Will it work? 500R, Swiftech H220 + MCR220-XP Radiator build for GTX480 HC FTW's

[BigDaddyM]

Hello Everyone,
I am looking at building my first water cooled build (other than the H60 I have installed). Currently I have a GTX480 with an Accelero Extreme Plus II air cooled but I purchased 2 GTX 480 Hydro-copper FTW's. Yes, I know I should of bought a single GTX 680 or better! I only paid $300 for both. I will run 2-way SLI (not use the reference card with the Accelero). H220 to be delivered tomorrow.

I have a few questions and would appreciate every ones input:

1. Has anyone put a second 2 x 120mm radiator in the front of the 500R where the 2 fans are currently? It appears I would have to use the dremel to cut out the upper drive bay sheet metal bottom to increase the opening. I could then put the top of the radiator there, with the connections coming out of the bay? I saw something like this done on the Australia overclockers forum "Corsair Carbide 500R Watercooled Build Log". I could not post to that forum though.

2. If I decide this would be to difficult, would adding a single 120mm radiator be enough (with the heat of the GTX 480's)?

3. Do you think the H220 will be enough of a pump? Swiftech did run an SLI setup with it but not GTX 480's.

4. More of a comment than a question. I was shocked that after purchasing the H220 and the 2 GTX 480 HC I still will have to spend another $180 plus dollars to just get tubing, fittings, Swiftech MCR220-XP radiator, 2x Noctua NF-F12 fans, etc. I still have to order these.

Thank you all for the comments.

 

[EarthDog]

1. No clue, sorry.
2. No where near enough for those 3 generation old heaters...err video cards.
3. Plenty of pump.
4. Welcome to water cooling.

 

[BigDaddyM]

1. No clue, sorry.
2. No where near enough for those 3 generation old heaters...err video cards.
3. Plenty of pump.
4. Welcome to water cooling.

Earthdog,
thanks for the quick reply. To clarify do you think that with the 2 x 120 radiator that comes with the H220 and the additional MCR220-XP radiator (for 4x 120mm) it will still not be enough?

Also, can I delete this thread as it should have been posted inthe watercooling section? Don't know how.

Thank you

 

[Automata]

I've merged your duplicate threads and moved them to the appropriate forum. Please only create one thread per topic and check the forum descriptions if you are not sure where to put your thread.

 

[GTXJackBauer]

Hello Everyone,
I am looking at building my first water cooled build (other than the H60 I have installed). Currently I have a GTX480 with an Accelero Extreme Plus II air cooled but I purchased 2 GTX 480 Hydro-copper FTW's. Yes, I know I should of bought a single GTX 680 or better! I only paid $300 for both. I will run 2-way SLI (not use the reference card with the Accelero). H220 to be delivered tomorrow.

I have a few questions and would appreciate every ones input:

1. Has anyone put a second 2 x 120mm radiator in the front of the 500R where the 2 fans are currently? It appears I would have to use the dremel to cut out the upper drive bay sheet metal bottom to increase the opening. I could then put the top of the radiator there, with the connections coming out of the bay? I saw something like this done on the Australia overclockers forum "Corsair Carbide 500R Watercooled Build Log". I could not post to that forum though.

2. If I decide this would be to difficult, would adding a single 120mm radiator be enough (with the heat of the GTX 480's)?

3. Do you think the H220 will be enough of a pump? Swiftech did run an SLI setup with it but not GTX 480's.

4. More of a comment than a question. I was shocked that after purchasing the H220 and the 2 GTX 480 HC I still will have to spend another $180 plus dollars to just get tubing, fittings, Swiftech MCR220-XP radiator, 2x Noctua NF-F12 fans, etc. I still have to order these.

Thank you all for the comments.

Welcome to OCFs!

First and foremost before you do anymore purchasing, please read our water cooling stickies. I've noticed a lot of mistakes as you need to read up to better understand how much heat will be generated by those monsters, (I own 2 of them on air) and how much heat surface will be needed to cool them off.

You will need to hack the hell out of that case or hang lots of radiators outside to cool those GPU's off and you are better off adding the CPU in the loop as well.

Spend another $180? More like double that to get a decent loop going to cool those 2 480s and the CPU. Possibly more than double if you decide to grab another case to fit everything internal.

You could've bought a used 680 for $300 that used less than half the power those 2 480s consume and generate heat and be able to use the H220. You need more like 120.4 to cool those GPUs alone. You could do 120.3 even with loud fans though.

It's up to you OP with what you want to do with this project but you did jump into it blind. Now all you can do is read up and get back to us with a plan on which direction you want to take this.

Hope to hear from you soon.

 

[pcgamer4life]

I can't comment on most of your questions, but check out this thread for ideas on mounting that rad to the front panel.

 

[BigDaddyM]

Thank you for the link. That is what I am looking for and what I am thinking of doing with the second radiator. If my only modification is to open up the slot in the middle drive cage that should be easy. Of course it won't be that simple!

 

[BigDaddyM]

GTXJack, I have held off on my last purchases for several reasons. First to make sure a set of 220 radiators (both with Noctuas NF12-12's) will be enough to have at least semi-decent cooling. I am slightly regretting not purchasing a single newer card but I'm in it now! My other options I am thinking now are to mount a 3 x 120 or 4 x 120 externally on the backside. I would like to avoid that. I have been doing a lot of research and will continue to do more.

Thank you for the input.

 

[GTXJackBauer]

GTXJack, I have held off on my last purchases for several reasons. First to make sure a set of 220 radiators (both with Noctuas NF12-12's) will be enough to have at least semi-decent cooling. I am slightly regretting not purchasing a single newer card but I'm in it now! My other options I am thinking now are to mount a 3 x 120 or 4 x 120 externally on the backside. I would like to avoid that. I have been doing a lot of research and will continue to do more.

