My Guide to Water Cooling 680i boards

[buffbiff21]

Okay! Hi everybody. I have seen far too many threads where people are just asking "what blocks fit" etc..

So here it is:

buffbiff21's Guide to Water Cooling 680i Boards

This list is not meant to be definitive at first - Please, post your findings and I will add them.


Northbridge blocks:

Danger Den 680i block

Swiftech MCW30

EK-NB EVGA 680i

EK NF4 block fits the Striker/P5N32-E, awaiting confirmation of EVGA or other board models.

MIPS Computer (Germany) makes a NB block

Innovatek makes a block that will fit the EVGA 680i. However its native tube support is 3/8.

Southbridge blocks: (this is asked the most; I even have seen someone running a Maze4 with a ziptie to hold it on)

EK NF4 block

MIPS Computer (Germany) makes a SB block

Swiftech MCW30, an easy to find block, fits on ASUS Striker/P5N boards with no problems.

HOWEVER it does not *naturally* fit on the EVGA 680i with vid cards in place. I'll show you how to change that. You need to either use different screws or cut the stock ones in order to fit. The screws and washers that come with the MCW30 are quite large; they stick out and prevent the video card from going all the way into the PCI X16 slot. Here are some pics with what I tried: (southbridge installation)

Mount them from top down. As you can see, it fits perfectly given you have a waterblock on the vid card. However you can also see this poses a problem: the screws are too long to mount upsidedown because they will run into the motherboard tray, preventing you from installing the board to into the case. I cannot verify if this trick will work with stock HSF on vid cards:

*note: in this pic, the screws were not in all the way because the board was laying on top of a flat piece of foam. They do not bow out like that. (I am only showing this first pic to show how to put the screws in)*


You need to cut the screws in half with a dremel. (this pic shows them already cut; you need 'em a little less than 1.75 centimeters)



Screw the washers on from the bottom of the board.



All done:



Innovatek makes a block that will fit the EVGA 680i. However its native tube support is 3/8.

Just found out this Koolance block fits the SB..


Mosfet blocks

If you are planning to watercool the VRegs be EXTREMELY careful. Specially if you are planning to use the solutions from mips-de. The contact surface is about 5 mm wide. If you tighten the bolts properly you will most likely warp the PCB, which will result on no contact whatsoever on the middle one. If you use less torque, the pipes will tend to tip the block, which will result in bad contact or chipped insulation. I'm not saying that this is the only possible outcome. I believe it can be mounted properly. But it will require a certain degree of skill and a great dose of patience.

Striker/P5N32-E SLI / P5N32-E SLI Plus kit
Not sure if it works on the EVGA or other models.

If someone could say which blocks work for the EVGA and other models, please do.


Air solutions:

Thermalright HR-05 and HR-05 SLi
I would not recommend running these passively.
Note that the HR-05 SLI will NOT fit on the SB with two 8800 cards and an X-Fi. It will lean on a resistor on the bottom card, and also not make proper contact with the SB chip.

EVGA 680i Southbridge fan.
EVGA makes this fan if you run water cooling on only the NB.

Vantec Iceberq
Basically the same approach as the EVGA fan, just different aesthetics.

EVERCOOL EC-VC-RE
Same as the EVGA and the Vantec.

Swiftech MCX159-CU



Again, if anyone has something to contribute, please do

[Omastar]

I think the VC-RE would do fine on the southbridge. HR-05 seems a bit overkill to me.

[serialk11r]

Perhaps on the southbridge a smaller passive cooler, such as the zalman NB coolers (but modded to fit)? Not everyone has the money to watercool everything just for the wow, or even use expensive heatsinks.

[Omastar]

Perhaps on the southbridge a smaller passive cooler, such as the zalman NB coolers (but modded to fit)? Not everyone has the money to watercool everything just for the wow, or even use expensive heatsinks.

Exactly, and the VC-RE is 8 bucks, and not very loud, either. I used one on my Ultra-D's chipset and was idling at 35C as opposed to 46C with the stock cooler, and NF4 was a hot chipset in general.

[buffbiff21]

Guys, the Evercool was already on there

What did you guys think of the guide? is it enough to silence all these redundant inquisitive threads?

[serialk11r]

Guys, the Evercool was already on there

What did you guys think of the guide? is it enough to silence all these redundant inuisitive threads?

Yup I think we need like, a few threads. 1. Petra's tech rules. 2. Please read stickies and google carefully before asking questions. 3. Use your common sense a little more often instead of making random threads.

[Mankz_91]

I'm pretty sure the EK NF4 fits on the northbridge, or mabey its just the striker.

[IanY]

Once and for all, why don't you make the grand announcement about how cold the SB on the EVGA 680i motherboard is. In fact, if anything touches the SB, don't they tend to freeze up and get stuck indefinitely through the icicles.. aren't there like condensation issues ? lol

[Snyxxx]

Thanks for doing the guide. I actually spent a lot of time choosing my motherboard to be able to water cool the NB and SB easily.

