Benchmarks, Thermals, and Noise
Benchmarks
This performs admirably in VR and synthetic load. No thermal throttling whatsoever. 3DMark Time Spy results:
The liquid cooling is allowing a much better GPU overclock, and comparing it to the prior result from months ago shows marked improvement:
However, I am having problems maintaining 5.2 GHz. Notably, my RAM, cooling, and power supply have all changed. There may be something about the RAM, PSU stability, or VRM cooling that's holding me back, but I'm not going to tear it apart just for another 100-200 MHz. Solid at 5.1 and may just keep it there.
Thermals
CPU and GPU are very low at idle, as is typical for any liquid cooling. Blasting Furmark and Prime95, my CPU spikes up to 68C as a result of the overclock but my GPU never crosses over 57C even after an hour. In typical high-demand VR gaming (Arizona Sunshine cranked up high) my CPU is typically 57 and GPU is typically 51.
Noise
This isn't a silent PC. At full blast, there is a low-pitched hum that can be heard from two meters (~6 feet?) away in the living room. It is similar in noise output to a gaming laptop at full blast, but at a lower pitch. At idle, it's silent. 100% of the noise is from the fans with no pump rattle or coil whine. For the intended purpose (VR in the living room) it's just fine: Either I will be alone with a headset and headphones on OR it will be a party situation where people are talking and enjoying watching someone play VR. This isn't a PC that you sit next to all day - it's one for a specific purpose and the compromise on noise is just fine.
Benchmarks
This performs admirably in VR and synthetic load. No thermal throttling whatsoever. 3DMark Time Spy results:
I scored 9 872 in Time Spy
Intel Core i7-9700K Processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti x 1, 16384 MB, 64-bit Windows 10}
www.3dmark.com
The liquid cooling is allowing a much better GPU overclock, and comparing it to the prior result from months ago shows marked improvement:
Result
www.3dmark.com
However, I am having problems maintaining 5.2 GHz. Notably, my RAM, cooling, and power supply have all changed. There may be something about the RAM, PSU stability, or VRM cooling that's holding me back, but I'm not going to tear it apart just for another 100-200 MHz. Solid at 5.1 and may just keep it there.
Thermals
CPU and GPU are very low at idle, as is typical for any liquid cooling. Blasting Furmark and Prime95, my CPU spikes up to 68C as a result of the overclock but my GPU never crosses over 57C even after an hour. In typical high-demand VR gaming (Arizona Sunshine cranked up high) my CPU is typically 57 and GPU is typically 51.
Noise
This isn't a silent PC. At full blast, there is a low-pitched hum that can be heard from two meters (~6 feet?) away in the living room. It is similar in noise output to a gaming laptop at full blast, but at a lower pitch. At idle, it's silent. 100% of the noise is from the fans with no pump rattle or coil whine. For the intended purpose (VR in the living room) it's just fine: Either I will be alone with a headset and headphones on OR it will be a party situation where people are talking and enjoying watching someone play VR. This isn't a PC that you sit next to all day - it's one for a specific purpose and the compromise on noise is just fine.