Water cooling a 680

[ZipZip]

So, I have a EVGA signature2 680 and was wondering if It is as simple as removing the stock cooler and installing a custom water cooling piece to connect to a pump & other necessary things. and if so, where would I buy said cooling block and how much are they?

[Chrno]

Yup it's that simple, you will need the basic necessities like the radiator, tubes, fittings, res, pump, and etc. I believe that the Signature 2 is based off the reference card (correct me if I wrong) so most blocks out there will work.

Check out sites like PerformancePCs or FrozenCPU for VGA waterblocks (http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l2/g30/c357/list/p1/Liquid_Cooling-Water_Blocks_VGA_-_Brand.html or http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=59_971_240&zenid=b2335daf969b34e795ca0318df4561ed). They can range from around $100-$200 depending on the waterblock, popular brands are EK, XSPC, Heatkiller, and Swifttech.

[Eztrcfyu]

The Signature 2 is on a reference PCB layout so a regular 680 block will be fine. Personally I'd go for a Heatkiller block, they perform very well and look great too. I've heard some bad things about EK lately (mostly about their nickel plating) which is enough to turn me off them.

[Dragon_Cannon]

The card is not reference based it has five power phases whereas the reference card has four. You might get away with a reference block for the card. The other option is to choose a different 680 that has a water block be it either a reference card or a non-reference card.

[Money]

You should probably do some major Googling on the subject. Watercooling is not something that you want to screw up.

[Chrno]

The card is not reference based it has five power phases whereas the reference card has four. You might get away with a reference block for the card. The other option is to choose a different 680 that has a water block be it either a reference card or a non-reference card.

Being "reference" is the PCB is the same as the reference card as Eztrcfyu mentioned. It doesn't matter if it has 5 or 34 power phases, as long it has the layout of the original reference card, most blocks out there can fit on it and cool the necessary components of the card.

There's a post on the EVGA forums about this as well: http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=1721642&mpage=1

[Dave :)]

It's a bit pointless to go water cooling , skip out your CPU and just go straight to water cool your GPU. I would, if i were you, stick your CPU under water, just to get used to it, the fittings, the res, the pump, tubing size etc, then , later on down the road water cool your GPU.

But yes, as others have said, you need the reference block, fittings, and tubes.