Dual opteron SLI cooling

[Sleeping_Sloth]

Hello, I'm new here...

About 6 months back I built myself a dual opteron 248 rig, with a single graphics card (6600GT).

Back then, I didnt want to splash out (no pun intended) on watercooling.

Now I do, as I plan to add the second 6600GT to make it an SLI rig.

My graphics card is already running a bit hot, and the case is noisy already.

The case is an Akasa Eclipse-62 (which is an excellent case) - I was using a Silverstone Temjin TK05 before, which is a terrible case, and weighs about 19 tonnes.

Anyway.... so I'm looking at going down the watercooling route. I'm not a "kit boy" at heart - I make everything myself where possible, and I'm not about to waste money on a WC kit.

However, I dont know enough about WCing to make an informed decision on what I need. I've read about the components etc - but in terms of cooling *this* rig, where I would ideally be cooling 2 CPUs, 2 GPUs, and possibly a northbridge (I know this is normally not necessary, but I think my northbridge runs quite hot)

Can I get away with a single serial setup, or will I be better off going for two separate loops (possibly with one reservoir?)

Anyway, I wouldlike to keep the system as cool as possible, and as quiet as possible. Keping the price below £200 would be a bonus ($400 ish)

Could anyone make any suggestions as to what I should go for - bearing in mind that things are usually expensive here in the UK.

Best price I've found for a H120.3 is £56, Maze4 CPU blocks are £40, and maze 4 GPU blocks £50 - so I wont be buying them...

a little advice needed!

Thanks

 

[shawnlizzle =]]

dual opty i like =D

i would avoid the second 6600gt, as the performance won't be nearly as high if you bought, say a new 7800gtx or x1800xt. your best solution is sell your current 6600gt, and buy a better graphics card. the performance will be better and prehaps equal in costs.

as for the wc loop, read my sticky first

your dual opty is a special case, stay away from restrictive blocks such as nexxos, storm...

stay with 2 mcw6002
1 maze 4 (low profile if you are considering sli)
pump should be d5, iwakis,but definitly not something weak, as you'll have more stuff for the pump to go through

as for the rad, i would recommend a PA120.3, but if that is too costly, a bix3 or bip3 will do just fine.


as for the series vs parallel question, i would go with series just because of the complication of running things in parallel and the fact that you need 2 pumps to really make a difference. because of water's high specific heat, it won't affect cooling that much by adding more heat sources

 

[mpjesse]

I agree, keep the watercooling serial. Putting it on two seperate pumps and radiators is both a waste of money and time. It won't make much of a difference.

-mpjesse

 

[Sleeping_Sloth]

Erm.... too late on the second 6600GT I'm afraid - I ordered it a while back, then it arrived DOA, and... I should be getting a replacement today or tomorrow.

In which case, what should I go for in terms of grpahics card(s) blocks?

Point taken about serial setup, I'll go for that then.

Can you elaborate on the pump please - d5 doesnt mean a lot to me at present


Many thanks

 

[kittle]

What motherboard are you running?

I have a dual opteron 242 on a Tyan K8WE. it had heat problems too - until I got a proper case & heatsinks.
We can probably compare notes.

 

[shawnlizzle =]]

okay, since your stuck with a 6600gt, buy two low profile maze4 gpu blocks and thats about as good as it'll get.

the d5 i'm talking about is the lain d5, google it or look on any major watercooling retailer and u'll see it (might be named swiftech 655... same pump, different names)

 

[Sleeping_Sloth]

Kittle,

I thought I'd mentioned it, but I obviously didnt... I'm running a K8WE too - the 2 PCI-e slots are pretty close together - I've seen them a slot further apart on some motherboards.

Have you got 2 graphics cardsw in your system? and if so, did you have any trouble with fitting in watercooling?

As for CPU temps, theyre not too bad usually - theyre just a bit hot at the moment because the case is temporarily squeezed under the desk until I have some space on the desk, which should be soon.

My main worry is the graphics cards and the amount of noise the system makes. The single one, where it is at the moment, and with stock cooler, is getting close to 100 degrees under stress. I know GPU chips can tolerate more heat than CPUs, but,...100 degrees is ridiculous in my book.


ANyway- I am looking at some Aquacomputer stuff - would anyone recommend them? I'm starting to rethink spending, as I'm obviously going to have to spend more than £200...

 

[kittle]

I went the air cooling route, and I only have 1 card - an EN 6800GT.
CPU temps run 43-45 idle and 48-51 under load.
The GPU seems to run around 55c while gaming. At least thats what it shows when I exit the game and look.

My major source of noise is the CPU fans - not the video card fan.
id try relocating your case first. better airflow goes a long ways, and its free!

however watch carefully when you pick water blocks for the CPUs, with the 2 processors lined up the way they are, the block for cpu #2 may bump into things on the case if its too tall. I had to get a new case because of that problem.

 

[Sleeping_Sloth]

I've had a change of heart, and spent some cash - but not on water cooling.
Due to the PCIe slots being so close together on the K8WE, I would have had to buy low-profile 6600 specific blocks, at a cost of £100 for two, and I wasn't up for being stuck with card-specific blocks when I upgrade.

Instead I've gone down this route:

Replace PSU fan with 80mm Akasa 20dbA fan
Replace 120mm case fans (x2) with Akasa 18 dbA fans
replace existing CPU coolers with Zalman 9500 coolers w/ arctic silver 5 paste
Replace stock GPU coolers with Arctic Cooler NV6s

With this setup I am hopeful I'll be able to keep the noise level down enough that I won't mind having the box on the desk where the airflow is better - thus solving both my problems.

It had better work out though - that little lot has just cost me about £120...

I'll keep you posted

 

[shawnlizzle =]]

umm... low profile blocks work for any other card too.... haha

 

[Sleeping_Sloth]

yeah, haha.

these low-profile blocks, *specifically* for 6600s , work for ANY card.

Aquacomputer AquagraFX6600 PCI-Express

If that is the case, smart ass, why would these ones exist?

Aquacomputer AquagraFX7800 Block
Aquacomputer AquagraFX6800 Rev 2 Block
Aquacomputer AquagratiX800 Block

As I was saying, these are reference-specific low profile blocks.

keep up mate.

 

[jokersgrin]

don't forget about the ramsink's on the 6600gt, if not you run the risk of overheating the onboard memory :!: If your case has a poor air flow find a way to increase it, new bigger fans, more vents...etc.

good luck

 

[shawnlizzle =]]

oh, i was thinking more about the maze4 than anything else... i don't see why you want to use those blocks anyway cuz they double as a brick wall for flow too. if you wanted to use SLI, then stay away from those blocks yeah...


as for the ram sinks, its pretty intuitive you need them

 

[Sleeping_Sloth]

Well, the 6600GT I have came with ramsinks, so I'm not going to worry there.

I've swapped the fans etc over, and I'm very happy with the results - I would actually question whether watercooling would achieve better results than these:

CPU temps 28/36 load (although this *is* after a reboot - Im not running any temp monitor windows)

GPU temps 38/45 load - half what they were!

ambient temp is 26 - almost half what it was.

These temperatures are with the case in the same cramped position it was before, so I expect even lower temps once I move it somewhere with better airflow.

It's *very* quiet too - it's made a lot of difference, and I'm pretty damned glad I didnt shell out for WC now.

 

[mpjesse]

If you can afford it and the space, then yeah it's better.

But i'm poor.

-mpjesse

 

[RichPLS]

:lol: That is because of the payments on those two 7800GTX 512's :lol:

 

[mpjesse]

I'm poor. You folks in New Zealand must be living rich! J/k.

-mpjesse