Graphics card block flow direction, does it matter?

[Kalm_Traveler]

My build is in the Thermaltake Core X9 so the mb is horizontal which means the cards are vertical, and I've been wondering if maybe in this orientation I need to have the loop flowing the opposite direction since there are these two air bubbly spots in both blocks and I can't seem so make them go away with tipping the case.

 

Do they matter? And/or should i try making the inlets on the right side and outlets on the left instead? 

 

Right now the inlets are on the left, outlets are on the right (right side tube exits the bridge block and connects to the pump/res IN). 

[MzCatieB]

they are designed to go both ways so not really.
remember if you do 2/3 way sli/xfire it goes in 1 side, out the other, then in from the other side on the next card.... even if you run them in parallel it will do the same :3

[Kalm_Traveler]

On 5/22/2018 at 8:12 AM, MzCatieB said:

they are designed to go both ways so not really.
remember if you do 2/3 way sli/xfire it goes in 1 side, out the other, then in from the other side on the next card.... even if you run them in parallel it will do the same :3

Thanks, yep i have the fluid bridge set up for parallel. If those air pockets don't matter I'll just forget about them - was curious because it looks a little bit like if the fluid were running in the opposite direction it might not create the air pockets. 

[MzCatieB]

2 minutes ago, Kalm_Traveler1 said:

Thanks, yep i have the fluid bridge set up for parallel. If those air pockets don't matter I'll just forget about them - was curious because it looks a little bit like if the fluid were running in the opposite direction it might not create the air pockets. 

always try and get rid of air pockets as much as possible... saying that, i have scene a few high end systems with airpockets in the blocks and didnt effect performance that much.

to get rid of them just pick up the pc and move it around to dislodge them... or use a motherboard jumper and flick the system on and off a few times.

[Mick Naughty]

If the manufacture specifics it, it’s normally in the product details. 

[Kalm_Traveler]

1 hour ago, MzCatieB said:

always try and get rid of air pockets as much as possible... saying that, i have scene a few high end systems with airpockets in the blocks and didnt effect performance that much.

to get rid of them just pick up the pc and move it around to dislodge them... or use a motherboard jumper and flick the system on and off a few times.

Yeah I have tried, those two spots on both video card blocks don't seem to go away though. The cards are not running hot but it looks bad
 

 

59 minutes ago, Mick Naughty said:

If the manufacture specifics it, it’s normally in the product details. 

This is the product page - what do you think based on looking at the design?: https://www.bitspower.com.tw/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=173_268_270_276&products_id=5816

[Mick Naughty]

Doesn’t take me to anything. Look at the instructions, it’s normally there. 

[Kalm_Traveler]

13 minutes ago, Mick Naughty said:

Doesn’t take me to anything. Look at the instructions, it’s normally there. 

weird... the page loads fine for me. The instructions don't really say anything at all... here is a pic:

[MzCatieB]

try leaning the system whilst its on... 
it only takes one bit of liquid to dislodge the bubbles / airpocket

[Kalm_Traveler]

13 minutes ago, MzCatieB said:

try leaning the system whilst its on... 
it only takes one bit of liquid to dislodge the bubbles / airpocket

That's the problem, I have leaned it every which way, the air pocket/gap returns as soon as the PC is back in the normal position. I'm wondering if maybe the pump is just not providing enough pressure to the loop to force the liquid to fill the entire card blocks. If that's the case, I would imagine changing the graphics cards flow to be in series instead of parallel would help to increase pressure? 

The water bridge block included a little plug that you can install in one side if you want to have the cards flow in series instead but I wanted to run them in parallel initially.

[Dschijn]

Your problem is the vertical orientation of the cards, since the air pockets will stay in the highest position and the water pressure is not strong enough to press them down.

 

1. Set the pump to 100% with a at least 75% (preferably >90%) full reservoir

2. tilt the case as far as possible (keep the reservoir in mind and that the pump doesn't suck in air from the res)

 

It would work the best if you could tilt the case by 90° to the side so that the cards would be horizontal.

[Kalm_Traveler]

1 minute ago, Dschijn said:

Your problem is the vertical orientation of the cards, since the air pockets will stay in the highest position and the water pressure is not strong enough to press them down.

 

1. Set the pump to 100% with a at least 75% (preferably >90%) full reservoir

2. tilt the case as far as possible (keep the reservoir in mind and that the pump doesn't suck in air from the res)

 

It would work the best if you could tilt the case by 90° to the side so that the cards would be horizontal.

thanks - that is kind of what I was afraid of. 

I have tipped the case 90 and 180 (upside down) to try and get all air bubbles out but as soon as it's upright again those 2 spots in both graphics card blocks become air pockets again immediately.

[Dschijn]

54 minutes ago, Kalm_Traveler1 said:

I have tipped the case 90 and 180 (upside down) to try and get all air bubbles out but as soon as it's upright again those 2 spots in both graphics card blocks become air pockets again immediately.

That sounds very wrong. Tilting the case 90° (flat on the side) should give the pump enough force to push the bubbles out of the waterblock into the loop. If that doesn't happen you should worry about flow rate. How are your temps under GPU load?

