Closed loop cooling suggestion for R9 290?

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1kca

1kca

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I have 2x R9 290s in crossfire on air and normally they're okay but today I was reminded of how hot they can actually get. It's very warm where I am right now so I disabled crossfire and went to run Assassin's Creed 4 earlier and after about an hour, maybe a little under, it just glitched out. One of my monitors went green and the other went red and the system just locked up. The top exhaust on the case was hot to the touch. Not warm but hot.

I've done all sorts to bring the temps under control and for the most part, I thought I'd got them to reasonable levels but with certain intensive games like Far Cry 3 and AC4, something will happen, from minor graphical glitches to complete system lockups like today.

At this point, it's either I put them under water or I sell them and try and get twin 780s or a single 780ti. I'd considered the Kraken G10 but I keep seeing that that doesn't do anything for the VRMs and they still get way too hot

tl;dr
My question is: does anyone know of a closed loop water cooling solution for the R9 290 that also keeps the VRMs cool?


Also, case is a Fractal R4 if that helps any.
 
Solution
Karadjgne
Here's my dilemma, hah. I'm not sure if its even possible to use 2x of the g-10's. According to the Anandtech report, they had to remove all the stuff around the VRMs etc as it interferes with the fan, so to add heatsinks you'd have to mount the fan above the bracket, which you'd use up any space between the dual cards.
The r9 295 uses a tandem pump setup with a h80i equivalent rad. Using a design like this is I believe your best option. All you'll need is to buy 2x h60's which are relatively cheap, and 2x tubing splice nipples. Carefully cutting the rad out of one setup, and splicing the second pump inline, the rad will mount to your single exhaust fan. Just make sure to reuse as much of the coolant as possible.
Then using a clear...
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Rick Kraster

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if you want to keep the vrm cool you will need a full waterblock
don't know if there is any available for your gpu you could check here: http://www.coolingconfigurator.com/
if you want to now how to set it up you can always watch some watercooling setup videos on youtube
 
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beagri11z

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get vrm/mostfet heatsinks if you want to go closed loop
they are pretty cheap 20 bucks for like 10 of them

that is your only option for a closed loop
i heard the nzxt kraken can work too just gotta make sure your card supports it
otherwise like stated above full block/custom loop
 
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counterc

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I have researched this exact setup for a 4K gaming rig I'm doing for a customer. Im using the G10 like you are thinking about, however I'm also buying heat sinks for the VRMs. I have see thermal pictures showing that the VRM does not get much hotter with the stock cooler as compared to the G10 however they still run very hot so i want to avoid any trouble ahead of time.

At this point I'm looking at using the Corsair H90 along with the Kraken G10. Its a good solid cooler and should do fine for the cards.
 
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Karadjgne

Karadjgne

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Wish I could find it again, but I watched a YouTube of a guy who took a sapphire tri-x apart, used a 2"? Holesaw on the cooling plate above the gpu, inserted a CLC pump in the hole and screwed the plate and remaining 2 fans back together. I figure that's a hell of a solution for keeping the VRMs cool and looked slightly impressive when finished.
 
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1kca

1kca

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Thanks for all your replies

I'd like to go custom loop at some point but it's way too expensive for me right now. I don't suppose there's any way of somehow integrating a full cover block into a closed loop or similarly inexpensive solution?

As for the mosfet heatsinks, would dthey need to be cut or do they come in all shapes and sizes kind of thing?

Also, the Tri-X solution sounds complicated but if you do find that video, I'd definitely have a look
 
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Proclaim89

Proclaim89

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hmm well i have built in that case, and it isn't the most ventilated of them all. Sleek and quiet, but not something i would use to crossfire high end r9 cards. if you really want a cheapo solution until you can afford true watercooling i would keep the side panel off. I would suggest a h220, but for 2 r9 290's thats a no go, and i believe it is not available in america. Like you, i couldn't afford custom watercooling so i undervolted my 7990 and i was able to go from 82-83 to ~75 on both cores in bf4. You can try undervolting your cards with a custom bios if you search around and learn how, otherwise i would just leave the side panel off for the time being.
 
