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I am planning on purchasing a Kraken G10 for my build as the top card in my SLI configuration runs quite hot and noisy. It is a EVGA Gtx 780 w/ ACX. I have never done any sort of water cooling before (I run a Phanteks ph-pc14pe on my cpu). I have a couple of questions.

1. What AIO liquid cooler should I get? I looking at the Kraken X41. My case is the NZXT H440.

 

2. Do I need VRM/VRAM heatsinks on the GPU? I read in many places that the G10 does not provide adequate cooling for the VRM. Will I need it on my 780?

 

3. Where should I mount the radiator? Should I put it in the front intake or should I put it in the back/top exhaust?

 

Thank you for reading. I would appreciate any type of support possible. 

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@crakedapple @djdwosk97

 

Thank you for tagging me, as I have a lot to contribute to this.  I'm going to first post to acknowledge your question, and a second post to answer it.  It will be lengthy.

"I genuinely dislike the promulgation of false information, especially to people who are asking for help selecting new parts."

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@crakedapple

 

I personally own an EVGA GTX 780 SC w/ ACX Cooling.  I did the G10 mod to it, and I am incredibly happy with the results.

 

I'm going to answer your questions out of order.

 

     Does the GPU need additional heatsinks for the VRAM and VRMs?  In short, no.  The whole "insufficient VRAM/VRM cooling" began with a review of the G10 by Puget Systems.  This review is probably the most critical review of the G10 out there.  While it makes an interesting point, I have to discredit it to some extend.  For starters, in their gaming benchmark/temperature test, the temperatures are perfectly fine, they are even lower with the G10 than with the  stock heatsink.  The only time when we see the VRM temperatures higher with the G10 than the stock heatsink are when they run Kombustor.

 

     Kombustor/Furmark is a program that should NEVER be run.  It puts unnecessary load on the GPU that is completely unrealistic.  It is a card killer.  It is uncommon, but happens enough that it needs to be mentioned.  Kombustor can and will brick your card unexpectedly without warning.  It happened to me earlier this year.  I like to give my components 2 weeks of break in time before overclocking to make sure everything is working properly.  This is what I did with my brand new, MSi GTX 770 Lightning.  I had used the card for 2 weeks, no problems, everything going fine.  As you know with a Lightning, this is a card built specifically for overclocking.  Without knowing what I know now, I ran Kombustor at stock settings to get a baseline for my overclocks.  It took all of 3 minutes running Kombustor on a brand new, not-overclocked card for my card to die.  I am not the only one this has happened to, so I always tell my story whenever I get a chance because Kombustor is a dangerous program, and should not be used.

 

     Back to the Puget review.  They ran Kombustor during their review/test, which as a reviewer, they should try and test the card in all scenarios in order to give the reader an idea of what to expect.  My problem with the review is that it is an unrealistic scenario, one which I would not recommend anyone to do at home, and you are unlikely to encounter that type of load during regular use.  In their Unigine test, the temperatures are perfectly fine, even lower with the G10.  Another thing I forgot to add, VRAM temperatures are not really an issue, it is the VRMs that you need to be concerned with.

 

   

     To give you an idea of what VRM temperatures are like for those of us at home, we asked members of the OCN G10 Owner's Club, who have cards that can monitor the VRM temperatures to run some tests.  Simple before and after tests. There are two reviews that I will point to. The Asus DCUII GTX 780Ti, Post #1147 and a reference R9 290 Post #1486 & Post #1500

   You will see that the guy with the Asus GTX 780Ti was getting DCUII temperatures of 86C on the Core and 104C on the VRMs, his card was overclocked.  You can look at the link to see specifics of his OC, nothing major, very average.  Once he did the G10 modification without extra heat sinks, he was able to further overclock his card, and temperatures dropped to 49C on the Core, and 81C on the VRMs.  This tells us two things.  #1, the VRMs can withstand a lot of heat, #2 the G10's Fan does an excellent job of cooling the VRMs on its own.  Please keep in mind that this model of 780 comes with a mid-plate to help passively cool VRMs and VRAM.

