Watercooling - Dangerous Situation?

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kydsid

Supreme [H]ardness
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Mar 9, 2006
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Ok I just built this computer (see below) a few months ago and finally found time to get some games onto it, but have noticed that the GPU temp hits almost 80 C underload after intense gameplay. I bought the case because I want this to be silent so I am going watercooling to lower temp and for cool factor. I have already takin the many recomendations for types of systems available to WC. Here is my concern.

My Computer sits in front of a large sliding glass door that serves as the best and quickest ventilation for my condo. Come winter when temps here in Alaska plummet well below freezing I sometimes open that door to regulate the temp (anyone with old steam baseboard heating know what Im talking about). I have seen the processor as low as 10C on air in these situations. Is a WC'ing system get too cold and possibly freeze or condensate on the hardware?


Antec P 180 Case|Athlon X2 4800|2GB Corsair XMS|ATI X1900XT|Tagan 480U22|WD Raptor|NEC 3550A DVDRW|HDA X Mystique|Logitech G15, MX510 & Z-5500's|ViewSonic VX 922|
 
80c is normally fine for a GPU. Can you point a fan at it? Those ATI cards run fairly warm. Some Nvidia cards start throttling down at 125c.
 
Already have one pointed at it. And it is running at 80 with relatively older games like Call of Duty. I have no idea what it will do with Oblivion, Splinter Cell etc. But I want WC for the cool and the experience and to lower the temps that much more. Just woried what will happen come winter which I can tell is o so close.
 
I think you will be wasting money going to watercooling. Freezing the water if you put it in the situation could be a concern.
 
Watercooling is never a waste of money if you want low load temps and a silent computer. Anyone that watercools efficiently will tell you that. And since I watercool, I'm telling you as well.
 
In any situation where ou are running such low temps you run the risk of condensation no matter what the cooling is. Water cooling will gain you some performance and be very quiet along with lasting you very long in the future.
 
Cpt Twitchy said:
In any situation where ou are running such low temps you run the risk of condensation no matter what the cooling is. Water cooling will gain you some performance and be very quiet along with lasting you very long in the future.
Click to expand...

Water cooling gave me 20C drop on my 7800GT VGU... huge drop IMO.

However 80C it's in the hot safe for a VGU but nothing like running that bad guy on full load under 50C. When I play BF2 it won't go over 47C :D

Also I don't have to hear that nasty sound of the VGU fan kicking out like it's going to take off.. every time it gets hot.
 
Yeah 20C sure is a lot. seeing that makes me really look forward to all of my gear getting here except genius forgot to order his fans and cannot decide between Yate's or Sanyo's
 
if your worrying about the coolent possibly freezing, just increase the anti freeze to water ratio.
 
2 of those yates at about 10v are totally silent. They're a really good deal for 4$ a piece. I can hear my PSU over them :)O).
 
First time using Yates.. but I must say it's the cheaper and best part of my loop.. I feel like buying some extra ones and keep them for future upgrades.. can't believe the price.... shhhhh did I say that loud?

Even though they are rated low flow... I can feel lot of air circulating and very silent.
 
The P180 is the perfect case for silent watercooling! Especially if you aren't skittish about removing a few components.

watercooling001.jpg

watercooling002.jpg

watercooling003.jpg

watercooling005.jpg



I am also running 4 Yate-Loons in my case controlled by a simple fan controller. I have some new sound absorption material coming in from Petra for the pump, and some anti-vibration mounts/screw thingy's from McMaster. My case is already damn near silent, occasionally though I can hear some resonating from the pump because the included neoprene pad is crap.

The PA160 fits like a glove in the P180. The other option is to cut up the top of the case and put a dual or triple 120mm radiator in there, but this install offered the fewest blemishes on the outside of the case. That is the look I was going for.
 
xXxDieselxXx said:
Interesting reserator.... what temps are you getting? also any issues with the pump?

Pics please :D
Click to expand...

no issues so far and at work so no pictures, i'll get some up later
 
Erasmus354 said:
The P180 is the perfect case for silent watercooling! Especially if you aren't skittish about removing a few components.

http://erasmus354.googlepages.com/watercooling001.jpg
http://erasmus354.googlepages.com/watercooling002.jpg
http://erasmus354.googlepages.com/watercooling003.jpg
http://erasmus354.googlepages.com/watercooling005.jpg


I am also running 4 Yate-Loons in my case controlled by a simple fan controller. I have some new sound absorption material coming in from Petra for the pump, and some anti-vibration mounts/screw thingy's from McMaster. My case is already damn near silent, occasionally though I can hear some resonating from the pump because the included neoprene pad is crap.

The PA160 fits like a glove in the P180. The other option is to cut up the top of the case and put a dual or triple 120mm radiator in there, but this install offered the fewest blemishes on the outside of the case. That is the look I was going for.
Click to expand...



Thanks for the pics. Nice case. I was thinking of cutting it up the way performance PC does, but now that I see an efficient clean setup like yours I like that a lot more. Couple questions.

If I put the vid card on the loop will there be enough room for the houses? And what temps are you getting?

Lastly I see he is using a T instead of a resevoir. Is there a big difference or not?
 
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