Question 500€ GPU for Custom Watercooled loop

[underdawater]

Hey there,

I’m currently running a water-cooled 1080 Ti FE in a custom loop alongside a recently bought 7800X3D. I’m planning to upgrade my GPU in the next few weeks.

As I’ve started looking into newer GPUs, I’m wondering: Are waterblocks for GPUs still a thing?

Back when I built my system, FE versions were much cheaper due to their subpar cooling, and adding a waterblock was a great way to keep them cool and maintain good aesthetics.

I really like my custom loop and would prefer a cheaper GPU that could benefit from watercooling while keeping my setup’s aesthetic intact.

But is this still a viable route? Are modern GPUs more efficient now and less in need of custom watercooling? Would love to hear your thoughts!

Looking into GPUs for around 500-600€ idc if team red or green.

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

I’m wondering: Are waterblocks for GPUs still a thing?
Yes they are but they cost nearly an arm and a leg, compared to the golden years(GTX1080 w/waterblocks being far more reasonable in pricing)

You could look into a block from these folks;
https://www.bykski.us/collections/new-products
and strap that onto a GPU from this list;
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/products/video-card/#X=0,50033&sort=-price&page=1

I would've listed EKWB's but due to their unethical practices, I would rather advise people towards another brand.

Are modern GPUs more efficient now and less in need of custom watercooling?
They draw a lot of power and dump a lot of heat, which is why the RTX3000 and above have 3 slot or thicker fin stacked air coolers with 3 fans to dissipate the heat off said GPU chips. AMD cards have always run hotter regardless of which generation you look at.

 

[underdawater]

Thank you for the quick response!

So, apart from the price, is there any reason against using a watercooling setup?

If I want to keep my custom loop, should I simply look for the cheapest model that has a compatible waterblock? Or are there other differences I should consider (besides VRAM)?

Is it still true that the listed clock speeds only refer to the base clock, which depends on the GPU temperature?

For example, if I buy a budget RTX 4070 with only two fans, would it perform similarly to a more expensive 3-fan OC model after adding a watercooling block? Or are there actual differences between the chips?

 

[Eximo]

4070 Ti Super is what I have been eyeing. Same layout as the 4080 and 4080 Super and there are plenty of blocks for many models. Along the same lines of price as the 7900 GRE, 7900 XT, 7900 XTX.

As these are well above your budget though.

Not sure the 4070, 4070 Ti, and 4070 Super get as much attention.

You might be better off just looking for a used 3080/3080Ti/3090 that already has a waterblock on it. Still a decent upgrade.

 

[Eximo]

I will also say that the one Bykski waterblock I tried didn't fit very well, and I ended up replacing it with an EK unit.

Alphacool is where I would head next.

 

[underdawater]

4070 Ti Super is what I have been eyeing. Same layout as the 4080 and 4080 Super and there are plenty of blocks for many models. Along the same lines of price as the 7900 GRE, 7900 XT, 7900 XTX.

As these are well above your budget though.

Not sure the 4070, 4070 Ti, and 4070 Super get as much attention.

You might be better off just looking for a used 3080/3080Ti/3090 that already has a waterblock on it. Still a decent upgrade.

This is actually a really great point. thank you very much

Guess Ill wait for the new GPUs to drop and go for used ones with waterblock allready installed.

I still wonder tho:
"Is it still true that the listed clock speeds only refer to the base clock, which depends on the GPU temperature?

For example, if I buy a budget RTX 4070 with only two fans, would it perform similarly to a more expensive 3-fan OC model after adding a watercooling block? Or are there actual differences between the chips?"

 

[Eximo]

You can safely ignore the base clocks on the 40 series GPUs. Almost all of the coolers are oversized so they never sit at base clock.

Maybe if you crammed it into a chassis with no airflow you would see the base clock regularly.

From what I have seen recently with water cooling, you gain about 1-2 boost bins per 10C change in temperature. Typical throttle temp is 83, some cards set it to 73 for silence. You can expect between 55 and 60C as max temperature after a loop warms up. Well under 50C on a cold start.

On something like a 4090 claims a 2520-2625Mhz boost clock. In practice they can go as high as 3100Mhz. But even the air cooled cards are going to sit at 2800-2900 typically.

Water cooling does improve stability though, so they will stay closer to the target boost than otherwise.

 

[Crosslhs82x2]

Hi
Heads Up none of the Wb manufacturers made a Wb for the Str8 Rtx 4070.

And calling Alphacool they have No plan to over 6months ago.

.