Watercooling a 7970???

demon8991 · 30 Jan 2013 at 03:41

I have the card below and it seems to be getting ridiculously hot, admittedly living in Australia (Queensland) half of the year is 30+ degrees so I can see why this might be the case.

I'm getting 80-90 degrees under load depending on whether I have my OC on or not and roughly 40-50 degrees. idle

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-097-GI&tool=3

I was thinking is there any closed loop water cooling solutions for a 7970 like this or a cheaper yet more effective way of cooling the card?

I have already had the heatsink off and re-seated with Arctic silver and that didn’t do too much difference.

What are my options if any to get this card cooler than it currently is?

demon8991 · 30 Jan 2013 at 04:23

Would something like this be any good?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-065-AR

pgi947 · 30 Jan 2013 at 06:28

That doesn't list the 7970 as compatible, have a look at the accelero extreme 7970 edition

demon8991 · 30 Jan 2013 at 07:55

pgi947 said:
That doesn't list the 7970 as compatible, have a look at the accelero extreme 7970 edition

Ahhh it turns out that OcUK dont stock the 7970 version of this product.

http://www.arctic.ac/en/p/cooling/vga/589/accelero-hybrid-7970.html?c=2182

jakehall109 · 30 Jan 2013 at 10:30

Whats the airflow like in your case? The BitFenix Shinobi dosent seem to have great airflow for the GPU. It might be youd be better with a different case or some better fans? to provide that massive GPU the cool air it needs.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2011/08/05/bitfenix-shinobi-review/2

" GPU cooling was disappointing as well, with the GPU hitting a Delta T of a whopping 49oC. This is the worst GPU cooling result we’ve yet seen with our current test kit, which means that the Shinobi sits last on our GPU test graph.
The problem is that the graphics card simply isn’t receiving enough air, due to the solid nature of the front panel and the lack of any side ventilation. Granted there are the two meshed channels, which allow in some air, but it’s clearly not enough, at least not without a fan sat behind them actively pulling air through them.

The solid side panels also count against the Shinobi here, as a graphics card can usually draw in some air through the side fan mounts, which are usually open. That said, while the solid side panels may have resulted in the Shinobi struggling thermally, they did have some benefits in terms of noise. The case was very quiet throughout testing, mainly because there simply isn’t much in the way of venting from which the sound can escape."

sieze2 · 30 Jan 2013 at 19:15

Listen this is what you need to do. Take the side of the case off and play some games and use afterburner to monitor the max temp. If it improves you need to get a better case ! Its as simple as that! The Shinobi has no vent next to the graphics card so the Graphics card fan will really struggle.

I recently tried the same on my rig, and temps went from 82 degrees to 73 degrees with my overclocked 7950. I now have a Fractal designs Arc midi coming as soon as the R2 version comes out.

http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&prod=113

demon8991 · 30 Jan 2013 at 22:05

jakehall109 said:
Whats the airflow like in your case? The BitFenix Shinobi dosent seem to have great airflow for the GPU. It might be youd be better with a different case or some better fans? to provide that massive GPU the cool air it needs.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2011/08/05/bitfenix-shinobi-review/2

" GPU cooling was disappointing as well, with the GPU hitting a Delta T of a whopping 49oC. This is the worst GPU cooling result we’ve yet seen with our current test kit, which means that the Shinobi sits last on our GPU test graph.
The problem is that the graphics card simply isn’t receiving enough air, due to the solid nature of the front panel and the lack of any side ventilation. Granted there are the two meshed channels, which allow in some air, but it’s clearly not enough, at least not without a fan sat behind them actively pulling air through them.

The solid side panels also count against the Shinobi here, as a graphics card can usually draw in some air through the side fan mounts, which are usually open. That said, while the solid side panels may have resulted in the Shinobi struggling thermally, they did have some benefits in terms of noise. The case was very quiet throughout testing, mainly because there simply isn’t much in the way of venting from which the sound can escape."

sieze2 said:
Listen this is what you need to do. Take the side of the case off and play some games and use afterburner to monitor the max temp. If it improves you need to get a better case ! Its as simple as that! The Shinobi has no vent next to the graphics card so the Graphics card fan will really struggle.

I recently tried the same on my rig, and temps went from 82 degrees to 73 degrees with my overclocked 7950. I now have a Fractal designs Arc midi coming as soon as the R2 version comes out.

http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&prod=113

Thanks for that guys really helpfull, i shall definitely give a game a whirl with the side off.

Just a quick question reverting back to my original point, should the case be the issue would it not work out just as cheap/expensive to buy that water cooling unit? Would that cure the problem with the Shinobi's case temp problems?

OptimaLnrg · 30 Jan 2013 at 23:04

That watercooling unit is an expensive gimmick.

The standard metal heatsink style of aftermarket GPU cooler is more than sufficient, cheaper and more reliable.

demon8991 · 30 Jan 2013 at 23:28

OptimaLnrg said:
That watercooling unit is an expensive gimmick.

The standard metal heatsink style of aftermarket GPU cooler is more than sufficient, cheaper and more reliable.

Ok cool thanks for that I shall look into a new case or adding a couple more case fans to increase the air flow.