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VisionTek CryoVenom R9 295X2: Two GPUs In One Slot
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1. VisionTek CryoVenom R9 295X2 Graphics Card Review

[Oct 13/2014 addendum: Visiontek has lowered pricing across its liquid-cooled graphics card line in response to feedback from this article, and the CryoVenom R9 295X2 kits have dropped a whopping $300. We have reflected this change in our writeup below. You can check the Visiontek website for specific details.]Liquid cooling is one of the most practical thermal management solutions that a PC enthusiast can install, and it enables some interesting hardware configurations. For example, AMD realized that air cooling wasn't potent enough to handle its power-hungry Radeon R9 295X2, so the company chose to equip the board with an Asetek-supplied closed-loop liquid cooler. This enables a dual-slot solution that keeps GPU temperatures and noise relatively low. As a result, the Radeon R9 295X2 isn't difficult to live with, unlike some of its dual-GPU air-cooled predecessors.

Just because AMD's reference cooler is decent, however, doesn't mean that it's the best you can get. Open-loop implementations facilitate flexibility when it comes to installation, expansion, and performance. Of course, removing the factory cooler to replace it with a third-party solution voids your warranty, so there's a compromise to make.


If you're not a fan of give and take, VisionTek has a solution: the CryoVenom Radeon R9 295X2, a single-slot version of AMD's powerful flagship, outfitted with an open-loop cooling block and covered by a one-year factory warranty.

Again, this is a single-slot graphics card, unlike the dual-slot reference Radeon R9 295X2. That provides more space if you're planning a dual-card CrossFire configuration, and two CryoVenom cards could theoretically share the same loop. On the other hand, two reference 295X2s require the installation of two separate radiators and the attached generic-length hoses. In some PC enclosures, it's just not an option.

Not that I'm advocating the use of two Radeon R9 295X2 cards in CrossFire. But an open-loop liquid cooling system does provide more flexibility. Once you have the system in place, it's relatively easy to expand by linking in a second graphics card, a CPU or a chipset block. It's a highly customizable system.

With this flexibility in mind, VisionTek offers a number of different purchase options for its CryoVenom cards. If you already have your own open-loop cooler, you can purchase the card alone for $1450. If you need everything to get you started (including a reservoir, pump, radiator, fans and hardware), you can pick up the Radeon R9 295X2 plus 240 liquid cooling kit (240 indicates a radiator that fits two 120mm fans) for $1700. If you want something even more powerful, an extra $50 gets you the 360 liquid cooling kit with a radiator large enough to accommodate three 120mm fans.

We wanted to see what VisionTek's highest-performance option can accomplish, so we tried its CryoVenom R9 295X2 + 360 liquid cooling kit. As you can see in the picture above, this includes all of the equipment you need to get up and running: the card, the pump with integrated reservoir, cooling fans, about six feet of tubing, coolant and hardware. There's even a t-shirt included in the serious-looking pine box.

Of course, that box isn't big enough to hold everything, so the triple-120mm radiator comes in a second package. Note the EKWB logo on the box. VisionTek is partnering with this highly regarded company to supply the CryoVenom's liquid-cooling components. The radiator is actually EKWB's CoolStream PE 360 Triple, about 40mm thick with copper fins, 90% copper tubing, brass chambers and an aluminum housing. Each of the three fans is rated at 58.8CFM and spins at 1600RPM.

The pump and reservoir are combined in a single, attractive unit that sits in a 5.25" drive bay, allowing you to monitor the liquid level. This appears to be an EK-SBAY with an EK-DCC 3.2 PWM pump, specially branded for VisionTek's CryoVenom series. The maximum head pressure is rated at 5.2m. It's backlit, so colored coolant adds some extra bling, too.

That's a reference Radeon R9 295X2 PCB under the cooling block, with AMD's standard DVI connector and four mini-DisplayPort outputs. But while the reference liquid cooler only draws heat from the Hawaii GPUs, EKWB's cooling block is applied to the GPUs, memory and voltage regulator modules (VRMs). Keep in mind that we have previously shown that those VRMs can reach over 105 degrees Celsius under load, so the CryoVenom's ability to cool them represents a substantial advantage over the reference card.

