Safest and easiest way to liquid cooling 4x Titan-X?

[3dbuddy]

Hi everyone,
I'm next to build my new workstation for 3d rendering and video editing and to speed up my workflow I decided to switch from CPU to GPU rendering.

Choice is mandatory for a relatively low budget build in this field: 4x Titan-X

I will run the rendering process min 8hrs/day, so leaving the 4 Titan-X air cooled it would have meant very high temps and so in shortening the life of the graphic cards.

OK, the problem...I'm newbie in this approach (liquid cooling) and I always did a little fear due to possible leakages, you know, in a system of over $8000 you will understand these concerns of mine. On the other hand I can't do any different to keep low temps and so consistent performance during the whole rendering time.

I would like to ask you if you can help me in building the safest and easiest system for this purpose.

I read many and many threads about the argument but honestly I prefer a direct response from people that have more experience than mine about liquid cooling.
I can't afford some trials due to a strict job deadline.

Also I don't want to bother you with a long first post, so if you need precise information I will be glad to reply any question.

Any help?

 

[maugusto]

if you really have 0 experience in watercooling you can always consider the option of buying Titan's with water cooling loop here is the PN: 12G-P4-1999-KR

 

[Digmeahole]

Personally I would never go with aio cooler on a titan as you will not get the same level of cooling as with a custom loop. Look at my avatar... That is my first watercooled rig and i never did it before and it wound up being very easy. The hardest part was choosing what type of setup to go with and ordering the correct barbs and tubing. For your first wc build i would suggest to stay away from any rigid tubing and go with PrimoFlex tubing and EK water blocks for the gpu's they are the best out there right now. For the pumps nothing beats a D5. Do a lot of research!

What other info were you looking for?

 

[Gam3r01]

Before you look into water cooling, you are making assumptions that you shouldnt.
"leaving the 4 Titan-X air cooled it would have meant very high temps and so in shortening the life of the graphic cards"
How can you predict what the temps of the cards will be without running them? There is a fairly good chance you wont need to water cool at all.
Second, high temps do not shorten the life of a card, they thermal throttle before damage can be done.

If you are actually going to run these cards, install them and see how the fare. Then contemplate water cooling based on that.

 

[3dbuddy]

if you really have 0 experience in watercooling you can always consider the option of buying Titan's with water cooling loop here is the PN: 12G-P4-1999-KR

That is an hybrid cooler...pratically an AIO, I was thinking a more efficient solution, still relatively easy to setup.

Personally I would never go with aio cooler on a titan as you will not get the same level of cooling as with a custom loop. Look at my avatar... That is my first watercooled rig and i never did it before and it wound up being very easy. The hardest part was choosing what type of setup to go with and ordering the correct barbs and tubing. For your first wc build i would suggest to stay away from any rigid tubing and go with PrimoFlex tubing and EK water blocks for the gpu's they are the best out there right now. For the pumps nothing beats a D5. Do a lot of research!

What other info were you looking for?

That's something interesting, so you also solved "the hardest part"
I will take into account the setup you are suggesting and make some lectures, I need to be pointed in the right direction. I will post some questions shortly, thanks

How can you predict what the temps of the cards will be without running them? There is a fairly good chance you wont need to water cool at all.
Second, high temps do not shorten the life of a card, they thermal throttle before damage can be done.

If you are actually going to run these cards, install them and see how the fare. Then contemplate water cooling based on that.

As I wrote in the first post all 4x Titan-X will be running min 8hrs a day, most likely 10hrs a day continuously.
I assume you don't know how much rendering an animation of thousands frames at 4k can stress the GPU, but it's not a rocket science and the answer is 100% workload as long as the rendering process take place.

I'm a newbie in liquid cooling but not in my field, 90°C it's a common temp when using the Titan-X for GPU rendering, you can find these info anywhere googling "Octane rendering" or "V-ray RT rendering".
Now consider from 8 to 10hrs of full resource usage for all 4 reference cards packed together and all my statements will be more than likely.

Furthermore, the rendering speed slow down as the GPU temps rise, even of -30%. At this point 3x reference cards with a decent space between them will outperform 4 cards working more or less at 90°C. As I need all 4 Titan-X...well... that is why I'm asking for your help

 

[3dbuddy]

Guys I did some researches, many lectures, and so:

Water cooling is really cool but being still novice at this I can't understand how all parts are interconnected between them and what I need exactly.

Let me explain better:

It's clear to me how the system works: water circulates pushed by the pump, then goes to the CPU or GPU and it is cooled at some point in the loop when it goes into the radiator+fans, just like a car.

What I can't understand is how to assemble all the system and which parts I need, I can't find any guide about it.
I watched some videos on how to mount the waterblock and backplate on the GPU (nothing fancy here, cool)...but then?

On EK youtube channel there isn't a video about the setup of the whole system, rather the mount of those parts, eg:
Predators AIOs, EK-FC waterblocks and so on...

I don't know where to start...as I have to link 4 Titan-X and so there should be some connectors between them, a pump, a reservoir and radiator.

Can you help me pointing some resources that explain step by step how to do it? both for just GPU and CPU + GPU.

ps
I checked the EK website and I'm in love with their design 😀