Questions about Water Cooling GTX 780 SLI and i5 4670K

Swiftech sells a full cover block for the 780 → http://www.swiftech.com/KOMODO-NV-LE.aspx

I have two Asus 780's and a 4770k overclocked

1. How big of a reservoir do I need for the two 780's alone?
Bigger is better but you can make it work with small ones.

2. How high does the flow rate of the pump need to be for two 780's on a 240mm rad?
GFX blocks are huge....so they don't need a lot of cooling. I use a Swiftech 35x2 which is 2 pumps in series (one as a backup) .... 1,25 gpm is more than enuff

3. Is a 240mm rad big enough for two OC'd gtx 780's?
No not really .... each GFX card produces 255 watts at stock...figure as high a s290 depending on your OC. The idea of water cooling is to create quiet. So you prolly wanna keep fan speeds at 850 rpm for dead silent and any more than 1200 rpm is annoying to me anyway. Rad thickness is almost meaningless with today's low fpi rads

So lets say 290 x 2 = 580 watts ... you want b60% of that handled by the rad ... so we want about 350 watts of cooling for a delta T of 10C. Each 120mm or radiator will give ya

76 watts at 1250 rpm
85 watts at 1400 rpm
105 watts at 1800 rpm

For 140mm rad's

103 watts at 1250 rpm
115 watts at 1400 rpm
148 watts at 1800 rpm

a 420 Rad would be ideal w/ 1400 rpm fans


4. How big would the reservoir and pump need to be for the gpus and cpu? I would be able to do a 240 mm and a 280mm or a 240mm and a 360mm rad if I do the cpu as well.

For CPU and the two GPUs, I use a 280 and a 420 ..... at 850 rpm, CPU temps hit 74C at 4.6 Ghz w/ 46 cache and 2400 RAM speed...GPU temps are at 44c at 850 rpm, 39C at 1200 rpm. The GFX cards are fed in parallel, meaning the flow is split with half going to each card.

5. Is it even worth it to include the cpu???

To bad you didn't have the Swiftech H220-x.... basically the same as the H110 but much better componentry ... 240mm Rad, built in reservoir, level indicator, all copper, great pump. Then all you would nee dis a 360 orn420 rad, two water blocks and some fittings / tubing.

Best 780 Water Blocks are made by EK

EK ASUS GeForce 780 GTX DCII VGA Liquid Cooling Block - Nickel (EK-FC780 GTX DCII – Nickel)
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/21270/ex-blc-1529/EK_ASUS_GeForce_780_GTX_DCII_VGA_Liquid_Cooling_Block_-_Nickel_EK-FC780_GTX_DCII_-_Nickel.html?tl=c613s1928b133

EK ASUS GeForce 780 GTX DCII VGA Liquid Cooling RAM Backplate - Black CSQ (EK-FC780 GTX DCII Backplate - Black)
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/21273/ex-blc-1532/EK_ASUS_GeForce_780_GTX_DCII_VGA_Liquid_Cooling_RAM_Backplate_-_Black_CSQ_EK-FC780_GTX_DCII_Backplate_-_Black.html?tl=c613s1928b133

1. Like manofchalk said, reservoir size doesn't matter, you can even use a t-line instead (basically a piese of tubing) reservoirs don't supply any kind of cooling...
2. D5 or DDC will do it, unless high restriction loop with more GPUs, mobo and ram blocks you're fine with one.
3. Thickness does matter, but not as much as actual front area. 480mm will always be better than 360mm, but a low fpi thick radiator will perform better than a slim radiator. A 360mm 60mm-thick radiator will keep those cards cool, more rad space will give you lower temperatures and allow you to use low rpm fans -> more silence
5. See manofchalks post, haswell's IHS sucks

EK doesn't make the best blocks at all and never trust their nickel blocks!
The only problem is that they are basically the only company that designs blocks for custom pcb, so you have no choice
BTW,i have a dircetcu block from ek, and its awesome, but it has nickel in it (full copper is always better, and EK had some problems with their cheap nickel)

As for the plating, old internet posts never die apparently. This is old outdated pre-2011 news on the EK plating thing. EK changed their plating process and for a short period had some porr results with plating flaking. After investigating the problem, they again switched to an electroless nickel plating process in mid 2011.

http://www.ekwb.com/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=88&cntnt01returnid=17
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2011/07/28/ek-introduces-electroless-nickel-plating/1

There have been no reported problems with the new process.

As for the "Who is king of CPU Water Block Cooling"

EK for the win on Haswell


EK for the win on IB-E


On GPUs

EK is 1.6C Hotter than the leader (XSPC) on the GPU


EK is 3.2C cooler than the next best manufacturer and 6C better than XSPC on VRAM, 10C better than EVGA


EK is 12C cooler than the next best manufacturer (XSPC) on VRAM, and 30C better than EVGA


- 1.6 + 3.2 + 12C puts the EK at 13.6C better combined temps than runner up XSPC.

I am anxious to see more testing tho on the Swiftech Komodo.

@ JackNaylorPE, Jack where did you find those CPU water block tests?

I find those CPU waterblock test a little bit confusing, was the XSPC raystorm as it is nowadays or?

