Will this setup perform?

[danstar25]

Only wcing 2 graphics cards. Currently have 50z, pa160 and 2 dd maze4 acetal blocks. I will be ocing the cards. Disregarding noise, with this setup is the pa160 my best choice? I will not be adding additional blocks to the loop so this will be it. If not this rad please provide suggestions.
thanks

[danstar25]

can anybody offer some help, or is this a stupid question

[BGP Spook]

I can offer stabs in the dark.
If we can get LHG in here he might be able to give you an APPROXIMATION. I have long since given up(long, LONG, ago) trying to guess performance in a specific fashion. So I do a lot of guessing.


I am unsure how much power the X1800XT sheds(assuming you are using your sig video cards), I would guess about 70 watts + or -. Saw someone swearing that it draws 100 watts of power, seemed a little high to me. But, then again, I am not familiar with it, and besides I am guessing.

So between the two of them they would produce about as much as a maxed out CPU.
From what I have heard the PA160 is plenty for a single hot CPU.(assuming you have a relatively ok fan on it)

Your choice of water block, the Maze4, is interesting. Especially with the 50z. If all you are going to cool is the GPUs then you probably don't need to worry about flow too much. Since that is the primary reason I have heard for getting the Maze4s. (low flow resitance and not much else)

So I would say your loop would work.

[Long Haired Git]

PQ and CW graphs for a DD Maze 4 anyone?
PQ and CW graphs for the PA 160.1 anyone?

Sorry, can't help.

Oh, hang on, let me check the question:

Disregarding noise, with this setup is the pa160 my best choice?

That's an easy one.
NO.
The best choice, ignoring noise, is to have as many 120.3 sized radiators as you can fit in your room in parallel so that flow is still more than 3LPM, and with the highest CFM fans on both sides at full 12v or ideally overclocked to 14v or more.

Bigger is always better.
More airflow is always better.

The PA160.1 was designed with the goal of the best radiator that can fit inside a case and be cooled by a single 120mm fan at low noise (ie: low CFM or running at 7v).

Do you require it to be inside the case? If noise is not a concern, then 120.2 or 120.3 sized rads will outperform.

[danstar25]

Yes I want it to be inside the case. It will be going in a LL v1200.

[Long Haired Git]

What compromise are you after for noise vs performance?
A 120x240 sized radiator with two or four high CFM fans will outperform the PA160, especially if your heat load is up at the 140W mark.
However, it'll be deafening, and you'll need to cut the case up to get the air flow through it.
If, like me, you want low noise, the PA160.1 is an excellent choice esp if it fits down the front and reduces/eliminates the dremmelling of your case.

[ElMoIsEviL]

I am unsure how much power the X1800XT sheds(assuming you are using your sig video cards), I would guess about 70 watts + or -. Saw someone swearing that it draws 100 watts of power, seemed a little high to me. But, then again, I am not familiar with it, and besides I am guessing.

Well it Draws over 250watts from the power supply's 12v line under load and 138watts or so when idle.
It's a beast... he's got two of them.

As far as how much heat it produces... probably 70-90watts of heat.

[Brians256]

Unless the card is transforming that electrical energy into some other form, all that 138W of electrical energy is going to be transformed into heat.

Pumps transform some input energy into mechanical movement, but I think video cards and CPUs all process information by transforming electrical energy into heat.

[BGP Spook]

Originally Posted by Brians256

Unless the card is transforming that electrical energy into some other form, all that 138W of electrical energy is going to be transformed into heat.

Pumps transform some input energy into mechanical movement, but I think video cards and CPUs all process information by transforming electrical energy into heat.

I don't think that is correct. Heat is (primarily) a byproduct of friction in a pump.

The heat from a CPU or GPU is a byproduct of...resistance.(I think) Kind of like how extension cords get warm when you push a lot of current threw them.

Please correct me if I am wrong.(as I oft am)
If someone can explain it better that would be great too.

[Long Haired Git]

Energy never "appears" or disappears.
It gets changed into different forms, but never dispappears.

Pump X draws 10W from the power socket. This electricity goes from a high potential state to a zero potential state in its voltage. That potential energy is transformed into other things. Assuming the pump and the rest of the rig are held perfectly still, there is zero net movement energy. Assuming perfect silence, there is zero noise energy. Thus, where does the energy go? The answer is heat. The pump motor is not 100% effecient and it gets hot. Ditto for the pump part. Even the movement of the water results in heat (again assuming tubing is still and everything silent). The friction of the coolant on the walls of the tubing and components converts kinetic enery of the coolant into heat. The pump and tubing and components then leak this heat into the air. Some of the heat from the pump's motor and the pump itself is lost to air from the pump body and doesn't impact water temps.

If a video card is indeed consuming 138W of energy you need to figure out where this energy is going. Assuming the cable to the monitor doesn't transfer many amps of electricity, assuming not much electrical power is returned to the motherboard using return lines, and assuming the video card doesn't power a fan and is perfectly silent, then indeed all 138W will be released as heat.

How much comes out the GPU is a question. Heat can be lost over the entire surface of the card plus also via sinks into the motherboard and also the back-plate is another question.

Wow, 138W? Really? Most modern CPUs only consume 90W or so.....

I suppose heavy over-volting and over-clocking can help...

[Long Haired Git]

Timely article: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/vid...ption2006.html

So, anyone want to help me with a bet on how much of that energy comes out the GPU as heat?

2/3rds?

I'd love to put card names in the drop down rather than just wattage figures as most people just don't know.

[bobo5195]

All as heat, thermodynamically. If it disipates it in the card then it is coming out as heat

there are other places of course but worst case is normally a good place to start in design

[bigben2k]

Originally Posted by Long Haired Git

Timely article: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/vid...ption2006.html

So, anyone want to help me with a bet on how much of that energy comes out the GPU as heat?

2/3rds?

I'd love to put card names in the drop down rather than just wattage figures as most people just don't know.

No bets, but it can be calculated, from flow rate and pressure drop. Gonna depend a lot on the design. In this case (Maze 4 GPU), it should be a very small proportion.