Watercooling

[Demozwolf]

Guys what are the big advantages for watercooling a gpu

In my case a 970

[Juganog]

Keeps the GPU A LOT cooler and allow's more headroom for overclocks and what not

[Scouten]

less noise less heat

[Shaqo_Wyn]

Guys what are the big advantages for watercooling a gpu

In my case a 970

 

Less heat and noise, more overclocking headroom, superior aesthetics. 

[ImBleu]

Less noise, less heat.

 

But the best one I think is that because of GPU boost and it being Maxwell it's already a less hot GPU, if it's watercooled the GPU Boost 2.0 overclock will push it through the roof.

[Demozwolf]

Less heat and noise, more overclocking headroom, superior aesthetics.

Less noise, less heat.

 

But the best one I think is that because of GPU boost and it being Maxwell it's already a less hot GPU, if it's watercooled the GPU Boost 2.0 overclock will push it through the roof.

Currently I have a minute gtx 970 a water block will be out soon

If I do it does that mean if I over click more it will not crash

[Demozwolf]

I meant msi gtx 970 gaming

Currently I have a minute gtx 970 a water block will be out soon

If I do it does that mean if I over click more it will not crash

I meant msi gtx 970

[TechSilver13]

Most people get over 1500 on the core with a 970 and stock is 1100+ thats about 400+ on the core. So everyone saying you get a "TON" more overclocking ability are you saying you should be able to hit 2000+ on the core? Or just an extra 100 hitting around 1600 or 1700 on the core? If its 1700 then that's not a "TON". Watercooling will give you better temps and that's about it, the same goes for CPUs unless you are hitting a temp limit. Most 4790K's like what I have can't hit 4.8 to 4.9 even if you are watercooled.

[KamiKatze]

Guys, we can talk about less noise once you actually got your pump running.

 

Imo watercooling maxwell cards is absoluteley unnecessary. The stock coolers do fine and with temperatures usually below 70 °C at load, overclocked; i see no reason to watercool.

 

If you were to watercool, your first step would be flashing a hacked BIOS in order to apply higher voltages, because as it is now, you cann add 200-300 MHz to the core and that's it. Temps don't rise over 70 °C. So once you hack your cards and overclock them like crazy, i would say it can be considered to watercool your card.

 

But imo watercooling is dead. Too expensive, too many points of failure and not really much more silent.

[KamiKatze]

Most people get over 1500 on the core with a 970 and stock is 1100+ thats about 400+ on the core. So everyone saying you get a "TON" more overclocking ability are you saying you should be able to hit 2000+ on the core? Or just an extra 100 hitting around 1600 or 1700 on the core? If its 1700 then that's not a "TON". Watercooling will give you better temps and that's about it, the same goes for CPUs unless you are hitting a temp limit. Most 4790K's like what I have can't hit 4.8 to 4.9 even if you are watercooled.

 

People saying they are hitting 1500 on the core mean that the card boosts that high. With temperatures being so low on maxwell the card is constantly boosting. So 200-300 MHz on the core is very likeley. But then most cards need more voltage, which is of course locked in the BIOS so in order to go further you'd have to hack the BIOS/ flash a hacked BIOS.

[TechSilver13]

People saying they are hitting 1500 on the core mean that the card boosts that high. With temperatures being so low on maxwell the card is constantly boosting. So 200-300 MHz on the core is very likeley. But then most cards need more voltage, which is of course locked in the BIOS so in order to go further you'd have to hack the BIOS/ flash a hacked BIOS.

I completely understand that and didn't really think about hacking the BIOS. I agree with the above poster though, water cooling GPUs is dead unless you are going for looks. CPUs still need water cooling, even if its a closed loop (I like the 360mm AIO units myself). But pumping too much voltage through anything is way to dangerous and not many people will do it (I have with my MSI Lightning 680s and Lightning 290x) But my guess would be that less than 5% of people flash a hacked BIOS to pump more voltage through GPUs.

[Demozwolf]

I completely understand that and didn't really think about hacking the BIOS. I agree with the above poster though, water cooling GPUs is dead unless you are going for looks. CPUs still need water cooling, even if its a closed loop (I like the 360mm AIO units myself). But pumping too much voltage through anything is way to dangerous and not many people will do it (I have with my MSI Lightning 680s and Lightning 290x) But my guess would be that less than 5% of people flash a hacked BIOS to pump more voltage through GPUs.

  

People saying they are hitting 1500 on the core mean that the card boosts that high. With temperatures being so low on maxwell the card is constantly boosting. So 200-300 MHz on the core is very likeley. But then most cards need more voltage, which is of course locked in the BIOS so in order to go further you'd have to hack the BIOS/ flash a hacked BIOS.

Then how do I hack the bios and is it safe?

[TechSilver13]

I have downloaded hacked BIOS's and flashed them. You literally have to make a windows 95 boot USB stick to do it with AMD cards (its called ATI Flash). Its really easy but at the same time if you dont have a dual BIOS on your card its dangerous. NVIDIA has a tool but I havent used it since my 680 days with my lightning but I am sure you can just google what you want. Only do it if you are willing to throw away your GPU and have to buy another one because bricking can happen.

[Demozwolf]

I have downloaded hacked BIOS's and flashed them. You literally have to make a windows 95 boot USB stick to do it with AMD cards (its called ATI Flash). Its really easy but at the same time if you dont have a dual BIOS on your card its dangerous. NVIDIA has a tool but I havent used it since my 680 days with my lightning but I am sure you can just google what you want. Only do it if you are willing to throw away your GPU and have to buy another one because bricking can happen.