The nickel plating process has seriously improved today but many of us will still be gun shy because of what happened in the past regarding not just EK but most every company utilizing the nickel plating process. It got serious enough with Koolance to refuse to honor the warranty unless Koolance specific coolant was used in the nickel plated water block system.

Quote from Koolance website:

Koolance's product warranty does not cover the use of 3rd-party coolants, coolant additives, or corrosion. Koolance LIQ-702 or LIQ-705 coolants are strongly recommended to help avoid issues with mixed metals or biological growth. Additionally, do not use aluminum with bare (unplated) copper or bare (unplated) brass in the same system. Do not use silver with nickel in the same system.

Click to expand...

Although EK has not made this direct warranty statement, I strongly suggest reading the fine print when it comes to nickel plated water blocks.

Then consider that at least two other components in your loop will have similar limitations to their warranty, so you can never keep all of them happy.
Of course, I dont think its a coincidence that companies that dont offer their own coolant (Heatkiller for one), recommend the use of Distilled water.

My GTX 770 EK block is nickel, but it is acetal covered (which doesn't make a whole lot of sense as nickel-plating is supposed to be shown off like chrome, IMHO). I personally only chose this block because I got it at a very good price, including the matching EK backplate...all for $55 USD, brand new, in-box, never opened on an auction site.

It's going to be short-term anyway, as I plan to upgrade here soon to something bigger and better...either Titan or a 900-series GTX.

What's up Ryan ... long time no type ....

For CPU Water Block the most extensive stuff can be found on xtremeystems site and also on OCN. The GPU WB stiff comes from xtremerigs

CPU Latest Stuff - http://www.overclock.net/t/1505481/summer-water-block-round-up-2014

CPU Older stuff - http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?285753-CPU-water-blocks-roundup

GPU - http://www.xtremerigs.net/2013/10/03/nvidia-gtx780titan-water-block-roundup/
There's also a youtube version

And for Rubix .... Swiftech's new Komodo LE series is chrome plated and it outperformed the EK and XSPC blocks in the one test I have seen .... unfortunately, it's the only test I have seen and they didn't check VRM nor VRAM

http://www.hitechlegion.com/reviews/cooling/liquid/40642-swiftech-komodo-nv-le-gpu-block-review?showall=&start=3

Main reason I bought the block was price...$55 for both block and backplate, both unused, in-box, brand new. Couldn't really pass that up. Does pretty well, so I currently can't complain.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1505481/summer-water-block-round-up-2014

Thanks Jack, This is great, I was looking for some CPU block tests done up to date!

The good thing about Toms is you get opinions based from various cooling angles, as we all water cool for various reasons, I have always water cooled for the maximum 24/7 stable CPU overclock I can possibly run and GPU water cooling is a great plus as well.

Pump wise I'll always recommend the D5 variable speed pump, as it is powerful and with variable speed capabilities you can choose the flow rate that gains you the best overall cooling of your water blocks, what is usually not covered at any site testing is flow rate can and will affect your water blocks cooling performance. Simply because flow rate affects the time the coolant has inside the water block to pick up the heat, and as an unspoken rule most all of us run our own tests to see which pump speed setting yields the best cooling end results, so having a variable speed water pump is very advantageous and the D5 is a very strong pump.

16bit, I am not discounting answers you've already gotten just adding my 2 cents, OK.

Regarding question #1, The reservoir itself has no cooling advantage it is really a personal preference, looks wise I like the cylindrical tube type like the Bitspower, the volume of the tube is really what's best for your setup and looks from your end mounting. Whats important about the reservoir is it is the direct coolant supply to the pumps intake and when a separate pump reservoir is setup the reservoir should always be mounted above the pumps location so the pump is always supplied with coolant as the pump, (no matter which type), should never ever be run dry. The reservoirs second purpose is to provide a convenient fill point to fill the system and a view point as to coolant level in the system.

Regarding Question #2, if hopefully you get a variable speed pump that is something you'll test yourself to discover, if you asked the question to attempt to determine what pump to actually buy, that's already covered.

Regarding Question #3, A 240mm rad can cool two OC'd 780GTX, however the deltaT will be so high with that small of a radiator cooling field with 2 OCd 780GTX that the end temperature load comparison vs the stock air coolers of the cards would not be worth the money spent to water cool them.

Conumdrum gives an excellent explanation of deltaT and he also answers some of your other questions as well I seriously suggest you read his thread at Overclockers.com.

http://www.overclockers.com/guide-deltat-water-cooling/

Regarding Question #4, I think after you read Conumdrums post your questions should change?

Regarding Question #5, Since you are already water cooling the CPU with the H110, unless you are after very high CPU overclocks, I would just leave the CPU cooled as is, and not add the CPUs deltaT to the combined heat deltaT of the OC'd GPUs.

One added benefit of A reservoir is thermal mass. CPU / GPU loads are not constant so when you hit a particularly demanding spot in a game or whatever, your CPU temps will start to rise and therefore your coolant. Thermal mass allows the system to absorb those spikes without the temperature of the coolant varying significantly. If you are using fan speed control this stops the fans from whirring up and down in response to short variations in heat loading.

Don't forget to clean your rads.... suggest Mayhems Blitz Kit.