It's time to watercool now im going SLI!

AssaTM · 28 May 2015 at 22:23

Hi all, I bought an Enthoo Primo a few months ago with the intention to watercool there and then, but with the PWM hub my PC is literally SILENT on idle, I cant actually tell its on, but im eyeing up either the Titan X or most likely the 980Ti for an SLI solution since I will be gaming at 4k, now I could just pop two cards in but im guessing they're gonna be toasty and loud, and since i've been used to a silent PC for months now im worried adding two cards into SLI will be a rude awakening.

So my idea is to finally watercool the PC, but my first question is, with the right fans etc, could I have an SLI setup be essentially silent in watercooling? and second of all, would someone be kind enough to spec me out a setup for an I5 3570k, 2x Most likely 980Ti configuration please?

what radiators, sizes, how many etc, the only requirement i'd add is I really like the idea of an XSPC Photon tube/pump combo on the mounting plate for the Primo so apart from that everything is fair game please

(Unless the Photon isnt recommended for that setup?) dont worry about budget, im looking for as much as silence to performance as possible so if the fans are more of a premium or the components then i'm willing to pay the extra for that, thank you for the help, it is greatly appreciated

Kuros · 29 May 2015 at 21:17

Which case do you have? If you're looking to watercool 980Ti's when they are coming out, you might have a bit of wait for appropriate water-blocks to come out, there is often a slight delay. Could be worth picking up reference card models when they are released, try them out to see if they are too loud for you to want and then spec up a system when blocks are released. (It's a stripped down TitanX, so there is a chance the same waterblocks will fit, but it's unlikely to be known before release)

BRIGGBOY81 · 29 May 2015 at 22:01

i would suggest 2 360 or 2 480 rads 1 in the top and 1 in the bottom

Noxvayl · 29 May 2015 at 22:31

I'd get a 420 rad for the top, 480 in the bottom and 240 for the front because I like as much cooling performance as possible. From your case specs that is the maximum rad area you can fit in the top, bottom and front... I'd leave the rear for an intake fan. Having the rear fan as an intake made a large difference to the performance of my rig. It also blows fresh air over the motherboard and RAM which is helpful for those non-watercooled components.

The GPU blocks are specific to your choice of GPU if you don't plan on getting cards already fitted with waterblocks from OCUK. On the CPU side Koolance have the best performing block from memory, but there isn't much difference between all the options so I'd get one that matches your GPU block. EK is the most popular GPU block so any of their CPU blocks would be a good match.

I paid a premium for Noctua fans and don't regret it. They are expensive compared to other fans but the noise characteristics of the fans are second to none allowing me to have them run faster than I can tolerate other fans. When you do here them, above 50% PWM setting, they are more pleasant than the drone of other fans I have owned. The only other fans I would recommend for silent operation using PWM control are Akasa Viper or Apache fans, exceptional performance for the price and they are silent below 40% PWM.

As for the pump and reservoir combo, I like the look of it and it should be more than enough for 3 rads and 3 water blocks. I have the EK version because the XSPC Photon won't fit in my 550D with the way I have arranged it.

BRIGGBOY81 · 30 May 2015 at 00:42

I have used apache fans on rads and while they perform ok they certainly aren't the best. EK Vardar are miles better than the apache and viper when mounted to a rad.

AssaTM · 31 May 2015 at 01:32

Thank you for the help so far guys, would you recommend I go for a 140mm fan sized radiator for the top and bottom? something like the Noctua NF-A14's? since that will be one less fan which will hopefully mean quieter without sacrificing on performance? Since they can go from 500 to 2000rpm that sounds fantastic for my needs as they can be basically silent at 500rpm when they arent really needed to push much air? thank you for the help

Edit: Or https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-045-BX&tool=3 these for a more colour friendly fan with just as much control as far as RPM goes

haha

BRIGGBOY81 · 31 May 2015 at 13:52

I personally am not a fan of 140mm size radiators and would suggest 120mm variants. For example I have 2 360 phobya g-changers with 1 in the top and 1 in the bottom. The problem with 140mm rads is that 140mm fans don't have as good static pressure as 120mm fans.

AssaTM · 31 May 2015 at 14:30

Ahh thats fair enough then

so if I get two 480 rads what kind of RPM would I be looking to run the fans at? like I said I dont want it being loud so maybe it's worth even having a 480 on the top, 360 on the bottom and a 240 in the front? that much radiator surface area would hopefully mean a pretty silent setup right? I dont care if my gfx cards are 50 rather than 40 degrees after all, I just dont want anything to be throttled at all

thank you

Noxvayl · 31 May 2015 at 17:32

I suggested using the 420mm radiator at the top because using 140mm fans at the top provides you with lower noise in an area that is most sensitive to noise. 120mm fans at the front and bottom (240 and 480 rads) wouldn't contribute to noise you can hear from outside the case as much as fans pushing air directly into the room.

Noise can be obstructed and absorbed by your carpet/floor for the bottom radiator and the front of this case has mesh with filter material that helps reduce noise. Using fans as intakes also helps project the noise they make into the case rather than out of it like exhaust fans would.

As for the NF-A14 fans, I have one in my setup and it is quiet up to 1000RPM. The NF-F12 on the other hand can be heard at 1000RPM. They are both brilliant fans though and I highly recommend them if you want silent operation with good performance. Their new industrial range are better looking and are designed to last longer but for silent operation are not any better than the tan brown versions.

BRIGGBOY81 · 31 May 2015 at 17:33

AssaTM said:
Ahh thats fair enough then so if I get two 480 rads what kind of RPM would I be looking to run the fans at? like I said I dont want it being loud so maybe it's worth even having a 480 on the top, 360 on the bottom and a 240 in the front? that much radiator surface area would hopefully mean a pretty silent setup right? I dont care if my gfx cards are 50 rather than 40 degrees after all, I just dont want anything to be throttled at all thank you

i run all my fans between 800-1200 rpm. Personally, just get 2 480 rads with some ef vardar fans and dial down the rpm and she will be pretty much silent. My temps are 55-65 on the cpu and 40-50 on the gpus depending on the game and thats with 2 360 rads. You will be absolutely fine with the 2 480's and nothing will be throtled