     There was another test done with an R9 290.  They went as far as to do a before and after test with heat sinks on their G10. They went from 90C on the core with the reference cooler all the way down to 55C with G10 + H55. VRMs went from 110C down to 75C.  Most importantly, when they added heat sinks the VRM temperatures dropped from 75C to 60C.  So adding heat sinks does help out if you are concerned about VRM temperatures. This was with a reference R9 290, so it was a naked card without mid-plate to passively help cool VRAM and VRMs.  These are just two examples, if you read through that thread, there are many more.

      In summation,VRM temperatures are not a concern as long as you don't run a dangerous program like Kombustor/Furmark.  For awhile now people have been thinking that its a hardware problem, when in reality, its a software problem.  You will be perfectly fine buying just a Kraken G10 + AIO of your choice without extra heat sinks.  Any extras you decide to buy are optional.

 

     Like with your EVGA 780 SC, and mine, these cards come with build in mid-plates that passively cool the VRAM and VRMs. Because of this, adding additional heat sinks on the VRAM and VRMs are not necessary, but you will find a lot of people adding them anyways.  Myself included.  It would be more beneficial to add it to a non-reference card, that doesn't come with a mid-plate, but for our cards, it is optional.  I personally added a few tiny aluminum heat sinks to mine to cover just the VRMs.  It is a $6 part for extra peace of mind, and you get a lot of extras to use maybe elsewhere in your build. Cosmos Aluminum VGA Heat Sinks.  In order to apply these heat sinks, you will need aftermarket thermal tape.  The included thermal tape is not strong enough to keep the heat sinks from falling off.  You have to first peel off the included tape on the heat sink, and then apply your own double sided thermal tape to make it stick.

gMtRyGC.jpg

 

     Adding heat additional heat sinks is entirely up to you, it is not required, but it does help.  I recently bought an NZXT Sentry 3 which has a temperature probe, and I have the probe directly on my VRMs.  Unfortunately, I never ran a before test because I bought the fan controller after I already did the G10 modification, so I am unable to tell you what kind of temperatures I was getting on the VRMs with the stock heat sink or without extra heat sinks.  Also, I don't want to remove the aluminum heat sinks to do a before/after temperatures to see how much the heat sinks lower temperatures.  What I can tell you is that I have never seen the temperature probe report over 54C, but I have incredible airflow in my case.  I also use a VGA to Fan adapter so that I can plug the 92mm fan directly into my video card and not take up a motherboard fan header.  I then control the 92mm fan through MSI AfterBurner.  I just set it to a constant 75%.  You don't want it on a fan curve because the temperature is measured from the core.  This fan is for the VRMs, so set it to a constant RPM.  Also, my card is not overclocked because it does a healthy +100Mhz on the Core and +250Mhz on the Memory at stock voltage. If I were to increase the voltage, temperatures would probably increase all around.

PViWWBE.jpg

 

One thing about the Kraken G10 and our specific card is that the mid plate interferes with the mounting of the G10.  There are two ways to get around this.  The first option, which I don't recommend because it will void your warranty is to cut off the 4 "prongs" that extend towards the GPU die.   The link I posted is to someone who did just that, it worked for him, but he voided his warranty in the process.

 

The 2nd way, which is what I advocate, is for you to buy a Copper Shim which will help transfer the heat from the GPU Die to the AIO. You will need to buy a 20mm x 20mm x .8mm Copper Shim. This is not an optional piece.  You will need to apply thermal paste to both sides of the shim.  This will not negatively impact performance, at least it has not for me.  If you don't already own some thermal paste, I highly, highly recommend Gelid GC Extreme. It works wonders on both my CPU and GPU.  For my CPU, it dropped temperatures by 2-3C depending on voltage, and on my GPU(before G10 mod) it dropped my temperatures by 4C.

Copper Shim

 
To answer questions #1 and #3.
 
     I recommend that you buy a Corsair H55 and mount it as rear exhaust, it should cost $50-$60.  It is far and away the most popular AIO to use with the G10.  It is the least expensive AIO, and offers the best price:performance.  After 120mm, you start experiencing diminishing returns.  These guys with full 240/280mm AIOs are only getting 4-6C better temperatures, and often have a hard time finding places to properly mount their radiators.  Get the H55 and buy a 2nd fan to run in push/pull. It is reliable, comes with a long warranty, and Corsair has a good history of replacing components if for whatever reason there was a leak.  A leak is highly unlikely, but good to know that Corsair has your back if anything were to go wrong.  Remember to always test your AIOs out of the system before putting it inside or around components.
 
