Help with setting up WC solution

mcatk

mcatk

mcatk

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25 Aug 2017
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Hi,

Case: Fractal Design Define R4
GPU: EVGA Nvidia GeForce GTX 770 Superclocked 2GB GDDR5 Graphics Card
CPU: i5-4670K

The pain: Currently i have a bulky air cooling for CPU and stock Evga cooling for the GTX, The case has
* 2 front facing fans
* 1 rear facing fan
* 1 top facing fan
* 1 side faxing fan on the case sliding panel

Its about 3 years old and there is creaking and noise from all the fans. Been considering replacing ... but under load it is still quite loud also the internals look like a nightmare from hell.

Is there something ready build that can cover both CPU and GPU cooling with one thing for both ? Is there anyway i can set it up in a way that everything is nice and cool with minimal fans.
I am relatively educated in terms of how to do general stuff. (always build my own pcs etc. and maintained them. ) However WC is way out of my comfort zone.

Also for custom work i simply do not have the vision/imagination. Tried looking for someone that will take the case clean it up. Install WC and make it nice and clean but couldn't find any such person/service around London :(

So off i go doing on my own. If someone can recommend something good that is a pre bundled package would be great.
Or if someone is willing and has the time to list me items i should buy and then guide me ... i am not going to say no to that as well.

I have read some of the guides and used google but .. it left me more confused than when i started so decided to just ask and see if some good soul will help.

Regards,
Atk
 
Well, 2 choices really.

Go full custom = lots of money. Think £300 - £400 sort of range.

Go 2 separate "all in one" water coolers, one for GPU, one for CPU

If you go for option 2, then I would recommend spending hours trawling google to find people who have mounted a 240mm cooler at the top and another 240mm cooler at the front, then buy exactly the same one so you know it will fit (though different motherboards can have ram slots in different places etc, so even that's not 100% foolproof.

I'm not sure if there is a premade bracket thing to mount an AIO cooler to that GPU? Do some research, if not, you might have to "ghetto mod" a cooler on to it if you can be bothered.

I will say that that GPU is getting on a bit now, and in my opinion its not worth the cost to watercool it, I feel the money would be better spent on an upgrade, but that's just my opinion.
 
Upgrade i was considering on GPU.
BUt not sure if the CPU can feed a better GPU.
Originally i thought of buying EVGA 1080 FTW2 ( or something like that ) ( looks like it has slick cooling design) and just to AIO on the CPU. ANd get rid of all other fans as both parts will have adequate cooling.
 
CPU is still a good CPU. It would be a decent match for a 1080 I would say.

I'm not sure what you mean about getting rid of all other fans? If you mean you are going to take out all the case fans and not replace them, then that's a terrible idea as heat will build up in your case and everything will overheat, especially as a GPU like the FTW2 dumps all the heat into the case. Case fans are 100% required.

EDIT - Also, depending on what "bulky air cooler" you have, then it probably performs about on par with an AIO anyway. Something like a Noctua D15 will keep up with just about any AIO on the market
 
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Air Cooler '4 Heatpipes, 1x 120mm PWM Fan, 4-Pin Connector' RR-212E-16PK-R1

THis is what i use for the CPU.
Well i might leave some of them but 6 ... isn't that overdoing it ?
It just ages so bad. ITs been only 3 years and a half and they all sound creaky.
 
Well, its not the best CPU cooler in the world, so a 240mm AIO would be a decent upgrade.

I would keep at least 2 in and 2 out. They shouldn't go bad in 3 years. All my fans have lasted longer than I've needed them. I had my 7x noctua nf-12s for like 4 years before I sold them on for a decent amount, no complaints from the new owner.

I'm using 4x EK vardars and 2x corsair AF14s ATM. I've been using them for like 3 years or so, no issues yet.

EDIT - maybe not 3 years with the new fans, but either way, they shouldn't be crapping out on you after 3 years.
 
Evian said:
I would upgrade your components instead of a cooling solution
Click to expand...
It literally is what i am trying to decide what to do :)
The thing is board is MSI Z97 Gaming 5 any CPU i put in there will be at best marginally better ( if i stick to good value for money )
As i said i quite liked the GTX 1080 FTW2 since it has individually controlled FANs and in idle they don't even run due to good heat design. But then ... i struggle to kind of rationalise the GTX 1080 as i game in 1920x1080.
I got a reasonably good Crucial M4 SSD in there as well. So .. the thing performs for what i have time to do with it.

