Trying to jerry-rig a case fan for better GPU cooling

[RelentlessTroll]

So, I have SLI 780s, and with SLI always comes more heat unless liquid cooled. (Which I do not have) But in the more intensive games, my top card reaches temps to the point of throttling and reducing performance. I've found there's no way around this, and was recommended to somehow mount a fan in my case so that it can move more air between the GPUs, but I'm just not sure how to do it, or if it's even possible. Does anyone have any idea how I can achieve this?

 

Here's the inside of my case (CM Storm Stryker) if it helps: 

[Hackentosher]

4 minutes ago, RelentlessTroll said:

So, I have SLI 780s, and with SLI always comes more heat unless liquid cooled. (Which I do not have) But in the more intensive games, my top card reaches temps to the point of throttling and reducing performance. I've found there's no way around this, and was recommended to somehow mount a fan in my case so that it can move more air between the GPUs, but I'm just not sure how to do it, or if it's even possible. Does anyone have any idea how I can achieve this?

 

Here's the inside of my case (CM Storm Stryker) if it helps: 

I think the best solution here is to add your GPUs to your loop. That being said, I know there are fans that fit in PCI slots and exhaust air out the back. Perhaps you could get one that pulls air in, or reverse the polarity on the wires to allow the fan to spin backwards and (although probably inefficiently) pull air into the case from the back. Lastly, you could potentially 3D print a bracket that fits onto the back of one of the cards to which you could attach a case fan to force air inbetween the two cards.

[RelentlessTroll]

18 minutes ago, Hackentosher said:

I think the best solution here is to add your GPUs to your loop. That being said, I know there are fans that fit in PCI slots and exhaust air out the back. Perhaps you could get one that pulls air in, or reverse the polarity on the wires to allow the fan to spin backwards and (although probably inefficiently) pull air into the case from the back. Lastly, you could potentially 3D print a bracket that fits onto the back of one of the cards to which you could attach a case fan to force air inbetween the two cards.

Well I haven't done too much research, but someone told me that my specific cards weren't compatible to be in a custom cooling loop. I have 2 twin frozr 780s from MSI. 

[Hackentosher]

1 minute ago, RelentlessTroll said:

Well I haven't done too much research, but someone told me that my specific cards weren't compatible to be in a custom cooling loop. I have 2 twin frozr 780s from MSI. 

Yeah whatever https://www.ekwb.com/configurator/waterblock/3831109868621

[RelentlessTroll]

1 minute ago, Hackentosher said:

Yeah whatever https://www.ekwb.com/configurator/waterblock/3831109868621

Oh wow.. I was straight up lied to. I just might do this... But.. I'm one of those people that's terrified to do anything inside my computer. How much work goes into adding 2 GPUs into an already-built custom loop? And what are the risks?

[Hackentosher]

32 minutes ago, RelentlessTroll said:

Oh wow.. I was straight up lied to. I just might do this... But.. I'm one of those people that's terrified to do anything inside my computer. How much work goes into adding 2 GPUs into an already-built custom loop? And what are the risks?

You liquid cooled your CPU but you aren't confident touching the rest of the inside of your computer?

 

 

[RelentlessTroll]

58 minutes ago, Hackentosher said:

You liquid cooled your CPU but you aren't confident touching the rest of the inside of your computer?

 

 

I always hate admitting this, but when I got my PC (Summer, 2013) I was too intimidated at the thought of building my own PC, so while I did select the parts in my PC, I did not build it from scratch myself. I ordered from a place called Ironside Computers. I've swapped out stuff like GPUs, RAM, and storage drives, but I've never touched anything like a cooling bracket, thermal paste, motherboards, power supply, and so on.

 

EDIT: Also the video you showed me is helpful and all, but the part I'm worried about is actually putting it into my loop, and installing the card itself. I have no idea how to go about doing that.

