Is it worth cooling the graphics card by water?

Many of us are concerned with the temperatures of our components, as is normal. In the case of graphics cards, we usually limit ourselves to the fans that bring them. Sometimes this cooling is not enough, so we need another dissipation. However, we cannot put a heatsink on it, as with the processor. Therefore, let's see if the graphics card is worth cooling by water.

Index of contents

Water cooling the graphics card

Hydro X review link

Let's assume that this component is one of the hottest in the chassis. If we take a look at its temperatures, it may go up to 80 degrees at full performance, which can be worrying. Many manufacturers tell us that they are prepared to withstand high temperatures, but are you calm?

In the event that any of you are "the lucky ones" to have such a hot GPU, I suppose you have weighed options, right? One of them is to ventilate the chassis well by mounting several fans, etc. However, improving the air circuit may not be enough.

Therefore, cooling the graphics card with water can be the solution for cases such as:

Overclock to the GPU causing higher temperatures. Graphics card with insufficient dissipation. We want a silent team.

I would like to clarify the last point regarding " silent team ". I know there are a lot of really efficient models out there whose 50% fans barely make any noise. However, certain users want as little noise as possible. Therefore, liquid cooling enables a quieter experience.

Why water-cool the graphics card?

It would be nice to start with the idea that a graphics card can have millions of transistors that turn on and off constantly. This results in significant use of electricity, which generates a lot of heat.

To dissipate that heat, graphics cards have fans that blow hot air out. Here we find two possible problems:

The fans are insufficient to dissipate all the heat well. As a general rule, GPUs equipped with 2 fans. That the fans make a lot of noise and consume a lot of energy.

Here, water cooling seems like an option because it has a higher thermal conductivity than air. Therefore, we will be able to reduce the temperature of the component, which brings many benefits:

Longer service life. More silence. Lower energy consumption. Lower temperatures. Better performance.

Power consumption skyrockets when fans spin fast to expel heat.

However, not everything is rosy. Liquid cooling has a major barrier to purchase: its installation. Such a kit consists of the following:

Pump: the one that pushes all the liquid through the circuit. Reservoir: is the liquid or water tank that stores extra liquid and provides water to the circuit. Water Block: Installs on the GPU chip and is usually metal. It is the one that transfers the heat from the GPU to the water channels. Radiator and fans: the radiator receives heat through the kit tubes and expels it out of the PC case using fans. In addition, they move new air to the radiator. Tubes: are the routes of the refrigeration circuit, that is, where all the liquid circulates.

This does not mean that we do not need thermal paste, which will go between the chip and the water block.

We know that those who are not familiar with its operation can be overwhelmed with what has been explained. Therefore, tell you that there are pre-assembled systems that only require installation on the PC. It is true that they cannot be personalized as much, but they can be another option.

Finally, talk about the price. First of all, there are few companies that offer this type of system, which increases its sale price due to little competition. Their prices are not low, but to illustrate we are going to make an example of quick purchase.

System example

We must have a good graphics, at least, an RTX 2060 or GTX 1070, in Nvidia, and an RX 5700 in AMD. Say there are options for the Titan, Radeon Pro, Vega, and VII. In addition, there are universal water blocks.

Let's imagine that we have a Trio RTX 2080, so, soon, the price of the components would be as follows:

Water block: € 152.42. Fluid: € 16.17. Deposit: € 58.47 Pump: € 65.41. Radiator: € 54.80. Each fan: € 15.62. Each guide: € 5.40. Tubes: € 10 approx.

Total: € 378.29 minimum.

This is what a custom kit would cost us, but there are AIO (All in One) kits prepared to install and forget. Its installation is less expensive and easier, but does not offer the same performance. A quick example is this:

NZXT KRAKEN G12 - GPU Mounting Kit for Kraken X Series All-in-One Liquid Coolers - AMD and NVIDIA GPU Support - VRM Active Cooling - White

IMPROVE COOLING OF YOUR GPU: With a 40% increase in cooling capacity over standard cooling, you can get the most out of the GPU's clock speed for higher performance and better frame rate COMPATIBILITY OVERALL: Supports AMD and NVIDIA GPU reference and non-reference designs and over 30 liquid coolers, including future VRM thermal heatsink installation. VRM ACTIVE COOLING: Includes a 92mm fan that provides cooling Active for VRM and memory on the graphics card EASY INSTALLATION: Designed so you can install it quickly and easily, now you can place the graphics card in a horizontal position while installing the Kraken G12 COMPATIBILITY: Kraken X42 / X52 / X62 / 72 liquid coolers

27.95 EUR Buy on Amazon

Why isn't GPU water cooling not so common?

