Discussion Horizontal airflow GPU cooling solutions?

[Piprian]

Hello!

I am planning a stupid project that involves putting a strong GPU into a ~44mm tall case that has no holes for airflow in the top or bottom.

The most doable solution I can think of so far would be taking the original fans off the GPU and using 2-4 40mm fans with a custom shroud to force as much air through the heatsink as possible.
I'm not sure if it would be good enough without a custom heatsink though.

The best possible solution I can think of would probably be something like the raijintek morpheus but with the fins oriented along the card and a bit lower profile so it would actually fit.
If something like that actually exists for consumers or there is a relatively affordable way to get custom heatsinks with heatpipes, please let me know.

A cooling solution that I don't have to build myself would be great, since I don't have any idea what I am doing.

Thanks for the help!

 

[tinyitx]

Just from what you have said, I doubt your cooling solution would work, particularly the airflow amount is just not enough.

Say, you use four 40mm fans. Use Noctua 40mm fan as an example, each provide a max of about 9 m3/h. With four, the max airflow is 4 x 9 = 36 m3/h.

Generally, a 'strong' display card has two or three 9cm thin fans. Use Noctua NF-A9x14 as an example, such a fan would provide about 50 m3/h. With two or three fans, it would have a max of about 100-150 m3/h, which is much higher than the 36 m3/h.

But, if you use not a 'strong' card but a 'medium' card (in ITX size) with only a single 9cm fan, it might be do-able.

 

[Piprian]

Just from what you have said, I doubt your cooling solution would work, particularly the airflow amount is just not enough.

Say, you use four 40mm fans. Use Noctua 40mm fan as an example, each provide a max of about 9 m3/h. With four, the max airflow is 4 x 9 = 36 m3/h.

Generally, a 'strong' display card has two or three 9cm thin fans. Use Noctua NF-A9x14 as an example, such a fan would provide about 50 m3/h. With two or three fans, it would have a max of about 100-150 m3/h, which is much higher than the 36 m3/h.

But, if you use not a 'strong' card but a 'medium' card (in ITX size) with only a single 9cm fan, it might be do-able.

I was afraid that was gonna be the case, though in my experience the fans on GPU's tend to be a bit worse than high end case fans like noctua.

The card I was thinking of using is the MSI RTX3060ti aero ITX which only has one fan so I might be in luck!

I'll probably go with an even lower tdp card since the CPU I'm using (i5-1135g7) might bottleneck an rtx3060ti anyway.

 

[tinyitx]

I was afraid that was gonna be the case, though in my experience the fans on GPU's tend to be a bit worse than high end case fans like noctua.

The card I was thinking of using is the MSI RTX3060ti aero ITX which only has one fan so I might be in luck!

I'll probably go with an even lower tdp card since the CPU I'm using (i5-1135g7) might bottleneck an rtx3060ti anyway.

Yes, GPU's fans are usually not as strong as a discrete fan but the difference is not that far off. And that is why I used a slim Noctua fan as comparison too.

Anyway, I reckon a MSI 3060Ti Aero ITX is too strong for an i5-1135G7. This CPU is more an entry level CPU.
And, it is going to be CPU bound, especially when gaming and when the resolution is relatively low (eg 1920x1080).

If you have the budget to get a 3060Ti, is there any reason why you cannot allocate part of the money to buy a better CPU so that the capability of the CPU and the GPU are more balance?

If I were to choose a GPU to match the i5-1135G7, I would go down to MSI 2060 Aero ITX (160W TDP) from 3060Ti Aero ITX (200W TDP) at least. If available, I would even consider using a 1660Ti Aero ITX (120W TDP).

 

[Piprian]

Yes, GPU's fans are usually not as strong as a discrete fan but the difference is not that far off. And that is why I used a slim Noctua fan as comparison too.

Anyway, I reckon a MSI 3060Ti Aero ITX is too strong for an i5-1135G7. This CPU is more an entry level CPU.
And, it is going to be CPU bound, especially when gaming and when the resolution is relatively low (eg 1920x1080).

If you have the budget to get a 3060Ti, is there any reason why you cannot allocate part of the money to buy a better CPU so that the capability of the CPU and the GPU are more balance?

If I were to choose a GPU to match the i5-1135G7, I would go down to MSI 2060 Aero ITX (160W TDP) from 3060Ti Aero ITX (200W TDP) at least. If available, I would even consider using a 1660Ti Aero ITX (120W TDP).

That definitely sounds like a much more reasonable choice haha.

I will take a closer look at the GPU's once the market actually calms down again.

 

[jakejm79]

Yes, GPU's fans are usually not as strong as a discrete fan but the difference is not that far off. And that is why I used a slim Noctua fan as comparison too.

Anyway, I reckon a MSI 3060Ti Aero ITX is too strong for an i5-1135G7. This CPU is more an entry level CPU.
And, it is going to be CPU bound, especially when gaming and when the resolution is relatively low (eg 1920x1080).

If you have the budget to get a 3060Ti, is there any reason why you cannot allocate part of the money to buy a better CPU so that the capability of the CPU and the GPU are more balance?

If I were to choose a GPU to match the i5-1135G7, I would go down to MSI 2060 Aero ITX (160W TDP) from 3060Ti Aero ITX (200W TDP) at least. If available, I would even consider using a 1660Ti Aero ITX (120W TDP).

I suspect its a packaging requirement to use the 1135G7, since that is a mobile CPU and normally soldered directly to whatever motherboard (nuc11 pro board maybe) they are using.

You could always try pairing it with a Mobile 2060 Max P or something, lol.

 

[Piprian]

I suspect its a packaging requirement to use the 1135G7, since that is a mobile CPU and normally soldered directly to whatever motherboard (nuc11 pro board maybe) they are using.

That's exactly what it is haha.

You could always try pairing it with a Mobile 2060 Max P or something, lol.

Is that an MXM card?

I've considered MXM cards but it seems there is no m.2 to MXM adapter. Also iirc MXM cards are hard to find.

I'm not sure if an adapter chain (m.2 - PCIe - MXM) would work. It would probably take some high quality, well shielded riser cables.

And then there's the problem with cooling an MXM card but that is probably pretty easy to solve.

 

[jakejm79]

That's exactly what it is haha.

Is that an MXM card?

I've considered MXM cards but it seems there is no m.2 to MXM adapter. Also iirc MXM cards are hard to find.

I'm not sure if an adapter chain (m.2 - PCIe - MXM) would work. It would probably take some high quality, well shielded riser cables.

And then there's the problem with cooling an MXM card but that is probably pretty easy to solve.

No it was a reference to Phantom Canyon, a tiger lake CPU paired with a discrete mobile GPU (specifically the 2060 max p) :-)

Personally I went with a 1650, put that's so the whole thing is sub 1.5L

 

[Piprian]

No it was a reference to Phantom Canyon, a tiger lake CPU paired with a discrete mobile GPU (specifically the 2060 max p) :-)

Personally I went with a 1650, put that's so the whole thing is sub 1.5L

Ah phantom canyon! I was considering getting that but now I'm getting a Tiger canyon instead. Mostly because it's much cheaper but also because the phantom canyon board won't fit my case without modifications.

The case I'm planning to use is ~1.45L. Interesting to see someone with a similar build!

I'm definitely considering the 1650 for space reasons but it still has it's fans oriented right into a wall for my case.

Also it would just be funny to have something like an RTX 3060ti in a 1.5L case.