Custom GPU Water Cooling

[cory21391]

So I have just started my first custom loop, did a CPU only loop with a 240mm radiator and its keeps pretty cool temps.  Now I want to add my GPU to the loop, which is an EVGA GTX 1070 FTW, along with a second radiator.  I bought a GPU water block and radiator with fans, but then got concerned about VRAM and VRM temps, so I came up with a possible solution.  My thought process is that the EVGA board already has a frontplate and a backplate to help with thermal distribution.  The front plate is in contact with the VRAM and VRMs, I'm assuming, and the heatsink is in contact with the die and this front plate, which then transfers the heat to the fins on the heatsink to be cooled by the fans.  Can I just use thermal adhesive to glue a second water block on the front plate to cool the VRAM and VRMs?  Also is there a way to remove the adhesive and take the second water block off the front plate if I decide to return to air cooling?  I don't want to potentially permanently glue a block to my card for no reason...

[tikker]

8 minutes ago, cory21391 said:

So I have just started my first custom loop, did a CPU only loop with a 240mm radiator and its keeps pretty cool temps.  Now I want to add my GPU to the loop, which is an EVGA GTX 1070 FTW, along with a second radiator.  I bought a GPU water block and radiator with fans, but then got concerned about VRAM and VRM temps, so I came up with a possible solution.  My thought process is that the EVGA board already has a frontplate and a backplate to help with thermal distribution.  The front plate is in contact with the VRAM and VRMs, I'm assuming, and the heatsink is in contact with the die and this front plate, which then transfers the heat to the fins on the heatsink to be cooled by the fans.  Can I just use thermal adhesive to glue a second water block on the front plate to cool the VRAM and VRMs?  Also is there a way to remove the adhesive and take the second water block off the front plate if I decide to return to air cooling?  I don't want to potentially permanently glue a block to my card for no reason...

The description is a little confusing. What waterblock are you using?

[cory21391]

The GPU water block is generic, and is not full cover, it only covers the GPU die.  The water block I was considering gluing to the front plate is an extra CPU block I have, that has no mounting holes, not that there would be anywhere to mount it on the board anyways.  I was considering trying to mount a fan there to blow on the frontplate, but that seems to defeat the purpose of water cooling to an extent.

[cory21391]

Here is a picture of how I was considering setting it up, where the second block would be glued using thermal adhesive.

[tikker]

8 minutes ago, cory21391 said:

The GPU water block is generic, and is not full cover, it only covers the GPU die.  The water block I was considering gluing to the front plate is an extra CPU block I have, that has no mounting holes, not that there would be anywhere to mount it on the board anyways.  I was considering trying to mount a fan there to blow on the frontplate, but that seems to defeat the purpose of water cooling to an extent.

A fan blowing over the VRMs should be fine I think? I've never done it for GPUs, but this problem for VRMs around the CPU socket area is usually solved with some airflow.

Don't know your exact card model, but you can always go for a full cover block from EK if you want a more elegant solution: https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-fc1080-gtx-ftw2-acetal-nickel (I'm guessing one of the cards on the compatibility list is probably yours).

 

[Edit] I don't know how much "glueing" a CPU block on that little piece of metal will help you. I'm guessing little to none. The main thing you want to cool are those little silver squares (the VRMs), which is usually accomplished with a thermal pad covering them on a full-cover block.

[cory21391]

Is there a way to monitor VRAM and other board temps via software?  HW monitor just gives me a single temp for the GPU, which I'm assuming is just the GPU core.  If so I could just mount the GPU block and leave the second block off for now and see what temps look like.

[Mick Naughty]

With that card it wont tell you anything, also you don't need to know the temps. A fan on it will suffice. Should be more concerned with that block. A real universal gpu block would do wonders. 

[tikker]

9 minutes ago, cory21391 said:

Is there a way to monitor VRAM and other board temps via software?  HW monitor just gives me a single temp for the GPU, which I'm assuming is just the GPU core.  If so I could just mount the GPU block and leave the second block off for now and see what temps look like.

Yeah that's the GPU temperature. I've never had problems with VRAM temperatures, only GPU and VRM.

5 minutes ago, Mick Naughty said:

With that card it wont tell you anything, also you don't need to know the temps. A fan on it will suffice. Should be more concerned with that block. A real universal gpu block would do wonders. 

Also this. That  looks like a very cheap block, where even is the mounting hardware? Such a (relatively) expensive piece of equipment in your PC deserves some proper, or at least safe and reliable, cooling. I.e. something made by a reputable company. Watercooling, just like the PSU, is that one area you don't really want to cheap out on. You wouldn't want any leaks (especially with today's GPU prices...)  

[cory21391]

Yeah, I bought a cheap kit off of ebay.  Since this was my first attempt at watercooling I didn't want to spend too much money, but so far my CPU temps have gone down about 8C on average, and seems to be holding up OK, no leaks or anything.  I was looking at the full cover blocks, which are nice, they're over budget for the moment.  I ordered a different GPU block than is pictured because the mounting bracket that came with the kit seemed flimsy... It was literally a single metal bar that mounted diagonally across the block, leaving the other diagonal not screwed in.

[Mick Naughty]

Dropped down 8c compared to some aio you were running or on air?

[cory21391]

Everything was air cooled originally.  Now my CPU idles around 28 C and goes up to 35 C or so under load.  Stress test got it up to 39 C, which is about where it was at idle under air cooling!

 

Though I'm wondering how much the temps will go up once I  put the GPU back in.

[Daniel644]

why not just buy a proper full coverage block?

[Mick Naughty]

21 minutes ago, Daniel644 said:

why not just buy a proper full coverage block?

