Is there any reason why no one has bothered to make a closed loop GPU water cooler yet? Yeah they wouldn't be as popular as CPU coolers but I think there would be a good amount of takeup. Maybe I'll make some and make MILLIONS MUWAHAHAH.
You'd need a different (expensive) full-cover block for each video card, and then it would never fit non-reference cards. If you only use a GPU core block, you'd need heatsinks for the memory and other components, adding cost and inconvenience; either way, that core-only block isn't guaranteed to fit every card either. It's much less simple to design GPU cooling solutions because there's no standards for hole spacing and layout; see companies like EK, who create essentially a new waterblock for each individual video card every time a new generation of cards is released. With something like the Corsair H70, you can be confident that you can pull it off of your s1156 when you upgrade to s2011, but there's no way to do that with a GPU waterblock.
PNY and Zotac have 580s that come with a closed loop system prefitted too. I remember someone tried it a few years back (HIS, Sapphire?) but they didn't go over very well and had issues with having a hybrid pump/block/rad all strapped to the card. Pretty sure it took up 3 or 4 slots which was not acceptable at all back then for most people.
I remember recently seeing a concept that used a standard block/pump unit, which you attached to a heatsink plate for various GPUs (similar in design to what Vadim tried to achieve but with a closed loop), It looked like a sound idea but i cant remember where i saw it.
I was thinking about that last night. It would probably cut out a lot of people who don't want to get into WC but would probably also give a nice introduction to people (like me) who are terrified of pumps and resovoirs and radiators and WHAT IS THIS VOODOO MAGIC! WHY ARE THINGS MEASURES IN INCHES? WHO DOES THAT!? Granted it'd no longer be a closed loop, but a single unit on a 120 rad where you could change the block would be nice.
Ok new question. Is there a basica 120mm rad with the res/pump enclosed (Like the module on the hydro/kuhler series) which comes with detatchable fittings (or you know, the technical term for these things) on the other end? That would be a good seller non? Although possibly tricky to figure out a way to refill it, I don't know how they work internally... What I'm trying to say here really is, I want to watercool my GPU and CPU, but water cooling scares the crap out of me no matter how many times I read Pete's article and others.
Come on! Go for it! I know I will if I ever go SLI in the future, no real point at the moment and I couldn't possibly have a worse case for it but I will go there in the future!
Sincere apologies. I did check it but wrongly thought it to be closed loop. Despite it being very clear that it's not! TYVM! And thanks for your WC link in your sig as well. I've read it twelvety hundred times. Are CoolIT any good? I've always given them a miss because their name makes me think of CiT, purveyors of super cheap and rubbish PC equipment.
Was just getting annoying with everyone speculating when I've already answered you And no problems, I'll be updated again next year with my next upgrade
When I first saw this last year I thought they were using a dual rad... And apparently it will as it cools 480's ok...
The Omni has been out for about a year. CoolIT just put out new interposer plates. I wish they'd bring out a version with a larger rad.
Okay, so it cools ...to within specification... Personally though, I struggle with numbers above 60C. My current fan profile is set to ramp up to 100% at 65 and those are the ballpark figures I would be expecting if I dropped £150 on one. TSB