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1kca

1kca

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I'm actually in the UK and do you reckon it would make a significant enough difference in a different case? Like the Corsair 760T for example. Also, how much, roughly would you say a custom loop solution for the 2 cards and probably the CPU would set me back?
 
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1kca

1kca

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Just had a look and saw how inexpensive the mosfet heatsinks are. It looks like a combination of the G10 bracket + 120 or 140mm AIO + mosfet heatsinks would be a good way to go seeing as a full loop is beyond me right now.

Looks like my case might be a little on the small side though.

What do you guys think?
 
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Karadjgne

Karadjgne

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If you've ever seen a 780ti, atx psu, NH-D14 and max fans crammed into a Bitfenix Prodigy, you tend to re-evaluate what 'too small a case' means.I believe it all comes down to some creative thinking, some serious research, and the balls to attempt something few would try or recommend. With the right fans, some in-depth study into airflow patterns, and the cards can be made to physically fit inside the case, I see no reason why 2x r9 290's can't work in a r4. It's a great case, and do you really want something 'cookie cutter'? or something unique and worthy if being 'yours'.
 
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1kca

1kca

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You make a compelling point. My concern is that I only have 5 possible fan mounting points in my R4 now. There would be 7 but one is obstructed by the PSU and the other would have been on the side panel but I removed the original and replaced it with a windowed panel.

Now I have two mounting points in the front, two at the top and obviously one on the rear. I couldn't mount the AIO coolers for the GPU on the top because it would interfere with my CPU cooler (BeQuiet Dark Rock 3). I could mount them at the front in place of my current intakes but wouldn't that then suffocate everything else? Those are my only intake options
 
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Karadjgne

Karadjgne

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Here's my dilemma, hah. I'm not sure if its even possible to use 2x of the g-10's. According to the Anandtech report, they had to remove all the stuff around the VRMs etc as it interferes with the fan, so to add heatsinks you'd have to mount the fan above the bracket, which you'd use up any space between the dual cards.
The r9 295 uses a tandem pump setup with a h80i equivalent rad. Using a design like this is I believe your best option. All you'll need is to buy 2x h60's which are relatively cheap, and 2x tubing splice nipples. Carefully cutting the rad out of one setup, and splicing the second pump inline, the rad will mount to your single exhaust fan. Just make sure to reuse as much of the coolant as possible.
Then using a clear 140mm fan mounted on standoffs to your window you can then use heatsinks on the various VRMs of both boards.
2 intake fans in front, 2 exhaust up top and you'll be good with case temps. The vrm fan will use circulated case air being on the standoffs not outside air. What you'll end up with will be a unique setup that will perform like a 295, but have better cooling potential.
 
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1kca

1kca

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It's difficult to picture what that would look like, even after seeing the 295 stripped down
I'm also concerned about the idea of having to cut or otherwise modify the AIO.

Do you have that Anandtech article? And did you happen to catch Corsair's new bracket at Computex in June? The HG10 - from what I've seen, it's just the NZXT's solution but it also covers the VRMs. What do you think?
 
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Karadjgne

Karadjgne

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I googled the kraken g-10 review, but haven't looked at the hg10.

If you can, think of a standard custom loop, but instead of the gpu blocks, you'd have the aio pumps in a setup like the 295.

I realize it may sound kinda odd, but honestly, real nodding is just that. Odd. For example, the gpu support that came with my 690 II case was atrocious, so I took the slide rule from my circular saw, heated with a blow torch, hammered straight with a 90* bend on the tip, sanded the numbers off, painted it black and wrapped the tip in heat shrink. Now that supports my gpu, and does so exceedingly well, but then again, I'm a little odd too lol.
 
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1kca

1kca

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Lol that sounds serious. Thanks for this btw - you've given me a lot to think about. It's gonna take me a little while to save up to do anything significant so I'll use that time to look into a proper solution like you're suggesting.
I don't have access to those kinds of tools but your 295 solution sounds very doable with enough reading

 
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