new bracket for GPU liquid cooling

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Feb 19, 2009
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I can't believe they did that review and not put any heatsinks on the vrm. Makes it really hard to take them seriously...

Well it worked wonders. No overheating VRMs and a cool GPU.

Without the hot backplate, VRM2 for the Vram is crazy cool.
 

taq8ojh

Golden Member
Mar 2, 2013
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I don't get this. $30 for just a bloody bracket? You still have to buy some overpriced liquid cooler for $100 or whatever it cost these days. That doesn't look like a good deal to me.
 

BallaTheFeared

Diamond Member
Nov 15, 2010
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I can't believe they did that review and not put any heatsinks on the vrm. Makes it really hard to take them seriously...

Probably because the system doesn't come with vrm cooling and they're testing the system, not a do it yourself mod of said system.
 

taq8ojh

Golden Member
Mar 2, 2013
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With so much money you have to spend you'd expect to get complete solution, and not "fu, go mod".
 

Martrox

Senior member
Oct 27, 2000
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I don't get this. $30 for just a bloody bracket? You still have to buy some overpriced liquid cooler for $100 or whatever it cost these days. That doesn't look like a good deal to me.

Many have a AIO already......I did. Also, you can find a compatable AIO for under $50 if you shop...so many different ones out there. While some here think you need a 140-280 AIO to run R9/770/780. you don't. Just look for reviews on the Arctic Hybrid cooler - same thing. As far as getting heatsinks, search this thread, I've given a few and they are inexpensive.

Yes, compared to what Dwood sold( I got bracket and backplate for $25) it's a bit expensive, but it does include a decent fan, and some nice packaging.

And, if the $30 bothers you, there is the ziptie thing that works very well.......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D44pXi9Cjkg
 

taq8ojh

Golden Member
Mar 2, 2013
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$30 doesn't bother me at all, but $130 does :D Especially if it's not complete.. But with 280x on the way I think I am mostly out of luck when it comes to liquid cooling anyway, due to the damn awkward GPU position and bracket on the card. For obvious reasons I refuse to use any damn shims.
 
Feb 19, 2009
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An Antec 620 is dirt cheap, even new. It handles an R290X quite fine since many people on OCnet have done it and shown it works well.

The Legitreview just shows that the VRMs in fact, do NOT need heatsinks as long as theres cool airflow on them. On most open fan designs, the air blown onto VRM is warmed by the heatpipe/sink, on the G10, its cool air. Works awesome for bare VRMs, especially VRM2 which most people have trouble keeping cool.
 

Martrox

Senior member
Oct 27, 2000
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$30 doesn't bother me at all, but $130 does :D Especially if it's not complete.. But with 280x on the way I think I am mostly out of luck when it comes to liquid cooling anyway, due to the damn awkward GPU position and bracket on the card. For obvious reasons I refuse to use any damn shims.

I've been running an original HD7970 for over a year using a Antec 620 and Dwoods adapterplate. I run 1050/1500 24-7 and never go over 60C - could be much less BUT I want it quiet - make that silent. The shims work great, btw. Just remember to only put a very small amount of paste, just a dot!
 

iiiankiii

Senior member
Apr 4, 2008
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Antec 620 zip tied to a 7970. It worked well. Way quieter than the stock blower. I used heatsinks on the vrms and gddr5. It averaged around 65c during the summer compared to 85c on the stock blower. Nice cheap solution. Radiator was warm during equalibirum.
 

taq8ojh

Golden Member
Mar 2, 2013
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Those zip ties cannot hold the thing down in an ideal way, though, right?
Also, did you remove the GPU bracket and did it the direct die way?
 

monkeydelmagico

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2011
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An Antec 620 is dirt cheap, even new. It handles an R290X quite fine since many people on OCnet have done it and shown it works well.

The Legitreview just shows that the VRMs in fact, do NOT need heatsinks as long as theres cool airflow on them. On most open fan designs, the air blown onto VRM is warmed by the heatpipe/sink, on the G10, its cool air. Works awesome for bare VRMs, especially VRM2 which most people have trouble keeping cool.

Same thing on my cheapo powercolor 7950. Bare VRM's. Stock setup they were running in the 90's Celsius. Pulled the card apart, zip tied a $25.- cooler master seidon on it and bingo, VRM's temp dropped over 20C. No shim either and it's been 2-3 months now with no degradation in perfomance.
 

Martrox

Senior member
Oct 27, 2000
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Those zip ties cannot hold the thing down in an ideal way, though, right?
Also, did you remove the GPU bracket and did it the direct die way?

People have been doing the ziptie thing for years now. Fact is, the worse thing you can do with these is OVERTIGHTEN them....Yes, it's a bit of a fine line.... again check out that video I linked to 6 posts ago. What is done in that video is the same as the bracket does, just without a fan but does have a lot of UGGGLY.....but it works damn fine.
 
Feb 19, 2009
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Actually, the worse thing you can do is apply a small dot of TIM on the die, and don't tighten the zip ties enough to spread it all out... its not a pretty result.
 

Martrox

Senior member
Oct 27, 2000
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Well....yes, you do need to tighten it, but not much more than handtighten if using a bracket. Overtighting will warp the card around the socket. That's why the ziptie method works well, you can't overtighten...short of putting your foot on the card and pulling with all you might...
 

taq8ojh

Golden Member
Mar 2, 2013
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It obviously works, but I would still not trust it (in combination with my hands). But there's not much you can do when hardly any manufacturers makes these kits for GPUs I guess. It would be nice if it got so common as CPU cooling.
 

