Water cooling

[C00PJr]

Hello, I have been interested in a water cooling system, but every water cooling system that i find is a strict cpu water cooling system. Is there a kit out there that comes with a gpu and ram block as well?

 

[WyomingKnott]

I haven't seen RAM blocks, because RAM cooling isn't as standardized. Otherwise be of good cheer; what you want exists.

People used to buy water cooling one piece at a time - pump, reservoir, tubing, cooling heads. What you are seeing is kits. These are built with the minimum number of pieces to cool something, so they cool the CPU. You can usually get more pipe and cool a GPU or, if you can find waterblocks, your chipset, RAM, or coffee. But these would be add-on pieces to a kit.

The topology for this isn't standard, either. Split the pump output with a Y to two waterblocks? Have two separate outputs? Put the GPU waterblock downstream of the CPU waterblock?

I saw an article or ad with several alternative diagrams recently. If I can find it again, I'll post the link so you will have much more concrete information. But right now this is sort of a do-it-yourself on top of the base kit.

 

[Proximon]

There is no single kit that will do what you want, because every system is different. The system you purchase has to work with your specific case, and the specific CPU, motherboard, and GPU.

You can buy starting kits that can be expanded. A good example is this one:
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=59_202_604&products_id=26995

Real water cooling requires a lot of research on your part.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/265776-29-read-first-watercooling-sticky

 

[inzone]

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=59_202_946&products_id=33430

You can start with a kit such as this one and add a vga block and a ram block if you want to , however the ram blocks are hard to find and sometimes only fit certian ram sticks. I wanted to include cooling the ram in my cooling loop and I couldn't find ram blocks that would work with the ram sticks that I had so I sold the ram and bought Corsair Dominator that there was water blocks for and that's what I had to do. I have two loops that cool the cpu , two video cards and the ram. It's not cheap and you just have to be the type that just wants to do it regardless of cost vs value or bang for the buck or any other reasons. The reason I do it is because I want the temps to be as low as they can be and air won't do that.
The EK kit comes with a 360 radiator which is capable of cooling the cpu ,video card and ram in one loop so by adding the other blocks you can end up building your own cooling loop starting with the kit.

 

[WyomingKnott]

This isn't the page that I was looking for, but it does have miniature versions of the diagrams that I wanted to show you: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1849/3/

I'm not endorsing that product specifically; just wanted to show how some systems can be modified pretty much any way you want.

Here's a large list of waterblocks for cooling various brands of RAM: http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l2/g30/c225/list/p1/Liquid_Cooling-Water_Blocks_RAM.html . They seem not to be as standardized as CPU and GPU cooler blocks.

When I was in college, someone built a PC inside a dorm-sized fridge. Needed a lot of moisture absorbent to trap the condensation.

 

[C00PJr]

Ok thank you, but i have another question. I am going to be using the gtx 580 matrix as my video card. Would a standard gtx 580 waterblock fit on that card, or is it more complicated than that?

Also i have G skill ripjaws ram. would the ram cooling block you guys showed me fit on that?

 

[FinneousPJ]

This is a pretty good site for GPU waterblocks http://www.coolingconfigurator.com/

 

[C00PJr]

that site is cool, but after I typed in my card it only gave me blocks that only cover the GPU itself, not the entire card

 

[FinneousPJ]

That means full cover blocks aren't compatible.

 

[inzone]

Whar is the brand and model of the card? If you have a standard reference board then you can easily get a full cover block.

 

[C00PJr]

I have the gtx 580 matrix by republic of gamers. This thing
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121467

how do i tell if it is a standard reference board?

 

[Proximon]

Yep looks like you will have to use the modular method. It has advantages, as you don't have to buy a new block every time you upgrade the GPU. Swiftech also sells companion heatsinks that make their GPU block look more like a full cover.

http://www.swiftech.com/graphics.aspx

So next time you can buy one of those to go along with the GPU block.

 

[inzone]

The EK blocks are full cover blocks and cover the gpu and ram. For the most part the water block is not going to go end to end unless you buy the Evga TX 580 Hydro Copper 2 card. The links below are some of the different water blocks there are for the GTX 580.

