Cooling and quieting a 290x

V

vdragonlance

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 8, 2005
Messages
485
Other than building a custom WC setup would this be the next best thing or is there something better out there? Maybe I should save my pennies and build a custom loop? I currently have a CM Seidon 120V cooling the CPU and it does the job just fine.

Kraken G10

Corsair H50

Gelid VRM
 
I would say that if you plan on changing out components regularly, the G10 would be fine. But I would consider copper heatsinks for the vrm and ram. Something like the enzotech copper heatsinks.

But I think that if you are going through the hassle of doing this you might as well save up and buy a real watercooling loop and a full cover waterblock. But thats expensive.... (theres always strapping deltas on an arctic accelero or other aftermarket air cooler)
 
Yeah I plan on upgrading GPUs fairly regularly. Plus I don't want to use anything permanent to hold down the heatsinks because I want to able to put the stock cooler back on and sell it. The Gelid kit has the option to bolt on the heatsink to the VRMs.
 
Here's what you want to do (G10, Corsair H55, GELID heat sink, Brass heatsinks), except on my 290.

It works fine, but I think you should really put the copper heatsinks on the VRMs around the GPU. They get warm. I used double sided tape and will come off without much effort.

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I bought two of these. I only paid $8 for 16 though. The adhesive that comes on them won't work, I had to use this.
 
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King Icewind said:
I bought two of these. I only paid $8 for 16 though. The adhesive that comes on them won't work, I had to use this.
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Thanks for the link for the heatsinks. Still not sure about using double sided tape on the RAM chips though.
Going to order the GELID kit along with the G10 and the Corsair H50 and go from there.
 
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My last quiet air only build used a Thermalright T-Rad2 GTX and a single 120mm fan.

For something more powerful, the Thermalright HR-03 GTX or especially the Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme would be good.

The AIO kits are just too noisy for my liking, especially the pump. Just too many compromises. Other than size, I don't see what the attraction is over something like the AC Accelero Xtreme in terms of the noise 2 cooling balance.

It was either full air, or full watercooling, but that's just me.
 
echn111 said:
My last quiet air only build used a Thermalright T-Rad2 GTX and a single 120mm fan.

For something more powerful, the Thermalright HR-03 GTX or especially the Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme would be good.

The AIO kits are just too noisy for my liking, especially the pump. Just too many compromises. Other than size, I don't see what the attraction is over something like the AC Accelero Xtreme in terms of the noise 2 cooling balance.

It was either full air, or full watercooling, but that's just me.
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I'm not looking for complete silent operation. I don't mind a little noise but the stock fan blower on the 290x is too much when gaming. I currently have 4 Corsair SP120s and 2 AF140s so those drown out any noise the pump makes but not the 290x

Edit: The Accelero Xtreme IV looks good but a bit unwieldy lol
 
None of these options is "silent". Aircooling has it's advantages. Watercooling as well. AIO's are a bit meh although I found them nice and compact and great for mini-ITX builds where space is a concern. What's the reason behind wanting AIO's and not considering high end air anyway? I suppose they might be a more elegant, less bulky solution, although that's a bit cosmetic.
 
vdragonlance said:
Thanks for the link for the heatsinks. Still not sure about using double sided tape on the RAM chips though.
Going to order the GELID kit along with the G10 and the Corsair H50 and go from there.
Click to expand...

The temps are fantastic a good 20-30 below running them naked (I did this for awhile). I have been using it now for 6 months. There's really nothing to worry about.
 
echn111 said:
None of these options is "silent". Aircooling has it's advantages. Watercooling as well. AIO's are a bit meh although I found them nice and compact and great for mini-ITX builds where space is a concern. What's the reason behind wanting AIO's and not considering high end air anyway? I suppose they might be a more elegant, less bulky solution, although that's a bit cosmetic.
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More cosmetic anything else for wanting an AIO. I like the clean look that they offer compared to the bulky heatsinks.
 
If you dont care about aesthetics, and dont mind having the headache of figuring out how you are going to mount all those different parts all over the case then by all means. You can put a decent watercooling kit together with proper parts, a pump and res, and full water blocks.
 