Face2Face

Diamond Member
Jun 6, 2001
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But on what card, and with what cooling system H100i? :hmm:

I got one for my Lightning, which is coming in today :awe:

There is a user on OCN&[H] that is currently using a Dwood bracket on his Lightning with a Corsair H55 AIO. With 1.31v @ 1410Mhz he is seeing 53c under load. Here is what his setup looks like.

fg9y.jpg



And since the lightning has an awesome vrm/memory plate, the vrms only get up to 67c under load with the 92mm fan blowing directly on them.

MSI-GeForce-GTX-780-Lightning_PCB.jpg


I am hoping to replicate his results, but I am going to need longer screws so I can clear the reactor on the back.

msi-gtx-780-lightning,W-M-397750-13.jpg


So if anyone know of a good place to find a cheap H55 or a used one, let me know.
 

iiiankiii

Senior member
Apr 4, 2008
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It obviously works, but I would still not trust it (in combination with my hands). But there's not much you can do when hardly any manufacturers makes these kits for GPUs I guess. It would be nice if it got so common as CPU cooling.

I had mine on for a good 7 months before I removed it. Bottom line, it works. Proved to work well. Just like delidding a CPU, you just have to have the balls to do it. These mods work. Zip ties will hold. Did you know that you can use zip ties as handcuffs? You need a lot of force to break one. It will hold. You just got try to even out the pressure on the 4 zip ties so the block is even with the die.

It takes a bit of trial and error to get it right. Just make sure to keep an eye on the temp on boot up to confirm good contact between the die and block.
 

taq8ojh

Golden Member
Mar 2, 2013
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I started googling around about the brackets and this type of cooling and I like this particular thing. Is it only compatible with the Kraken cooler, or would anything else fit in?

The only thing that's still puzzling me are the shims. Just how much do they screw heat transfer? It must be noticeable (or significant even) by law of physics. Adding extra layer of material, air, and paste cannot be healthy. Like I said, I have 280x on the way, and what AMD did with those GPUs is really weird. Is there any way to avoid using a shim on such cards? Like, removing the bracket on the card and the IHS or something?
 

Face2Face

Diamond Member
Jun 6, 2001
4,100
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I started googling around about the brackets and this type of cooling and I like this particular thing. Is it only compatible with the Kraken cooler, or would anything else fit in?

The only thing that's still puzzling me are the shims. Just how much do they screw heat transfer? It must be noticeable (or significant even) by law of physics. Adding extra layer of material, air, and paste cannot be healthy. Like I said, I have 280x on the way, and what AMD did with those GPUs is really weird. Is there any way to avoid using a shim on such cards? Like, removing the bracket on the card and the IHS or something?

These NZXT G10 brackets work with most if not all Asetek AIO liquid cooling kits.

NZXT : Kraken X60, Kraken X40
Corsair : H110, H90, H75, H55 , H50
Antec : KUHLER H2O 920V4, KUHLER H2O 620V4, KUHLER H2O 920, KUHLER H2O 620
Thermaltake : Water 3.0 Extreme, Water 3.0 Pro, Water 3.0 Performer, Water 2.0 Extreme, Water 2.0 Pro, Water 2.0 Performer
Zalman : LQ-320, LQ-315, LQ-310

I have heard the copper shims work fine for Tahiti. Not sure what thickness you will need though?
 

taq8ojh

Golden Member
Mar 2, 2013
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Oh ok. Guess I should had paid more attention to specs :p

Still curious about the possibility of no shim...
 

Headfoot

Diamond Member
Feb 28, 2008
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An Antec 620 is dirt cheap, even new. It handles an R290X quite fine since many people on OCnet have done it and shown it works well.

The Legitreview just shows that the VRMs in fact, do NOT need heatsinks as long as theres cool airflow on them. On most open fan designs, the air blown onto VRM is warmed by the heatpipe/sink, on the G10, its cool air. Works awesome for bare VRMs, especially VRM2 which most people have trouble keeping cool.

Well hold up a second here. Legitreview showed that the VRMs do not need heatsinks with airflow at stock speeds.

The general consensus from the threads I've read elsewhere is that as you increase your overclock the VRMs get disproportionately hotter than the core, especially as you increase memory OC
 

Headfoot

Diamond Member
Feb 28, 2008
4,444
641
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Yeah, that video earlier in the thread with the cheapo h55? I read his thread on OCN and he ended up putting heatsinks on the VRMS and RAM later because he couldn't overclock well. He's got a second video where he shows putting on the heatsinks and stuff
 

blackened23

Diamond Member
Jul 26, 2011
8,548
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Well hold up a second here. Legitreview showed that the VRMs do not need heatsinks with airflow at stock speeds.

The general consensus from the threads I've read elsewhere is that as you increase your overclock the VRMs get disproportionately hotter than the core, especially as you increase memory OC

This. If you want to overclock, you want coverage on the VRMs. I'd consider a true aftermarket card a superior option to an AIO cooler with a bracket + H55, as well as likely costing a lot less for superior "full coverage" cooling. I mean, really, when cards like the Asus DC II are roughly 20$ more than reference i'd have to question why anyone would rather buy a reference + a 90$ cooler (bracket + H55 + other stuff). It just doesn't make sense...i'd wait a couple of weeks and get a real aftermarket card. And speaking of which, perhaps by then 290 prices won't be absolutely absurd due to miners.
 
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taq8ojh

Golden Member
Mar 2, 2013
1,296
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So if I decide to get this, which cooler would you suggest I buy? I think I could fit 140mm radiator on the top side of my case.