It is 3 years old and i would like to "update" it and give it some love ... just not sure what is the best way. Changing MoBo will be huge headache as i have to replace everything pretty much. Cooling felt like low hanging fruit :) But then WC seems to be way overkill for me judging by the comments :(
For now i am taking new boy's comment on his fans and investigating if i can get those for my case and replace current. and remove 2 of the fans i have. So i would end up with something like 1 out at the back, 1 out at the side panel and two sucking air IN in the front.
 
mcatk said:
It literally is what i am trying to decide what to do :)
The thing is board is MSI Z97 Gaming 5 any CPU i put in there will be at best marginally better ( if i stick to good value for money )
As i said i quite liked the GTX 1080 FTW2 since it has individually controlled FANs and in idle they don't even run due to good heat design. But then ... i struggle to kind of rationalise the GTX 1080 as i game in 1920x1080.
I got a reasonably good Crucial M4 SSD in there as well. So .. the thing performs for what i have time to do with it.

It is 3 years old and i would like to "update" it and give it some love ... just not sure what is the best way. Changing MoBo will be huge headache as i have to replace everything pretty much. Cooling felt like low hanging fruit :) But then WC seems to be way overkill for me judging by the comments :(
For now i am taking new boy's comment on his fans and investigating if i can get those for my case and replace current. and remove 2 of the fans i have. So i would end up with something like 1 out at the back, 1 out at the side panel and two sucking air IN in the front.
Click to expand...

What about selling your i5 4670k and buying a used i7 4790k while getting a 1080? if you really want Watercooling on the cheap you could maybe look at the EKWB Fluid Gaming kit's https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ek-w...-performance-water-cooling-kit-wc-9ex-ek.html it's aluminum so nothing else is compatible with it though except EK's aluminum parts for it.
 
Hmmmmm
I see what you mean! 260 quid ( It is super slick tho ! I like it ) .
But indeed i just checked seems like i can fetch about 70-80 for GPU and about 50-60 for CPU at ebay.
250 is a i7 4790k
And i just realised there is EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 FTW which is nearly a whopping 200 quid less than the 1080 FTW2 and for 1080p gaming ... even that is overkill and a 2 generations upgrade from my 770.
This sounds quite nice. Will my 750 w PSU ( Silver Certified or something ) cope with that ?

So ... take 4 new fans like what new boy suggested Noctua i think, sell CPU & GPU, get new CPU and GPU.
Ok then what would you suggest for cooling the 4790k ? My current solution is actually quite annoying. https://goo.gl/photos/d3wNSG99U4sHuDrx5 If you check the pic you can see the actual fan bumping in the memory :(

And ya my case is a mess :(
 
mcatk said:
Hmmmmm
I see what you mean! 260 quid ( It is super slick tho ! I like it ) .
But indeed i just checked seems like i can fetch about 70-80 for GPU and about 50-60 for CPU at ebay.
250 is a i7 4790k
And i just realised there is EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 FTW which is nearly a whopping 200 quid less than the 1080 FTW2 and for 1080p gaming ... even that is overkill and a 2 generations upgrade from my 770.
This sounds quite nice. Will my 750 w PSU ( Silver Certified or something ) cope with that ?

So ... take 4 new fans like what new boy suggested Noctua i think, sell CPU & GPU, get new CPU and GPU.
Ok then what would you suggest for cooling the 4790k ? My current solution is actually quite annoying. https://goo.gl/photos/d3wNSG99U4sHuDrx5 If you check the pic you can see the actual fan bumping in the memory :(

And ya my case is a mess :(
Click to expand...

1070 is a great card for 1080p, is your monitor 60Hz? PSU is enough, I would not go for the 4790k if you can only get 50-60 for your CPU, Noctua has great fans, What's annoying you about your current cooler just because it's sitting on top of your RAM? You could maybe look at it and check if there is a build up of dust inside it clean it out.
 
Haha yeah ... its just annoying not really functionally an issue. Just cleaned the whole thing today :)
Yeah sadly its a good CPU to be honest but price fell down as it is few gens old. You reckon it will be able to feed even a 1080 ?

Real talk here now What would YOU guys advise:
Both cards are FTW2 design which is what i love. My research so far has led me to this being the best thermal design in general that is not WC based and somewhat easier to manage with.
GTX 1070 FTW 2 - £469.99
GTX 1080 FTW 2 - £558.98
Difference: 89 quid ... is it worth it ? My general issue is not the money per say but value for money. Like paying 100 quid on a GPU that already costs 400 to get 2-3-4-5 extra frames is absolutely a waste of hard earned money. I looked at reviews etc. Even with frame drops etc. at my res. it seems that the 1080 will be a complete waste as it will simply be pushing out FPS never to be needed?