[Hackentosher]

58 minutes ago, RelentlessTroll said:

EDIT: Also the video you showed me is helpful and all, but the part I'm worried about is actually putting it into my loop, and installing the card itself. I have no idea how to go about doing that.

Well, you have to drain your loop, get some more fittings and tubing, then add the cards, fill and leak test, collect profit.

[RelentlessTroll]

8 minutes ago, Hackentosher said:

Well, you have to drain your loop, get some more fittings and tubing, then add the cards, fill and leak test, collect profit.

Oh god. I'm a lost cause, man. Thanks for trying anyway lol I should never have opted for a custom loop in the first place.

[Hackentosher]

7 hours ago, RelentlessTroll said:

Oh god. I'm a lost cause, man. Thanks for trying anyway lol I should never have opted for a custom loop in the first place.

Lol, they're not as complicated as you think. That YouTuber JayzTwoCents has a lot of great water cooling videos, check them out.

[RelentlessTroll]

4 hours ago, Hackentosher said:

Lol, they're not as complicated as you think. That YouTuber JayzTwoCents has a lot of great water cooling videos, check them out.

Well I hope he can show how to actually add a GPU to an already working cooling loop. Cause I'd love to water cool both my cards. That'd look badass in my case as well, but I'm just so incompetent doing these things myself. I'm the kinda guy who'd spill coolant inside my PC and ruin everything.

[Hackentosher]

Just now, RelentlessTroll said:

Well I hope he can show how to actually add a GPU to an already working cooling loop. Cause I'd love to water cool both my cards. That'd look badass in my case as well, but I'm just so incompetent doing these things myself. I'm the kinda guy who'd spill coolant inside my PC and ruin everything.

How big is that radiator in your case? 

 

I don't think he has any guides on how to add things to your loop, but if you simply drain it, then rerun your tubes, should work fine. 

[RelentlessTroll]

Just now, Hackentosher said:

How big is that radiator in your case?

240mm

[Hackentosher]

3 hours ago, RelentlessTroll said:

240mm

Hmm, the rule of thumb is to have a 120mm fan per component in your loop. Is it possible to add a 120mm or another 240 somewhere in your case?

[RelentlessTroll]

1 hour ago, Hackentosher said:

Hmm, the rule of thumb is to have a 120mm fan per component in your loop. Is it possible to add a 120mm or another 240 somewhere in your case?

Actually.. in the front of my case (just below the reservoir) I have 2 120mm fans for intake. Could I possibly fit one there? And if so, where do I go from there? 

[Hackentosher]

3 minutes ago, RelentlessTroll said:

Actually.. in the front of my case (just below the reservoir) I have 2 120mm fans for intake. Could I possibly fit one there? And if so, where do I go from there? 

Well, first off, what's your budget? My guess is that two gtx 780 water blocks will be about $200 used, and $300 new. Plus 4 fittings, that's an extra $28~ and some more tube for like $10~.

 

To start, you would first drain your loop, then remove your graphics cards, install the blocks, install the other 240mm rad, put your cards back into the loop, plumb it up, refill, leak test, then enjoy lower temperatures.

[RelentlessTroll]

1 minute ago, Hackentosher said:

Well, first off, what's your budget? My guess is that two gtx 780 water blocks will be about $200 used, and $300 new. Plus 4 fittings, that's an extra $28~ and some more tube for like $10~.

 

To start, you would first drain your loop, then remove your graphics cards, install the blocks, install the other 240mm rad, put your cards back into the loop, plumb it up, refill, leak test, then enjoy lower temperatures.

Hmm, not worried about money at this point, I'll worry about that later. But there's still the issue of me not knowing how to drain the loop for one, and how to exactly add more tubing as well. I'm tellin' ya, I'm hopeless lmao. Biggest regret with my PC is the custom cooling loop.

[Hackentosher]

2 minutes ago, RelentlessTroll said:

Hmm, not worried about money at this point, I'll worry about that later. But there's still the issue of me not knowing how to drain the loop for one, and how to exactly add more tubing as well. I'm tellin' ya, I'm hopeless lmao. Biggest regret with my PC is the custom cooling loop.