     When I was buying my AIO, it was between an X31 and an H55.  I went for the X31 because I had heard such good things about NZXT AIOs, and because I have a full tower case, so if I wanted to mount it elsewhere, I would have longer tubes.  16in on the NZXT compared to 12in on the Corsair.  I ended up mounting it as rear exhaust, so the additional tube length is not necessary, and actually looks really silly.  The X31 is falsely advertised.  It claims to have a variable speed pump, which is not really true because you control the pump through fan header just like every other AIO.  The CAM software that comes with it is a joke, I uninstalled it after the first day.  Worst of all, the pump makes a lot of noise. 
     You want to mount your radiator as exhaust because the air the comes out of the rad is HOT.  This is a 230TDP GPU that is using a 120mm heat exchanger.  It does the job very well, but the heat that is blown out of the rad is very hot.  You want this air going out of your system, not into your system.  Especially with an H440 because this case is known for poor airflow.  Users in the OCN G10 Owner's Club have reported temperature drops by as much as 10C just by switching the radiator from intake to exhaust.  10C is an extreme, usually you will expect 3-5C.  Bottom line, you want it as exhaust.
 
Here is a list of components you should get:
NZXT G10  - $25
 
Optional:
 
Here is what my system looks like:
65j6Flk.jpg
 
Here are my temperatures during a 5 hour long BF4 Session:
wjhXr2m.png
 
Ambient temperature is 23.8C/75F, but my computer case is right underneath an A/C vent, so that cold air is siphoned directly into my system.  I run my X31 with 2 fans in push/pull @ 1500rpm(60%), Pump at 1500rpm(90%).  I highly recommend the Cooler Master Blade Master 120's.  They are fantastic static pressure fans that don't get enough love.  They are inexpensive, and perform incredibly well.
 
Figure I post my CPU specs as well:
i5-4670k, 4.5Ghz @ 1.160v.
Cooler Master Seidon 240M, Pump @ 1350rpm(90%), Fans @ 1250rpm(50%)
 
If you have back plates for your 780s, you can get them to fit.  You will have to thin down or completely remove the foam pad that comes with the G10's back mounting piece.

G10's Mounting Plate

 

"I genuinely dislike the promulgation of false information, especially to people who are asking for help selecting new parts."

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@Faceman Wow! I did not expect that much information from you. You are the most helpful person I have ever run into on this site. Thanks for the advice; I will be buying all of the things you have recommended. If you could answer this one last question, please do. Should I purchase another G10 and cooler for my other card too? Money is not an issue, however I am concerned with the amount of radiators that would sit in my case as well as the actual performance gain of having a gpu cooler on the bottom card. The bottom card already runs quite cool; it idles at around 28 degrees and hits around 55 while gaming. Thanks again

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@Faceman Wow! I did not expect that much information from you. You are the most helpful person I have ever run into on this site. Thanks for the advice; I will be buying all of the things you have recommended. If you could answer this one last question, please do. Should I purchase another G10 and cooler for my other card too? Money is not an issue, however I am concerned with the amount of radiators that would sit in my case as well as the actual performance gain of having a gpu cooler on the bottom card. The bottom card already runs quite cool; it idles at around 28 degrees and hits around 55 while gaming. Thanks again

If your bottom card is doing 28/55, no reason at all to buy a 2nd G10.  That is incredible, I mean incredible performance from an ACX Cooler.  As you can see from my results with G10, 55C at load is not too much higher than what I am getting.  Aside from your already incredible temperatures on your bottom card, I'm not sure where else you could mount a 2nd 120mm AIO in the H440.

"I genuinely dislike the promulgation of false information, especially to people who are asking for help selecting new parts."

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I'm not sure where else you could mount a 2nd 120mm AIO in the H440.

