8800GT water cooling

D0M1N8R · 08-12-2008, 03:25 PM

Actually couple of things but main goal is to cool a pair of 8800GT's (XFX alpha dog edition 670Mhz cores 1.1Ghz GDDR3)

I currently have a water block cooling just the CPU. Was my entry into the water cooling fun. Its a thermaltake bigwater internal kit that no longer fits in the case completely after adding seconds video card.

I've been wanting to add the video cards to cooler from day one when I had a single card but with heat felt blowing out from radiator just cooling AMD 4000+ processor never felt comfortable enough to add more heat to the equation.

So now that I added the second card and had to unmount the pump to fit it in the case and have no location in the case for it to fit well I am considering a external solution for water cooling and maybe the opertunity to make that solution powerful enough to adequately cool the A64 4000+, plus 2 8800GT cards factory over clocked. These cards I swear i can smell dust burrning off of them and heat hits my leg feeling pretty hot and I've been concerned I need to do something to get those cooled down.

So my first solution I was thinking about was the Zalman V2 fanless series since I would love to eliminate some noise but do not know if this solution will be efficient enough. Either This One or This one.

Now my cards are really not worth as much as they used to be. So I dont see spending $90 X 2 for some 8800GT water blocks that I will be unable to use for the next video card upgrade. The cheapest I've seen is $65 each for This
but its says 8800GTX which I'm not sure if thats compatible with 8800GT.

CreatedMind07 · 08-12-2008, 10:08 PM

http://www.dangerden.com/store/produ...7&cat=0&page=1

The best!

D0M1N8R · 08-13-2008, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CreatedMind07

http://www.dangerden.com/store/produ...7&cat=0&page=1

The best!

$135 X 2 of those and its marked GTX.. Dont think so.
My cards are worth about as much as the blocks. <nods>

Peterson · 08-13-2008, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by D0M1N8R

$135 X 2 of those and its marked GTX.. Dont think so.
My cards are worth about as much as the blocks. <nods>

lol. Well what did you expect? You wanna step into the big leagues of water cooling it's gonna cost you.

D0M1N8R · 08-13-2008, 04:51 PM

Like I mentioned on first post I cant see spending $90 X 2 for the ones I referrenced.. if I'm going to go with a GTX solution for GT cards (not knowing if its going to work) I minus well get the $65 ones.

CreatedMind07 · 08-13-2008, 05:50 PM

Then get the Obsidian VGA water-block, it's made for the GeForce 8800GT cards. And I would trust Swiftech over a Zalman or Thermaltake any day. You spent some money on the card so make sure you keep it cool by spending a little more on a block for it. Cheap blocks will start to leak over time. Heck I have the MCW60 Universal on my 8600GTS and couldn't be happier!

D0M1N8R · 08-13-2008, 07:01 PM

Alright I think the conclusion here from my point of view is these cards are not worth the $$ needed to convert them over to water. These cards cost $160 each currently and I have no problem spending $100 per block if the block can be used on my next upgrade how ever these are labeled 8800 blocks meaning a whole new cost for the next cards.

I'll need to take some time and reconsider either just leaving these as is or saving up a bit more money for a set of cards I'll be using for a long period or time. I am sure I'll be upgrading these in 12-18 months and would rather just save the money for the next upgrade.

Thanks for your input. I'll probably be back again for more if you all dont mind as I learn more and start designing out the next gaming rig.

D0M1N8R · 08-13-2008, 08:10 PM

Before I toss in the towel what about GPU blocks (the small blocks)? Are those pretty much universal fitting current and future designs? And all I would need to do is find Ram coolers for the current card right?

CreatedMind07 · 08-13-2008, 08:20 PM

The blocks I've showed you are GPU blocks.

http://www.xoxide.com/swiftech-mc14-...-ramsinks.html

http://www.xoxide.com/swiftech-mc21-mosfet-cooler.html

Try those. I've never tried the big ones but I have the smaller ones on my card now.

D0M1N8R · 08-13-2008, 10:54 PM

If I can use that $135 block for 260/280 serious card in the future.. might just do it. I'll contact DD to find out. Dont mind spending the money if its going to be a solution for current and next cards.

D0M1N8R · 08-18-2008, 12:41 PM

DD said no go on future cards

I've basically ordered the following today.. Hope this all works well

2 X MCW60-R swiftech vga coolers @ $30
2 X MC8800 copper/aluminum sinks @ $30
2 X Artic silver 5G thermal adhesive
1 Koolance EXOS-2 External Water Cooling Kit - Silver EX2-750SL @ $244 @ this site

Thanks for all your input on this project

D0M1N8R · 08-18-2008, 01:06 PM

Before this order comes in, I am interested in some input regarding this unit and routing water. This unit has 2X120MM radiator and I have a 120MM radiator in the case. water must pass through 2 8800GT GPU's plus 1 A64 4000+ CPU. In what order would you do this?
For example. 1. GPUa, 2. 120mm rad, 3. GPUb, 4. CPU, 5. Main rad (120mm X2)?

D0M1N8R · 09-05-2008, 03:39 PM

I got everything together. Before finishing I had another delay come up where the cpu block clear cover got stress cracks in it. Guess I over tightened the fittings.
Had to order another block but all came together and system works great.

My issue before was the video cards getting way to hot and one was hitting 105-110C under load
With current setup under load both cards stay at 55C and at idle about 47C. And all this with fans running at minimum speed!
Thanks for the help.