6970 watercooled results

[OLDPHART]

Very nice m8, theres lots of info on the net, which way have you got the Apaches > push or pull. If push, try pull you may get a couple of degree's cooler, basicly my Rad set up was push / pull. So l did a little bit of research and found that 3 fans in pull were better it knocked off 2'c from my CPU 4.2GHz and 1'c off my GPU 470 850:1700:2000 + the fans peaked at lower rpm so PC was even quiter.

Go to skinnee labs, l think your Rad has been reviewd there, you will probably find out the best way to have your fans push or pull!

Link - http://skinneelabs.com/

 

[el Kuarlos]

VRM temps please- they are the air cooling issue. Sod the core, if the vrms are in line that is the cooling solved, no use running epic core clocks without looking at vrm temps like so many rookies do.

 

[Andric]

shodl be getting my ek block tomorrow - unfortunatly looks like a mix up on the card delivery though sp few more days till I can do the same

 

[mmj_uk]

VRM temps please- they are the air cooling issue. Sod the core, if the vrms are in line that is the cooling solved, no use running epic core clocks without looking at vrm temps like so many rookies do.

In my testing yesterday the GPU #1, #2 and #3 (GPU-Z) temps were late 30's to early 40's under load, basically slightly higher than the GPU temp.

I've just rebuilt my loop with S-Flex 1200RPM fans instead of Apaches and a Heatkiller 3.0 instead of EK Supreme HF and my idle temp is now 25C, I think the EK Supreme was quite restrictive or it could just be my room is colder atm, plus yesterday I bodged it pretty much and had a loop the loop in the middle of the loop.

edit: idle temp has gone up to 27C so probably just the cold room.

 

[mmj_uk]

shodl be getting my ek block tomorrow - unfortunatly looks like a mix up on the card delivery though sp few more days till I can do the same

Did you order a backplate? I bought one but having looked at it I don't see how it helps with performance, besides supporting the card all it does restrict airflow to the PCB it doesn't actually touch anything apart from a few tiny thermal pads they throw in. I had it installed but took it off.

 

[mmj_uk]

Very nice m8, theres lots of info on the net, which way have you got the Apaches > push or pull. If push, try pull you may get a couple of degree's cooler, basicly my Rad set up was push / pull. So l did a little bit of research and found that 3 fans in pull were better it knocked off 2'c from my CPU 4.2GHz and 1'c off my GPU 470 850:1700:2000 + the fans peaked at lower rpm so PC was even quiter.

Go to skinnee labs, l think your Rad has been reviewd there, you will probably find out the best way to have your fans push or pull!

Link - http://skinneelabs.com/

I've got them in push from inside the top of the case out of the top of it, I don't fancy changing them now even if pull is slightly better.

 

[MichaelM]

Did you go with an EK backplate for the 6970, kept but maybe modified the original or left it bare?

I hear the backplates allow passive cooling of the VRM's on the rear.

 

[mmj_uk]

See above mate I fitted it but took it off it seems like a gimmick to me, they give you two tiny thermal pads one for the DVI port area and another for near the VRM's, I thought it would be better exposed to the airflow instead and the back of the card isn't even warm, apart from those two tiny thermal pads the rest of the backplate just hovers a few mm above the pcb blocking airflow.

 

[pastymuncher]

I would like to have a crack at watercooling, but i seem to change my parts so often that i get put off by the hasle of it all, but then it could be im just lazy

That's why i use a core only block. Had my MP-1 for over 5 years now and it's been on many cards, both Nvidia and ATI. Simple case of unbolting the block from the card, fitting the new card and bolting the block back on. No draining down or anything needed.

 

[Ezyryder]

In my testing yesterday the GPU #1, #2 and #3 (GPU-Z) temps were late 30's to early 40's under load, basically slightly higher than the GPU temp.

I've just rebuilt my loop with S-Flex 1200RPM fans instead of Apaches and a Heatkiller 3.0 instead of EK Supreme HF and my idle temp is now 25C, I think the EK Supreme was quite restrictive or it could just be my room is colder atm, plus yesterday I bodged it pretty much and had a loop the loop in the middle of the loop.

edit: idle temp has gone up to 27C so probably just the cold room.

Nice choice of fans by the way. Super-silent!

 

[chaotic_uk]

I've just bodged my blocked up 6970 into my loop (EK waterblock).

I will be doing a total rebuild of the loop tomorrow but I just wanted to check there were no abnormalities with it before doing things properly.

The loop hasn't been bled yet but IDLE temp is already down from around 40C to 28C.

I'm just running Heaven 2.1 in the background now and it appears to have topped out at 38C.

what temps did you get before going watercooled under full load ?

 

[mmj_uk]

what temps did you get before going watercooled under full load ?

No idea mate probably 80-90 I never really checked tbh, it was pretty bad though I had to move my soundcard to the bottom slot away from the GPU because it was red hot to touch and smelled like something was melting at one point.

My idle temp has now crept up to 29c so I guess it's limited by ambient temp.

 

[ahenners]

Anyone think these 6950's will be ok with a generic gpu block such as a Swiftech MCW-80 or something? I had a full ek block on my previous card but sold the card on its own with air cooler so I just don't think I fancy spending another £70 on a block that I cant use on another card come upgrade time. Obviously, the main issue will be keeping the VRM's cool, especially under load. My Case airflow isn't too bad, have a Fortress FT-01 with the front HD cage removed so the front 180mm is pretty unrestricted in airflow.

 

[Higadeb]

Just to clear things. The Ek 6970 block WILL work with a 6950 on a reference PCB as the 6950/70 share the same reference PCB. The following was taken from the EK website.

High performance water block for Radeon HD6970 reference graphic cards.
Block also fit on reference design Radeon HD6950 graphic card.

 

[Puppetmaster]

are all 6950's refernce at the moment? specifically the saphire

 

[Sayso]

yeh but i dont want 6970 on the side of my card might just get the XSPC or Koolannce cooler at this rate

 

[Andric]

Did you order a backplate? I bought one but having looked at it I don't see how it helps with performance, besides supporting the card all it does restrict airflow to the PCB it doesn't actually touch anything apart from a few tiny thermal pads they throw in. I had it installed but took it off.

nope I didnt - was gonna fit 1st and then see if it needed the back plate for support.

 

[An Exception]

my 4870 did similer temps to that watercooled with a ek block, my loop/setup is kinda crazy, but quiet and good cooling, i dont have any fans on radiators

sadly need to run fans to cool random stuff like hd's, mobo components, ram etc :\

i use a hd waterblock to cool my dvd writer aswell

How many rads you using?

 

[mmj_uk]

I've seen it reach into the early 40's playing Civ 5 earlier but obviously that has extra heat from CPU too, that's still fantastic I reckon... tbh I'd have been happy with anything sub 80c on water after witnessing the stock heatsink in action.

Cut my temps in half with near silence can't argue with that.

 

[Dazboots]

Got my 2 EK 6970 Nickel blocks coming tomorow.
will be running 2x 6950 flashed 2600k HK v3 full copper block. xspc res with 655 pump inside.
thermochill pa120.3 rad and a pa 120.1 rad. will post pics and info when installed.