Up front as an intake. (assuming theres already a 240+ rad on  the cpu up top)

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Up front as an intake. (assuming theres already a 240+ rad on  the cpu up top)

You can't really use the GPU AIOs as intake unless you are ok with temperatures increasing by 4-10C.

"I genuinely dislike the promulgation of false information, especially to people who are asking for help selecting new parts."

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@Faceman I actually installed Furmark to be able to check overclocks when I start doing that, but after reading your story I went and checked, and, wow....

 

Like, no seriously, why do so many reviewers still use Kombustor when so many people have had GPUs die because of it. More people need to be aware of this I think

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770k | Mobo: MSI Mpower Max | Cooling: Cryorig R1 Ultimate w/ XT140 front Fan | GPU: EVGA GTX 770 Dual SC SLI | Case: NZXT H440 | Case Fans: Phanteks PH-140SP x5 | PSU: EVGA Supernova P2 1000W | RAM: 16GB Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer | SSD: Kingston HyperX 3k 120GB | HDD: Seagate Barracude

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@Faceman I actually installed Furmark to be able to check overclocks when I start doing that, but after reading your story I went and checked, and, wow....

 

Like, no seriously, why do so many reviewers still use Kombustor when so many people have had GPUs die because of it. More people need to be aware of this I think

I agree wholeheartedly.  Its a dangerous program.  The G10 is getting a very bad reputation because of it.  People think it is a hardware issue, when really its a software issue.

 

I do see it from the Reviewer's point of view though.  They want to give a worst case scenario, which is what Furmark provides.  Except Furmark is like an apocalypse.

"I genuinely dislike the promulgation of false information, especially to people who are asking for help selecting new parts."

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@Faceman Do I absolutely need the copper shim? From what I have read, most people do not use it (although it probably is different when dealing with the EVGA version of the 780). 

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@Faceman Do I absolutely need the copper shim? From what I have read, most people do not use it (although it probably is different when dealing with the EVGA version of the 780). 

Any card that has a mid-plate either needs a copper shim, or needs the mid plate removed/modified. 

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@Faceman Do I absolutely need the copper shim? From what I have read, most people do not use it (although it probably is different when dealing with the EVGA version of the 780). 

Yes, it comes down to which specific model of card you have.  The EVGA GTX 780 SC w/ ACX Cooler absolutely, 100% needs a copper shim if you intend to keep the mid plate on(which you should.)

"I genuinely dislike the promulgation of false information, especially to people who are asking for help selecting new parts."

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@Faceman Is there any benefits for keeping on the mid plate? I was just wondering because all my parts get here tomorrow, but the copper shim will take a couple of weeks.

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@Faceman Is there any benefits for keeping on the mid plate? I was just wondering because all my parts get here tomorrow, but the copper shim will take a couple of weeks.

Yes, massive benefit for keeping the mid plate.  Not only does it help to cool your card better, especially the VRAM and VRMs, it also helps to keep your card rigid and strong.  The G10 mounting does put a decent amount of stress on the GPU.  If you overtighten the card, it will flex and bend.  This is not desirable.  Even with my EVGA Backplate, and Mid plate, if I over tighten, I get a lot of flex.  You have to find the perfect balance of pressure for good temperatures, without flexing the card.

 

I would not experiment with trying the G10 modification without the mid plate.

"I genuinely dislike the promulgation of false information, especially to people who are asking for help selecting new parts."

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Any thoughts on the Corsiar HG10 in comparison to this Kraken G10???

 

http://www.corsair.com/en-ca/blog/2014/june/hg10_announcement

 

HG10-bracket.jpg

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K | Motherboard: Asus Maximus VII Gene Sound: SupremeFX Impact II | RAM: 4 x Crucial Vengence 4GB 2133MHz | GPU: Asus GTX980 Strix | Case: Corsair 350D (all Corsair AF/SP fans) | HDD: 1TB WD Caviar Blue | SSD: 256GB Crucial MX100 | Cooling: Corsair Hydro Series™ H100i | PSU: Corsair ax860i | OS: Windows 8.1 Pro 64-Bit | Mouse: Mad Catz R.A.T.5 | Keyboard: Sidewinder  x4 | Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster S24A650S | Headphones: Steelseries Siberia v2

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Any thoughts on the Corsiar HG10 in comparison to this Kraken G10???

