Watercooling my 480 SLI setup

layte

layte

layte

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I have little knowledge when it comes to choosing what parts I need for a watercooling setup so the advice of the experts would be appreciated.

I have a GTX 480 SLI setup and it NEEDS some watercooling love (the heat and noise is bad). Beyond a pair of EK 480 full coverage blocks I have little idea on everything else I should buy. I don't feel the need to add my CPU into the loop (4Ghz i7 on air, is quiet and fast enough as is).

My case is an Antec P183 so space is a little cramped inside, and my cards are next to each other on my board.

Help me please OCUK forums, you are my only hope!
 
you need a fair pump [ddc 10w should be ok, either that or an xspc bay res pump combo would work]

a barb/compression fitting for each inlet and each outlet. tubing to match in size.
i like using 1/2 DTEK hose tail barbs with 7/16 tubing
if you want to use compression fittings then bitspower are the only ones i would trust around £1000 worth of GPUs

then you need a radiator.
i would imagine a triple would be the best bet.

personally i would go for a D5 pump and include a quad radiator this way you can put the cpu on the loop too.

radiators of choice would be thermochill or XSPC [RX series and not the thinner, inferior RS]

this way you can use slower fans = less noise
 
I absolutely love the p183 case. Let us know if and how you manage to squeeze the rads in, looking at a similiar setup for my new build :)

koolance offer a solution, but I'm sure the case can be forced to fit enough rads in without plonking it on top.
 
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rancid_elf said:
Personally I would not add the cpu / chipset to that loop.

To cool 2 of those things you are going to need a triple / quad rad just for the gpu's.
Click to expand...

i'm not so sure, i've got a 5970 and 5870 in the same loop with a 120.3, overclocked, and with full cover blocks - they never go above 50. Adding a cpu will not add a massive heat dump into the loop.
 
DeeJayCee said:
I absolutely love the p183 case. Let us know if and how you manage to squeeze the rads in, looking at a similiar setup for my new build :)

koolance offer a solution, but I'm sure the case can be forced to fit enough rads in without plinking this on top:
Click to expand...

might want to take out that link mate
 
OK. I have tried to spec up the parts I think I will need from OCuk. The only thing that has me scratching my head is the Rad. It states that it has a G3/8 thread but I cannot find any barbs with that thread type (I am probably missing the obvious here, feel free to point and laugh).

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twist3d0n3 said:
3 barbs???
Click to expand...

Two for the reservoir, one for the top GPU and the angled one is for the bottom GPU, the pump appears to not need any (have I made a mistake here? Please let me know if so). Is the purpose built SLI/Xfire connector a bad idea? Would using standard barbs and a very short piece of tubing be better? Also as I said, I cannot work out which barbs I should be getting for the radiator, probably me being new to all this.

Thanks in advance for answering my noobish questions. :)
 
the rad will need the thermochill adapters


this will allow you to put regular barbs on the thermochill rads :)

and putting the cpu on a waterloop with those cards will be fine. especially on a rad of that size.
i speak from personal experience and not from rough estimations.

in my testing the quad 120 rad was better than the triple 140 ever so slightly

plus there is much more choice when it comes to fans for 120mm
 
Be aware if thats the rad you are going for it takes 140mm fans and that i'm not sure any cases offer any pre drilled holes or fixings for 140mm rads (i think the tj07 can fit one in though). The 140.3 offers about the same performance as the 120.4 rad but with less noise due to the larger fans used. Hope you find the best setup to cool those beasts.
 
OK so those adaptors and a 120 based rad then. Thanks for the input chaps. I'm sure I will have more questions as I start getting all the parts together.

If I do add the CPU to this, what block would you recommend for a i7-920 (I am using a Gigabyte UD5 board), and would I need to change anything else (pump, reservoir ?)
 
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Good choice with 7/16" tubing and 1/2" barbs. Probably won't need the hose clamps as once there on, there on!

Your pump and res will be fine as the D5 vario has more than enough power, especially when on setting 5 (highest). I would recommend the EK Water Blocks EK-Supreme HF partially because I've got one and partially because it is a quality block. Looks really good in nickel too :)
 
Soo.. after a bit of thinking I reckon buying a new case with watercooling in mind would be the best option. I have had a look at the Corsair 800D and what I am thinking is mounting a triple 120 rad in the top for the two 480's and a single 140/120 on the rear for the CPU. Keeping the D5 for the GPU's and then getting something smaller like this: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-007-XS&groupid=962&catid=1522&subcat= for the CPU loop. (Or could I go D5 Pump -> CPU -> 140/120.1 -> 480 -> 480 -> 120.3 -> reservoir -> back to the pump ?) Is that overkill? Could I get away with a single 120.3 for all of this?
 
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i use a ,triple a liang ddc-pro with a ek top with res built

just put a 480 in the loop and it idles at 46 (23 ambient) load 70 having 2 cards in the loop aint going to add 10oc prob 1 or 2.

it will all be down to how the case is vented imo
 
Maybe consider getting the proper sli connector for the gcards instead of bridging them with barbs.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-183-OK&groupid=962&catid=1529&subcat=1747

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-009-PB&groupid=962&catid=1529&subcat=1747

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-184-OK&groupid=962&catid=1529&subcat=1747

Infact, I would say this is essential if they are separated by just one slot, so depends on how far apart they are. Will definately be less phaff given you are using 7/16" over 1/2" barbs even for 2 or 3 slot separation, what with trying to fit a length of that tube between the cards, whilst having to warm up both ends of the bit of tube. That is phaff personified actually.

p.s. what is it with gold plated fittings on ocuk? I think they look ridiculous personally.
 
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