Thank you for the input.

Sure np. Glad you are still researching and learning as you go. Seeing the case in pictures, you will have to hang a radiator in the back of the case and a 120.2 up top. I think a 120.3 or 120.4 would be ideal. Here's a popular mount that can hold any radiator.

 

[BigDaddyM]

Sure np. Glad you are still researching and learning as you go. Seeing the case in pictures, you will have to hang a radiator in the back of the case and a 120.2 up top. I think a 120.3 or 120.4 would be ideal. Here's a popular mount that can hold any radiator.

Yeah, I have ended up more or less at the same conclusion you have. To save money buying a 120.4 and hanging it off the back would work great but on that size case it would look like a 400 lb lady hanging off the back. I can mod and add a 120.2 inside the case and another off the back but that is a lot if work. Maybe and extra thick 120.3 off the back? Let you know what I decide. When all is said and done the cost of the 2 gtx 480 hc plus the additional radiator would of been a nice down payment for a gtx 780. Oh we'll, atleast I'll have a good start to a water cooling advanced setup. Thanks for the comments. I'll let you know what I am going to purchase when I decide for more feedback.

Funny, I put that mounting bracket on my wish list this morning! It is nice!

 

[RnRollie]

why not "hang" a 120.9 from the side?

 

[JeremyCT]

Are you looking to watercool the GPUs only, or the GPUs + CPU?

In general, GPUs are more tolerant of higher water temps than CPUs are. This makes them easier to cool as you can settle for a higher delta between air and water temps (known as dT or delta T). If there's a CPU involved, dT is generally kept under 10-15 deg C, tops. If it's just those GPUs, I'd be perfectly fine with a dT of 20 deg C, perhaps even as high as 25-30 depending on what the difference between water temp and GPU temp is under load with those things.

Knowing exactly what you're planning to cool with water could significantly change your equipment requirements in this particular situation. If what I just said seems like a foreign language to you, please spend some more time reading the stickies.

 

[BigDaddyM]

why not "hang" a 120.9 from the side?

I briefly looked into that. I think I will take another look. I have the Swiftech h220 which comes with a 120.2. If I was to get a 120.6 or 120.9 and hang it on the side that may work well and give me more than enough cooling power. I will be cooling the I2600k and two Evga GTX 480 HC FTW's. I may add memory in the future, at which point a larger pump would most likely be needed?

Maybe a Magicool Xtreme hexa 720?

 

[BigDaddyM]

Are you looking to watercool the GPUs only, or the GPUs + CPU?

In general, GPUs are more tolerant of higher water temps than CPUs are. This makes them easier to cool as you can settle for a higher delta between air and water temps (known as dT or delta T). If there's a CPU involved, dT is generally kept under 10-15 deg C, tops. If it's just those GPUs, I'd be perfectly fine with a dT of 20 deg C, perhaps even as high as 25-30 depending on what the difference between water temp and GPU temp is under load with those things.

Knowing exactly what you're planning to cool with water could significantly change your equipment requirements in this particular situation. If what I just said seems like a foreign language to you, please spend some more time reading the stickies.

I will be cooling the I2600k and two Evga GTX 480 HC FTW's. I see why dual loops can be better. I am stuck with the Swiftech h220 with the pump integrated on the CPU block.

 

[JeremyCT]

If it were me, I'd probably do a separate second loop strictly for the GPUs. The GF100s don't mind running hot, and it would take a LOT of rad to get the dT down to where the CPU is happy in a single loop.

 

[BigDaddyM]

Dual loop

If it were me, I'd probably do a separate second loop strictly for the GPUs. The GF100s don't mind running hot, and it would take a LOT of rad to get the dT down to where the CPU is happy in a single loop.

That seems to be a smart way to go. To keep costs and space down what do you think of a Swiftech MCR220 Drive Rev3 Series Heat Exchangers w/ Integrated Pump and Reservoir (Either 120.2 or 120.3) just for the GPU's?

 

[BigDaddyM]

Decided I will go with the 120.3 Swiftech drive as dual loop. I installed the H220 today for CPU only. I was only able to get a 3% increase in my over clock compared to my 30% with an Corsair H60, then memory dump.

Any clue as to how much more if an o'c I coil get with better memory or cooling the ram? I have Ripjaws... DDR 3 2133?
Thanks all for the help.

 

[JeremyCT]

Any clue as to how much more if an o'c I coil get with better memory or cooling the ram? I have Ripjaws... DDR 3 2133?
Thanks all for the help.

If it's a k or x series Intel CPU, the answer is: no better CPU OCs from using better memory.

And memory water cooling is a complete waste except for looks, so no gains to be had there.

 

[EarthDog]

Decided I will go with the 120.3 Swiftech drive as dual loop. I installed the H220 today for CPU only. I was only able to get a 3% increase in my over clock compared to my 30% with an Corsair H60, then memory dump.

Any clue as to how much more if an o'c I coil get with better memory or cooling the ram? I have Ripjaws... DDR 3 2133?
Thanks all for the help.

Single loops was fine, but... oh well.

To answer your second question, none. Ram is not 'attached' to FSB/BCLK like it was in the past with locked CPUs. Like JCT said, no point at all to cool the ram (or mobo) outside of looks, and that is an expensive thing for just looks.

 

[BigDaddyM]

Thank you guys for the input. I will let you know when I installed the GPUs. I am going a little slower with the install. Hopefully within the next week or two I'll have it in?