Gigabyte AORUS GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Xtreme (air) vs Waterforce WB Xtreme (water)

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Hi everyone,

I'm about to build myself a new $5000 video editing system. I've done quite some research on CPU/RAM/GPU/SSD(M2) cores, speeds, latency etc., but for now I'm stuck on cooling the graphics card.

System: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/HwGKvV

Initially I'm planning on buying the Gigabyte Aorus GeForce GTX 1080Ti Xtreme Edition 11G. However, the Gigabyte AORUS GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Waterforce WB Xtreme Edition 11G also sound very interesting. It's a little more expensive, but it's more quiet, it's smaller and it's water cooled, right?

There lies my question:

How does this Waterforce WB Xtreme Edition gets cooled? I know it has a connection on the side to connect two tubes and on the bottom of the card it has a heat sink, but my knowledge on water cooling is too little to find anything useful on Google (except for normal water coolers, but they can't fit the side tube connector thing (the water block?).

Does this card require a complete water cooled system with a pump and everything? Does'nt the card need any type of cooler at all? Does it need to get cooled through the heat sink, using a normal water cooler (like the Thermaltake I already have for the CPU)?

I know this probably is a basic question, but I couldn't really find anything useful.

Thanks!
 
The waterforce card in the link uses a AIO cooler that is attached to the card. The AIO cooled cards are usually a bit noisier since they run the single radiator fan at a higher constant speed do cool the card. They also make a version with a water block that requires it to be used with a open loop cooling system. The thermaltake cooler you have is a closed loop AIO and isn't expandable.
 
It's a AIO water cooled card, you would just need to connect it to the motherboard like any other card but then connect the fan/radiator to a part in the case where either (1) cool air enters the case (2) hot air exits the case. I have a similar card (EVGA 1080 ti Hybrid) and I placed the fan/rad in the rear of my case (Noctis 450) where the 140mm fan was to exhaust the warmer air. The card stays fairly cool, under 50C during heavy loads and is really quiet IMO.

Either card would work fine for your uses.
 
There is a great debate over noise of water cooled vs. air, and honestly there are more variables than which one is louder. The case has a lot to do with it. Sound is also not linear. So if you have two components that put out 25db, you don't have 50db, you usually have 27db. So I would not say that the AIO water cooled GPU would be louder than the air cooled GPU for certain unless I had the exact same hardware and case.

But the AIO water cooled GPU will be a lot cooler. I have my 1080ti's under water and they never go higher than 50C (I cant hear them either). That removes the thermal barrier and allows for a higher overclock. The air coolers for most of the 1080ti's, apart from the founder's edition, do a very good job of keeping cool and can overclock the card very well. So if you are not desperate to squeeze every MHz of clockspeed from the 1080ti, the you may want to save some money and get the air cooled version.

One thing you may want to consider is getting a different case. It is not a bad case, but it will be a little cramped and you are putting a 5K computer in a $100 case. It's like having a Ferrari with cloth interior and a cassette deck. I have a Phanteks Enthoo Luxe and it is the best case I have ever owned. Everything is removable and it is a dream to work with. The tempered glass version is $190 but the standard version is around $150. I would recommend giving it a look.

By the way, the monitor you have selected is one of the best in the world. I have the Predator x34, which is the same one just from Acer, and it amazing. Enjoy it.
 
Thank you for your answers!

@ Kasper: Silent is one of the key factors in buying this system, so thanks for that piece of info 😉

@ krells: I updated the card in the list in the link (chose the Waterforce at first). An open loop cooling system basically means I have to build a complete water cooling system with tubes and such, right? I think I'd rather stick with the regular Aorus Xtreme than (with the 3 fans on top). I can't seem to find 'ready to go packages' online. If so, any models that are worth looking in to?

@ WildCard999: I did figure out it's an AIO card, but unlike a couple of others, it doesn't come with a fan which you can connect to the water block (that is what I think what should be happening - I'm still not sure if anthing has to happen to the bottom of the card in that case; the heat sink platform-thing). I was looking into separate coolers with two tubes on the other end (that's what it's supposed to be?), but I couldn't find any.

@ feelingfroggy777: Actually, I am planning on overclocking as much as possible. The Ryzen 1950x can be overclocked to 4.1GHz. I didn't look into the GPU yet, but I think this already is the overclocked version of the regular Aorus 1080 Ti. I just want to stick to low temperatures as heavy video rendering and animation can take a long while at full power.

I did have look at the Phanteks case and did some comparing. I probably will stick with the R5. It has a more elegant look (not the most important thing), but also a lot of websites/people prefer the R5 over the Phanteks Enthoo Luxe. I normally don't really listen to 'which one is better' talks, but in this case it seems for my needs the R5 is pretty much ok (and as it seems a little more isolated).

As for the monitor: it's amazing, right? I was actually hoping the PG35VQ would be released anytime soon (Q4). It's even more of a monster at 1440p/200Hz. I probably will test a game from time to time, but 1440p at 35 inch/ultra wide, IPS... Too bad it has a price tag of a decent computer 😉
 


As soon as the new high hz ultra wides come out I am definitely getting one. But they may not get released until Q1 of next year. I have not heard much lately, but the 4k 144hz panels were pushed back, so the ultra wides may have the same fate.

 
@ WildCard999: This is the water cooled version I'm talking about: https://www.gigabyte.com/Graphics-Card/GV-N108TAORUSX-WB-11GD#kf. So it's rather that one (but that's the reason why I opened this topic: the 'how' part as for cooling) or the one I had planned in the first place: https://www.gigabyte.com/Graphics-Card/GV-N108TAORUS-X-11GD#kf

@ feelinfroggy777: I did read something about delays, but as far as I could find, the PG35VQ was still on schedule / not delayed. Hope so... But then again, I do need a monitor any day now, so probably sticking with the 34 inch for a while then. The 1080p is a letdown though.
 
For the card with the water block it isn't worth the hassle or the price to get the components to cool just the card. You would need a pump, reservoir, radiator, fans, tubing and fittings so figure $250 on top pf the price of the card. The card will run cooler but temperatures won't be an issue with the air cooled version. You might can a small bit of overclocking headroom but that isn't guaranteed and even if you do gain a bit it wouldn't be worth the cost.
 
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