8800GTX SLI Danger Den Water block install - Pics inside!

managerman

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 26, 2004
Messages
133
Hello,

Last week I received my 2 Danger Den NV-88 waterblocks for my 2 8800 GTX cards. I installed them into my newly built system over the holidays. I have attached a bunch of pics of the install.

The machine I built is listed in my signature....The rig has two separate water loops...one for the CPU and one for the 8800GTX's

The waterblocks did a great job of lowering idle and load temps....Idle went from 60C to 45C and load went from 70C to 55C!!

The cards are currently running at an overclock of 650/1030...I have not messed with the bios of the cards yet to apply more voltage...I continue to overclock and tweak the CPU, memory and video cards....stay tuned...


Enjoy!

-M

EDIT: Added some final pictures of the build....12/01/06
8800_1.jpg


The stock cooler removed.

8800_2.jpg


A naked 8800GTX! Wow is that core huge!

8800_3.jpg


Prepped and ready to go!

8800_4.jpg


Close up of prep

8800_5.jpg


Backside of water block

8800_6.jpg


Installed on card

8800_8.jpg


Cards Installed into EVGA 680i SLI motherboard

8800_9.jpg


This is a close up of the home made SLI solution...I changed the orientation of one of the fittings to do this.

8800_10.jpg


Tubing hooked up!

8800_12.jpg


Fluid XP+ loaded!

mozart1.jpg


Rads with Silverstone fans..

mozart2.jpg


All built with lights...

mozart3.jpg


Closeup of components...

mozart4.jpg


Front of Mozart TX case

8800_15.jpg


Screenshot of first run of 3dmark06....

113006_8800gtx.jpg


EDIT: Here is the latest run of 3dMark06
 
Sweet as! Nice job. Looks like you've used a lot of thermal paste though, I would have thought you would get better results with a see-through layer of paste?
 
rus7y said:
Sweet as! Nice job. Looks like you've used a lot of thermal paste though, I would have thought you would get better results with a see-through layer of paste?

Done a ton of paste installs...the method of a thin layer and then a small center drop seems to give the best contact (accounting for uneven cores and blocks!) and temps...I guess there are a ton of ways/methods to spread/apply that stuff...

Thanks for the nice comment.

-M
 
rus7y said:
Sweet as! Nice job. Looks like you've used a lot of thermal paste though, I would have thought you would get better results with a see-through layer of paste?

Iunno, the core contact on these chips is really bad!
 
Vegasr said:
VERY NICE JOB. What type of paste did you use?

I used Arctic Silver 5 on the core and Artic Silver Céramique on the memory chips and the provided thermal pad on the voltage regulators.

-M
 
Amazing job. The quality of those waterblocks looks second to none.

Just one question - is your PC single? I'd like to take it out to Olive Garden for dinner tonight.
 
MrMike said:
Amazing job. The quality of those waterblocks looks second to none.

Just one question - is your PC single? I'd like to take it out to Olive Garden for dinner tonight.

Thanks for the laugh!! That was great!! :) ....

-M
 
wow - hello dream rig! :) So did you gain any OCing headroom with water on these cards? Just curious.
 
Looks good!

How is that case btw?

Also, when you remove the stock cooler you're looking at a heat spreader over the core, not the actual core. I thought the same thing when I first saw it, thinking "DAMN, look at that core!" but it's just a heat spreader (about time they used them on videocards IMO).
 
revenant said:
wow - hello dream rig! :) So did you gain any OCing headroom with water on these cards? Just curious.

With the stock cooler I could only go to 620-625 on core and 970-980 on memory before I started to have lock-ups and artifacting...I am still pushing it...I am striving for 675/1075....We'll see...

Thanks for the nice comments!

-M
 
Josh_Norem said:
Looks good!

How is that case btw?


Josh,

The Case is a watercoolers/overclockers dream!! Here is a list of things I like about it:

1. Designed for 2 2x120mm Rads (You can even fit a 3x120 on the front inside!!)
2. Can easily fit two D5 Pumps and route the tubing
3. Can hide/tuck all the wires on the opposite side
4. Great airflow across the MB and Memory (and the 680i needs it :) )
5. Lot's of room to work!
6. Ton's of drive bays...

-M
 
Very nice.

Your overclocks seem low though, I was able to get more than that out of mine on air. Keep going, man!
 
that is truly kick ass... and one seriously beasty rig, i just upgraded, but you make me blush with jealousy lol :D
 
M.D.K. said:
Very nice.

Your overclocks seem low though, I was able to get more than that out of mine on air. Keep going, man!

What core/mem clocks are you at?

-M
 
managerman said:
With the stock cooler I could only go to 620-625 on core and 970-980 on memory before I started to have lock-ups and artifacting...I am still pushing it...I am striving for 675/1075....We'll see...

Thanks for the nice comments!

-M

maybe after the thermal compound sets and you play with some extra voltage you'll get those numbers your after.. those numbers do seem a little low, but wow, 18k+ on 3dmark06 is very impressive. clearly you have ample power to toss any any 3d apps @ any res and IQ setting you want. That kicks ass! :)
 
Seeing the 8800 naked like that... man that sucker it MASSIVE, no wonder it runs so hot.

1000
 
1000 said:
Seeing the 8800 naked like that... man that sucker it MASSIVE, no wonder it runs so hot.

1000

the gpu core has a IHS on it, like the cpus we get today.. very similar to the intel flavor also.. the core itself is not as big as that makes it out to look, but it is larger than any previous core, by a good margin I would reckon. :)
 
Very nice looking system, well done.

