You could even do some moderate overclocking, how are your temps?
I looked up your case and it appears it would indeed require some modification (removal of both front HDD trays) to mount a 240mm all in one/closed loop liquid cooler. You may have room for a 120mm in the back, however I'm not sure if that would offer much benefit over air.

For your graphics card it appears you can replace one or both fans for a reasonable amount of money. I googled "980 strix cooler" and this and this were two of the first results.

Otherwise you could pruchase something like the NZXT Kraken which claims compatibility with non reference designs (I'm sure you could contact them to ask about your specific PCB before ordering) and a 120mm closed loop cooler from their compatibility list. You would also need to look/measure around your 120mm exhaust fan to see if there is room for a radiator+fan in that location. You'd also want to purchase small heatsinks for the VRM and possibly ram to sit under the kraken.

 

[Tolkirum]

Yeah, I've read about the NZXT Kraken, but as Strix's design is different from the reference one, it may be a bit complicated. But you know what? I've dismounted the fans, removed the dust, apply a pressure on the 6-pin connector of the fan not working, remounted it, and both fans started to spin again! (This should always be the first thing to do, before looking for ordering a new fan!)

And I've been trying to overclock a bit my GPU, but I'm forced to set the fan speed high and that makes some noise for sure. I'll see later if I really need to replace the cooling system, but for now I run my games without any problem (except for Cities Skylines, I think I should focus on my CPU for this specific game). But every time I tried to OC my processor on the bios, the settings just wouldn't apply and would get back to default after reboot.

 

[Zerileous]

Doh sorry I missed this earlier when I mentioned overclocking. If the CPU doesn't have a letter "K" after it, you won't be able to overclock it. Looking at what some used LGA 1150k series CPUs are going for on eBay I might need to pick my jaw up off the floor. I definitely wouldn't suggest spending more than $50 or $60 for a used CPU of that generation.