GPU water cooling worth it?

[BashMills]

Hello! First time posting, looking for some advice. I'm in the middle of doing my 5th build and I'm wanting to dive into water cooling for the first time. So I got myself a nice shiny Kraken X61 AIO for the CPU as it seems easy enough for a starter. Now I couldn't help but notice the Kraken G10s and was wondering if it's worth getting one of those with say a Kraken X41 or X31?

I'm looking at 1070s and the card I did have my eye on was the MSI GAMING X which is just within my budget. Or I could instead get myself the KFA2 Reference Blower and have enough left over to get the G10 and the X41.

But is it worth it? I've also read that if water cooling it doesn't matter so much the brand and type of 1070. Is this true?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Panos]

if you mean watercooling with CPU AIO? You need to find a way to cool the rest of the card (VRMs etc), because is not only the GPU that needs cooling there.

If you hadn't spend any money, I would have advice you to grab a Predator 360 (or 240 if you do not overclock a lot and having a small case) with QDC, and a prefilled block for the 1070.


I did the same on my 4820K and R9 Nano, and haven't looked back.
Dead easy to put all together and full blown watercooling.

 

[BashMills]

Yeah I mean an AIO cooler. Yeah I'm aware that I'll have to pick up some VRAM and VRM heatsinks but they're quite cheap and the G10 already has a handy fan built in to blow on them too.

I did look at the Predators having read very good things about them, but they were a bit out my price range so opted for the cheaper X61. I probably wouldn't feel comfortable trying to extend that to include a block, if that's even possible. Plus the blocks themselves seem to be rather expensive.

I'll definitely keep that in mind for my next build though! Thanks. But you definitely do recommend going water cooling for graphics?

 

[Minstadave]

The 1070 doesn't really benefit from water, it doesn't run particularly hot or loud on a decent non-ref cooler and there's not much to be gained overclocking wise either.

 

[BashMills]

Aw really? After doing a bit more research it seems you might be right I was hoping the overclocking would be more substantial. Thanks!

But still, if I can get a water cooled 1070 for the same price as a good air cooled one surely that's still better for heat and noise? And will still give a little bit better overclocking?

I mean the MSI GAMING X is £450 on OC right now. The KFA2 Reference Blower is £360 + £85 for the X41 = £445 so it's actually fractionally cheaper.

Or maybe I'm just talking myself into a pointless purchase! Decisions, decisions...

 

[Minstadave]

It's a pointless purchase TBH.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

AIO don't offer much over air coolers in terms of heat or noise. Proper water cooling is achieved via a custom loop. Sure, there are plenty of people who will tell you that an AIO is perfectly viable solution and in some ways they are... But in terms of cool and quiet, it's custom loops that make the difference.

I've actually just installed a Titan X block onto an INNO3D Hybrid 980ti and it's went from a fairly noisy 65c space heater to a 45c near silent experience.