Watercooling 980Ti ?

digitaldreams · 30 Mar 2020 at 22:48

My 980Ti often reaches 80c or higher playing games. What is the cheapest way to watercool my card ?. An EBay search returns ridiculous prices.

Zotac GTX980Ti Amp edition 6Gb (triple fan).

Thanks in advance.

Gray2233 · 30 Mar 2020 at 22:51

Have you tried reapplying the thermal paste and giving the HSF a good clean?

If you haven't done so since buying the card it could solve your temp problems for the price of a tube of paste.

digitaldreams · 30 Mar 2020 at 23:03

Gray2233 said:
Have you tried reapplying the thermal paste and giving the HSF a good clean?

If you haven't done so since buying the card it could solve your temp problems for the price of a tube of paste.

It has crossed my mind yet I'm concerned about paste (say artic silver 5 ?) running off the side of the memory chips (currently the standard sticky pink foam pads). I've also considered cutting back the fan shroud as it partly and stupidly, covers the heatsink where hot air is expelled. Yet I feel both these won't drop temps by any worthwhile amount.

keenan · 30 Mar 2020 at 23:23

I was in the same situation with a 1080 I bought off reddit. Was sold without a block or air cooler so I took a chance and got a cheap £10 gpu only block from eBay.

As long as your card has the universal memory/vrm cooling plate seperate from the gpu heatsink you can easily do the same.

With the block my card idles in the low 20s and max temps are around 42°C.

OpenToSuggestions · 30 Mar 2020 at 23:25

I had the same card as the OP. 80°C is really no problem if that is the stock fan curve.
Definitely apply some new paste. There is no point spending money on water cooling the card, since even though the 980 Ti is incredible value it is rather old now.

I just picked up the EK FLuids A240G for £147 delivered (was £240 but the 10xx series of GPUs are now EOL). It really is a fantastic entry level kit to water cooling.

digitaldreams · 30 Mar 2020 at 23:31

keenan said:
I was in the same situation with a 1080 I bought off reddit. Was sold without a block or air cooler so I took a chance and got a cheap £10 gpu only block from eBay.

As long as your card has the universal memory/vrm cooling plate seperate from the gpu heatsink you can easily do the same.

With the block my card idles in the low 20s and max temps are around 42°C.

I think my card has a single piece heatsink with central heatpipes leading to two large vane sections so your suggestion is not viable.

digitaldreams · 30 Mar 2020 at 23:35

OpenToSuggestions said:
I had the same card as the OP. 80°C is really no problem if that is the stock fan curve.
Definitely apply some new paste. There is no point spending money on water cooling the card, since even though the 980 Ti is incredible value it is rather old now.

I just picked up the EK FLuids A240G for £147 delivered (was £240 but the 10xx series of GPUs are now EOL). It really is a fantastic entry level kit to water cooling.

Yes it's a great card and running really well on a 4k monitor (game settings maxed out but no antialiasing). I'd prefer watercooling but may have to settle for better paste and cutting back the shroud. I'd be happier with 50-60c max.

MikeTimbers · 2 Apr 2020 at 20:30

NZXT G10 or G12 and a second-hand AIO. I have a 1070 with a 280mm AIO that runs cooler than all my custom cooled systems topping out at 36C under full-load (Folding)