Water cooling two RTX 3090

iamgianluca

iamgianluca

New member
Hi,

I currently own a Gigabyte RTX 3090 Turbo and add a second one later this year, as soon as prices become more accessible. The GPU is too loud for my taste, so I was thinking of water cooling it. The GPU runs at full load pretty much 24/7, as I'm using it to train machine learning models. I've currently power-limited the GPU to use max 280w instead of 350w, as the performance degradation is minimal (~5%) whilst the heat generated is significantly less ― which also helps keep the GPU's fan to a more bearable noise level.

If I go for a water cooling solution, I see two options:
  • Custom loop:
    • What pump, reservoir, and radiator should I choose to cool 2x3090 running at full load 24/7? I would pair those with 2 Eisblock Aurora
  • 2 separate AIOs, 1 for each RTX 3090:
    • Can an AIO solution like the Eiswolf 2.0 take care of a 3090 running at full load 24/7?
    • Can an AIO solution like the Eiswolf 2.0 give you temperature comparable to those of a custom loop? If temperatures are comparable ― maybe just a few degrees Celsius away ― I would be glad to reduce maintenance to zero for go with 2 AIOs
My case is a Corsair Air 540 ATX Mid Tower Case. I'm not sure how easy it is to fit a radiator in it. I have fans already fitted both on the front to suck in some fresh air and one fan on the back to get rid of the hot air. I think there should be space on the top to fit a radiator, or at least I've seen pictures on the internet of people doing it.

My ultimate goal is to have a quiet solution and does not incur thermal throttling with a system running at full load pretty much 24/7. I would also love to keep maintenance to a minimum.

Many thanks,
Luca
 
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Eddy

Eddy

Iceman
Staff member
The Eiswolf 2 AIO cooler for the RTX 3090 will only be released in 2-3 months. However, they will only ship with 360 mm radiators. You only have room in your case for one 360 mm radiator and then another 280 mm. Therefore, they are already omitted. So you only have the option of a DIY cooling system.

Unfortunately, the case is anything but ideal for water cooling. Large case with little interior space due to the layout.
But in any case, you will be able to operate it much quieter than with air coolers. There is no question about that. Especially if you don't want record temperatures and the GPUs can get up to 60 degrees, you can build a relatively quiet system. If you want to have it absolutely silent, then you will not get around another case.
 
iamgianluca

iamgianluca

New member
Hi Eddy! Thank you for your reply.

My RTX 3090 currently gets up to 72 degrees at full load. So 60 degrees sounds more than reasonable to me. Do you think I could achieve that temperature when having 2x3090 in the same custom loop? As mentioned, both will be running 24/7 at full load.

What radiator, pump, and reservoir would you recommend?

Regarding the case, I'm not against considering a different one if it can make a huge difference.
 
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Eddy

Eddy

Iceman
Staff member
I wouldn't necessarily change the housing now. It's there now, not perfect, but you can work with it.
Integrating both cards in a circular drive is actually the usual way with a water cooling system. That's not a problem.

With the pump and the AGB, you actually have a free choice. A DDC310 or a VPP655/755 are best suited for this. I would rather take a 655 or 755, which can also be controlled via PWM, the DDC is unfortunately very difficult to regulate. It is quiet and powerful enough, but some people want more power, others want it quieter, which is difficult to manage.

I am unsure about the expansion tank. Unfortunately, I can't estimate the space available. I would have gone for an ice station D5 and placed it below the graphics card on the bottom of the case. But I don't know how much space is left with two graphics cards. Maybe the AGB could also fit behind the mainboard tray, but that would have to be measured.

Eisstation D5 version
Maybe you can measure it yourself?
 
B

Balnazzar

New member
Eddy said:
The Eiswolf 2 AIO cooler for the RTX 3090 will only be released in 2-3 months.
Click to expand...

Hi. Thanks for that valuable piece of information. You said 'RTX 3090', but as we very well know, they come is a wide variety of PCBs..

Will your AIO fir for our 3090, that is, the Gigabyte Turbo? Is has the same PCB as the Gaming/Eagle model. Sure, we could go for a custom loop, but we work with our workstations and we cannot afford long downtimes, periodic maintenance, drain, refill, and whatnot.

So, it's important that you confirm the compatibility, so that we can decide whether to go for a custom loop or stay on air and have our eardrums permanently damaged.


iamgianluca said:
I currently own a Gigabyte RTX 3090 Turbo
Click to expand...

