[SOLVED] Cooling GTX 1080Ti

[ElementCZ]

Hello guys,

I just bought Gigabyte GTX 1080 Ti Gaming OC and it temps are around 80°C and throttle to around 1600 MHZ.
But what is worse is the sound of gass turbine comming from those 3 small fans.
I was thinking about NZXT G12 + some compatible AiO.
I actually tried 100% fan speed and the card itself had come good OC capabilities, however I needed to stay away because it was freaking loud.
I was also thinking about Accelero Extreme 4 but its so ugly 😆
Also budget is kind of problem so the cheaper the better.
All ideas wellcome

Case: Fractal Design Define C TG (front: 2x 140mm fan intake, back: 1x 120mm outtake)
MOBO: MSI Z390 MAG Tomahawk
CPU: i5 9600k
CPU fan: SilentiumPC Fera 3
GPU: Gigabyte GTX 1080Ti Gaming OC
RAM: 2x8 GB HyperX Predator 2666MhZ
PSU: EVGA Supernova 650+ gold

 

[Eximo]

I would expect a little better from it to be honest. Are you getting enough airflow through the chassis? If it is recirculating the hot air that would explain the temperatures better. Have you tried opening up the top of the case?

Cheap method might be re-doing the thermal compound and see if that makes a significant difference.

Nothing wrong with the AIO approach, I wouldn't call that cheap though.

My opinion leads more towards actual watercooling if you are going to go that route. High up front cost, but then you have water cooling parts that can last a good while. EK and Swiftech make expandable AIO, just add GPU block and maybe another radiator.

 

[Fix_that_Glitch]

If you use msi afterburner, you can change the fan speed curve. Maybe you can find a middle ground where it cools enough too keep it from throttling and quiet enough during operation. http://prntscr.com/nd8y4b This is my fan curve settings. Never loud, never hot and I have it overclocked to the max.

 

[rubix_1011]

Let's back up just a tad, there is an easy way to determine what is causing this.

Open the side panel of your case. Get a house fan, set it to the highest speed, and blow directly into the case.

Repeat your testing.

If your temps change significantly, like a difference of 5C or more, you have a case airflow problem.

If your temps remain relatively the same, you have a cooler issue.

This will help you determine what to address rather than assuming it is a cooler issue and pursuing that route.

 

[Fix_that_Glitch]

Let's back up just a tad, there is an easy way to determine what is causing this.

Open the side panel of your case. Get a house fan, set it to the highest speed, and blow directly into the case.

Repeat your testing.

If your temps change significantly, like a difference of 5C or more, you have a case airflow problem.

If your temps remain relatively the same, you have a cooler issue.

This will help you determine what to address rather than assuming it is a cooler issue and pursuing that route.

His main complaint is the noise at 100% fan speed. But he hasn't defined what speeds he has tried to see if it cools itself properly. So does the gpu cool itself but too loudly for his liking, or does it only cool at 100% fan speed?

 

[rubix_1011]

I just bought Gigabyte GTX 1080 Ti Gaming OC and it temps are around 80°C and throttle to around 1600 MHZ.
But what is worse is the sound of gass turbine comming from those 3 small fans.

I'd say he's just as curious about the load temps, but you are correct...fan noise is also a priority.

 

[Karadjgne]

Well if it's an airflow issue, or gpu is sitting in a Hotspot, then temps will go up. When temps go up, so do fan speeds and consequently the noise.

If done right, a cheaper aio such as a corsair h55 works wonders, I've even used an old Zalman copper radial cooler that worked fantastic (seriously ugly on a gpu lol) since it's fan created a breeze over all the heatsinks I stuck to the mosfets and vram etc.

Mainly I believe rubix idea is best tried at least first. Neither of my gpus (asus 660ti strix and asus 970 strix OC 124%) ever gets to 100% fans unless stress testing. Normally fans don't pass 50-55% at most.

Could simply be a matter of intakes on low speed, exhausts higher and gpu gets nothing but recycled hot air.

A repaste using Arctic MX-4 isn't a bad idea either.

 

[rubix_1011]

I just assume that most people have some sort of house or desk fan they can move to aim into the side of their PC case with the side panel off. It's a simple test just to find out if airflow/restriction is causing the issue.

 

[ElementCZ]

Thanks for the ideas guys, gonna try it with open top and open side and see the difference in temperature and noise.
I had 100% on fun because I wanted to try the OC capabilities and normally it didn't go so high with the preset fan curve.
However, this version is loud even at 60-70% fan speed.
So I wanted to make it less of a nuisance and unlock some OC capabilities with acceptable levels of noise.
The problem when I opened the top of the case was (logically), that the noise was even more intense.

Subquestion: Would 120mm radiator be enough? Like the NZXT Kraken M22, because let's be fair, the M62 (280mm) is quite costly :/
Note: I ordered some Thermaltake Grizzly Hydronaut (was out of stock, so need to wait a while for it) and try to change the compound which there already is.

 

[rubix_1011]

"Enough" for what?

Would it cool? Sure. Would it be the best option? No.

This is really only a question you can answer...what is acceptable to you in terms of price and the performance you get?

 

[ElementCZ]

Enough for lets say +100 Hz on core +500 Hz on memories and keeping it around 70°C while "silent"

 

[Ramirez_1]

Let's back up just a tad, there is an easy way to determine what is causing this.

Open the side panel of your case. Get a house fan, set it to the highest speed, and blow directly into the case.

Repeat your testing.

If your temps change significantly, like a difference of 5C or more, you have a case airflow problem.

If your temps remain relatively the same, you have a cooler issue.

This will help you determine what to address rather than assuming it is a cooler issue and pursuing that route.

This just changed my whole perspective on trying to install that Kraken G12 / X62 on my 1080ti Gaming OC. When I put the fan directly on the side of the case and ran any game on 4K, the temps were at least 10C lower. I mean every time I try to go anywhere near 4K gaming the GPU is over 85C in like 2 mins. The external fan did a better job than the GPU cooling sys keeping it under 75C.
Now I know that I have a really shitty case. I'll just start cutting holes in it )).
Would a water-cooled solution like the one mentioned above solve this so I don't need to change the case?
I'm a real noob when it comes to setting up PCs (HW or SW) so sorry if my question is a little off.

Thank you.

 

[rubix_1011]

It would just relocate the thermal load to the radiator rather than the heatsink on the GPU, but would be more efficient overall.

However, you still need to have good airflow to ensure any liquid cooling radiator can get the cool air it needs in order to effectively dissipate heat from the coolant inside. This means good airflow into the case and good airflow out.

 

[Karadjgne]

Most of your answer is in that one sentence.

I mean every time I try to go anywhere near 4K gaming the GPU is over 85C in like 2 mins

4k is literally 4x as many pixels as 1080p. That's a massive amount of work for any gpu, and more work = more heat. Add to that mediocre airflow and you are going to see unhappy temps. There's no way around that with stock air cooling on the gpu.
You wouldn't need the X62 to bring processor temps down, any decent 240mm will do that. But thats just the processor. It's the only component on a graphics card which has a temp strip. That doesn't include the vram and VRM's that will also suffer from 4k usage.

The best option I personally can see is a hybrid. Something like a Swiftec H220 X2, which has a radiator mounted pump, coupled with a full coverage gpu water block. All in one miniature full custom loop, just for the gpu.