[SOLVED] Water Cooling for GTX 2080 Ti FE

[gtr22]

Which is better, Alphacool or EK? What is the average price to complete the set up? I know the Alphacool water block is around $115, EK is $150. I'm stuck on which pump to look at.
My cpu is air cooled with a Noctua DH 15S, don't want to change it.
Mid tower case.

 

[rubix_1011]

Both are great, honestly. So is Swiftech. Aquacomputer is also very good, as is Heatkiller.

I just reviewed a bunch of new Corsair Hydro X gear - they're now in the custom watercooling game and they have blocks that support the 2080 Ti Founder's Edition. Some really good, new stuff.

 

[gtr22]

They are nice, would be nice to find a pump and radiator that didn't cost $150. Corsair and their rgb, I don't really need. Something decent that's reliable. Have you seen the Alphacool's 240 GTX Pro? It's a gpu waterblock with a closed loop and radiator.
https://www.aquatuning.us/water-coo...dia-geforce-rtx-2080/2080ti-black-m02?c=23047
I would use this if I knew it was a descent product.

 

[rubix_1011]

I've seen it, haven't used it. The block looks identical to the Alphacool block that I tested on the Eissturm Hurricane 140 x45 but I'm assuming it is also the pump, similar to how Swiftech ran their pump+CPU block Apogee Drive II unit.

The rest of the block is likely a passive heatsink.

 

[Gmoney06ss]

As far as blocks go, I can't say enough good about the ek. Very nice block and backplate. I cannot speak on any other brands as I have no experience with them, but my ek block is doing well so far. And it looks great combined with there backplate.

For rads I used xspc. The price was good, and they seem to be comparable to most others. I have one xflow, which made hose routing crazy easy. As well as one standard dual pass, both nice.

I also went with the xspc photon pump/res combo. No it's not a d5 or ddc, but its serving me well and keeping temps well within check. So far no issues. Cooling CPU and GPU, with dual rads and plenty of fittings/bends. Plus it was low cost! Iirc it was about $100 for the combo.

 

[gtr22]

As far as blocks go, I can't say enough good about the ek. Very nice block and backplate. I cannot speak on any other brands as I have no experience with them, but my ek block is doing well so far. And it looks great combined with there backplate.

For rads I used xspc. The price was good, and they seem to be comparable to most others. I have one xflow, which made hose routing crazy easy. As well as one standard dual pass, both nice.

I also went with the xspc photon pump/res combo. No it's not a d5 or ddc, but its serving me well and keeping temps well within check. So far no issues. Cooling CPU and GPU, with dual rads and plenty of fittings/bends. Plus it was low cost! Iirc it was about $100 for the combo.

What are your gpu temps? I'm looking to just water cool my gpu, my cpu is air cooled at 50-60c under load. I hope a water set up will fit around the radiator. And total cost? $250?. The kits I mentioned above by Alphacool and some others people were saying they are noisy.
My 2080 Ti is at 83c in this summer heat, when I remove the side cover it drops to 79c, keeping the fans from ramping up.

 

[Gmoney06ss]

GPU temps are in the low 50s. Max I've seen is 56, looping superposition extreme as a stress test. Gaming stays lower, even in the most demanding titles.

$250 I honestly don't think is going to happen. Considering block and pump/res combo is about that.
Block and backplate(ek)- $180ish
Xspc photon x4 pump/res combo- $100(if I remember cost right, the d5 variant is $190)
Rad $50-80, depending on brand, size, etc.
Fans- up to $25 each x2or3. I got mine from performance pcs, with my rad, xspc brand, $28 for a 3 pack. Not the quietest but certainly not terrible. Imo a great balance between price, performance, and cost.
Don't forget fittings and tubing. I used, I believe mayhems clear soft, .50 a foot. So that's cheap at least, I bought ten feet and will have enough for another 2 builds. Fittings range from $2-10+ each, and you'll need at least 6.
Low end $350. My total cost was more, but includes two rads and a CPU block setup.

 

[rubix_1011]

Yep, going to likely be more than your initial budget of $250 unless you make some concessions. You could make it work if you got a standalone DDC or D5 pump and a separate reservoir (all non-RGB, of course).

Let's see what I can cobble together. I am going to assume your GPU is a Founder's Edition or standard Nvidia PCB, not a Strix or custom PCB. You'll have to swap that if the block you need is different.

I didn't add radiator fans or coolant, those are kind of up to you. This is about as budget as you can get with open loop components while still offering yourself a good upgrade path to include CPU or more in the future.

 

[geofelt]

What do you hope to accomplish?
Are your temperatures too high?
Is the card too noisy?
Is the performance inadequate?
Do you just want to spend something on your rig?
Or what?

 

[rubix_1011]

^ Yep, I have those questions as well.

Stock cooling should be sufficient, even changing thermal compound can help, reapplying the factory cooling.

Sounds like this is 'I want to watercool, but not all the way...?' I'm not here to tell you what's right or wrong, but addressing your issue/concern might open up other ideas and alternatives.

Good point, @geofelt

 

[faalin]

Yeah, the first buy in for custom water cooling is always the nasty part. Once you get all the stuff it gets cheaper as you can repurpose the Rad, Res, Pump, and fittings on a new build. CPU blocks 90% of the time can be reused if your moving to the same cpu manufacture. The GPU blocks are normally a one time use for that model of card. Next year if Nvidia comes out with the RTX 2180 ti your block probably wont fit it so you would have to drop another $150 on a new block, but you could keep the rest of the system.

 

[gtr22]

I thought buying a Fractal Design S2 would be ok for thermals, it's so closed up for dampening the noise, it holds a lot of the heat. So to keep the gpu from full fan blasting I have to remove all the panels. Average temps, 83c-85c. Panels off 78c. To keep all the panels on and keep it cool it would be ideal. I read some forums saying liquid metal doesn't help because of the size of the cooler and other thermal paste made only a fraction of a difference.
Yes it's a GTX FE. I guess I'll spend $300 for a new open loop. My 8700k is delided air cooled, stays at 50-60c during gaming.