Watercooling 2x R9 290 in Corsair 350D

Subyman

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Mar 18, 2005
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I recommended a build for a friend during the holiday season. We built it and he's loving it, but maybe he ended up loving PC components too much...

Specs:
i5-4670k
16GB Ram
ASUS Gryphon X87 mATX
2x R9 290 (originally just one)
Corsair 750W PSU
Corsair 350D

I gave him a Corsair H50 to cool his CPU and he was considering going full WC at a later date with a single R9 290. Then he started mining and bought another R9 290 for a total of two. He's always been a single GPU guy, so I recommended the build around that.

This leaves the build in a strange spot. Obviously, his cards are like jet engines and he is considering WCing, but there isn't much rad space in the 350D. There is enough for a CPU and one GPU to comfortably be cooled but 2x R9 290 mining is going to be a bit hot. We'd get rid of the AIO and add the CPU to the loop. The requirement for slim rads in the 350D doesn't bode well for a quiet system.

The best set up I can think of in the 350D would be:

1x240mm Alphacool slim on the top
1x240mm Alphacool slim on the front
1x120mm Alphacool slim on the rear exhaust
Bay pump/res

We are talking about 600W of dissipation when fully utilizing the cards and CPU. He mainly plays wow and mining will only use the GPUs.

I'm thinking the water temps are going to be a bit high, but it will still be much better than the air coolers. Any opinions?
 

dma0991

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Mar 17, 2011
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External mounting at the back? It wouldn't look nice but that's what I'd be doing to strap two 480mm radiators on top of my Corsair 400R.
 

Subyman

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Mar 18, 2005
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I'll have to ask if he would be up for external mounting. I've never been a fan on external mounting, but he may have no other option with the case unless he wants high temps. I'd swap cases.
 

aigomorla

CPU, Cases&Cooling Mod PC Gaming Mod Elite Member
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does he mind noise? :p

radiators work more efficently as the temp is higher..

his water temp maybe a little high however if he has great fans on those rads, i dont think it will be that bad..

It wont be quiet... he may ask you to repeat stuff from not hearing you over the roar of his fans.... but his gpu's would be oh so nice and cool.. :p
 

BrightCandle

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Mar 15, 2007
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Its not so bad, you have 5 radiator slots there which given some 1200 rpm fans will be a lot quieter than his current wind turbines and still produce reasonable temperatures. With a fan controller or some fan curves he can go between 800-1200 depending on what is being done and even on a quiet 800rpm its unlikely to be a problem. 5 fan slots for 600 Watts isn't too bad at all.

But I think you have underestimated the potential for heat here. While it may be true he mostly plays WoW and mines if he were to play Battlefield 4 he would be looking at more like 700W with a stock CPU and 800W with an overclocked CPU. At that point 500W of cooling isn't really sufficient and you are going to need much higher speed fans or more radiators to make it quiet.
 

aigomorla

CPU, Cases&Cooling Mod PC Gaming Mod Elite Member
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edit... i misread your post bright...

i totally agree with your comment... its safer to assume arround 700W
 
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Tweakin

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Feb 7, 2000
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External mounting at the back? It wouldn't look nice but that's what I'd be doing to strap two 480mm radiators on top of my Corsair 400R.

I think I'd opt for a larger case that can handle your liquid before I just slapped some rads on the outside...

With what space you have, I think you would be fine with some 1800rpm fans. Would you be able to do any push-pull?
 
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Subyman

Moderator <br> VC&G Forum
Mar 18, 2005
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The front rad may be able to do push/pull, but definitely not the top unless I mounted a set of fans on the outside of the case. I doubt he wants fans strapped to the outside though. He doesn't mind noise, its just that the 290's are going full blast while mining.

What fans would you guys recommend? GT? I usually just use Yate Loon mediums.
 

BrightCandle

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Mar 15, 2007
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Can you at least fit full size radiators in this case or are we talking about the usual rubbish 2cm thick ones?

Certain Yate loon fans are fine, its mostly about equating the fan speed to the right amount of dissipation and then at the very least getting the right radiators for that speed to try and maximise the cooling. But 800 into 5 slots is a tall order for a good watercooling system, it might need to be quite a compromising one that doesn't perform better than high end air for the CPU but at least quietens it down.
 

Subyman

Moderator <br> VC&G Forum
Mar 18, 2005
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Can you at least fit full size radiators in this case or are we talking about the usual rubbish 2cm thick ones?

Certain Yate loon fans are fine, its mostly about equating the fan speed to the right amount of dissipation and then at the very least getting the right radiators for that speed to try and maximise the cooling. But 800 into 5 slots is a tall order for a good watercooling system, it might need to be quite a compromising one that doesn't perform better than high end air for the CPU but at least quietens it down.

Nah, not 2cm. I saw someone fit ST30's on the top. I'd bet a 45mm would fit in the front slot. The rear exhaust may accept a 140mm rad, but again it would be tight. I need to take some exact measurements of the case next time I see his rig.
 

Tweakin

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An ST30 is a very efficient rad up to 1500rpm's, and that with some GT-15s or NB-bp3's would be very nice...and quiet.
 

Subyman

Moderator <br> VC&G Forum
Mar 18, 2005
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An ST30 is a very efficient rad up to 1500rpm's, and that with some GT-15s or NB-bp3's would be very nice...and quiet.

Yup, Martin's performance numbers from the ST30 are wonderful. I wish my 550D had more options for radiator mounts. I had to do a lot of cutting just to get a 240 in the front.
 

Tweakin

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Feb 7, 2000
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Yup, Martin's performance numbers from the ST30 are wonderful. I wish my 550D had more options for radiator mounts. I had to do a lot of cutting just to get a 240 in the front.

I have a ST30 240mm that I used to burn in my i5 and a single 760...I was amazed at how well it performed with my GT-14's in pull...