What type of display are you using ?
 
managerman said:
Hello,

The waterblocks did a great job of lowering idle and load temps....Idle went from 60C to 45C and load went from 85C to 60C!!

The cards are currently running at an overclock of 650/1030...I have not messed with the bios of the cards yet to apply more voltage...I continue to overclock and tweak the CPU, memory and video cards....stay tuned...


Enjoy!

-M

I have one on the way too. Thanks for the pictures. That should help me out when I install mine.
My current 8800GTX is at 660/1065 and temp is idle at 48 ºC and 65 ºC on full load. This is with the fan on at 100%. My goal with the waterblock is 675/1100, plus a lot less noise and thinner. I only have one water loop, so hopefully this is not too aggress of a goal.
 
Looks good! I've got a very similar setup hardware wise.

Thanks for posting pics of the DD 8800 GTX waterblock install. Nice to see what to expect when I take my stock HSF off my dual 8800 GTXs. I got this link from Dan @ DangerDen because I wasn't sure how to best fit my dual watercoolers on the cards. I've got a Lian Li case with the radiator/fans in the top, so I have a bit less room to work with than you do. I've got some stubby fittings enroute to give me a little bit of extra clearance as well as some cool sleeves to eliminate any kinking since I have a feeling I will have an issue with that.

Question for ya. Why so much power to drive a small resolution? Obviously you have the funds, step it up to the Dell 30" screen and run 2560x1600.

Did you use all that AS5 because of the DD 8800 waterblock doesn't sit 100% flush with the chip?

__________________
Dell 3007FPW
Core 2 Duo E6700 cooled by Swiftech Apogee
EVGA 680i
2x EVGA 8800GTX SLI cooled by dual DD-8800GTX
4x 1GB Kingston HyperX DDR2 1066mhz
4x Raptor 74GB 2x RAID 1 2x RAID 0
2x Plextor PX-716AL DVD slot load
Silverstone Zeus 850w
Koolance PC4-1026BK (Lian Li PC-V-1200B)
 
revenant said:
I agree... with that power you're beggin for a 3007! :)

Not necessarily - I can slow my 8800GTX way down on just my 20.1 (1600x1200)

I could use more GPU power on just this resolution. I'd cry if I dropped the $$$ on a 3007 and 2 8800GTX's to have them slow down. Ugh.

Need more powuh!!
 
Brahmzy said:
Not necessarily - I can slow my 8800GTX way down on just my 20.1 (1600x1200)

I could use more GPU power on just this resolution. I'd cry if I dropped the $$$ on a 3007 and 2 8800GTX's to have them slow down. Ugh.

Need more powuh!!

What are earth are you running on dual 8800 GTXs that slows down at 1600x1200??? I am playing everything at 2560x1600 with full details and have no such slow downs on my setup.
 
Nice!

Dropping one of those on my GTX is going to be my next project. Thanks for the pics and details.
 
Brahmzy said:
Not necessarily - I can slow my 8800GTX way down on just my 20.1 (1600x1200)

I could use more GPU power on just this resolution. I'd cry if I dropped the $$$ on a 3007 and 2 8800GTX's to have them slow down. Ugh.

Need more powuh!!

thats odd, i have the 30 and two was so powerfull that i sold one. I am enjoying my 30 with just one card.


I will be going sli on the refresh when games i play will warrant it.
 
03M5 said:
Question for ya. Why so much power to drive a small resolution? Obviously you have the funds, step it up to the Dell 30" screen and run 2560x1600.

Did you use all that AS5 because of the DD 8800 waterblock doesn't sit 100% flush with the chip?

1900x1200....that's not that small.... ;) Maybe Santa will bring a me a Dell 30" :)

I used a very thin layer over the core and then a small spot in the middle...to make sure I had an airtight seal across the 8800GTX heatspreader....Temps are good..(I think) about 10-12C lower then air on Idle and about 15-20C lower on full load....I have tried many methods and this method always gives me the best temps...even on the QX6700....Stock idle temps are 29C....

Thanks...

-M
 
managerman said:
1900x1200....that's not that small.... ;)

It's only about half the size of 2560x1600 :D
OK 55% if you want to get technical but still, that's small when you compare the two! It's a beautiful screen. Once you go 2560x1600 there is NO going back!


managerman said:
I used a very thin layer over the core and then a small spot in the middle...to make sure I had an airtight seal across the 8800GTX heatspreader....

Sounds good, thanks again for the info/pics. I have a feeling when I go to test fit it I'll end up putting more than normal as I suspect I won't be able to get it flush with the tightening screws alone. The block is huge and I am sure slight varations in the manufacturing process of the waterblocks and the card itself are off a bit.


Anyone know how many DD-8800GTX waterblocks DD sold in the first batch? Seems like they sold out pretty quick!
 
managerman said:
1900x1200....that's not that small.... ;) Maybe Santa will bring a me a Dell 30" :)

I used a very thin layer over the core and then a small spot in the middle...to make sure I had an airtight seal across the 8800GTX heatspreader....Temps are good..(I think) about 10-12C lower then air on Idle and about 15-20C lower on full load....I have tried many methods and this method always gives me the best temps...even on the QX6700....Stock idle temps are 29C....

Thanks...

-M

I was going to say, you don't need a bigger setup to upgrade.. merry Xmas to ME!! ;)

FYI, your temps do look fine.. with SLI it only takes one card which is not a great OCer to keep both down.. so it's possible one of your cards is not the best OCer.. but hell, as I said before you have a veritable shit ton of performance on hand.. no need to fret over a few mhz.. :D
 
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