What would it cost me to water cool

[grimed]

I as wondering what it would cost me to water cool,two GTX 770's with 4gb of ram and the I7 cpu what ever it was they used on a x 58 chip set.

Will intend to get a Define R-4 case.

I want to ovrclock but want it not to be to loud. That is why I was wanting to use the R-4 case.

I f you would be nice enough to link the parts I would need, I could total it up and see if I can afford it. Was hoping that it would be no more that 5-7 hundred dollars.

If it cost more than that I may have to stick with air.

Many thanks in advance

 

[dma0991]

The number of radiators required to cool all that would've overwhelmed the number of fan slots that the Define R4 has. I haven't tallied the numbers but it'll most likely exceed $700, probably an extra $100-200 minus the bells and whistles.

 

[grimed]

OK then what other case then that isnt real large I have had large cases in the past and am kinda of tried of looking at them.

 

[Subyman]

The Define R4 is a bit small for a larger water-cooling setup, but it could work. The cooling wouldn't be optimal, but still better and quieter than air.

2x$50 2x Slim 240mm radiators (You'll need to measure for exact fitment)
$80 5.25" Bay Reservoir/Pump Combo
2x$110 2x GPU waterblocks
$75 CPU Block
$20 Tubing
$50-100 Fittings
~$570

However, you won't get optimal temps, so another recommendation is to get a closed loop cooler for the CPU and put the GPUs on the above loop. You could instead place another 120mm in the rear exhaust slot so you would have 2x240mm + a 120mm. The R4 could fit 140mm, but you'd need to double check.

 

[BrightCandle]

Not really the optimal case for quiet watercooling. You have to cool a total of 600W or so and even a relatively warm loop of 15C is going to need 4 x120mm decent thick radiators with 800rpm fans. I don't think it has space for thick radiators and the thins dissipate 20% less heat. Ideally you want 5-6 x 120mm medium to thick rad slots in total.

Another possibility is to cool the CPU with 2x 120mm and then cool the GPUs in a separate got loop with the remaining rads. That could work but it costs more as it requires more pumps, more tubing, reservoirs etc and all that takes space you don't have.

 

[grimed]

OK many thanks for the break down. If not the Define R-4 the waht would be a good case that isnt real big.


I am aware that the bigger the case the easier it is to work with and allows th room for bigger items and such but this case will be on top of my desk and you run out of real easte real fast with a big case, you are always looking at some thing towerig above you head too.

 

[Tweakin]

Arc Midi R2 is a nice case for dual 240 rads and at a decent price point. As a point of reference, I'm running a similar rig with a 30mm 240 (GT-15's @ 800rpm) and a SR-1 420 (X-Silents @ 700rpm) and my 35x pump running 1600rpm through it's pwm range. All of this is in a full-tower case for ease of maintenance for now. Idle is 10c over ambient and full load is lower 70's for cpu and high 30's for both gpu's. It is currently dead silent at idle, but once the pump ramps up you can hear it...

A full tower has lots of room and a nice case to have around as your playing with new rigs.

Hope this helps.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Arc Midi R2 is a nice case for dual 240 rads and at a decent price point. As a point of reference, I'm running a similar rig with a 30mm 240 (GT-15's @ 800rpm) and a SR-1 420 (X-Silents @ 700rpm) and my 35x pump running 1600rpm through it's pwm range. All of this is in a full-tower case for ease of maintenance for now. Idle is 10c over ambient and full load is lower 70's for cpu and high 30's for both gpu's. It is currently dead silent at idle, but once the pump ramps up you can hear it...

A full tower has lots of room and a nice case to have around as your playing with new rigs.

Hope this helps.

The OP is using a Nehalem chipset and processor. No telling what sort of overclock he has -- perhaps it would make a difference as well. But I thought there was a range of processors, even Xeons. And there was a range of TDP specs, some as low as 80W.

I wouldn't be able to say if his temperatures were above yours or below.

 

[grimed]

Thanks Tweakin, BriaghtCandle, Subymanand DMAO991 lots of good info guessi will have to get back one I figure out what case will use.

I coud find a seprate cabinet to set it on. I just don't like to leave a PC on the floor.

 

[KaRLiToS]

500$ Minimum.

 

[dma0991]

You can use an Arc Midi R2 if you'd like to stick to a smaller size but you'll have to sacrifice on optimal performance and have the HDD drive cage removed. Possibly some modding or complete removal of the 5.25" bay would be necessary too.

Get two double thickness radiators, 360mm and 240mm; 360mm at the front and 240mm at the top. You'll have to do some modding or remove the 5.25" bay completely to fit a 360mm at the front. Optionally, you could do the front in push pull.

The tricky part is getting a motherboard that wouldn't be interfered by the top 240mm. The motherboard VRM heatsinks or some motherboard components can interfere if its too tall. This may not pose a problem as the Arc Midi has top fan slots that offsets away from the motherboard, but do take note on the clearance.

 

[tolis626]

500$ Minimum.

And if he doesn't have a system as extreme as yours,I don't think he actually has to exceed that if it's just about cooling.Now if it's also about show and personal taste...Then by all means,one can spend as much as they have.I know I'll spend whatever money I can gather after the summer for a proper watercooling loop.I hope it can be north of 650€...