I assume budget at this point.

[Daniel644]

1 hour ago, Mick Naughty said:

I assume budget at this point.

so waste money on something you'll need to replace to do it right, thats like Buying a R3 1200 when you NEED an R7 1700 but can only afford the system with the R3 1200 even though you have a currently working computer, just wait till you have the money to do things right, thats the motto I live by anyway.

[Mick Naughty]

20 minutes ago, Daniel644 said:

so waste money on something you'll need to replace to do it right, thats like Buying a R3 1200 when you NEED an R7 1700 but can only afford the system with the R3 1200 even though you have a currently working computer, just wait till you have the money to do things right, thats the motto I live by anyway.

He'll find out most likely.

[cory21391]

This is my old build, and I just wanted to learn the process of how to setup a water cooling loop without spending too much money.  I have a new PC I started putting together, but haven't finished yet due to GPU prices, and was originally planning on getting a Vega 64 or 1080 for the new PC.  Since this is a cheap water cooling setup, I have been monitoring it for any issues.  I wanted to put the 1070 in the loop to see what kind of temps I would get, and depending on GPU prices over the next few months I might end up putting it in the new PC if I can't get a new GPU for a decent price.

[Tam3n]

18 hours ago, cory21391 said:

This is my old build, and I just wanted to learn the process of how to setup a water cooling loop without spending too much money.  I have a new PC I started putting together, but haven't finished yet due to GPU prices, and was originally planning on getting a Vega 64 or 1080 for the new PC.  Since this is a cheap water cooling setup, I have been monitoring it for any issues.  I wanted to put the 1070 in the loop to see what kind of temps I would get, and depending on GPU prices over the next few months I might end up putting it in the new PC if I can't get a new GPU for a decent price.

A basic water block for the GPU will do just fine, just get a adjustable mounting mechanism that fits on the GPU mounting screw spacing. Full cover blocks are nice for aesthetics and keeping my power hungry R9 290 VRMs cool under high OC, but for a lower tier card I got great results with a very basic chip/GPU universal water block (Alphacool HF 14):

 

Rig a fan to blow on the VRM-Vram heatplate and you should be good.

[cory21391]

Nice!  I was looking at my old CPU air cooler, and I think the fan that snaps on the heat sink might actually fit perfectly around the back plate of the GPU and blow on the rest of the card OK.  Not the most aesthetically pleasing solution, but if it works...  My second radiator should be coming in tomorrow, so I can hopefully drain the loop and add the GPU this weekend.  Will update with the results.

[cory21391]

So I drained the loop and added the GPU and second radiator.  The fan wouldn't quite fit around the 8 pin power cables on the side of the board, so i zip tied it around the card.  The fans for the second radiator haven't came in yet, but I decided to run it passively for now and wow....  A quick benchmark and my GPU temps maxed out around 32 C!  That's insane!  My CPU temps went up a bit, but still maxed out at only 45 C!  I wonder if this is simply because I added the GPU to the loop or because the radiator doesn't have fans cooling it yet between the GPU and CPU.  I have the setup: pump - GPU - radiator (no fans) - CPU - radiator (with fans) - reservoir.  Also I'm now hearing the sound of water trickling, but don't see any leaks at all.  Maybe turbulent flow for some reason?  The hoses don't seem kinked anywhere though...  Or maybe there's air in the line?  I would think any air would just bubble up in the reservoir but I'm not sure.

[Mick Naughty]

I normally run the pump at max speed after adding stuff to get the air out again. Especially when the res is the lowest point. 

[Tam3n]

9 hours ago, cory21391 said:

So I drained the loop and added the GPU and second radiator.  The fan wouldn't quite fit around the 8 pin power cables on the side of the board, so i zip tied it around the card.  The fans for the second radiator haven't came in yet, but I decided to run it passively for now and wow....  A quick benchmark and my GPU temps maxed out around 32 C!  That's insane!  My CPU temps went up a bit, but still maxed out at only 45 C!  I wonder if this is simply because I added the GPU to the loop or because the radiator doesn't have fans cooling it yet between the GPU and CPU.  I have the setup: pump - GPU - radiator (no fans) - CPU - radiator (with fans) - reservoir.  Also I'm now hearing the sound of water trickling, but don't see any leaks at all.  Maybe turbulent flow for some reason?  The hoses don't seem kinked anywhere though...  Or maybe there's air in the line?  I would think any air would just bubble up in the reservoir but I'm not sure.

That's nice. Yeah your CPU temp went up because the added heat (and maybe a bit of more restriction in the water flow) from the GPU. A normal radiator can't do much passively inside a case. I bet you see improvements once you add the fans to it.

[cory21391]

I should be getting the fans next week, I ordered them from amazon, but it's from a third party seller and they're taking their time shipping them.   Any idea on the trickling sound though?  I've been running the pump full speed, and even tilted the system some thinking that might help some trapped air escape, but i still hear it.  It isn't constant, just every so often maybe every minute or so you can hear it.  I double checked every point for any signs of a leak and can't find any, maybe I'm just being paranoid and that's a normal sound to expect?

[Mick Naughty]

Still air in there unless the res has that much turbulence in it. 

[cory21391]

Will it help to leave the fill port open to let the air escape or would that just introduce more air to potentially dissolve into the liquid?

[Tam3n]

25 minutes ago, cory21391 said:

Will it help to leave the fill port open to let the air escape or would that just introduce more air to potentially dissolve into the liquid?

No need to keep the port open. The air will eventually make its way at the top of the res. Generally it's a good idea to keep your loop as sealed up as possible. If the air persists, try varying the pump speed and/or tilting your case if possible.