Is there a safe way to do it?

[-rascal-]

Is there a safe way to do it?

You are hacking / modifying the BIOS.

It instantly voids the warranty.

If the hacked BIOS fails, your whole card may be dead. Bricked.

It is all down to risk. If you want to play the game or not.

Higher end AMD cards have two BIOS. If one was to fail, you have a working backup. NVidia cards don't have this feature.

In theory, you can overclock the card higher if you throw more voltage at it, but more voltage = more heat.

Plus, the graphics card will reach a limit on how far it can overclocked. Even if you cool it with Liquid Nitrogen and feed with 100 volts of power.

[Demozwolf]

You are hacking / modifying the BIOS.

It instantly voids the warranty.

If the hacked BIOS fails, your whole card may be dead. Bricked.

It is all down to risk. If you want to play the game or not.

Higher end AMD cards have two BIOS. If one was to fail, you have a working backup. NVidia cards don't have this feature.

In theory, you can overclock the card higher if you throw more voltage at it, but more voltage = more heat.

Plus, the graphics card will reach a limit on how far it can overclocked. Even if you cool it with Liquid Nitrogen and feed with 100 volts of power.

but cant i already increase voltage with the new drivers

[Demozwolf]

You are hacking / modifying the BIOS.

It instantly voids the warranty.

If the hacked BIOS fails, your whole card may be dead. Bricked.

It is all down to risk. If you want to play the game or not.

Higher end AMD cards have two BIOS. If one was to fail, you have a working backup. NVidia cards don't have this feature.

In theory, you can overclock the card higher if you throw more voltage at it, but more voltage = more heat.

Plus, the graphics card will reach a limit on how far it can overclocked. Even if you cool it with Liquid Nitrogen and feed with 100 volts of power.

thanks

[ImBleu]

Most people get over 1500 on the core with a 970 and stock is 1100+ thats about 400+ on the core. So everyone saying you get a "TON" more overclocking ability are you saying you should be able to hit 2000+ on the core? Or just an extra 100 hitting around 1600 or 1700 on the core? If its 1700 then that's not a "TON". Watercooling will give you better temps and that's about it, the same goes for CPUs unless you are hitting a temp limit. Most 4790K's like what I have can't hit 4.8 to 4.9 even if you are watercooled.

 

A Custom loop and de-lid'ing it and you may get it up to 4.8

[KamiKatze]

Is there a safe way to do it?

 

Gigabyte often includes a dual BIOS on their cards, which is ofc awesome if you bricked one, you can just switch to the other one and try flashing the 1st one again.

[Demozwolf]

Gigabyte often includes a dual BIOS on their cards, which is ofc awesome if you bricked one, you can just switch to the other one and try flashing the 1st one again.

anything for the msi one

[Real_PhillBert]

Guys, we can talk about less noise once you actually got your pump running.

 

Imo watercooling maxwell cards is absoluteley unnecessary. The stock coolers do fine and with temperatures usually below 70 °C at load, overclocked; i see no reason to watercool.

 

If you were to watercool, your first step would be flashing a hacked BIOS in order to apply higher voltages, because as it is now, you cann add 200-300 MHz to the core and that's it. Temps don't rise over 70 °C. So once you hack your cards and overclock them like crazy, i would say it can be considered to watercool your card.

 

But imo watercooling is dead. Too expensive, too many points of failure and not really much more silent.

I agree with all of this minus the last two sentences.

 

Maxwell cards really dont need watercooling unless you are Bios hacking. My Strix 980 has never been above 67c even when looping Unigine heaven/valley while overclocked. So you are not going to hit a thermal throttle situation on maxwell.

 

I would argue that watercooling is not dead, it has always been expensive and had many potential points of failure. But it has been getting cheaper and safer over the years. It has never been mainstream and still wont be for the foreseeable future, however there will still be enthusiasts out there who utilize it.

[KamiKatze]

I agree with all of this minus the last two sentences.

 

Maxwell cards really dont need watercooling unless you are Bios hacking. My Strix 980 has never been above 67c even when looping Unigine heaven/valley while overclocked. So you are not going to hit a thermal throttle situation on maxwell.

 

I would argue that watercooling is not dead, it has always been expensive and had many potential points of failure. But it has been getting cheaper and safer over the years. It has never been mainstream and still wont be for the foreseeable future, however there will still be enthusiasts out there who utilize it.

 

 

I quite like AIO water coolers for CPUs but other than that.. Watercooling was nice in the GTX 480 days. Today it's just a beautiful way of perfectionizing your PC.

[Real_PhillBert]

I quite like AIO water coolers for CPUs but other than that.. Watercooling was nice in the GTX 480 days. Today it's just a beautiful way of perfectionizing your PC.

I would buy that. Very few people really need a custom loop, most people who do use a custom loop do it for the looks.

[Carde]

I went with a basic custom loop when I found out that my H100 had been leaking for a long time and was nearly drained. So I brought a 200 euro alphacool set and put that in (pain in the ass that was! seriously) Idea was it is about 2 times the price of a high end air or AIO cooler with room for expansion if I want to

 

As for the GTC 970.980 cards it is not needed the coolers on them do their job with ease, though with the msi the vrm might be an issue as it is not cooled as well as with the Gigabyte cards.

[Demozwolf]

Guys i ran fire strike 

and got a score of

10108

http://puu.sh/cwv9z/8dc4d14f03.jpg

http://puu.sh/cwvc0/6822047a5c.jpg

are they good?