Cooling 10980XE - Noctua DH15, Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420MM, or do I really need to go custom water?

[Peter_Brosdahl]

Glad we got this thread going. I'm in a similar boat as I want to do the same with my 3700x & Strix 3090. Looking for an AIO for the CPU seems pretty easy. David's put up some great reviews. EKWB makes a block for the Strix 3090 but then I've got to look into the rest of the parts. It's going to be my 1st time doing liquid but I know I'm pretty much at the limit of what I can do from air and things get noisy when it's all in OC mode. The only other thing I'm thinking about is at long last getting a bench or new case but that's another story.

 

[Lopoetve]

With the exception of hte video card block (that still scares me, although EVGA apparently warranties cards if something goes wrong after a block has been on it), the rest is actually pretty easy, especially if you use soft tubing. Modern fittings are almost idiot proof.

 

[Dan_D]

With the exception of hte video card block (that still scares me, although EVGA apparently warranties cards if something goes wrong after a block has been on it), the rest is actually pretty easy, especially if you use soft tubing. Modern fittings are almost idiot proof.

Well, the whole "waterblock voids your warranty thing" is BS. It's not enforceable as its illegal in the U.S.

 

[LazyGamer]

Well, the whole "waterblock voids your warranty thing" is BS. It's not enforceable as its illegal in the U.S.

Not legally enforceable, but man, the potential of being in the position of needing warranty service and having it denied is a pretty big deterrent.

Conversely, having a company come out and say that they're okay with something is attractive. At the MSRPs we're talking about, and now... again... significantly inflated retail pricing, the price deltas between having a warm and fuzzy about warranty coverage and having to worry about it just don't seem that large.

And it's also a good reminder @Peter_Brosdahl: since I'm thinking something similar, also at @Dan_D's recent suggestion, that I should probably hold out for EVGA. Somehow my last three GPU purchases have been MSI, high and low end, but I don't think I'd be willing to take that gamble in the future if I plan on swapping the cooling out!

 

[Endgame]

The problem is that almost all the pumps out there are either D5 or DDC pumps. I think the DDC is slightly quieter between the two. I don't know, I've primarily only run D5's which aren't really quiet, but that can vary based on how you are running them.

D5 vario at 1 and 2, or PWM D5 at the lower ranges are extremely quiet, especially if you toss a piece of foam under them. I used to care about volume when my computer room was part of my sound insulated home theater room. Now that my computer room is a few feet away from the furnace / hot water heater, I just set the pump at or near max - they aren’t loud enough to compete with a furnace

 

[Peter_Brosdahl]

So something I haven't really seen much about is whether or not liquid cooling the CPU can significantly help reduce temps with a GPU. I've contemplated putting my 3700x underwater, and there are some easy kits to do it with, but I'm just not really going to gain that much over the Wraith. It's not terribly loud, even at full speed, and keeps my 3700x running around 60-65 max during gaming at around 4125-4325 MHz.

However, that 3090 can get hot. I'm really thinking of putting it underwater but that's a bit more involved. I'm just wondering if the CPU was liquid-cooled would that reduce enough ambient heat in the area to make a difference for the GPU? Any thoughts from anyone? Has anyone ever checked the temp differences on their GPU after putting the CPU in a loop?

 

[Brian_B]

So something I haven't really seen much about is whether or not liquid cooling the CPU can significantly help reduce temps with a GPU. I've contemplated putting my 3700x underwater, and there are some easy kits to do it with, but I'm just not really going to gain that much over the Wraith. It's not terribly loud, even at full speed, and keeps my 3700x running around 60-65 max during gaming at around 4125-4325 MHz.

However, that 3090 can get hot. I'm really thinking of putting it underwater but that's a bit more involved. I'm just wondering if the CPU was liquid-cooled would that reduce enough ambient heat in the area to make a difference for the GPU? Any thoughts from anyone? Has anyone ever checked the temp differences on their GPU after putting the CPU in a loop?

Depends entirely on your installation, case, air flow, etc.

It can help, but if you are using a blower card or already have high case air flow, it probably won’t make much difference.

 

[Peter_Brosdahl]

Depends entirely on your installation, case, air flow, etc.

It can help, but if you are using a blower card or already have high case air flow, it probably won’t make much difference.

Thanks! Yeah, my case has fans just about everywhere, planned, and the flow is great. The X570 design is just a bit odd since the GPU is really close to the CPU and the Wraith top-down design does blow some of that onto the back of the GPU.

 

[Brian_B]

Thanks! Yeah, my case has fans just about everywhere, planned, and the flow is great. The X570 design is just a bit odd since the GPU is really close to the CPU and the Wraith top-down design does blow some of that onto the back of the GPU.

I’d say, pull the side off your case and run it open air. If that helps your speeds, WC will probably help you out by about the same degree.

 

[Peter_Brosdahl]

I’d say, pull the side off your case and run it open air. If that helps your speeds, WC will probably help you out by about the same degree.

Unfortunately, that probably wouldn't help. I've got 4x 120mm fans on the side blowing right onto everything. Two 240mm exhaust fans on top and a combination of things on the rear, and more intake fans at the front.

 

[Dan_D]

So something I haven't really seen much about is whether or not liquid cooling the CPU can significantly help reduce temps with a GPU. I've contemplated putting my 3700x underwater, and there are some easy kits to do it with, but I'm just not really going to gain that much over the Wraith. It's not terribly loud, even at full speed, and keeps my 3700x running around 60-65 max during gaming at around 4125-4325 MHz.

However, that 3090 can get hot. I'm really thinking of putting it underwater but that's a bit more involved. I'm just wondering if the CPU was liquid-cooled would that reduce enough ambient heat in the area to make a difference for the GPU? Any thoughts from anyone? Has anyone ever checked the temp differences on their GPU after putting the CPU in a loop?

Your CPU only remains around that temperature because you aren't overclocking it. By default, 3000 series Ryzen's target sub-68c temperatures. When this is overridden, the temperatures will increase and so will your boost clocks. It would sustain those clocks and higher, for longer. Seeing sub-68c temps on a Ryzen simply means you are running stock. It does not mean you wouldn't benefit from better cooling.

That being said, 4.3GHz all core is likely the best it can do with one CCX complex being able to achieve 4.4GHz. Assuming you got a good chip. If not, you can take 100MHz off those values on both sides. 4.2GHz (or less) for an all core and 4.3GHz (or less) for your best CCX complex.

 

[Peter_Brosdahl]

Your CPU only remains around that temperature because you aren't overclocking it. By default, 3000 series Ryzen's target sub-68c temperatures. When this is overridden, the temperatures will increase and so will your boost clocks. It would sustain those clocks and higher, for longer. Seeing sub-68c temps on a Ryzen simply means you are running stock. It does not mean you wouldn't benefit from better cooling.

That being said, 4.3GHz all core is likely the best it can do with one CCX complex being able to achieve 4.4GHz. Assuming you got a good chip. If not, you can take 100MHz off those values on both sides. 4.2GHz (or less) for an all core and 4.3GHz (or less) for your best CCX complex.

Thanks! Yep, that's what I was thinking all around. Just not enough to gain from it.