 

http://www.corsair.com/en-ca/blog/2014/june/hg10_announcement

 

HG10-bracket.jpg

Not available yet, more expensive, only works with reference cards, can't be used on other models like the G10 can. You can take a G10 off of a 780 and put it on an R9 290, and even some 970s, 980s. G10 is compatible with a lot more cards, whereas the HG10 you have to buy a specific model for your specific card, and it has to be a reference card.  So if you own a non-reference card, you can't use the HG10.

 

If you read my post earlier you will see that the G10 is an amazing product and VRM cooling is not an issue.

"I genuinely dislike the promulgation of false information, especially to people who are asking for help selecting new parts."

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H50/H55 all the way. 

R9 3900XT | Tomahawk B550 | Ventus OC RTX 3090 | Photon 1050W | 32GB DDR4 | TUF GT501 Case | Vizio 4K 50'' HDR

 

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  • 3 months later...
 



Yes, massive benefit for keeping the mid plate.  Not only does it help to cool your card better, especially the VRAM and VRMs, it also helps to keep your card rigid and strong.  The G10 mounting does put a decent amount of stress on the GPU.  If you overtighten the card, it will flex and bend.  This is not desirable.  Even with my EVGA Backplate, and Mid plate, if I over tighten, I get a lot of flex.  You have to find the perfect balance of pressure for good temperatures, without flexing the card.

 

I would not experiment with trying the G10 modification without the mid plate.

Faceman I'd just like to say that you are without doubt the most helpful person I've ever seen on the internet. I quoted that post because your original was way too long (not in a bad way)

However, I have a few questions (seeing as I'm a complete noob). Here's my current setup. I've got a 4790k, a Zotac GTX 780 Ti OC (non reference model), 16 gb of Ram and a Gigabyte Z97 Soc motherboard. This is housed in a Phantom 410 case which has 6 aftermarket fans installed (2 front intakes,1 side intake, 1 rear exhaust, 2 top exhausts with the intakes configured via PWM so that there is positive pressure in the case) However, for my questions only my CPU and GPU are relevant:

 

1) I noticed you said that you always want the radiator (be it a Kraken x31 or Corsair H55 as exhaust, as it will blow insanely hot air into your case should it be an intake). Firstly, is this only assuming your are using the CLC to cool your GPU? Because I'm planning on installing the Kraken to my i7 4790k and apparently from a test carried out at http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/2ej4yt/discussion_radiator_position_temperature_testing/ having a Radiator for cooling the CPU as an intake would not be so bad compared to having a GPU. The temp differences would be a few degrees Celsius at most (calculated by looking at the changes in the GPU which is using the stock air cooler in the test setup), not around 10 degrees Celsius as you said. Would you say this is generally true? Does a GPU run way hotter than a CPU? I know that it would obviously depend on the load of the CPU, whether its running any overclock, etc. but I'm asking as a general idea.

 

2) Assuming there is 1 GPU and 1 CPU in a case and they are both cooled using CLC's with both rads positioned as intakes, would blowing warm air be very detrimental to overall cooling? I mean since the key components are being watercooled, the only thing left in the case would be the motherboard, ram, PSU and hard drives if the rad intakes were positioned near the front. I'd assume these components would easily be able to operate if the air was slightly warmer, unless the air being blown out of the radiator is like 80 degrees celsius or something? In that case, I completely understand why you would want the radiator a an exhaust, even if it means slightly less optimal cooling from using warm air inside the case to cool it as opposed to cold air from outside the case.

 

3) I know that you said to get the H55, but its too late as I've already got a kraken X31 and will be installing it within the next few days. Since I'm planning on using the fan controllers in my case to control the fans, I won't even be utilising the CAM software. With that aside and also considering that I really don't care about noise, would you say that the H55 performs better than the X31? I've noted that the radiator dimensions of the X31 are both thicker AND longer than the H55. Doesn't this generally mean that the X31 would offer better performance(assuming I'm using the exact same fan setup on both)? If so, I would gladly stick with the X31, as noise really isn't an issue for me (i wear headphones or play music through speakers 99% of the time). Since you own one of them already, would you say that  the noise from the X31 is insanely distracting or is it just slightly too loud?

