Watercooling with a gpu

[kunthakenthe]

Hello im looking at a water cooling kit. http://www.amazon.com/XSPC-RayStorm-AX240-Water-Cooling/dp/B00DWXQKLK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403972557&sr=8-1&keywords=xspc+raystorm+750 its the xspc raystorm 750 im wondering if i add it can i use it to cool a gpu. I think the nzxt g10 would be good but they say its for closed loop.

Im wondering

What are the risks of watercooling

Benifits(using a 4960x yes with an x $999.99)

How good is this kit(temps)

Should i build a custom

How much is a custom(lowest price while mantaning value)

WIll a xspc raystorm work with a nzxt g10(if mods needed i'll try)

What are ALL the parts i need if im doing custom waterloop or buying kit(silver coil,etc)

Any other info i need to know

Sorry for all these questions but this is a big expensive decision

 

[AAndersen]

Hello
1. The risks of watercooling is that you might damage your hardware (if the loop leaks, and it wont if you did it properly)
2. You will get much lower temps on it, and much more headroom for overclocking
3. The kit will OK on an 4960x, but if you add an GPU block too it as well you will need more radiator surface
4. I will always go with an custom waterloop, it's alot more personal, and lots of fun to build, plus it will preform much better than an AIO solution
5. The lowest price would atleast 300 USD if you plan on a custom loop, you could use the kit, ad another radiator to it, and then the GPU block, depending on the GPU block and and radiator size price will vary, but you should be able to expand the kit to a CPU+GPU loop for around 300-400 USD
6. you will not be able to fit and RAystorm onto the GPU with the G10 as it's made to work with their Kraken series. I would go with a high preformance waterblock from EK.
7. If you do a custom loop, you will need a radiator, a pump, the water blocks you need, Hose, fittings, and whatever liquid you choose.

 

[geofelt]

Take a step back and make certain you know what your objectives are.

Because you are interested in cooling a gpu, I might guess that you are interested in gaming.

If so:

Spending an extra $200 on gpu cooling will not gain you as much incremental performance as spending it on a $200 stronger graphics card in the first place. The difference between a GTX780 and a GTX780ti, for example.

Few games can make use of more than 2-3 cores. A 6 core cpu is good for some apps, but not for games.
A i7-4790K will be half the price and will oc higher.

Water cooling does have risks, particularly if you develop a leak.
Water cooling is also noisier and less reliable than a good air cooler.
You might gain a small % increase in performance, but I might argue to buy a stronger part in the first place.

 

[kunthakenthe]

Take a step back and make certain you know what your objectives are.

Because you are interested in cooling a gpu, I might guess that you are interested in gaming.

If so:

Spending an extra $200 on gpu cooling will not gain you as much incremental performance as spending it on a $200 stronger graphics card in the first place. The difference between a GTX780 and a GTX780ti, for example.

Few games can make use of more than 2-3 cores. A 6 core cpu is good for some apps, but not for games.
A i7-4790K will be half the price and will oc higher.

Water cooling does have risks, particularly if you develop a leak.
Water cooling is also noisier and less reliable than a good air cooler.
You might gain a small % increase in performance, but I might argue to buy a stronger part in the first place.

so a 4960x cant do good in cpu intensive games like bf4 compared to a 4790k.

would you recommend a closed loop

 

[geofelt]

BF4 is not cpu intensive in single player.
In multiplayer, it is cpu intensive.
What is not clear is how well multithreading works in multiplayer.
It is difficult to conduct a repeatable benchmark in that environment.
Possibly the 4960X might be the best chip if price is no object.
Haswell-E is coming in September and that might be even more of a multithreading beast.
Still, I think if budget is of any concern at all, the 4790K is as good as you can get reasonably.

On cooling, I am very much against liquid cooling for cpu or gpu unless it is absolutely necessary.

My canned rant on liquid cooling:
------------------------start of rant-------------------
You buy a liquid cooler to be able to extract an extra multiplier or two out of your OC.
How much do you really need?
I do not much like all in one liquid coolers when a good air cooler like a Noctua NH-D14 or phanteks can do the job just as well.
A liquid cooler will be expensive, noisy, less reliable, and will not cool any better
in a well ventilated case.
Liquid cooling is really air cooling, it just puts the heat exchange in a different place.
The orientation of the radiator will cause a problem.
If you orient it to take in cool air from the outside, you will cool the cpu better, but the hot air then circulates inside the case heating up the graphics card and motherboard.
If you orient it to exhaust(which I think is better) , then your cpu cooling will be less effective because it uses pre heated case air.
And... I have read too many tales of woe when a liquid cooler leaks.
google "H100 leak"
-----------------------end of rant--------------------------

I suggest a noctua nh-D14 or phanteks with dual 140mm fans.
Your pc will be quieter, more reliable, and will be cooled equally well

 

[kunthakenthe]

BF4 is not cpu intensive in single player.
In multiplayer, it is cpu intensive.
What is not clear is how well multithreading works in multiplayer.
It is difficult to conduct a repeatable benchmark in that environment.
Possibly the 4960X might be the best chip if price is no object.
Haswell-E is coming in September and that might be even more of a multithreading beast.
Still, I think if budget is of any concern at all, the 4790K is as good as you can get reasonably.

On cooling, I am very much against liquid cooling for cpu or gpu unless it is absolutely necessary.

My canned rant on liquid cooling:
------------------------start of rant-------------------
You buy a liquid cooler to be able to extract an extra multiplier or two out of your OC.
How much do you really need?
I do not much like all in one liquid coolers when a good air cooler like a Noctua NH-D14 or phanteks can do the job just as well.
A liquid cooler will be expensive, noisy, less reliable, and will not cool any better
in a well ventilated case.
Liquid cooling is really air cooling, it just puts the heat exchange in a different place.
The orientation of the radiator will cause a problem.
If you orient it to take in cool air from the outside, you will cool the cpu better, but the hot air then circulates inside the case heating up the graphics card and motherboard.
If you orient it to exhaust(which I think is better) , then your cpu cooling will be less effective because it uses pre heated case air.
And... I have read too many tales of woe when a liquid cooler leaks.
google "H100 leak"
-----------------------end of rant--------------------------

I suggest a noctua nh-D14 or phanteks with dual 140mm fans.
Your pc will be quieter, more reliable, and will be cooled equally well

thanks which is better out of the two you suggested