7970 EK Waterblock Results

[MrK6]

Excellent looking block and fantastic results. Keep us posted on your final clocks :thumbsup:.

 

[Elfear]

Please measure power consumption at stock, at your normal setting (around 1300) and at 1600. Would be very informative, thanks!

Got some power consumption numbers for you. All measurements are from the wall running the STALKER:COP benchmark. Just to give you a reference point, my old system which consisted of an i7 920@4.2GHz and unlocked 6950's@925/1400 peaked at 770W from the wallplate.

I also have an open case, will probably never go back to a normal one. Don't have to worry about airflow or space restrictions and makes swapping components easy. I ran WCing for a few years but went back to high end air for the simplicity. I've been looking at those EK blocks too, pretty nice but expensive. I could only justify one if i bought the top GPU and I will never spend more than 400 on a GPU. Nice rig and thanks for the numbers. Any chance you could run 3DMark11?

I'll download 3DMark and post up results.

Excellent looking block and fantastic results. Keep us posted on your final clocks :thumbsup:.

Thanks. Appreciate your benchmark thread as well. Always fun to mess with new hardware.

Regarding clocks, I'm hitting my limit at about 1360/1650@1.3V. The Heaven benchmark runs fine at those settings but the Stalker benchmark freezes every other run. I'm thinking 1325/1625@1.25V will probably be my gaming clocks.

Kudos on the 1775 by the way. Your ram definitely clocks better than mine.

 

[boxleitnerb]

Thanks! Seems the 7970 can be quite thirsty if you let it from the leash.
Btw what is your stock voltage?

 

[MrK6]

Regarding clocks, I'm hitting my limit at about 1360/1650@1.3V. The Heaven benchmark runs fine at those settings but the Stalker benchmark freezes every other run. I'm thinking 1325/1625@1.25V will probably be my gaming clocks.

Kudos on the 1775 by the way. Your ram definitely clocks better than mine.

Use MSI AB to put 1.7V through the vRAM. :thumbsup: I'd be wary of running that 24/7, but for a few benchmarking runs I'm assuming it's fine. These cards are significantly bandwidth-starved to the point that overclocking the RAM even from 1650 -> 1775 gives substantial gains.

Also, what kind of crashes are you getting? In my testing, vertical lines with a one color covering the screen is RAM, the image freezing or the screen going black (but not black with vertical lines) is the core. Best of luck pushing her :thumbsup:.

 

[blackened23]

Can I get a rundown of what parts you're using for your water cooling setup?

I'm thinking of dabbling in water for the first time. Watched a few how-to's at OCN.... Hold me.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

Can I get a rundown of what parts you're using for your water cooling setup?

I'm thinking of dabbling in water for the first time. Watched a few how-to's at OCN.... Hold me.

I've been contemplating water myself. I really see it as the only logical step in my evolution into basement dwelling.

 

[blackened23]

I've been contemplating water myself. I really see it as the only logical step in my evolution into basement dwelling.

I'm not sure how to interpret this remark :| I'm definitely a nerd, I embrace it

 

[Elfear]

Thanks! Seems the 7970 can be quite thirsty if you let it from the leash.
Btw what is your stock voltage?

Stock voltage on the 7970 is 1.05V. I have the voltage listed next to the clocks on the graph.

Use MSI AB to put 1.7V through the vRAM. :thumbsup: I'd be wary of running that 24/7, but for a few benchmarking runs I'm assuming it's fine. These cards are significantly bandwidth-starved to the point that overclocking the RAM even from 1650 -> 1775 gives substantial gains.

Also, what kind of crashes are you getting? In my testing, vertical lines with a one color covering the screen is RAM, the image freezing or the screen going black (but not black with vertical lines) is the core. Best of luck pushing her :thumbsup:.

I was doing a little research last night on safe memory voltages but I didn't find much. Did you find some info or just take the plunge?

I get freezing where the screen goes black, the desktop background shows up, and then the computer becomes unresponsive. Sounds like it might be my core from your description. I need to find some other benchmarks to test because sometimes STALKER gets in a hizzy and pauses at the same scene no matter what my clocks are.

