Radiators for RTX 4090 and 13900k

[Mr Technician]

I am in the process of planning an RTX 4090 and 13900k build. I have an NZXT H9 Flow for my case and could run a max of 3 360mm radiators. In terms of thickness:

 

Top: 30mm ideally, 45 mm would be pushing clearance for motherboard

Side: 30mm, 45mm would be cramped

Bottom: If I don't mount my GPU vertically, 45mm. With vertical GPU, 30mm.

 

I will probably just get 3x 30mm HW labs radiators, but this would give me no options for a bottom drain. I also like the look of flat reservoirs, which I could put in place of the side rad. It seems like triple radiators is the wisest choice for temps and noise considering the hardware, but I am open to other opinions.

[Shimejii]

You dont need to watercool the 4090, its fine by itself and its performance wont increase, nor will it improve that much audibly honestly. The coolers on them are just fine, the 13900k on the otherhand, you could try the dual 360mm rads for it but there are certainly diminishing returns for it. 

[jaslion]

Is this a for looks build?

 

The 13900ks is a bad buy as even custom looped it can't really be cooled as its simply too much for that poor heatspreader.

 

Is this a gaming pc? If so a 13600k and 13900k have very little difference in performance. Or get a 7800x3d it matches/beats the ks.

 

Other than that depending on the 4090 it can run silently at 100% load as even the founders cooler is mega overbuild and can run this thing well withing its limits at 33dba. Others like the asus can do it at 26dba tops.

 

If its a for looks build a single 45mm 360 rad is all you really need. The 13900ks will thermal throthle anyway under 100% load so figure out a good undervolt.

 

 

[Mr Technician]

6 hours ago, Shimejii said:

You dont need to watercool the 4090, its fine by itself and its performance wont increase, nor will it improve that much audibly honestly. The coolers on them are just fine, the 13900k on the otherhand, you could try the dual 360mm rads for it but there are certainly diminishing returns for it. 

Unfortunately I exchanged my PNY 4090 for a Gigabyte one specifically so I could get one compatible with EK blocks. Other brands don't have blocks that are as attractive as the EK ones but the prices are steep...

 

I also like the idea of watercooling everything while I am going to the effort of cooling the CPU. This is partly for aesthetics, and partly because I know I can keep the card cooler IF I have enough radiator space, but I understand that the stock coolers are still great.

 

5 hours ago, jaslion said:

Is this a for looks build?

Partly, yes, but I am going with ZMT over hardline.
 

5 hours ago, jaslion said:

The 13900ks is a bad buy as even custom looped it can't really be cooled as its simply too much for that poor heatspreader.

I wasn't planning on the KS, but I might delid and use a direct die block even with the non-s chip.

 

5 hours ago, jaslion said:

Is this a gaming pc? If so a 13600k and 13900k have very little difference in performance. Or get a 7800x3d it matches/beats the ks.

Yes, but I am also getting back into heavy video editing (6k raw, possibly) and blender, so the extra CPU performance matters.

[Robchil]

On 4/9/2023 at 5:41 AM, Mr Technician said:

Unfortunately I exchanged my PNY 4090 for a Gigabyte one specifically so I could get one compatible with EK blocks. Other brands don't have blocks that are as attractive as the EK ones but the prices are steep...

 

I also like the idea of watercooling everything while I am going to the effort of cooling the CPU. This is partly for aesthetics, and partly because I know I can keep the card cooler IF I have enough radiator space, but I understand that the stock coolers are still great.

 

Gigabyte usually have one called Aorus extreme WB.. that's with the waterblock included. altho i see they only have it on the 4080 yet. 

 

Watercooling is a hobby too.. not because it is needed, because it is fun  and we can. 

 

remember to get inline tempsensor and flowmeter, as it looks cool.. and you can adjust your fans to watertemp  = quiet operations

 

 

i would maximize radiators in a case.. my current TT AH T600 has 60mm 360 in the top, 44mm 360 in the back and 44mm 480 in the front... 

my old case a Fractal define R6 had 240 in the front 360 in the top, 120 in the back, and 140 in the bottom, all 30mm thick. 

It's all probably overkill for my 9900k and two 2080ti's.. but again.. it's fun   and quite silent. 

 

enjoy your build

 

[Tanquen]

My MSI RTX3080 was so quite I did not bother water cooling it. The GIGABYTE RTX 4090 GAMING OC 24G, I hear it all the time when gaming. I've underclocked it a good amount to slow the fans.