To drain your loop, take off a fitting somewhere, put the end of the tube into a bucket, then open up a port on your reservoir to allow air to replace the draining fluid.

[RelentlessTroll]

Just now, Hackentosher said:

To drain your loop, take off a fitting somewhere, put the end of the tube into a bucket, then open up a port on your reservoir to allow air to replace the draining fluid.

Take a fitting off that disconnects from the reservoir, or a fitting that disconnects from the CPU? Basically, which end do I take off? lol Unless it doesn't matter. Also, isn't there water in the rad too? Do I drain that as well?

[Hackentosher]

Just now, RelentlessTroll said:

Take a fitting off that disconnects from the reservoir, or a fitting that disconnects from the CPU? Basically, which end do I take off? lol Unless it doesn't matter. Also, isn't there water in the rad too? Do I drain that as well?

I'd take off from the CPU. In theory, no liquid should come out if the system is on it's side, but if you can plug up the opening on the CPU block just to be sure then open up a port on the res, that should work beautifully.

[RelentlessTroll]

4 minutes ago, Hackentosher said:

I'd take off from the CPU. In theory, no liquid should come out if the system is on it's side, but if you can plug up the opening on the CPU block just to be sure then open up a port on the res, that should work beautifully.

Man, I would love to do that, but I'm just so afraid of getting something wet. I currently am broke, and don't have the money to replace any parts I could potentially ruin. That's what makes doing anything inside my PC so scary to me. I have one other thing I could do instead of having to go through the stress of draining my loop. I have my eyes on a small 120mm CPU cooler that can double as a DIY GPU liquid cooler. In fact, it was Linus who turned me on to the idea of this. I can get a pair of Antec H20 KUHLER 650s for each GPU. That seems the safest to me. And also it would be much cheaper than buying waterblocks, cause they're about $60-$70 a piece!

[Hackentosher]

2 minutes ago, RelentlessTroll said:

Man, I would love to do that, but I'm just so afraid of getting something wet. I currently am broke, and don't have the money to replace any parts I could potentially ruin. That's what makes doing anything inside my PC so scary to me. I have one other thing I could do instead of having to go through the stress of draining my loop. I have my eyes on a small 120mm CPU cooler that can double as a DIY GPU liquid cooler. In fact, it was Linus who turned me on to the idea of this. I can get a pair of Antec H20 KUHLER 650s for each GPU. That seems the safest to me. And also it would be much cheaper than buying waterblocks, cause they're about $60-$70 a piece!

That is another good option, check out the Kraken g10.

[RelentlessTroll]

2 minutes ago, Hackentosher said:

That is another good option, check out the Kraken g10.

Kraken G10? Ok! But with that option, there's another thing I'm uncertain of. I'm not sure if I would have enough room in between the cards for the block that attaches to my top card. It's hard to tell. What do you think, judging from my earlier pictures. Those are the only 2 slots I can use, by the way. My board only supports 2-way SLI.

[Hackentosher]

1 minute ago, RelentlessTroll said:

Kraken G10? Ok! But with that option, there's another thing I'm uncertain of. I'm not sure if I would have enough room in between the cards for the block that attaches to my top card. It's hard to tell. What do you think, judging from my earlier pictures. Those are the only 2 slots I can use, by the way. My board only supports 2-way SLI.

there's space in between the two cards. Without that bigass cooler, you should have more than enough room for a little CPU block.

[RelentlessTroll]

Just now, Hackentosher said:

there's space in between the two cards. Without that bigass cooler, you should have more than enough room for a little CPU block.

You know.. I completely forgot that the stock cooler will be gone.. I feel stupid now lol I have a few options now! That sounds way more appealing than adding them to my loop. And cheaper! And the Kraken G10 would be nice, but after watching a video on it, it seems to add a lot of sag to the GPU due to weight  

 

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