Hey Gianluca..! How are you, old chap..?
 
B

Balnazzar

New member
Eddy said:
You only have room in your case for one 360 mm radiator and then another 280 mm. Therefore, they are already omitted.
Click to expand...

Mh, he could stack the two 360s one upon another. Sure, the second one will have a slightly worse coolant temp, but I think it will suffice.

Or, of course, he could ditch his 540 and buy a Dynamic XL.
 
iamgianluca

iamgianluca

New member
Hey Andrea! Long time no see :)

I researched a little the maintenance needed for a custom loop, and honestly, I don't think I would like to do all of that every six months.

An AIO would be my preferred solution if it can handle an RTX 3090 running at full load 24/7 while keeping it at 60 degrees. As Andrea mentioned, we both have RTX 3090 Turbos. Would the Eiswolf 2.0 fit the PCB of the Gaming/Eagle/Turbo model?

I can buy a bigger case when I get the second RTX 3090 as there is no space to fit neither 2 AIO 360mm nor a custom loop. I think I can fit a 360mm AIO for now, though.
 
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Eddy

Eddy

Iceman
Staff member
Maintenance every 6 months is actually nonsense. We have systems running here in the office that have not been maintained for 5 years. As long as you use normal clear liquids and follow the guidelines, you don't have to do any maintenance at all. Of course, you should check every now and then that there is enough water in the circuit, but even that only needs to be done once a year and if necessary topped up a little because you always lose some water over time through diffusion.

But apart from that.... if you don't use any fab liquids, home-made stuff or PA adjusting liquids, there's really nothing to maintain.
 
iamgianluca

iamgianluca

New member
That's interesting. Thank you for the tip Eddy! Every other source I found was recommending regular maintenance every 6 months. Normal clear liquids are perfectly fine by me. Would the Alphacool Tec Protect Ultra Clear be all I need?

What do you think about this loop?

  1. Alphacool NexXxoS XT45 Full Copper 360mm radiator V.2
    • Paired with three Noctua NF-A14 FLX, Premium Quiet Fan, 3-Pin (140mm, Brown)
  2. Alphacool Eisstation VPP reservoir incl. Alphacool Eispumpe VPP755 V.3 pump
  3. Alphacool Eisblock Aurora Acryl GPX-N RTX 3090/3080 Gaming/Eagle with Backplate
In terms of tubes, I was thinking of getting the Alphacool tubing AlphaTube HF 13/10 (3/8"ID) - Ultra Clear 1m (3,3ft). I'm assuming they should be compatible with the rest of the system (?). Do I need to get any other accessories, like grommets, etc... or should that be all I need?

I can add a second radiator to the loop when I get the second RTX 3090.
 
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Eddy

Eddy

Iceman
Staff member
The 6 months are always given for safety reasons because customers like to use the wrong liquids or use coloured liquids of all kinds. Then a complete cleaning is sometimes necessary. With normal clear liquids, however, this is completely exaggerated.

Well, you still need all the connections. Two connections per component, i.e. two for the radiator, two for the expansion tank, etc.!
Possibly a few angle pieces. But it's best to draw your circuit roughly on paper, then you can quickly see where you need a straight and where an angled connection. Of course, you can then add another radiator and the graphics cards to the circuit. But then you'll probably have to drain the system again. Or you can install a quick-release fastener directly. Then you can install the two components without having to completely empty the system. And Tec Protect fits.
Tube is ok. I peronally prefere the 12,7/6,7mm TPV tube. But than, you need also the TVP fittings.
 
iamgianluca

iamgianluca

New member
I've built the custom loop using the pieces mentioned above and temps reduced dramatically. With the power limit set to 280 watts, before I was getting 72 degrees at full load, now 43 degrees!

If I want to add a second 3090 to the custom loop, what would be the best way to connect the two GPU water blocks? I noticed Alphacool produces some SLI connectors (for 3 or 4-slot spacing) but I'm not entirely sure if these are compatible with the Alphacool Eisblock Aurora Acryl GPX-N RTX 3090/3080.

EDIT: Just came across this message which says that the old adapter doesn't work with the new Aurora water block. The new adapter will be available later this year. Alternative, the suggestion is to use two 90 degree fittings to connect the two cards. I will probably do that.
 
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