The value in watercooling a gpu?

[ALXAndy]

Forget it. No point.

When did this become AMD vs Nvidia or AMD vs Intel? It's about watercooling.

Where did I say I didn't like watercooling?

It isn't about a company it's about HEAT. THE biggest killer of hardware ever.

 

[Mcnumpty2323]

So 3 fans would be 10.8w of power from the cards max that can't be used in the core or memory.

Yeah in my example 3 x 3.6w
Would be 10.8w
Not saying that fans are that though
Was just the example
That popped in my head at the time
And not sure if a card rated say
250w would mean
250w minus 10w for fans
Or 250w +additional 10w for fans

 

[Colonel_Klinck]

Yeah in my example 3 x 3.6w
Would be 10.8w
Not saying that fans are that though
Was just the example
That popped in my head at the time
And not sure if a card rated say
250w would mean
250w minus 10w for fans
Or 250w +additional 10w for fans

From watching a YouTube vid (JayzTwoCents I think) the fans draw from the card max, so if it is 370w that includes the fans, RGB and everything else on the card.

 

[Mcnumpty2323]

From watching a YouTube vid (JayzTwoCents I think) the fans draw from the card max, so if it is 370w that includes the fans, RGB and everything else on the card.

could be right
i have no equipment to check
but yeah fans and rgb arent going to draw huge amounts anyway

 

[dangel]

Interesting discussion - a few points. Fans for WC are likely to be running slow (this is after all the point) so the discussion on whether WC draws more power based on fans alone is, frankly, odd. Over and above air you have a pump - that's it. Personally I'd say this isn't worth discussing - it's negligible.

Heat however is not - WC does absolute wonders for this and for GPUs full blocks drop heat massively vs air across the whole board (VRMS are super toasty) and yes this will make a difference to the clocks you can hit (consistently even in hot weather) and the longevity of components. You can move heat away from things far faster (and in my build to an external rad which means i'm not dumping hear into the case at all) which also stops surrounding components for getting hot too.

Noise was the real reason I started on the moist path - well over 10 years ago - and my current rig was built and 'run in' on air. It's a lot nosier. A lot. I admire the progress that air cooling has made but it's intolerable for me.

Would I recommend it? No, not generally. If you enjoy a challenge and like building stuff (I do) then it can be rewarding but there's a lot to learn and a fair bit that can go wrong until you do. The reward is a cool quiet system but it costs time and money to do it right. WC components do last a long time but they cost a fair bit nonetheless.

That said why justify doing something you love, especially on a forum filled with idiots spending vast amounts of cash on overspecced PC equipment ?

 

[3t3P]

There something prestigious about the custom loop, a bit of magic in a dreary world. That's why I do it.

Plus quiet and infinite cooling capacity.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Interesting discussion - a few points. Fans for WC are likely to be running slow (this is after all the point) so the discussion on whether WC draws more power based on fans alone is, frankly, odd. Over and above air you have a pump - that's it. Personally I'd say this isn't worth discussing - it's negligible.

Heat however is not - WC does absolute wonders for this and for GPUs full blocks drop heat massively vs air across the whole board (VRMS are super toasty) and yes this will make a difference to the clocks you can hit (consistently even in hot weather) and the longevity of components. You can move heat away from things far faster (and in my build to an external rad which means i'm not dumping hear into the case at all) which also stops surrounding components for getting hot too.

Noise was the real reason I started on the moist path - well over 10 years ago - and my current rig was built and 'run in' on air. It's a lot nosier. A lot. I admire the progress that air cooling has made but it's intolerable for me.

Would I recommend it? No, not generally. If you enjoy a challenge and like building stuff (I do) then it can be rewarding but there's a lot to learn and a fair bit that can go wrong until you do. The reward is a cool quiet system but it costs time and money to do it right. WC components do last a long time but they cost a fair bit nonetheless.

That said why justify doing something you love, especially on a forum filled with idiots spending vast amounts of cash on overspecced PC equipment ?

where did i say fans alone?

the average pump draws 25W and some people even use 2 pumps for the bigger radiators or custom loops, etc.

now 25W isn't a huge amount but it's substantial enough to impact long term costs over air.

you could argue why bother spending £300 plus an additional £20 a year in electricity to protect components which after 3-4 years are worth pennies.

like i said before the biggest pro's is silence and aesthetics.

the fact components may last longer is pointless. i've never had a cpu or GPU die on me and if i had i imagine it would have been well overdue 3-4 upgrades.

my case sits in a corner on the floor. so i don't care what the inside of it looks like but i did neat cables anyway and hid them all round the back. if it was sat on a desk and i looked at it then maybe i would consider water cooling.

my motherboard and fan controller runs all the fans so they can't really be heard unless i ramp it up to number 3 on the controller.

my motherboard is worth like £50 now at best. so i could buy another second hand for peanuts if it died. my gpu and cpu all within warranty. the cpu will be replaced within the coming year. the gpu will be replaced when i feel the need to.

i'm not worried about any of them dying to the point i think it's worth spending £300 on a watercooling setup then another £20 a year in electricity. which over 5 years is another £100. so it is a cost worth mentioning.

that extra £400 could have went towards the next build instead.

