How to cool VRAM using universal waterblocks?

martys · 24 May 2012 at 06:38

Hi, watercooling newbie here!

If I use a universal vga waterblock, what is the best way to go about cooling the vram and are there any other parts of the card that need to be cooled?

Also, I don't suppose anyone has a spare gtx480 cooler they are willing to sell?

Nuwidol · 24 May 2012 at 08:13

You'll need to put heatsinks onto each memory block. You'd probably do well to point a fan at the card/s too.

Something like this

Also, you can't ask about buying stuff here. You'll need to wait till you're eligible to enter the Members Market section of the forum.

Bubo · 24 May 2012 at 08:22

Ram sinks for the ram, mosfet sinks for the vrms. Or if you are prepared to do a bit of modding to the block you could leave the existing heat spreader on cards like the 480. Depending on clearances you may not even need to mod the block.

pastymuncher · 24 May 2012 at 12:51

You will struggle to cool the vrm's on a 480 with heatsinks. I cut up a old Pentium heatsink for the vrm's on my card and even with a fan directly over it i could'nt overclock the card due to vrm temps getting stupidly high. In the end i caved and got a good del on a EK GTX480FC in the MM.

Cleeecooo · 24 May 2012 at 17:14

Can't you keep the stock cooler on with a universal waterblock on the 480?

pastymuncher · 24 May 2012 at 19:12

You can but it looks bloody awful. Don't know how the vrm's would cope though. May even have to keep the fan running.

martys · 24 May 2012 at 19:31

Thanks for the help! I think I'm probably better off waiting until I can find a second hand block somewhere then. Also, sorry for asking about buying one on here, didn't realise there was a dedicated section for that

pastymuncher · 25 May 2012 at 08:51

It's worth keeping an eye on the bay for a full cover block as well. They come up from time to time and usually go for £25-35 depending on the make. That's significantly less than a decent universal block would set you back. Apart from the nickel plated blocks there is very little that can go wrong with a block so you would be safe buying from the bay.