Options : New Case, Kraken G10, Custom Loop or new GPU?

katinacooker · 27 Jul 2014 at 23:15

I have a conundrum. I have an H440, i5 4670k & HIS Radeon 7950 IceQ. When gaming, my GPU gets up to around 70C, and that makes it pretty loud, which kind of defeats the purpose of having a quieter case. I'm looking to change this. So my options are

a) Spend £130 on a new case (Phanteks Enthoo Luxe in White), which has better airflow, looks amazing but i'd have to buy my own sound deadning material if i wanted to reduce noise, and this would be my 3rd case in 12 months and i'm fairly sure my Mrs would kill me.

b) Spend £80-£140 on a CLC + Kraken G10 + VRM heatsinks for my GPU. Which is a lot of money to spend on an ageing GPU, but would (hopefully) reduce sound. Bad points are i could mess up and break my GPU, and i'd probably lose the use of some 3.5" caddies.

c) Spend £250-£300ish on a custom water loop. Bad points are its expensive, i could damage my components, and it will only last until my GPU gets out of date & i'd have to spend more money on a new waterblock as well as and updated GPU, but it has the fun of being a new project.

d) Spend £150-£300 on a new GPU, and hope i don't have the same issues, and my 7950 hasnt let me down yet.

What would you do?

varkanoid · 28 Jul 2014 at 10:27

d)

not only benefit from quieter GPU once done a bit of research but receive a performance boost too.

btw have you not tried to use something like afterburner to create a custom fan profile. You might find lower RPM will maintain 70c.

katinacooker · 28 Jul 2014 at 13:39

Yeah, i already use speedfan to control my case fans and AB to control my GPU fan, but with the poor airflow the GPU gets to 80C+ and the VRMs about 90C if the fan isnt running about 50%.

I guess my main problem with buying a new GPU is that there really isnt anything wrong with my current one, i'm still happy with its performance etc, its more the noise level. At the moment i'm swaying towards a Kraken G10 & CLC but its still good to hear other peoples opinions

=)

eyetrip · 28 Jul 2014 at 20:21

I would go for c, if your case can hold a nice setup.

Yes, it would mean having to get gpu plus waterblock each time you upgraded, but a clc and kraken can be awkward. I had one and found dead it a pain.

Apart from cost, I don't regret moving to custom loop earlier this year. I get a high performance machine (when it works) without all the noise.

Plus it can be used for cpu, and another gpu if you like.

I picked up my third 290 for £200 2nd hand, so it doesn't need to be too expensive if you are don't get new.

almighty15 · 28 Jul 2014 at 20:31

Buy a Sapphire R290 Tri-X... Quiet as ****!!

katinacooker · 28 Jul 2014 at 20:39

eyetrip said:
I would go for c, if your case can hold a nice setup.

Yes, it would mean having to get gpu plus waterblock each time you upgraded, but a clc and kraken can be awkward. I had one and found dead it a pain.

Apart from cost, I don't regret moving to custom loop earlier this year. I get a high performance machine (when it works) without all the noise.

Plus it can be used for cpu, and another gpu if you like.

I picked up my third 290 for £200 2nd hand, so it doesn't need to be too expensive if you are don't get new.

I've been pricing up a loop, and came up with

So first off, here is my plan

and here are the parts i've selected (some of these may change)

YOUR BASKET
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-DCP 2.2 X-RES (incl. pump) £63.95
1 x Koolance HX-240XC 30 FPI Copper Radiator - 240mm £52.99
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-FC7970/R9 280X CSQ £50.00
1 x Hardware Labs Black ICE Radiator GT Stealth 360 - XFlow £46.99
1 x EK-Supreme LTX - Acetal CSQ Intel CPU Waterblock £29.99
1 x Primochill Primoflex Advanced Tubing 13/10 - White £5.99
1 x Mayhems Ultra Pure H2O Watercooling Fluid 1L £4.99
10 x EK Water Blocks EK-CSQ Fitting 10/13mm G1/4 - Black £2.99 (£29.90)
Total : £294.38 (includes shipping : £8.00).

So my questions are

1) Are there any glaring mistakes with the part selection?
2) I've gone for a double thick 240mm rad at the front, but i'm not 100% sure it will fit once the pump/res combo is in place. Would i be better just getting a standard thickness?
3)I've chosen a crossflow rad for the top, but i've heard they arent as good at heat dissipation? Is this true?
4) I've read that the H440 top vents are pretty rubbish for exausting, so is it a good idea to use them as intakes as well?
5) Does the premixed fluid come with bio-killers? I read the description but couldnt see anything.

eyetrip · 29 Jul 2014 at 07:47

My first response got wiped due to poor mobile signal

Watch the width on the black ice rads. They are fat, so measure.

Koolance rads seem to have slightly different threads. I had to end up getting koolance fittings for mine. Did some research and some others seem to have had similar issues, so maybe go for another brand.

And i can only imagine it being a bad idea to use top as intake. Others may feel differently.