 

[Defy Belief]

Seems like I've started quite the debate between air vs water

Good responses too though, I decided I may as well go the whole hog, but, instead of going with a brand new gpu for about 400 watercooled I've gone for a 980ti pre owned with an EK block, I got it for £150 and it should serve me well.

Will then invest big in the next set of cards which should be a big upgrade

 

[SpudMaster]

where did i say fans alone?


you could argue why bother spending £300 plus an additional £20 a year in electricity to protect components which after 3-4 years are worth pennies.

the average pump draws 25W and some people even use 2 pumps for the bigger radiators or custom loops, etc.

now 25W isn't a huge amount but it's substantial enough to impact long term costs over air.

you could argue why bother spending £300 plus an additional £20 a year in electricity to protect components which after 3-4 years are worth pennies.

At 25w it's only £20 a year if you have 2 pumps and use your system for atleast 6 hours every day. I would argue that the majority of users don't have 2 pumps.
Your watercooling will last much longer than 3 - 4 years though. Your initial cost may be £300 but it will last you multiple cpus if you choose. Other than my full cover gpu block and my cpu block that I changed out of choice the rest of my components bar tubing are 10 - 15 years old and still going strong.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

At 25w it's only £20 a year if you have 2 pumps and use your system for atleast 6 hours every day. I would argue that the majority of users don't have 2 pumps.
Your watercooling will last much longer than 3 - 4 years though. Your initial cost may be £300 but it will last you multiple cpus if you choose. Other than my full cover gpu block and my cpu block that I changed out of choice the rest of my components bar tubing are 10 - 15 years old and still going strong.

6 hours is nothing a lot of people use their computers for their day job.

You could double that for some people to 12 hours. My mate for instance just leaves his on all day long for some reason even when he's not at home, etc.

I asked him why he's logged into steam but not responding all the time and he told me he just leaves it on 24/7. Baffling I know but he doesn't care.

There will be people on every side of the spectrum. That use it once in a whole and those that leave it on all the time.

Tru the pump and radiators may last you several builds but the blocks won't.

People like to upgrade their cases and I imagine a lot will end up upgrading their pumps and radiators too.

So it's not as clear cut as saying those that watercool keep the same pump and radiators for 15 years.

 

[SpudMaster]

Obviously it's not clear cut but that's why I said it can last your years if you choose. It just took 6 hours has an example, people will use their pcs less and others will use them a lot more. People like your friend who just leave their oc on 24/7 obviously aren't bothered about the power consumption so an additional £20 or so a year would probably go unnoticed.

Full cover gpu blocks will only last you for the life cycle of the gpu but a cpu block can last for aslong as your choose to keep it and if you get a board in the future with a different hole mount layout more often than not you can get a mounting bracket to fit your board and block. Yeah a lot of people change their blocks with every build or upgrade but that's generally a choice their are making rather than a necessity.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Obviously it's not clear cut but that's why I said it can last your years if you choose. It just took 6 hours has an example, people will use their pcs less and others will use them a lot more. People like your friend who just leave their oc on 24/7 obviously aren't bothered about the power consumption so an additional £20 or so a year would probably go unnoticed.

Full cover gpu blocks will only last you for the life cycle of the gpu but a cpu block can last for aslong as your choose to keep it and if you get a board in the future with a different hole mount layout more often than not you can get a mounting bracket to fit your board and block. Yeah a lot of people change their blocks with every build or upgrade but that's generally a choice their are making rather than a necessity.

i'm gaming right now CPU 55C and GPU 62C that is playing apex legends all settings ultra on 1440p

i can't hear my pc either. so i don't see any need for water cooling personally for me.

 

[dangel]

where did i say fans alone?

Where did I quote *you*?

Nor am I implying you should do it (or anyone if you re-read my post) - my point was for me the noise is intolerable (on air), the drop in heat for GPUs in particular is massive (which has it's benefits) and it's frankly quite fun to build. I also said it's something you'd don't need to justify - especially on here. All my current gear has run (in) on air - couldn't stand it. Costs wise couldn't give a monkeys really - the whole thing is a waste of cash but then most hobbies are.