[GPU related] Watercool it, trade it, or wait to upgrade?

[royalba94]

Hey all!


As the title says, I'm trying to analyze my options for watercooling my zotac 980ti - bitspower apparently made a block for it at one point but I can't find anywhere to buy it :/


And before anyone asks why I want to watercool it since it has such a great cooler already I'll answer that now - I want more quiet since I have my PC next to me. I I've got an EK Predator on my CPU and all the rest of the parts I need to expand it to a full loop the only problem is the GPU.


I have a GTX 1060 and an EKWB GTX 1080 block that will fit it but since I'm driving a Predator x34 monitor I'd like the better performance from the 980ti.


______________________________


So my options as I see it are thus:


1. Sell the EK block + backplate and universal block for the 980ti


2. Try and trade for a GTX 1070 or 1080


3. Sell the 980ti and deal with the 1060 until I can save enough for a 1080


Any thoughts or other options?

I'd appreciate any input as I've been debating this for almost 2 weeks now...


Thx!

 

[jmarin]

EK also made full cover blocks for the 980 Ti's. They also have universal GPU only blocks. I would stick with the 980 Ti unless you can get a good amount of money for it. You can get a 1080 on newegg around $600. Ti's obviously run higher.

 

[AleksandarK]

I would strongly suggest you to sell 980 ti and deal with 1060 for a while. Turning(GTX 11 series) is in July, so that will replace 1080. Better sell 980ti ASAP, as when new series launch, it will drop in price a lot because it will be 2 generation old card. You will be much better off waiting for 11 series, as it is only couple months away.

My 2 cents.....

 

[royalba94]

EK also made full cover blocks for the 980 Ti's. They also have universal GPU only blocks. I would stick with the 980 Ti unless you can get a good amount of money for it. You can get a 1080 on newegg around $600. Ti's obviously run higher.

Thanks for the opinion!

EK makes a lot of blocks but they never ended up making one that's compatible with the Zotac 980ti AMP! Extreme that I have - I assume because they figured that anyone who bought this card got it for it's great air cooler. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I would strongly suggest you to sell 980 ti and deal with 1060 for a while. Turning(GTX 11 series) is in July, so that will replace 1080. Better sell 980ti ASAP, as when new series launch, it will drop in price a lot because it will be 2 generation old card. You will be much better off waiting for 11 series, as it is only couple months away.

My 2 cents.....

This is a good point that I hadn't thought of - I'll probably do this since I don't game too often (although that's changing since I just picked up Battlefront II after the progression update ) assuming I can get decent enough balance of quality and fps out of it to still enjoy.

I'll likely lost it soon since like you say it's only a few months away and the wait-dont-buy advice parade is probably just starting

Thank you very much for the opinion!

 

[Phuncz]

I'd also recommend selling the GTX 980Ti while it still has value. Just play some less demanding games for a while, lower graphical detail or set the resolution to 2560x1080 (75% of 3440x1440).

 

[Josh | NFC]

Hey @royalba94

Universal blocks like Koolance's GPU-210 are great for situations like these. You won't ever need to sell it, and comes in really handy for liquid cooling hardware you don't want to invest in a full coverage block for.

Yes, you will need some stick on heatsinks and some air cooling over it, but you can still get great temps and push the card further and quieter.

https://koolance.com/gpu-210-video-card-vga-chipset-water-block

 

[royalba94]

I'd also recommend selling the GTX 980Ti while it still has value. Just play some less demanding games for a while, lower graphical detail or set the resolution to 2560x1080 (75% of 3440x1440).

Thx! I tried out using the 1060 again and it didn't seem to hold me back much once I lowered settings so I'm leaning towards this option.

Hey @royalba94

Universal blocks like Koolance's GPU-210 are great for situations like these. You won't ever need to sell it, and comes in really handy for liquid cooling hardware you don't want to invest in a full coverage block for.

Yes, you will need some stick on heatsinks and some air cooling over it, but you can still get great temps and push the card further and quieter.

https://koolance.com/gpu-210-video-card-vga-chipset-water-block

Thx for your input Josh!

I didn't know about that Koolance option so I'll be sure to give it a look. I also went poking around on the ModMyMods site and saw the Watercool DIY kit but A) it's out of stock and B) I'm not sure how I'd cut down the VRM cold plate. :/

 

[Josh | NFC]

Thx! I tried out using the 1060 again and it didn't seem to hold me back much once I lowered settings so I'm leaning towards this option.



Thx for your input Josh!

I didn't know about that Koolance option so I'll be sure to give it a look. I also went poking around on the ModMyMods site and saw the Watercool DIY kit but A) it's out of stock and B) I'm not sure how I'd cut down the VRM cold plate. :/

The problem with the Watercool version is that it's not a truly universal design because it extends over the cards. I LOVE the satellite block but they need to make a universal version. That would be awesome!

 

[royalba94]

The problem with the Watercool version is that it's not a truly universal design because it extends over the cards. I LOVE the satellite block but they need to make a universal version. That would be awesome!

That's true, didn't think about that. They really should make a more universal version cause looking at the PCB of my card it'd hang over some of the RAM modules which would preclude me from cooling them :[

What would be awesome is a new version with more options for the satellite blocks so you can basically have the fullcover block experience in a universal package - that's probably asking too much tho lol

 

[Josh | NFC]

Email them! Send a link with my video where I mod theirs. They need input to make new stuff for sure like any company. I gave my feedback and they would value everyone's input here.

 

[royalba94]

Email them! Send a link with my video where I mod theirs. They need input to make new stuff for sure like any company. I gave my feedback and they would value everyone's input here.

Yeah, why not - it's worth a shot anyways

And I thought I had seen a video of someone modding it but I couldn't remember who it was - Thanks for being awesome!