 

4) Since I'm planning to install a Kraken G10 on my Zotac 780 Ti in the future, would I need the 20 X 20 X 0.8 copper shim? I've seen videos on youtube where they install it with and without the copper shim with copper shimhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weV0FlahyDo, 

without copper shim: 

 

, and I'm confused as to whether it is necessary for my card.  If it helps, I looked on review sites and my card uses the standard PCB, not a custom version. If possible, I'd like to maintain the midplates so that my VRM and VRAM are cooled. However, I would also probably add aluminum heatsinks and thermal tape like you illustrated in your post.

 

That's pretty much all I've got to ask. I'd really appreciate it if you could help me out here :). Apologies if my post is convoluted, if there's any part you don't understand or need more information on just reply back and I'll provide it as soon as possible.

 

Many thanks!

 

 


 

 

 

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Quite simply....

Build a loop.

Wouldn't that be way more expensive and inconvenient? Considering I'd have to get a reservoir, pump, radiator + fans, plan out my tubing and test the system for leaks? The CLC's are much more convenient and price friendly :D

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But it will be a one time investment and it is much more versatile as well.You would only have to change water blocks,but if you buy aios then you would have to do some dirty mods to cool more stuff.

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Long post incoming.  Custom loop is not the answer unless you are comfortable spending an atrocious amount of money, not having as much flexibility as CLCs, and only getting marginally better performance.

"I genuinely dislike the promulgation of false information, especially to people who are asking for help selecting new parts."

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@shrekislove123

 

Thank you for the kind words, this mod gets a lot of bad publicity and I aim to change that.

 

1)  Yes, this is assuming you are using a CLC to cool the GPU.  If you were using a 240mm radiator CLC or larger to cool the GPU, it would not bad as bad, but with a 120/140mm AIO, that is 230TDP that needs to be dissipated by a relatively small surface area.  TDP is the measure of heat, a CPU is around 88TDP, while your GPU is 230TDP, it is a lot more heat that needs to get dissipated.  The air is going to be hot if you use a smaller sized radiator, while the core temperature might be slightly cooler, the computer's internals will be much hotter, things like motherboard and VRMs.  It is much better to have a 2C hotter GPU core, than 10C hotter VRMs and motherboard temp.  Now, you do have a nice and large chassis, but I would still advice against it.  This kind of segways into question number two.

 

2)  For your CPU, you want a 240mm radiator or larger.  I don't know the science behind it, that is just how it is.  It is completely backwards, but this is tried and true.  These 120/140mm AIO coolers are not cutting it for CPU cooling.  Well, they are cutting it, but air tower counterparts that cost the same or less are doing a much better job, which is why if you want to CLC cool your CPU, you want 240mm radiator at the least.  You can pick them up for $80+ at most places.  Your CPUs AIO can be intake, it is just the GPU that needs to be exhaust.  What I envision, is a 240mm AIO for your CPU in the top as intake, and the 120mm AIO as exhaust out the rear.  This will give you positive air pressure, and this is what I do in my chassis, which is also a full tower.  You could also set it up the top AIO as exhaust, this should still give you positive air pressure, with the side fan as intake.  Its good to have a side fan as intake in your situation because it will cool down the GPUs VRMs.

 

3)  I'm confident in saying that the X31 performs slightly better than the H55, but not by a meaningful margin.  I am slightly worried you will have issues controlling the speeds as you want them via a fan hub, but I could be worried about nothing.  If you need help when the time comes, I'm happy to help.  Just know that if you get a kind of ticking or grinding, you will likely need to control the fans and pump via motherboard. The X31 was just slightly too loud, the pump mainly.  The fans I have are some aftermarket Blade Masters, that I have connected via Y splitter, and I keep them at a relatively low RPM so they don't bother me.  The included fan was not to my liking.

 

4)  Ok, digging deeper on your card the Zotac GTX780 Ti OC.  I could not find a picture of the PCB, could you take a picture of it and show me please?  I am going to assume that the AMP! edition is the same PCB and layout as the OC edition.  If that is the case, no copper shim is needed.

