Water cooling expectations for 5870 CF

[GeezerHT]

Input needed please.
I have two Sapphire 5870 vapor X vid cards slapped tight together in a Antec 900/2 case.
I've been getting away with using just the top card so far. Running games like Medal of Honour, Fallout Vegas, Left for Dead 2 at max settings 1920x1200.......max temps 82/83ish.
In crossfire with 3 intake and 2 exhaust fans running(max) I'll get my top card temp high 80's, bottom card about 10'C cooler. Fan noise and video issues arise at these high temps, hence only using one card.
In hind sight and knowing more about such things now, I would have gotten a full size case and larger motherboard allowing for these cards to have some space between them!
I'm somewhat disappointed that knowledge wasn't exactly presented to me by both AMD/ATI or the high end comp dealer I purchased from. Having dug deep online, I see others having a similar problems.
I'm looking at full block options with an external fan/pump set up(water cooling vid cards only).
What temps might I expect to get water cooling both cards?
Might there be other options for me to consider?

Any and all thoughts are welcome.

Thanks:)

[vohiep84]

You would probably expect to see mid 50's with its own water cooling loop. Not sure if it would justify the cost.. I imagine the budget would be around $200-300? for the waterloop. 2 x waterblock, pump, tubing, res, rad, etc.

I'd suggest sell both the 5870's keep the cash and add the budget you had in mind to watercool and buy a single card solution.

GTX 580 if you had the cash or AMD 6950 and unlock it for price/performance. These cards would be overkill for the games you are playing.

[DTI]

Hey
I have 3 x 5870 set up in crossfire or trifire when I had these running on stock cooling the temps got pretty close to 90 degrees
less than 1/8 of space between the cards they got hot.

Now that its water cooled with EK water blocks they run in the mid 50s on a dual rad
as for cooling over air no comparison

Cost, be warned my cost is over 1200.00 and you will keep spending

If you have the extra cash go for it.

[GeezerHT]

Thank-you both;

I like the thought of mid 50'C temps!
I'm not too keen on the selling off my 5870's as they're not even a year old(almost).
I was thinking the two of them could last me a few years. I'm hoping they would run the new games like Crysis 2, Rage, Portal 2 etc........

If I had to swap for another card I'd think the upcoming AMD 6990 as a logical upgrade?
2 GPU's in one card, again alot of heat and cost:(.......would it need water cooling?

I like the thought of a hastle free all in one unit(rad/pump).
What do you think of Koolance external all in one Rads?
I'm not adverse to buying seperates, I'm just a first timer not sure how to mount everything up.

I've been looking at full blocks from EK, Swiftech and XSpc.
How are they quality wise?
I'm concerned availability will have a direct impact come discission time.

Yeah I know this will cost me if I act on it. Not too happy about it but this comp is my 1st time dream build system. I want my investment to last a while. My kids would think it's COOL(haha), not so sure my wife would.........

What to do?

[Rison]

well, you have a few issues with your setup.

First, you have cost factors. Two 5870s are a good setup for gaming.. you have to realize running dual cards costs more with respect to electricity costs, versus a single card solution. Also puts higher load on the power supply (more heat out the back from the PSU also)
Watercooling the two cards is an ok idea - but will be expensive. You're looking at $100 per GPU block, $70 pump, $40 res, $100 rad, $50 tubing/fittings - plus a whole crap load of time. This estimate is pretty low actually.. but $450 ish would be a good ballpark. You also have the cost of fans, and if you are going to watercool your CPU also (add $45 for decent fans, $60 for CPU block) And i'm not talking about the setup time only - you have maintenance of the loop ever 3-6 months, which involves bleeding and cleaning / refilling your loop. Small added cost of distilled water (no filtered or tap water!)

Personally, rather than spending excess of $500 for watercooling, i'd be looking at a system overhaul.

What I would do, is dump the two cards, sell em off for $250 per (+$500) and buy a single 6970 (-$450, still up $50) or GTX 580 (~$550)
Get a better case with good airflow, and some good quiet 120/140mm case fans ($100-$200) - this would all cost $50-$150 in the end, versus $500++ and a boatload of time (possible headaches, and scheduled maintenance) I'd be looking at the Corsair 600 as an alternative, or the Fractal Designs R3 if you wanted to go cheaper.. it's also up to personal tastes.

I know you just bought the two cards last year... but it's not like you have an emotional bond to the cards (maybe you do?) - but I always purchase computer equipment with the intent to resell, and always looking to flip at the proper time.. when I can get the best amount of money back before the next "new thing" hits and prices plummit.
I had a full watercooling system which I invested heavily in. All the best components, and a huge amount of time setting up, and re-setting up the loop.. I ended up selling it off, buying a nicer case and an MSI GTX 580 video card (runs quiet and low temps) and virtually no maintenance, other than cleaning out dust every so often.

[charliehorse55]

If you want to watercool those cards on the cheap, here is what I would do:

XSPC RX360 Kit - $200
EK -5870 V2 Blocks x2 - $200
kill Coil - $5
Crossfire Fittings kit - $15
1/2" Fittings x2 - $5

Total: $425 + Tax + Ship for a CPU and GPU loop. Pretty good bargain if you ask me.

[Fudd Rucker]

Can you post a link to where to grab 1/2" compression fittings for 5$ a pair? That would save me an absolute killing on fittings as I need a handful of them , and at 8$ a piece plus tax and shipping my bum hurts at the thought of the price of getting them lol.

On an offnote, Im running my GTX 480 @ 875/1750/4200 24/7 and my temps on the card havent gone up past 47 degrees under load with my recent addition of 3000rpm kazes to my XSPC 360 radiator.

[Rison]

I believe he's talking about cheap barb fittings for $5/pair.

[GeezerHT]

Ok;

If I change to a full tower case(Antec 1200?) and swap to a larger MB(Asus Rampage III Extreme?) This will allow a full open slot between my 5870's.
Question.....Do you think this will lower both my card temps(in CF) down to mid 70'C to low 80's(air cooling only)?

????????????

Thanks for the input

[charliehorse55]

Possibly. Although I wouldn't get the Antec 1200 if you are going to upgrade your case, there are a lot of better cases out there in the same price range. Try the HAF-932, 600T and the Lian Li K62