Cooling Sufficient Water Cooling?

Could someone tell me if a Black Ice GTX240 with two 120mm fans is sufficient cooling for a Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 and a EVGA nForce 790i Ultra SLI The Black Pearl with overclocking? Also could someone tell me if a Black Ice GTX240 with two 120mm fans is sufficient cooling for three EVGA GeForce GTX 280 1 GB Hydro Coppers with overclocking? Thanks.

 

Depends on what fans you've got in there, along with what flow-rates you acheive.

I would say yes for the QX+mobo, but not great for the 3 GTX's.

I'd say a 120.3 rad would be more appropriate with them tbh, that's quite a heat-level to cope with, especially with overclocking.

 

If you have the space go with a 360, better safe than sorry, and it really isn't that much more, is it?

 

So I need a Black Ice® GTX360 for my GPUs otherwise is every thing good for overclocking?

 

Sounds fine to me - if there's room for a 120.3 then you'll get better temps, but in the end it's your decision.

Restriction would be the biggest worry with that mobo cooling, although I don't know if it makes much difference or not.

 

Sorry I'm not with you?

 

He is referring to restriction in the water flow. The smaller size of motherboard blocks generally makes them more restrictive than a CPU/GPU block. Also if you are cooling the entire mobo you'll encounter a lot of bends and twists, each turn will slow the flow rate slightly.

Shear pumping power is the best bet for cooling. The more coolant you can push though the system the better - this will have more effect on your efficiency than the radiator alone.

I'd suggest going with a Feser XChanger for your rad and a couple Scythe Ultra Kaze 133cfm fans for optimal performance - both of these parts are in the top of their class.

You may want to consider a dual loop setup for optimal performance - that is if you can fit it.
120.2 Feser Xchanger for the CPU/RAM/Mobo
120.2 Feser Xchanger for the 3xGFX

Failing that Feser released a 120.4 rad just today... I'm positive that would handle your needs.

Moreover, you may want to check out Bit-Tech's Watercooling 101 and 201 write-ups. Also the coolant shootout

 

Cheers Langer your invaluable! Will the dual loop setup you surgested be sufficient for overclocking? Also what's the best pump I can get to ensure good flow rate and pressure? Thanks.

 

The dual-loop setup will be best for your situation, because you can have two loops, each customised to what you're cooling with it.

For the mobo/CPU loop I'd recommend having a high-pressure pump, whereas the GPU loop can have a bigger, more flow-rate orientated pump.

I'd say something like a Laing D5 for the GPU's and a Laing DDC for the CPU/Mobo route.

All this assumes you're not at a particular premium for space, of course, although it shouldn't end up being too big a loop in the end.

 

I think you need to do some maths. Let's see the heat you have to dissipate:

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770: 136 Watts (max. temp 55.5C! Doesn't leave you lots of headroom....)
nForce 790i: nVidia traditionally does not report the TDP of their chipsets, but it is signifiantly hotter than the Intel X38 which runs at 35 Watts TDP, and estimated to be in about the 50 Watts range

GeForce GTX 280: in practice 147 Watts (load), 236 Watts TDP

So total maximum Wattage your watercooling will have to displace is: 136 + 50 + (3x236) = 894 Watts, although in practice it will be closer to 136 + 50 + (3x147) = 627 Watts.

Data for the Black Ice GTX240 is conspicuously absent, but a Black Ice Xtreme II is rated at 6270 BTU, or (6270 x 0.29) 1818 Watts, provided that there is 100 CFM of airflow through the radiator. This can only be achieved by about 200 CFM fans, so that ain't going to happen... In reality you are looking at fans of about 60-70 CFM (if you want to hear yourself think), so performance is going to be much lower. For comparison, a Black Ice Pro III is rated at 6875 BTU (1994 Watts) but in reality, with 61 CFM fans you're looking more at about 1579 BTU (458 Watts).

So what does this tell you? It tells you that a Black Ice GTX 240 is not going to be sufficient. You'll need a GTX 360, or a Thermochill PA 120.3. If you are happy with loud, high CFM fans then the GTX 360 will just about do you, but if you want quieter fans and greater headroom, the Thermochill PA 120.3 is still king.

An alternative is to set up a dual loop, in which case you can get away with two dual rads. But it gets rather complicated and is not worth it, IMHO.

Pump performance is not as important as people think. You do need good flow, but radiators have a performance curve beyond which extra flow will get you no benefits. Optimal flow tends to be about 3.8 litres per minute.

I suggest you read the following essential links:

So You Want To Watercool Your PC? (Bit-Tech Forums)

The Impact of Tubing Sizes (Extreme Systems Forums)

Also read Da Dego's articles on watercooling.

 

So could someone please tell me which is the best radiator the Black Ice GTX, Feser XChanger or the Thermochill PA? Thanks.

 

Radiator Shoot-Out - I'd opt for the Feser myself.

As for pumps... I'd suggest Eheim branded pumps (they are developed for aquariums and therefore are designed for 24/7 operation), better yet their AquaComputer upgraded counterparts, the AquaStream.

 

I was going to say the Thermochill PA 120.3, as in several comparison tests it consistently comes out on top, performs better with slower (quieter) fans and is also quieter because of less restrictive airflow. However the latest comparison here shows that the Feser Xchanger performs just a bit better. So Langer is right: go for the Feser.


Good pumps are the DangerDen D5 (if you want peak performance) or the Laing DDC Ultra (18 Watts version) with something like the Petra-tech Delrin top.

 

Thanks everyone I really appreciate. Langer I'd already read watercooling 101 but thanks for 201 and coolant shootout. Thanks Nexxo I'll make sure I'll read your thread and hopefully it'll prove useful.

 

Sorry could someone tell me which pump is best for performance? Thanks.

 

My Preference.

 

Ooh, its software will talk to Samurize! Tasty!

 

Could someone please tell me what the best performing water blocks are for the EVGA 790i Ultra and also three EVGA GTX 280s while in TRI-SLI? Thanks.

 

If it already hasn't been shown, my loayalties are with AquaComputer... they are like the RollsRoyce of water cooling.

Top notch in both performance, and design. They really try to factor in as little flow resistance as possible...and with their pumps coupled with the Aquaero and AquaSuite software can be totally controlled and monitored from Windows. If you really want to get crazy add a MultiSwitch and a TubeMeter to the mix for total automation: Demo Video

For your purpose:
GPU = The AquagraFX G200 w/ twinConnect link
Chipset = The 790i chipset cooler -link
CPU = The CuPlex XT di - link (silver edition -link) or D-Tek Fuzion rev2 - link
RAM = Mips Ram Freezer 4 - link
RAD = FeserOne XChanger X-360 - link
RAD FAN = Scythe UltraKaze 120mm 133cfm - link
Pump = AquaComputer AquaStream XT Ultra - link
Control/Display = AquaComputer Aquaero - link

 

Sorry Langer what about the north and south bridge or any thing else on my mobo? Thanks.