Can I get a rundown of what parts you're using for your water cooling setup?

I'm thinking of dabbling in water for the first time. Watched a few how-to's at OCN.... Hold me.

Sure.

Raystorm CPU block
EK Acetal 7970 Block
MCP35X Pump (has PWM which is very nice to have on the pump)
2x Koolance Reservoir bodies (60mmx120mm)
Koolance Pump Reservoir Base PMP-300 (pump screws right into the base for a compact package)
Koolance Reservoir Nozzle Base
2x Koolance Reservoir Top
2x Phobya G-Changer 420 Radiators
6x Scythe Kama Flow 2 fans (compare very well to the vaunted Gentle Typhoons and cost less too)
6x Bitspower 120mm Fan Adapters
Scythe Fan Controller
1/2" Danger Den Tubing (10' + tubing cutter, great bend radius)
9x Koolance 1/2" Compression Fittings
4x Bitspower 45-degree Rotary Compression Fittings
Silver KillCoil (kills any critters in your water)
Dead-Water Biocide (makes double sure the critters are dead)
1 Gallon Distilled Water
Indigo Extreme TIM (cheaper TIM works well too but I wanted to try this)


If you're wanting something that will work well and not cost an arm and a leg, I'd look at MrK6's setup. The radiators I have are a little overkill but I wanted to make sure I could run my fans at <1000rpm and still get great cooling efficiency. The compression fittings also get a little pricey but they are easier to use than worm-clamps and look nice. Lots of guys use 7/16" tubing on 1/2" nozzles with good success too.

 

[MrK6]

I was doing a little research last night on safe memory voltages but I didn't find much. Did you find some info or just take the plunge?

Took the plunge. I figure if it's in MSI AB, it isn't immediately going to fry the card otherwise they'd have hell to pay from the user base. Still, I only leave it at 1.7V to get a benchmark run in or two, and it goes back to idle in between. Like I said, 24/7 and gaming voltages will stay at 1.6V. However, as you can see, the extra voltage adds significant headroom - 1625MHz -> 1775MHz for me anyway.

I get freezing where the screen goes black, the desktop background shows up, and then the computer becomes unresponsive. Sounds like it might be my core from your description. I need to find some other benchmarks to test because sometimes STALKER gets in a hizzy and pauses at the same scene no matter what my clocks are.

Left 4 Dead and now Crysis 2 are my go-to's. I've found that the higher the FPS you can get the card to punch out, the higher the heat load and the easier it is to crash the card/find a weakness. I use Crysis 2 because it throws tessellation and DX11 into the mix, just in case there are parts of the GPU that are weak but get by in a DX9 app like L4D (I don't know for certain, someone with more info please correct me if I'm wrong).

Raystorm CPU block
EK Acetal 7970 Block
MCP35X Pump (has PWM which is very nice to have on the pump)
2x Koolance Reservoir bodies (60mmx120mm)
Koolance Pump Reservoir Base PMP-300 (pump screws right into the base for a compact package)
Koolance Reservoir Nozzle Base
2x Koolance Reservoir Top
2x Phobya G-Changer 420 Radiators
6x Scythe Kama Flow 2 fans (compare very well to the vaunted Gentle Typhoons and cost less too)
6x Bitspower 120mm Fan Adapters
Scythe Fan Controller
1/2" Danger Den Tubing (10' + tubing cutter, great bend radius)
9x Koolance 1/2" Compression Fittings
4x Bitspower 45-degree Rotary Compression Fittings
Silver KillCoil (kills any critters in your water)
Dead-Water Biocide (makes double sure the critters are dead)
1 Gallon Distilled Water
Indigo Extreme TIM (cheaper TIM works well too but I wanted to try this)


If you're wanting something that will work well and not cost an arm and a leg, I'd look at MrK6's setup. The radiators I have are a little overkill but I wanted to make sure I could run my fans at <1000rpm and still get great cooling efficiency. The compression fittings also get a little pricey but they are easier to use than worm-clamps and look nice. Lots of guys use 7/16" tubing on 1/2" nozzles with good success too.