The CryoVenom R9 295X2 has a sturdy metal backplate to maintain structural integrity. Even without coolant, VisionTek's card weighs a substantial 1.564 kilograms.

2. Installing The CryoVenom R9 295X2

All of the included parts appear daunting when they're laid out on a table. But open-loop liquid cooling systems are a lot less complicated than they look. The first step is always good planning, of course. A simple hand drawing of the loop should help you visualize what you're trying to accomplish. Of course this is Tom's Hardware, so we put together something a little fancier. Our order of operations is pump, then the cooling blocks and finally the radiator. Some power users place the pump before the radiator, but we prefer to put it after so that the pump is not heated unnecessarily.

Next, we're going to measure the hose length requirements. It's good practice to perform a dry install so you know exactly where your components will sit and how long the tubing needs to be before you start cutting.

Here's a great example of why careful planning is the way to go. This wasn't a problem with the CryoVenom; this is on me. I could have used the inlet and outlet options on the other side of the graphics card. It's workable on the test bed, but isn't pretty. Fortunately, the freedom to make changes is exactly why an open loop is so attractive to customization-hungry enthusiasts. Closed-loop systems are not adjustable in this respect.

When you know how long your hoses need to be, make sure you have enough length before proceeding. Once cut, the 1/2" tubing (3/8" inside diameter) requires no tools to assemble. Simply sheathe the tube over the inlet or outlet and hand-tighten the compression fitting.

We installed the CryoVenom R9 295X2 on our test bench, so the hose lengths are longer than we'd need in a standard PC case. Nevertheless, there was enough included tubing to do the job.

Other colors are available, but our test card came with blood-red coolant that needed to be mixed in a 1:9 ratio with distilled water. Make sure you don't use tap water because impurities may cause unwanted wear and build-up. If you have a container to store the coolant, you can use that to mix it all. Alternatively, you can put 100ml of coolant in the reservoir and chase it with 900ml of distilled water, continuing until there is enough to reach the maximum level.

We're not done yet. Before we can turn on the PC, we need to purge air bubbles from the system. First, close the fill hole (on the left) so that coolant doesn't leak out when the pump is engaged. Leave the reservoir hole on the right open though, allowing air bubbles to escape.

The pump is powered by a single Molex connector, and in order to get coolant running through the system, we need to switch it on without energizing the PC. To do this, VisionTek includes a power supply connector. To activate the pump, simply disconnect the power supply from the motherboard and clip the connector to the PSU, allowing power to run to the auxilliary power connectors. Remember, running the pump dry will damage it, so only supply power until the coolant falls below the minimum level. After that, stop the pump, open the fill hole, add more coolant, and close the fill hole again. Repeat this process until all of the air has been pushed out of the loop.

While you're doing this, it's important to keep an eye out for leaks. Once the air bubbles in the system have been purged and the liquid coolant is between the minimum and maximum levels as shown on the reservoir, the system is ready to run. You may now plug the reservoir hole and re-insert the power supply connector on the motherboard. Fire up the PC and install drivers as necessary.

No, it's not a cut. I just spilled a little red coolant on my pasty, white leg.No, it's not a cut. I just spilled a little red coolant on my pasty, white leg.

3. Temperature, Noise And Overclocking Benchmarks

Load Temperature

Now that the CryoVenom is installed, let's see what it can do. The reference Radeon R9 295X2 hit 65 degrees Celsius in our 10-minute gaming torture test. Does VisionTek's card fare any better?

The CryoVenom R9 295X2 bests the reference card by an astounding 20 degrees, and never crests 45 degrees Celsius during our tests. This isn't a comparison between liquid and air cooling, mind you. These are both liquid-based solutions.

As if that wasn't impressive enough, do you remember when we mentioned that the VRMs can climb to over 105 degrees on the reference card? That's because they don't come in contact with the water block. However, the CryoVenom's block extends to the power circuitry and memory though, so it's reasonable to assume those components are operating at a much lower peak temperature, too. While the CryoVenom uses AMD's reference PCB without a beefed up power delivery system, the purportedly-reduced VRM temperature is very welcome and has the potential to enhance stability.

