GTX 780 SLI performance boost using water cooling
GTX 780 SLI performance boost using water cooling
so i currently have a pair of 780's in SLI and i'm weighing whether it's worth investing in a water loop for overclocking. right now they reach about 85c with stock speeds, so I can't do an overclock on them. i did get 150MHZ OC with an air conditioner blowing into the case, though that's clearly not a practical solution. basically, my concern is if it's worth spending money on a water setup just for maybe 200MHZ. the 780's are solid, but they're not strong enough against the latest games anymore. i think a decent overclock would really help them, but i'm still unsure if it's worth it.
I own two GTX580 models that I've overclocked. The stock speed is 772Mhz, but with the water cooling they reach up to 850Mhz. With the current setup featuring three 360mm radiators, it runs at around 73C under load, and at 930Mhz it hits 49C. Using a more advanced water cooling system could push them even higher to 930Mhz, but that would be 73C. If your GTX780 is already running at 85C and you're comfortable with that heat, then investing in a good water cooling solution should bring you the performance you need. However, for those still using GTX780 models, a 200Mhz overclock is achievable and considered a solid upgrade for GPUs. Here’s a test setup I built using just two 360mm radiators: For more details, check these links: I’m currently working on a build with all three 360mm radiators to push my hardware further. I don’t want it running above 50C under load, so I’m hoping this information will help you decide whether to upgrade to water cooling. Thanks.
Strictly for a performance standpoint, it wouldn't justify the expense. The cost of full-cover blocks for the cards, along with rads, pump, tubing, etc., would exceed the price of a new card. A single upcoming GTX 1070 would be faster than your 780s even if heavily overclocked for a much lower price. Two blocks alone would easily total $250, let alone the rest. In short, you could improve performance and reduce noise/temperatures significantly, but if your main goal is after-performance, I believe you'd be better off investing in a new GPU.
Strictly from a performance standpoint, it wouldn't justify the expense. The cost of full-cover blocks for the cards, along with additional components like rads, pump, tubing, etc., would exceed the price of a new card. A single upcoming GTX 1070 would be faster than your older models even if they were overclocked, and for much less money. Two blocks alone would cost around $250, let alone the rest. In short, you could improve performance while reducing noise and temperatures, but if your main goal is just better performance, I believe investing in a new GPU would be more sensible.
Tony T23 is considering whether investing in a water loop setup is worthwhile for his 780's, especially to boost their performance. He notes they currently run around 85c at stock speeds and can only achieve 150MHZ overclock without using an air conditioner, which he finds impractical. He questions if the extra 200MHZ would be worth it given the current limitations of the games and the uncertainty of future driver support. He also mentions his experience with GTX 780 SCs in SLI and compares them to his GTX Titan, suggesting that the latter is more capable and less affected by driver changes. He advises caution before spending money on water cooling for such a modest performance gain.