 

780tiamp-7b.jpg

 

 

 

If this is your PCB, no shim is needed, and additional heatsinks are also not necessary because the midplate and VRM heatsink is already in place, and they appear to be very good ones.

 

I'm happy to help!  Really love getting feedback on this because it is such an interesting "mod"

 

I'm going to explain why I think it is much better than a custom loop.

 

#1 its cheaper.  No way to split it, it is so much less expensive.  You can water cool both your CPU and GPU for well under $200, and get almost as good as custom temperatures.  You don't have to fiddle with sizing, fittings, and all the other hassle(or fun, depending how you look at it).  A custom loop is not bad, I wanted to do one for a long time, and I finally decided upon the dual CLC design because the price is right, and I like to be able to get into my computer and play with components if necessary.  I don't want to have to bleed a loop every time I need to get into my computer to change something.  Also the maintenance, it just wasn't for me, I don't have the patience for that.  Maybe in the future, but for now, I'm so happy with my dual AIOs, and my components/wallet tend to agree.

 

#2  It is compatible with a lot of things.  When you buy a GPU waterblock, it costs $100, so right there you are spending more than a G10 + radiator + extra fan + TIM + heatsinks.  That waterblock is card specific, so if you upgrade GPUs, you will need to buy another waterblock.  The G10 is compatible with almost everything, including new cards that come out.  Owners of the G10 with 700 series cards were able to easily move their G10 to their new 900s, and viola!  No extra money spent, same excellent performance. Hopefully this remains true for many generations to come.  It is definitely something that appealed to me when I first started researching the G10.  It is upgrade-ready.

 

#3  The temperatures are not far off from that of a custom loop.  Most people are in the 40-60C range, depending on their GPU and what size radiator they use.  In order to get into that range with a custom loop, you're looking at a few hundred dollars minimum.  Yea, its beautiful and super customizeable, but I am more results driven, and you cannot argue with these results for a fraction of the price.

"I genuinely dislike the promulgation of false information, especially to people who are asking for help selecting new parts."

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@Faceman
 
Thanks very much for the quick reply. I have a couple of questions:
 
1) Thanks for your advice about the CPU cooling, I looked a little deeper on Kraken X31 benchmarks for the CPU and found that several tower coolers which are at least 20% cheaper perform just as well. I'll probably get one of the tower coolers for my Phantom 410, maybe the Alpenföhn Himalaya 2 - do you know anything about this cooler? Its 25% cheaper than the Kraken X31, and according to this test at http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/6812/nzxt-kraken-x31-140mm-aio-cpu-cooler-review/index6.htm its basically on par with the Kraken. However, I don't think its very well known as I can't find much information about it, but according to the website its a 170mm tower, which is literally just enough CPU clearance for my Phantom 410.

I would then set up my case as you sugggested, with 2 front intake fans, 1 side intake fan, the Kraken X31 with the G10 for the GPU as a push exhaust on the top fan closer to the front, with the other top fan as an exhaust and a rear as an exhaust (I hope that makes sense). I've included a picture of the case of google and just added in my blueprint, hope my drawings aren't too bad (note the line over the CPU represents the CPU heatsink in push/pull config). I intially wanted the Kraken X31 for the GPU exhausting out the rear in a push/pull config for the added air flow because only the rear fan slot has enough space to do a push pull. However, that would mean the hot air from the heatsink tower is blowing directly towards the air used to cool the GPU, which wouldn't be very efficient.  

 

phantom 410

 

2) I can't actually open my GPU at the moment as I'm waiting for Amazon to deliver my new MX2 paste, but yes, you are correct in that the AMP is the exact same as the OC edition, the only difference is that it is slightly different in terms of colours and that the boost clock is higher by about 70mhz; apart from that, there is no difference. Do you think I should get some copper shims just in case I open it up and find out its incompatible? I really wouldn't mind spending another $3 if you are unsure that it will not need a copper shim ( I'm just going to be relying on all your words now since you're clearly an expert on this :D  :D  :D )

 

Do you think the above setup is appropriate in terms of cooling efficiency? Would love to hear your thoughts
 
Cheers

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