Overclocking

That brings us to overclocking. Of course we're at the mercy of the GPUs, since luck of the draw plays heavily into our hopes for higher clock rates. But blessed with lower temperatures, we should be able to extract the most headroom that these GPUs have to offer.

While we managed to run some tests with the graphics processors at 1160 MHz, we were only able to push the cores to a stable 1080 MHz.

As for the 8 GB of on-board GDDR5 memory, we increased it from 1250 MHz stock (5 GT/s effective) to 1500 MHz (6 GT/s effective). These overclocks result in a noticeable performance increase, as demonstrated by the 3DMark scores:

Noise

Lower temperatures and increased performance shouldn't come at the cost of unwanted noise in a no-compromise solution like VisionTek's CryoVenom. Let's see how it fares compared to other products after a 30-minute gaming loop:

VisionTek's CryoVenom nudges out the reference Radeon R9 295X2 for the best result. No matter how you slice it, this is a very low noise footprint, and is especially impressive when you consider the excellent temperatures that this product enables.

4. Capable Cooling Hardware Tames The Beast

[Oct 13/2014 addendum: Visiontek has lowered pricing across its liquid-cooled graphics card line in response to feedback from this article, and the CryoVenom R9 295X2 kits have dropped a whopping $300. We have reflected this change in our writeup below. You can check the Visiontek website for specific details.]

Liquid cooling is popular because of its two main benefits: superb thermal performance and quiet operation. As the results on the previous page demonstrate, VisionTek's CryoVenom R9 295X2 embodies both goals while achieving much lower temperatures than AMD's reference Radeon R9 295X2.

If you're serious about buying a Radeon R9 295X2, and you're not particularly impressed with the closed-loop reference cooler and its ineffective treatment of the card's very hot VRMs, VisionTek's CryoVenom R9 295X2 is an attractive solution. If you want to link two Radeon R9 295X2 cards in four-way CrossFire, this product is more promising than AMD's factory implementation (though our initial impressions of four Hawaii GPUs working together weren't particularly positive).

And if you're looking for an all-in-one product that provides expandable open-loop liquid cooling combined with high-end graphics, this kit should be on your short list. VisionTek also has you covered if you want an open-loop liquid-cooled 295X2, but are afraid of sacrificing the warranty.

There is a price to be paid for the convenience and security that the CryoVenom R9 295X2 offers, however. Enthusiasts able to live with the reference cooler can pick up VisionTek's standard Radeon R9 295X2 for $1000 on Newegg, although AMD says this might be a short-term sale price. Compare that with the CryoVenom R9 295X2's base price of $1450 without a bundled cooling system. Include the open-loop kit with all of its trimmings, and you're looking at $1700. That's 1.7x what a base-model Radeon R9 295X2 costs.

To be fair, the included EKWB cooling hardware is top-of-the-line, and the price of its cooling kit alone would set you back a significant amount of money. Add to that an expensive 295X2 water block (at about $275) and the price difference is less of a surprise. If you buy the parts separately, though, your $1000 Radeon R9 295X2's warranty will likely be void once you install them.

What about alternatives? Asus offers the ROG Ares III-8GD5, a Radeon R9 295X2 on a custom PCB with beefed-up power circuitry and an EKWB single-slot cooler for $1500. But that doesn't come with the required open-loop cooling system, and Asus offers no option to bundle one.

Value can be a relative term. For a serious enthusiast who demands high-end liquid cooling and is concerned with more than paying the lowest possible price to get it, I think VisionTek's CryoVenom R9 295X2 can be a compelling option. Of course, a budget-conscious consumer can always opt for an $800 pair of Radeon R9 290X cards in CrossFire, resulting in similar 3D performance. Only, the acoustic output and resulting heat won't be in the same ballpark. There are certain benefits that only an open-loop liquid cooling system can introduce, and from that perspective, VisionTek's CryoVenom R9 295X2 does not disappoint.