You could add the MIPS (Germany) blocks for the 680i boards.

http://www.mips-computer.de/

Please also note that the Striker, P5N32-E SLI and P5N32-E SLI Plus all use the same base PCB and water blocks that fit the NB will also fit the SB. For example, the MCW30 will fit both NB and SB without having to put the nut on the underside mounting as you have shown. Also, the MOSFET water blocks are also the same for all three of these boards.

[serialk11r]

Once and for all, why don't you make the grand announcement about how cold the SB on the EVGA 680i motherboard is. In fact, if anything touches the SB, don't they tend to freeze up and get stuck indefinitely through the icicles.. aren't there like condensation issues ? lol

I never said that, if that was directed at me...
I said watercooling isn't necessary, or even worth it (except for the bling/wow). There's a reason why all SB cooling on mobos suck.

[dinos22]

you're not using metal washers on the motherboard are you????

[buffbiff21]

EK NF4 added to NB,
MIPS added to NB and SB

you're not using metal washers on the motherboard are you????

Me? Negative. There were PVC washers between the metal and the mobo PCB in that picture. Besides, I am not even WCing my chipsets anymore.

For example, the MCW30 will fit both NB and SB without having to put the nut on the underside mounting as you have shown. Also, the MOSFET water blocks are also the same for all three of these boards.

I know they fit, but they will NOT fit on on the SB with video cards installed. (MCW30 were talkin about here right?) I have confirmed this. Either way, you have to cut the screws in half. The washers that come with the MCW30 are quite large; they stick out and prevent the card from going all the way into the PCI X16 slot. I have personally confirmed this myself on my EVGA board. I am assuming it is the same for the Striker. Look in the first picture I posted - you can see that the card is very close to the board, and anything vertical of those screws would not allow the card to go in. I will add this to the first post to make it more clear.

[IanY]

I never said that, if that was directed at me...
I said watercooling isn't necessary, or even worth it (except for the bling/wow). There's a reason why all SB cooling on mobos suck.

No it wasn't directed at you! lol

[dinos22]

EK NF4 added to NB,
MIPS added to NB and SB


Me? Negative. There were PVC washers between the metal and the mobo PCB in that picture. Besides, I am not even WCing my chipsets anymore.

oh right i thought i saw metal ones there.......don't be surprised i've seen people use them LOL

[[cTx] Nooc]

right, I was tempted by some pretty chipset blocks at petras, Enzotech brand.

[Snyxxx]

buffbiff21,

Actually the mcw30 does fit the SB block on the striker/P5N32-E SlI boards with two cards in SLI. The SB block is further from first video card slot than the EVGA and is a big reason I did not get the EVGA. The sb is almost right between the two.

[JamesTX10]

Please also note that the Striker, P5N32-E SLI and P5N32-E SLI Plus . . . Also, the MOSFET water blocks are also the same for all three of these boards.

Are you sure? Why would they not sell them as fitting all three boards then?

[buffbiff21]

buffbiff21,

Actually the mcw30 does fit the SB block on the striker/P5N32-E SlI boards with two cards in SLI. The SB block is further from first video card slot than the EVGA and is a big reason I did not get the EVGA. The sb is almost right between the two.

Alrightey. I will change it.

[RX7boricua]

Great job on this guide, it would've saved me quite a bit of time while compiling my list of WC components.

[JacobF]

Nice guide I am using a DD680i on the NB and the EVGA fan on the SB...

[ranker]

I'm not a fan of the EK blocks at all and plan on ditching my EK NF4 block for the MCW30 block for my SB. However, I'm wondering if there's a more aesthetically pleasing solution towards mounting it. The screws look like they're coming in an a strange angle (not sure if this is normal) which looks like they'll strip the holes in the board.

Are there any prefab screws that would handle this perfectly without having to use a dremel or at such an angle?

[buffbiff21]

Are there any prefab screws that would handle this perfectly without having to use a dremel or at such an angle?

The angle you see, is only present, because the board was on top of my table. The screws were not screwed in. Check the first post out - I edited my first post to make it more clear it truly looks sexy with all MCW30s

[ranker]

The angle you see, is only present, because the board was on top of my table. The screws were not screwed in. Check the first post out - I edited my first post to make it more clear it truly looks sexy with all MCW30s

As a swiftech fan, I did purchase two MCW30's. I had only assumed that the DD was better suited since it was custom built for the 680i NB. Does anyone know which one has the better performance? I'm really reluctant to strip down my loop for some more testing especially just before moving everything to my UFO.

[Jedda]

Water for my 680 chipset because I'm just so sick of little fans stuffing up.
That south bridge fan evga just released looks like the ones that used to cark my vid cards every six months or so a few years back.

[MrToad]

If you are planning to watercool the VRegs be EXTREMELY careful.

Specially if you are planning to use the solutions from mips-de.

The contact surface is about 5 mm wide. If you tighten the bolts properly you will most likely warp the PCB, which will result on no contact whatsoever on the middle one.

If you use less torque, the pipes will tend to tip the block, which will result in bad contact or chipped insulation.

I'm not saying that this is the only possible outcome. I believe it can be mounted properly. But it will require a certain degree of skill and a great dose of patience.