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=59_971_240_578&products_id=34188

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=59_971_240_999&products_id=30674

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=59_971_240_576&products_id=29797

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=59_971_240_576&products_id=29795

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=59_971_240_581&products_id=29778

 

[inzone]

Oh , you have that three slot monster card , I'm not sure why you would want a water block when the cooling heatsink on that card is so massive and made for overclockers. You can overclock that video card a lot with that cooler.
The PCB on that card is not a reference design and so you will not be able to use any of the water blocks that I had linked , Asus has redesigned the board and made it thier own special model. I would not remove that heatsink as it will give you the most efficient cooling that you can get and water cooling will only be able to match it and not exceed it.

 

[C00PJr]

I want to go for water cooling for a couple of reasons. This card does have very good cooling, however it is very loud and i think that the water cooling will do better in both the heat and sound department. Because i have overclocked it to 950 mhz the card gets to about 85 degrees Celsius, which coupled with the overclocked cpu and ram make for one hell of a heater. I was planning on upgrading to the corsair 800d case and then rig it with two of these bad boys and some water cooling, because i would really love to see the extra 50mhz come out of this card, but i cant hit it without it overheating.

 

[Proximon]

I strongly recommend Case Labs if you can swing it.

http://caselabs-store.com/

 

[C00PJr]

honestly those cases look like the most overdone and unnecessary things that i have ever seen. Whats so special about them?

 

[Proximon]

Water cooling takes up a lot of room, and the smaller the case the harder it is. Look over some builds and read what people say about them. Anyone who has been water cooling for a while likes them... it's just a matter of size and price.

They are made 100% in the US by a US company and they really are the best cases made.

Review from Techpowerup:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/CaseLabs/MAGNUM_M8/1.html

Check a you tube video or two
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEij6JyYB04&feature=related

Here is a decent build in one
http://www.overclock.net/t/970475/build-log-newbix-cube-case-labs-m8-dual-loop

I've never seen a negative review actually. The worst you can say about them is the powder coat finish is a bit dull... but there are no fingerprints and the finish on my M8 is flawless..... I used to be a professional painter, and if I say it's flawless it really is.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Best DCII W/c solution,
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/forum2.php?config=tomshardwareuk.inc&cat=15&post=351461&page=1&p=1&sondage=0&owntopic=1&trash=0&trash_post=0&print=0&numreponse=0&quote_only=0&new=0&nojs=0

You can fit two of those cards into a full tower quite easily,
I own two DCIIH20 cards as you can see,
You won't find fullcover blocks for the Asus DCII's, the only option for W/c'ing them is universal Gpu blocks, and if you fancy a challenge, mod the cards to have watercooling, and retain the original shrouds as well, two 100mm fans AND watercooling?
those shrouds are too cool to get rid of...
I'm not too crazy over the Mm style huge cases, I put my build into an In Win Dragon Rider,
@Proxi, did you ever see the W/c Htpc in the gallery mate? absolutely beautiful man,
Moto

 

[Proximon]

Ya Mountain Mods cases are just too industrial for me.

This post?
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/page-266324_29_350.html#t1975961
Amazing but not very practical Working in that would be like working in a laptop Everything comes apart only one way and has to go back just the same.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Thats the one, right close to the bottom of the page, it is a labour of love hehe,
I think its a great example of' Because I can, and because I want to'
Moto

 

[C00PJr]

That looks like a phenomenal job. Im probably going to attempt to do that when i get it up and running. What modifications did you have to do when you installed the block. Was anything in the way that had to be removed? I like the idea of keeping the fans on there because that way you don't take away the cooling for the video card memory. Great idea!

 

[Motopsychojdn]

For my cards?
I just removed the Heatsink and shroud, installed the block and Vram heatsinks, you normally have to cool the mosfets as well but on the Asus cards they have their own little heatsink so I left that
the trickiest part is setting the putty at the correct height to keep things level, I scored the blocks with a leatherman to give a grip and put a blob on there, then gently sat the frame onto it, you can put the shroud back on the frame at that point and line it up so its all level, but you need to mount it slightly raised as your fittings are angled upwards with the EK VGA Supreme blocks, but that also helps clear the mosfets with your tubing as you'll see, the total thickness of the putty is maybe 3mm
the build logs here http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/272443-11-asus-6950-dcii-plan
but if I can assist with anything just shout up mate
Nothing had to be removed other than the main heatsinks, which I now use one of them as a coaster for my coffee
and all that was added was the waterblock, eight mini heatsinks for the Vram and the epoxy putty
**Edit the little hanger bracket I put on initially was removed as unnecessary**
Moto

 

[C00PJr]

what aftermarket vram heat sink did you use?

 

[inzone]

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=54_196_692&products_id=3811

Probably something like these little heatsinks.