[Mick Naughty]

Turning my pump up to max and tilting the case gets everything out for me.

[Kalm_Traveler]

24 minutes ago, Dschijn said:

That sounds very wrong. Tilting the case 90° (flat on the side) should give the pump enough force to push the bubbles out of the waterblock into the loop. If that doesn't happen you should worry about flow rate. How are your temps under GPU load?

they top out about 47 C (I keep the room at 70 F / 21.1 C) I believe. I can check again when I get home but I'm quite sure they have never reached 50 C.

[MzCatieB]

did you flush our the RAD and blocks before putting the system together?

Also it could be a pressure thing... open up the top of the rez slightly and see if it releases pressure

[Dschijn]

Can you post a propper picture where we can see both cards, the terminal and the tubes?!

[Kalm_Traveler]

On 5/22/2018 at 2:06 PM, MzCatieB said:

did you flush our the RAD and blocks before putting the system together?

Also it could be a pressure thing... open up the top of the rez slightly and see if it releases pressure

yes, and it is open right now (been running dw and a new Primochill system cleaner/prep fluid for 2 days)

 

 

On 5/22/2018 at 2:07 PM, Dschijn said:

Can you post a propper picture where we can see both cards, the terminal and the tubes?!

sure thing as soon as I am home in a few hours. It's a bit difficult to get a good shot of all of that because the whole motherboard is horizontal, and the radiator fans are about 3 inches above the graphics cards but I will do my best.

 

This is about as good as I can get since the radiator fans are so low... Don't mind the nasty soft tubing, i hadn't mounted the pump/res when i ran those so left extra. They're all clouded from my first attempt at PrimoChill Vue so I have a new 10 foot piece to redo the runs with more appropriate lengths. 

 

Actually debating going hard tubing once this rig is completely finalized. 

[Dschijn]

Looks good! If the temperatures are fine you might forget about the bubbles and just enjoy the rig

[Kalm_Traveler]

21 hours ago, Dschijn said:

Looks good! If the temperatures are fine you might forget about the bubbles and just enjoy the rig

Redid the entire loop with new tubing to give PrimoChill Vue one last try. 

 

Last time it lasted 3 days, any bets on this time? 

[Dschijn]

a week

[MzCatieB]

9 hours ago, Kalm_Traveler1 said:

Redid the entire loop with new tubing to give PrimoChill Vue one last try. 

 

Last time it lasted 3 days, any bets on this time? 

Your issue is likely the Vue fluid <3
its actually not certified to be ran more than 8 hours at a time as it will foam and fall out.

if you get the issue again then i suggest switching to a less glamorous fluid

[Kalm_Traveler]

19 minutes ago, MzCatieB said:

Your issue is likely the Vue fluid <3
its actually not certified to be ran more than 8 hours at a time as it will foam and fall out.

if you get the issue again then i suggest switching to a less glamorous fluid

ooh the air bubble issue in the GPU blocks is gone now that I redid the loop and flipped the in/out on the GPU waterblock bridge. 

You're right though on an unrelated note, my first go with Vue ended after 3 days because it changed from 'sterling silver' to a dull blue after 2 days, and started leaving white gunk deposits all through the loop on the 3rd day.

I rinsed the entire loop with 6 gallons of pure distilled water, then ran it with Primochill's new cleaning fluid 'Primo Prep' that they sent me along with 2 free replacement bottles of Vue, and before refilling it I completely redid the soft tubing loop making the overall volume less (less work on the pump), and using Primochill's own soft tubing this time (first loop was using EK's soft tubing).

 

I'm hoping it won't have the Ph problem this time, but given how fast it died on me the first time despite having followed the loop preparation instructions to a T, I have a hunch that this stuff will be coming out by next week.

[MzCatieB]

6 hours ago, Kalm_Traveler1 said:

ooh the air bubble issue in the GPU blocks is gone now that I redid the loop and flipped the in/out on the GPU waterblock bridge. 

You're right though on an unrelated note, my first go with Vue ended after 3 days because it changed from 'sterling silver' to a dull blue after 2 days, and started leaving white gunk deposits all through the loop on the 3rd day.

I rinsed the entire loop with 6 gallons of pure distilled water, then ran it with Primochill's new cleaning fluid 'Primo Prep' that they sent me along with 2 free replacement bottles of Vue, and before refilling it I completely redid the soft tubing loop making the overall volume less (less work on the pump), and using Primochill's own soft tubing this time (first loop was using EK's soft tubing).

 

I'm hoping it won't have the Ph problem this time, but given how fast it died on me the first time despite having followed the loop preparation instructions to a T, I have a hunch that this stuff will be coming out by next week.

i'm planning on using EK for my next build with Mayhems Pastel White.
gonna be using PETG tubing... which is gonna be fun cause its my first custom loop

[Kalm_Traveler]

On 5/25/2018 at 3:10 PM, MzCatieB said:

i'm planning on using EK for my next build with Mayhems Pastel White.
gonna be using PETG tubing... which is gonna be fun cause its my first custom loop

Be sure to report how it all goes! 

 

I've heard people have issues with pastels too but not nearly as often as Vue. 

 

On that note, here's the reversed block flow with Vue for now: