water cooling Opinion: WC priority, CPU or GPU.

[KickAHobo]

Gtx 970 SSC evga oc about 60 MHz (if feeling lucky that day)

4690k 4.6 ghz 1.3ish volts

Asus z97a 

16gig hyperx fury 1866

Hi 750i

Evo 212

 

Ok to my point. From all my googling and LTT ive watched it would seem like, in general, if I were to water cool one thing in my rig it should be the graphics card first. 

 

My card runs hotter than my CPU in games, even with all fans 100%. I feel like the best bang for the buck (besides a higher end card) would be a cooler card vs a cooler CPU. I think my card is maxed and more intense cooling would allow for a few extra fpses, while cooling my CPU better would just let it run cooler.

 

PCMR,

Hobo.

 

 

 

[Nacho Marco Segui]

Redo the thermal paste, I had that card and it helped.

[Thinkfreely]

15 minutes ago, KickAHobo said:

Gtx 970 SSC evga oc about 60 MHz (if feeling lucky that day)

4690k 4.6 ghz 1.3ish volts

Asus z97a 

16gig hyperx fury 1866

Hi 750i

Evo 212

 

Ok to my point. From all my googling and LTT ive watched it would seem like, in general, if I were to water cool one thing in my rig it should be the graphics card first. 

 

My card runs hotter than my CPU in games, even with all fans 100%. I feel like the best bang for the buck (besides a higher end card) would be a cooler card vs a cooler CPU. I think my card is maxed and more intense cooling would allow for a few extra fpses, while cooling my CPU better would just let it run cooler.

 

PCMR,

Hobo.

 

 

 

GPU would make sense if your CPU isn't getting thermal bottlenecking. You have to also consider that the higher the temp that the GPU and CPU runs under load, the shorter overall life span that chip. So its a good idea to properly cool both, but if your CPU is under 80C under load but your GPU is not, then I would go with the GPU.

[Kc7vwc]

18 minutes ago, KickAHobo said:

Gtx 970 SSC evga oc about 60 MHz (if feeling lucky that day)

4690k 4.6 ghz 1.3ish volts

Asus z97a 

16gig hyperx fury 1866

Hi 750i

Evo 212

 

Ok to my point. From all my googling and LTT ive watched it would seem like, in general, if I were to water cool one thing in my rig it should be the graphics card first. 

 

My card runs hotter than my CPU in games, even with all fans 100%. I feel like the best bang for the buck (besides a higher end card) would be a cooler card vs a cooler CPU. I think my card is maxed and more intense cooling would allow for a few extra fpses, while cooling my CPU better would just let it run cooler.

 

PCMR,

Hobo.

 

 

 

What temp is GPU at currently? My Msi 970 caps at 72°c under load with about +75/150 core/mem OC. 

Just wondering why you're looking at cooling. Are you running out of performance, or are you looking to just ease the load the system?

The GPU will always run hotter than CPU. 

Edit: (On mobile, no idea why some of that is highlighted)

Edited September 29, 2016 by Kc7vwc
Formatting

[SpaceGhostC2C]

1 hour ago, KickAHobo said:

Gtx 970 SSC evga oc about 60 MHz (if feeling lucky that day)

4690k 4.6 ghz 1.3ish volts

Asus z97a 

16gig hyperx fury 1866

Hi 750i

Evo 212

 

Ok to my point. From all my googling and LTT ive watched it would seem like, in general, if I were to water cool one thing in my rig it should be the graphics card first. 

 

My card runs hotter than my CPU in games, even with all fans 100%. I feel like the best bang for the buck (besides a higher end card) would be a cooler card vs a cooler CPU. I think my card is maxed and more intense cooling would allow for a few extra fpses, while cooling my CPU better would just let it run cooler.

 

PCMR,

Hobo.

 

 

 

My first reaction is to WC the CPU, due to AIOs and overclocking, but it's true that GPUs generate more heat and noise, so it makes much more sense to upgrade their cooling first.

Of course, it will depend on your usage. A high CPU OC in a non-gaming machine would suggest to cool the CPU, while a gaming machine with a CPU at stock speeds is better off with GPU watercooling.

[KickAHobo]

1 hour ago, Kc7vwc said:

What temp is GPU at currently? My Msi 970 caps at 72°c under load with about +75/150 core/mem OC. 

Just wondering why you're looking at cooling. Are you running out of performance, or are you looking to just ease the load the system?

The GPU will always run hotter than CPU. 

Edit: (On mobile, no idea why some of that is highlighted)

Everything is below 80°. One reason I bring this up is because I was looking for blocks for my graphics card and I found a lot more for the xx80s and Ti's and titans than for the 970 SSC. Which lead me to the conclusion that it is better to get the best card with a stock cooler than a cheaper card and water cooling.

[shibbs]

Wow. That's nuts. I reapplied my own thermal paste on my GTX 970 SC and overclocked it to 1510 mhz with a +300 on the memory and with the fans running static at 2000 RPM it won't break 70C.

 

Reapply thermal paste for sure.