For two main reasons: the cost and the installation of said system. In addition, attention must be paid to the compatibility of the water block with the graphics card in question. Therefore, water cooling usually focuses on high-performance models that are characterized by being overclocked or by their high temperatures.

Taking a quick look at the water block market, I've only found systems for the new RTX, some old GTX, and some high-end AMD. Therefore, all the low and medium range are usually left out.

As for the cost of a graphics card water cooling system, it usually easily exceeds € 100. In this way, a large audience is left out of these systems, unfortunately. On the other hand, this is not a problem for those who have the top of the range GPU of the moment and who like overclocking. If you've already spent € 500-600 on a GPU, I don't think € 100-150 is an implausible investment.

All this without having the radiator, tank and pump, of course.

We also ran into the problem of system installation. Although for many it is simple, for others it is somewhat complex. So, we could say that whoever buys these systems is either because someone sets it up or because they are a computer enthusiast.

Not only that, the liquid cooling system is delicate, so it requires some supervision and good maintenance. Maintenance is not particularly expensive, but it already requires a periodic investment. Add that, if many do not know how to install it… fewer will know how to maintain it.

WE RECOMMEND YOUHow to configure mail in Windows 10

By way of conclusion, we can conclude that the profile of the buyer who chooses to cool the graphics card by water is a person who meets the following characteristics:

Computer lover. Overclocking fan. High-end component user. You want maximum performance. Find a good aesthetic. He wants maximum silence.

Do you meet these characteristics?

Worth?

There are many comparisons between a GPU with stock cooling and the same with water cooling. We will always have the coolest GPU with water cooling, but is it worth the difference? We will conclude this question with three premises: temperature, performance and price.

Temperature

On the one hand, we could say that it is worth it. The reason is that we can lower the temperature of the GPU up to 20 degrees compared to stock dissipation. Logically, it is an estimate because it will depend on the GPU model, the cooling kit and the overclock that we have made.

By this we mean that there are cases in which the difference is not so great. Likewise, lowering the temperature of the GPU gives benefits that focus on: lifespan and performance. The lower the temperature, the more performance we can get.

What is clear is that we will always have a fresher graphics card in this way.

performance

As we have said, the lower the temperature, the more we can squeeze this component. This translates into more fps in video games, something that is very interesting here. However, how many more fps are we going to obtain by cooling our graphics card with water?

The answer is it depends on the model, but also on three factors:

Maximum overclock possible by air. Voltage restrictions. Silicon lottery.

With all this, we are going to tell you that the performance difference can be, at most, 5%. Take this maximum as something unattainable in many cases. So, we can get up to 7-8 fps more than the performance we have over the air.

Tell you that custom is going to give us more benefits than AIOs, which are much more basic.

Price

Before we have made a quick budget on what a custom kit could cost, at least. Logically, there are other cheaper kits, but they do not offer the same performance. The price variable must be present because Is it worth the price?

Without wishing to create the typical debate, tell you that it will depend on your pocket, as on your expectations. We find all kinds of opinions: for and against. We think that, if you want maximum performance, you have to go through water cooling the graphics card because:

More OC possibilities. Longer service life. Quieter. Lower consumption. Up to 7 more fps.

On the other hand, if you are not going to do OC, the noise does not bother you and its temperature does not exceed 65-70 degrees… you do not need a system of this type. Not to mention the case in which you do not know how it works, how it is maintained and how it is installed.

In conclusion, to tell you that it is worth cooling the graphics card by water, but the cost of such a kit can be high. Everything will depend on what you want to get in return: lower temperatures and somewhat higher performance. Unless you have a very hot GPU, I do not recommend this cooling if you are not going to overclock and mount a loop with the processor. Nor if you have never installed any or have no experience with these systems.

We recommend the best heatsinks, fans and liquid cooling for PC

Do you have a kit installed on your GPU? Do you think it is worth it? Would you install one on your graphics card?