Very nice setup :thumbsup:. You could throw Tri-Fire on that with ease if you wanted to. What do you think of the MCP35X? How's the noise/vibration at full load? From the reviews, it's amazing, even with the stock top (what a plus that you don't have to buy tops anymore). I also took the plunge and used 7/16" tubing over 1/2" barbs with no clamps on my GPU, simply because no clamps I had would clear the memory sinks on my 7970. Note that they're double barbs and very long, so I felt more comfortable doing this than I would on some of the shorties that come included with parts, but we'll see how it goes.

 

[Elfear]

Took the plunge. I figure if it's in MSI AB, it isn't immediately going to fry the card otherwise they'd have hell to pay from the user base. Still, I only leave it at 1.7V to get a benchmark run in or two, and it goes back to idle in between. Like I said, 24/7 and gaming voltages will stay at 1.6V. However, as you can see, the extra voltage adds significant headroom - 1625MHz -> 1775MHz for me anyway.

Impressive. I didn't realize your memory clocks went so much higher on 1.7V. That must be what all the guys hitting 1800+ are doing. Very tempting.

Left 4 Dead and now Crysis 2 are my go-to's. I've found that the higher the FPS you can get the card to punch out, the higher the heat load and the easier it is to crash the card/find a weakness. I use Crysis 2 because it throws tessellation and DX11 into the mix, just in case there are parts of the GPU that are weak but get by in a DX9 app like L4D (I don't know for certain, someone with more info please correct me if I'm wrong).

I can't get the Adrenaline benchmark to run for some reason. Keeps saying the .cfg file for the map has an invalid token. I'll have to reinstall Crysis 2 and the benchmark and see if that works.

Does L4D have a built-in benchmark?

Very nice setup :thumbsup:. You could throw Tri-Fire on that with ease if you wanted to. What do you think of the MCP35X? How's the noise/vibration at full load? From the reviews, it's amazing, even with the stock top (what a plus that you don't have to buy tops anymore). I also took the plunge and used 7/16" tubing over 1/2" barbs with no clamps on my GPU, simply because no clamps I had would clear the memory sinks on my 7970. Note that they're double barbs and very long, so I felt more comfortable doing this than I would on some of the shorties that come included with parts, but we'll see how it goes.

Thanks. The original plan was for Crossfired 7970's so I went with two 420 rads but I think one card will suit my needs for a bit.

I really like the MCP35X. Crazy how much flow it produces. Still causes quite a vortex even through all the tubing, rads, 45-degree fittings, and blocks. Vibration is audible at 12V and easily the loudest part of the system although it's not really bad. Probably comparable to the 7970 reference fan at 35-40%. At 7V it gets pretty quiet and is probably what I'll use for 24/7 operation.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

I'm not sure how to interpret this remark :| I'm definitely a nerd, I embrace it

I was saying that I embrace my nerdy side also!

 

[MrK6]

Impressive. I didn't realize your memory clocks went so much higher on 1.7V. That must be what all the guys hitting 1800+ are doing. Very tempting.

That was my thought, and hence why I went for it. Otherwise there are some people out there with some absolutely golden cards.

I can't get the Adrenaline benchmark to run for some reason. Keeps saying the .cfg file for the map has an invalid token. I'll have to reinstall Crysis 2 and the benchmark and see if that works.

Same thing happened to me. You have to launch the game itself and (I think) just start a new game, watch the intro etc. and then it'll work. Maybe you just have to launch the game, but it was my thinking that starting a new game would generate the save profile which the benchmark was missing. Anyway, that's the fix.

Does L4D have a built-in benchmark?

Not that I know of, you could create your own demo if you wanted. However, I just play the "The Drains" level as I've done it this way for so long and know the level so well I can immediately spot artifacts.