Why not get a Promalitech MK-26? AIO "watercooling" is no quieter or cooler than a high-end air cooler, but it comes with the risk of leaks and the need to route tubes and mount radiators. If you want to watercool, do it right, don't get a fake AIO. If you don't want to watercool properly, choose high-end air coolers such as the Promalitech MK-26 for the GPU or a Noctua D15 for the CPU.
 
Igroock said:
If you dont care about aesthetics, and dont mind having the headache of figuring out how you are going to mount all those different parts all over the case then by all means. You can put a decent watercooling kit together with proper parts, a pump and res, and full water blocks.
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The radiator is getting mounted at the bottom, exhausting the air out of the case and I should be able to route the tubes just fine.

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rabidz7 said:
Why not get a Promalitech MK-26? AIO "watercooling" is no quieter or cooler than a high-end air cooler, but it comes with the risk of leaks and the need to route tubes and mount radiators. If you want to watercool, do it right, don't get a fake AIO. If you don't want to watercool properly, choose high-end air coolers such as the Promalitech MK-26 for the GPU or a Noctua D15 for the CPU.
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What's a fake AIO? That MK-26 looks amazing though, going to read some reviews on it.
I should of originally said $100ish is my budget to cool/quiet down the card.
 
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I just installed an h55 to my 290 and it's the best thing I could have done. At stock clocks it won't get over 70C. at 100% the fan makes a bit of noise but if you're playing a game you wont notice, and turning them down to 50% at idle keeps it at 36-40C and really quiet. I have +85mv and it's setting on 1150 core 1350 memory and it MIGHT get up 80 in a game that is constantly pushing it 100%

instead of the gelid kit I just hacked up the stock cooler. The gelid kit doesn't cover the 3 VRMs up by the gpu.
 
Loser_guy said:
I just installed an h55 to my 290 and it's the best thing I could have done. At stock clocks it won't get over 70C. at 100% the fan makes a bit of noise but if you're playing a game you wont notice, and turning them down to 50% at idle keeps it at 36-40C and really quiet. I have +85mv and it's setting on 1150 core 1350 memory and it MIGHT get up 80 in a game that is constantly pushing it 100%

instead of the gelid kit I just hacked up the stock cooler. The gelid kit doesn't cover the 3 VRMs up by the gpu.
Click to expand...

Are you using the G10? You need to try reseating the H55. I had similar temps at first which did not seem right. After reseating my H55 and doing a star shape with thermal paste rather than just a blob in the middle the temps now remain below 60.
 
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Yeah using a G10. I thought the temps were a bit high but was happy with them, that's a lot of wattage it's dissipating.

I'm not sure I have the screws tightened down enough because I was afraid of damaging my card, but the pump can move kind of freely.

I couldn't find my tube of AS5 so I just used the stock stuff.
 
The Gelid kit along with the G10 and H50 are arriving tomorrow.

I'll post some before and after temps when I get everything installed.
 
I tightened my g10 bracket and now I'm getting even better temps, won't pass 70C and that's after pushing the voltage up to +100 and a few more mhz. I might could get better still but I'll worry about it when I have more free time and find my AS5 or order some better TIM.

What's everyone's VRMs at? I hacked up the stock cooler and they are staying below 70. The GELID kit looks nice but doesn't cover the VRMs near the vent side of the card.
 
Got everything up running! I did a quick dirty benchmark with Valley benchmark. With stock cooler I was hitting about 80C and it was unbearable loud. Now it doesn't budge passed 55C and it's so quite! The VRMs get around high 70s and 60s, I forgot to check stock cooling temps on the VRMs.

I'm using a Corsair SP120 fan instead of the stock one.
 
Looped Valley Benchmark a few times

Max Temp 58C

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Max VRM temps 62C and 66C

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Looking good, just don't mind the fan cables.:D I'm waiting for a 3-pin Y Cable Splitter so I can route them behind the mobo.

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Tidy upped the cables a bit

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