290X cooling - first go

teppic

teppic

teppic

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I've never used watercooling before, but I'm thinking of selling my 670s and getting a reference 290X and giving it a go.

I'd only want to cool the card, to keep things as simple as possible.

Case is Fractal Define R3. The CPU has a pretty enormous cooler (Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 2). I'd consider replacing the case if something else would make things much better.

I'm not really sure of budget since I know so little about this, but I'd like to keep the cost low.

Any spec suggestions appreciated :)
 
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well if you are going for GPU cooling (and you're set on it) then why not cool the CPU while you're at it? cant see any problems with your case and watercooling.

Im defo not the person to ask about WC , but if your considering replacing SLI 670's then you must have an alright budget. I wager you can get a whole rig cooled for a decent price. Depending on how you want it set up you might want a new case (Maybe something along the lines of the corsair 750D ?)
 
I figured that it'd be simpler and cheaper to cool just the graphics card (smaller radiator, etc). The CPU is cooled fine by my existing cooler, and it's never noisy, so I'm happy with that.

As I've only ever used air cooling before I don't really know what's ideal so it's hard to set any budget. And the sale of the 670s is to pay for the 290X :)
 
slid 670s will out perform a single 290x

There real is no point doing a loop for just the gpu however,

The only place in the r3 to mount a rad is in the roof and I doubt there is sufficient gap for a rad and a big air cooler which rules out doing just the gpu, problem 2 a single 240 rad will not be enough to cool a 290x and a 4770k.

Option 1
Keep the 670s and dont change anything

Option 2
Change the card and swap the case to something that will take multiple rads or at the very least a 360 preferable 360 and 240 which will allow you to do cpu and gpu

Option 3
Swap the cards but keep the 290x aircooled

For me option 3 isnt really a choice you get lower performance and higher noise, option 1 is probably the one id go for and if you want to watercool will allow you to just swap the case and play, option2 is the most expensive and without going to two 290xs will give you a performance drop however its your money
 
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The 290x is fairly power hungry, so i wouldn't cool it on less than a decent 240mm radiator. Hell, the cost of watercooling a GPU and the cost of a 290x is probably about the same as two 290s(non x) with the MK26, not that you have room for that on your motherboard or case lol.

If you want to watercool the 290x, you can take out the HDD bays at stick a 240mm rad in there. Though if you are on a budget, the cheapest way would be to use a AIO loop and a GPU compatible mount (or DIY cable ties :D)
 
So unless I cool the CPU and GPU combined it's pretty much a waste of time?

I know that a 290X is a bit less performance than 2x670s, but since these are air cooled, they get very hot even with good case air flow, and they're limited to 2GB/256bit memory. And under water I'd expect the 290X to be not too far off.
 
I'm going to be doing the same Teppic,

Already got a H100 cooling the cpu, so just looking to put the 290X underwater for now.

In regards to the 290X needing a 240 or 360 rad for cooling, i think it won't, the card doesn't run any hotter than the 6950 it replaced (at least in my case)

Going to Get a 240 and 120 rads and see how the 120 performs first.
 
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As someone has already said, wouldn't use anything less than 240mm. Once you add voltage you'll still (at a guess) see load temps of near on 60C depending on how good your fans/pump are. Definitely do it properly or not at all! :)
 
I did think about getting a Corsair 540 case, I'm guessing that'd be no problem size wise. My Fractal R3 is about 3 years old so I'm not too bothered about upgrading it.
 
With a 540 rad space wouldnt be an issue but with that much room not doing the cpu too would be a crime, Id still be tempted to stick with the 670s though, not sure if youve clocked them or not but mine love water clocked up to 1215 boost and 7k memory backed by a 4.5ghz cpu also under water theres nothing that my rig struggles with.

Personally if it was my money id keep the 670s grab a 540 and fill it with rads, or at the very least wait till the 290 cards come out next week, if they are up to the current expectations they will be the bargain of the year and youl kick yourself for getting a 290x
 
I haven't put my 290x under yet (waiting on the card), but going from what rjkoneill said, i would say that a 240mm is ideal.

I was just playing with my new 540 for this CPU + GPU set up and am going with a 360 and 240mm radiator. If after the overclock volts, I am in need of more cooling, ill attach a 240mm to the back panel compartment.

Didn't someone say that the 290x uses just shy of 60w less than a 7990?
 
Assuming I get a 540, what would be the best option assuming I do get a 290/290X? How different would the set up be if I included the CPU too - though the CPU cooling is fine as it is (my CPU won't clock higher).

My 670s are two different models, Asus and MSI, and both custom designs so I don't even know if it'd be possible to put them under water if I kept them.

I'd like a 290X, but I'm not interested in the reference cooler and I've thought about setting up water cooling for the first time for a while now.
 
Also it apparently helps take the strain of a heavy card and block off the pcie slots due to some of the weight being supported by tubing that connects gpu to cpu. I would say a 360 is enough for a 290x + CPU but to get a good amount overhead, might be worth paying out for another 240 rad. Pump wise a D5 is good but a EK 4.0 would work just the same in a small loop like this and itl cost half the price.

Watercooling is just as addictive as overclocking, so you might find yourself adding the CPU in sooner or later teppic :)
 
I was on a 360 for my 2700k with full load temps around 56c at 5GHz, adding the 290x and another 120 rad saw temps rise by about 10 degrees on the CPU, GPU stays below 41, quite happy apart from the singing coils
 
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