Thanks. The original plan was for Crossfired 7970's so I went with two 420 rads but I think one card will suit my needs for a bit.

I really like the MCP35X. Crazy how much flow it produces. Still causes quite a vortex even through all the tubing, rads, 45-degree fittings, and blocks. Vibration is audible at 12V and easily the loudest part of the system although it's not really bad. Probably comparable to the 7970 reference fan at 35-40%. At 7V it gets pretty quiet and is probably what I'll use for 24/7 operation.

You could try suspending the pump like I have, it really worked in my case. Pumps in general just vibrate too much, so anytime they have a physical connection to anything, they're going to transfer a lot of it.

 

[superjim]

Can I get a rundown of what parts you're using for your water cooling setup?

I'm thinking of dabbling in water for the first time. Watched a few how-to's at OCN.... Hold me.

I know you didn't ask me but thought I'd chip in anyway. My gear is a ~3-4 years old but apart from the blocks, it doesn't make much difference.

Pump: Swiftech MCP-655
Radiator: Black Ice Extreme III (3x 120mm fans)
Tubing: Clearflex 60 (1/2" inner diameter, 3/4" outer diameter)
Reservoir: Alphacool Repack Dual 5.25"

Other notes: Tygon is nice tubing but not worth the price premium IMO. The most "important" part is the pump (again, IMO) since it needs to be powerful enough to get through your setup (multiple CPUs? GPUs? Radiators?) and not have a huge pressure drop. You also need to make sure your radiator is big enough to dissipate that wattage dumped into your loop. A single 3x 120mm radiator will handle a CPU/GPU/chipset no problem, all overclocked. You don't "need" a reservoir as you can use what is called a T-line (the blue connector piece, the vertical path is the "reservoir") with or without a fill-port. I bought most of my stuff from performance-pcs.com as they had the best price. FrozenCPU.com has a lot of hard-to-find stuff but their prices are generally the highest. Universal waterblocks are the way to go to save money in the long run, however they generally don't offer as-good of performance than the all-GPU waterblocks. The difference is small but you also have to worry about RAM-sinks and VRMs/mosfets when using a non-full-coverage-block. A good universal CPU block should last you at least 2 upgrades/revisions, most likely 3.

Like others have mentioned, once you have everything hooked/up, test for leaks for at least 12 hours, preferably 24 or more. During this time you'll want to leave your T-line/res/fill-port open to let the extra air out. I just use distilled water and clear anti-algae/bacteria solution (same stuff you put in an aquarium, buy it from Walmart). My loop stayed cleared for a year when running this, 0 fill-ups.

Don't put ice in your loop (even if it's distilled water ice) since you'll have to deal with condensation (dew point). Some people do this temporarily for benchmark runs but they monitor temps closely and (more importantly) they reduce the room temp/humidity to lower the dew point. The dew point changes with humidity levels, altitude, etc, not worth the hassle. At this point, you should be eye-balling LN2 (it never ends).

Biggest advice I can give? Google and read, read, read. Tons of info, both for beginners and advanced on forums (DangerDen, XtremeSystems, etc). I'm sure they've come out with better gear since I bought 3-4 years ago.

 

[Elfear]

Same thing happened to me. You have to launch the game itself and (I think) just start a new game, watch the intro etc. and then it'll work. Maybe you just have to launch the game, but it was my thinking that starting a new game would generate the save profile which the benchmark was missing. Anyway, that's the fix.

Thanks for the tip. I'll go try that now.

You could try suspending the pump like I have, it really worked in my case. Pumps in general just vibrate too much, so anytime they have a physical connection to anything, they're going to transfer a lot of it.

I think you're right. It's sitting on a metal bracket right now which is insulated from the case mount by some rubber washers. I need to find a better way of suspending the pump.

 

[superjim]

I think you're right. It's sitting on a metal bracket right now which is insulated from the case mount by some rubber washers. I need to find a better way of suspending the pump.

Velcro. My pump sits on my side panel (same side as mobo) attach with a 2"x2" velcro pad. Very little vibration and very quiet.