Monitor is: BenQ GL2450HM LED TN 24 - ya it is 60 hz :)
 
1070 will stomp 1080p at 60hz, Everything will max out, Have you checked out used prices for a 1070? Get EVGA if you get used warranty transfers over etc if you find a good deal, 1070 is overkill for 1080p 60hz tbh, 1080 is massive overkill but I guess you will upgrade your monitor eventually? your CPU will be enough for a 1080 yes.

You won't see much difference if at all with your monitor between 1070 and 1080 because it's only 60hz
 
If you want more gaming performance then a new GPU would be the way to go. Unfortunately GPU prices are through the roof for everything but the 1080+ cards at the moment cause of GPU mining. I wouldn't spend any more than £400 on a 1070 cause for £450ish you can get a 1080 which is significantly faster.

The 4690K would be fine for 60Hz gaming, the 4790K is not worth the price they are asking. Might as well go for a full platform upgrade to Ryzen for that price.

Noise wise it could be that you have a few noisy fans, or that your fans are running too fast. I don't think throwing what you have away and replacing with noctua fans and an AIO is a smart move at all - both are seriously overhyped and overpriced. I replaced about 5 noctua fans (P12 and F12) with arctic cooling F12s and an NZXT Grid+ V2, airflow was improved at the same noise level, they mostly idled at around 600rpm, then slowly ramped up depending on GPU temperature which is the main source of heat in any gaming build but never needed to be above 1000rpm to cool similar components to yourself.

I will say that the big noctua tower coolers are insane though, with my 2500K I was hitting dangerous voltage long before dangerous temps with the fans on the lowest speed. As long as the big cooler fits, they are more reliable, less risky, longer lasting and quieter than AIOs.
 
Yeah ... i am in no rush ... just really wanted to ask the question as i was cleaning up the Case/PC and i got it into my head.

I will eventually upgrade monitor but not near to mid term. I heard about the GPU prices ... how long you guys reckon that will last ... i notice prices are awful. Is it better for me that i wait a few months. Honestly please don't laugh but all i play is Diablo3, Modded Minecraft , dota2 and The Division ... Maybe a few more games. Have huge library but no time with wife and kid :D

What inspired the whole thing is i am waiting for Destiny 2 and for all of the criticism it takes ... it is a sci fi shooter with loot ... As a guy that doesn't mind grinding mining in minecraft grind does not scare me.
But my point is with the limited time i have for gaming i want it to be ... AWESOME. Hence keeping a relatively powerful desktop, i want pretty graphic and smooth game play even if it is 3-4 hours a week :D :)

So long story short would waiting a few months and upgrading to 1070 or 1080 when prices drop and after that wait some more months and then upgrade the rest be the best path here then ?
And for cooling simply buy a new case when i change the whole thing to something i can cool properly ( I kind of got this case of e-bay with pre installed **** and never bothered to do anything but install components and go :D )
 
Any chance of a picture of your case internals so we can see what you have going on?

I would try removing the top and side fans first to see if it quietens down, they may be causing turbulence. Also remove any HDD cages if you are not using them.

Have you overclocked the CPU?
What RAM have you got? If they have massive heatsinks on they may not fit under some CPU coolers.
PSU. How old and what brand, also is it modular or fixed cables and are the cables routed round the back of the motherboard tray?
 
freddie64 said:
Any chance of a picture of your case internals so we can see what you have going on?

I would try removing the top and side fans first to see if it quietens down, they may be causing turbulence. Also remove any HDD cages if you are not using them.

Have you overclocked the CPU?
What RAM have you got? If they have massive heatsinks on they may not fit under some CPU coolers.
PSU. How old and what brand, also is it modular or fixed cables and are the cables routed round the back of the motherboard tray?
Click to expand...
From above https://goo.gl/photos/d3wNSG99U4sHuDrx5
 
1 ) Overclock your CPU ( ~ 4.3 Ghz is easy on a 4670K and could easily go higher depending on chip )
2 ) get a 1070
3 ) enjoy

Antec TruePower 750 is fine
 
Disco_P said:
From above https://goo.gl/photos/d3wNSG99U4sHuDrx5
Click to expand...

Totally missed that. :D

Mount the HDDs so cables are at the other side of the case.
Get as much of the cables behind the motherboard tray as possible. (some of them cables look very close to the front fans)
Give it a clean out. ;)
Would still try it with no top or side fans. (sometimes less is more)
How fast are you running the fans?
 
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