 

[KaRLiToS]

And if he doesn't have a system as extreme as yours,I don't think he actually has to exceed that if it's just about cooling.Now if it's also about show and personal taste...Then by all means,one can spend as much as they have.I know I'll spend whatever money I can gather after the summer for a proper watercooling loop.I hope it can be north of 650€...

He needs 2 x GTX 770 Blocks (120$ each) and one CPU block (70$). Now add, pump, rad, reservoir, fittings, coolant ....

 

[tolis626]

He needs 2 x GTX 770 Blocks (120$ each) and one CPU block (70$). Now add, pump, rad, reservoir, fittings, coolant ....

Oh,I didn't think the blocks for the 770 would be that expensive.Seems I was wrong...Damn!

 

[grimed]

OK so if i keep the Two gtx 770s a 240 rad for the Gpu's and a seprate loop with another 240 rad for the cpu, would that be enough or would I need more surface area in the rad for the GPU's

I am doing this becasue I always wated to do it and I as going to give my wife the 780 TI and with me having two GTX 770 with 4 gb of ram easch overcoled on water I should be good for many years to come.

If this gets to cost to much I wil just water cool the gtx 780 TI in the arc midi R2 and my wife will have to make do with the 680.

 

[BrightCandle]

You are basically cooling a similar system to me really as I have 2x 680s which are underclocked 770's and the 3930k is similar TDP to the i7 920 when overclocked. I cool mine with 2x 360mm Swiftech MCR's and a 480mm swiftech MCR all with Gentle Typhoon's running at about 700rpm. Personally I use a Little devil case that has room for all those lovely radiators inbuilt.

 

[Meghan54]

OK so if i keep the Two gtx 770s a 240 rad for the Gpu's and a seprate loop with another 240 rad for the cpu, would that be enough or would I need more surface area in the rad for the GPU's

No, the single 240 rad will be quite sufficient for both gpu's. Remember, while you'd never want to run your cpu at 80C or higher, the gpu's are designed to run at that temp, so your cooling capacity for the gpu's can be much lower than the cpu. Dual separate loops with 240 rads should suffice quite well.

 

[KaRLiToS]

Just do a single loop with 2x240 rads with all the blocks in.

 

[Tweakin]

Just do a single loop with 2x240 rads with all the blocks in.

+1

Res ~ Pump ~ gpu ~ gpu ~ cpu ~ Rad ~ Rad ~ Res

 

[dma0991]

OK so if i keep the Two gtx 770s a 240 rad for the Gpu's and a seprate loop with another 240 rad for the cpu, would that be enough or would I need more surface area in the rad for the GPU's

The cost and complexity of making a dual loop is higher than a single loop because then you'd need an extra pump, reservoir and more tubing. More radiator surface area would be optimal but if you're fine with higher temp delta (still much lower than any air cooling solution), its still doable. Two double thickness 240mm radiators should be borderline adequate.

 

[IEC]

And if he doesn't have a system as extreme as yours,I don't think he actually has to exceed that if it's just about cooling.Now if it's also about show and personal taste...Then by all means,one can spend as much as they have.I know I'll spend whatever money I can gather after the summer for a proper watercooling loop.I hope it can be north of 650€...

No, Karlitos is correct. Even with using universal blocks vs full cover blocks I spent $70 each with a SLI/Xfire bridge adapter. Then add $150 for pump and reservoir, $65 x2 for 2x EX420 rads, fittings, tubing, silver kill coil, clamps, VRM cooling, etc. and you are easily looking at $500+ for a dual GPU setup.

 

[grimed]

Thanks so the Arc MIDI should be able to handle that the I beleave. I am suer it will be a tight as far as space goes though.

 

[Tweakin]

Thanks so the Arc MIDI should be able to handle that the I beleave. I am suer it will be a tight as far as space goes though.

I think you'll have more room than you think...look up arc midi r2 and mods on utube...

 

[tolis626]

No, Karlitos is correct. Even with using universal blocks vs full cover blocks I spent $70 each with a SLI/Xfire bridge adapter. Then add $150 for pump and reservoir, $65 x2 for 2x EX420 rads, fittings, tubing, silver kill coil, clamps, VRM cooling, etc. and you are easily looking at $500+ for a dual GPU setup.

Yep,we went through this already.I was wrong.And I hate it when I'm wrong...

That said,I think for my rig I'll make a loop for the CPU and only include the GPU in a future update,likely when more money comes my way and I also upgrade my GPU to whatever comes next (GTX880 or R9 390x).But still,a single loop for everything.

What I would suggest is a setup like this :
reservoir->pump->CPU->rad1->GPU->rad2->reservoir
Although I would highly recommend at least one 360 rad if it can fit in there.Also,from my experience it's better to use any extra space you have for the rad instead of the fans,so a 60mm rad with one set of fans in push would be better than a 45mm rad with two sets of fans in push pull.At least from my experience...Your mileage may vary!

EDIT : There is a chance you may also be able to fit a small 140mm rad in the back of your case as exhaust.This may cause problems to many setups,but some are okay with it,especially when deep cases are used.Keep that in mind,it would help if you're already restricted.Plus small rads are cheap.

 

[grimed]

K I wil go with a bigger case, My wife just called and said that he totaled the van. with tht said looks like I may just go with a the single gtx 780 TI I that I have. I figured two gtx 770 with 4 gb would be better off in the end, and would help my wife withe the 2560 x 1440 monitor if she had the GTX 780 ti but cant always do what you want.