Watercooling R9 290X

WalderX

WalderX

WalderX

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15 Oct 2013
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1,124
Hi all,

I've had my 290x for a month now and loving it. I had previously fitted the Prolimatech MK-26 a few days after getting the card (some of you may have seen the fitting guide that I posted here) but had various problems with VRM cooling, board flex (due to the weight of the fans) so I eventually gave up with it as it was becoming a somewhat Heath Robinson affair with having to run my PC on it's side or propping the card up with string etc... so I made the decision to return to the stock cooler. This has been fine but of course quite noisy so I wan't to re-look at the cooling situation.

I think now the only other cooling solution I would consider for the card is a full block and custom loop, I already have a Corsair H100 on my i5 which is actually great and it never goes above 50 degrees in BF4 clocked at 4.5GHz. To save money I will keep that in place and look at cooling my 290X with it's own loop, then in future perhaps when I upgrade my CPU I can include that into the loop.

I want to keep costs at a minimum so was hoping someone in the know could spec me up a decent budget loop for my card, I have room for an additional 240mm rad internally and have 2x 120mm Scythe GT fans which I could use (I believe they are amongst the best fans to use on radiators due to their high static pressure). Other than the fans I would need to buy everything else and have never done a custom loop before so not sure where to start with all the different fittings and pumps etc!

Thanks in advance, looking forward to seeing what people suggest for me :D
 
Yeah I have 2 of these, bought them for the Prolimatech: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-030-SY

They are just running as case fans at the mo!

Umm well I'd really like to do it a cheap as possible but still using half decent kit. I have never done a custom loop before so not sure how much pumps and things are, I know the gpu blocks are quite a lot though. Sorry to be vague...

Cheers for your help
 
You're looking at £80 for the GPU block (Overclockers have discounted the EK-FC R9-290X by £10, which is a steal)
You need a radiator, reservoir, pump, hose and connections.

You could get away with a cheaper pump, but if you plan on expanding the loop later on I'd spend the additional £10-£15 now so you don't have to spend another £40 or £50 later.

Pump = £40
Reservoir = £30
Radiator = £30-£40
GPU Block = £80
1m Hose = £6
6 connections = £12 (or £30 if you want shiny monsoon fittings)
1 Kill Coil = £5, you could probably get away without this, but I'd recommend it for prevention.
1L Distilled water =£2+++ (Depends where you get it from)

You're looking at £120-£130 for a custom loop if you get everything from EK-WB
 
Lovely cheers. So looking at around £200 to get all the kit and the block! Think I will stick with the stock cooler for now but will definitely be going the custom water cooling route on my next full build. Thanks for your help :)
 
Hi
If you have space, you could use a bay pump/res combo.
XSPC X20 would be an overkill to cool just 1 component but you mentioned plans to expand the loop. And X20 with bay reservoir cost 60£, another 10£ less than buying stuff separately. Actually even more, if you add the cost of 2 extra fittings you'd have to use to connect pump and res.
 
Hmm Interesting, well what if I were to do this as a standalone loop with no plans to include any other components, perhaps using a 120mm rad and a cheaper pump, would I be able to get it all much cheaper than £200 all in? Perhaps it is not worth doing but really keen to give water cooling a go!
 
Minstadave said:
You could also just bodge an all in one cooler on with relative easy. A H80/H100 would be easily be upto the job. You can do it with cable ties or get a bracket made up.

Stick some sinks on the RAM and VRMs and you're sorted for a fraction of the cost.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1247567/h60-h80-h100-installed-on-gpu-bracket-inside
Click to expand...

This is a great idea and have seen other do this successfully, the best way seems to be to cut a section of the stock blower out to fit the aio watercooling block, so then you get the VRM and RAM still cooled by the stock heatsink and fan.

Although I'm sure this works fine and will save money, I really want to avoid cutting/modding/sticking/cable tie-ing etc as I have been through all that with the Prolimatech already! I shall have to revisit this after xmas when I have some spare funds again.

Thanks for everyones help.
 
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