Hardware GPU Cooling

[Durelle]

Im a very adept computer builder been doing it for years now, but theres alwais something i avoided which was Liquid Cooling, or even GPU modifications for 3rd party cooling.

my Gigabit 280x (windforce edition) is sooooo loud, so im looking into other options since destiny 2 is comming out soon. Is it hard to get a rad for it, or should i just get another fan.

 

[migles]

EKWB sells kits to install on GPUs
there is also AIO like the corsair series which you can install...
i don't believe you can do pretty much... i am not aware that aftermarket GPU cooling solutions exist except for the liquid cooling options

PS: for that price of thoose kits, maybe it's time to upgrade?

 

[Durelle]

That's what I'm trying to avoid. I found a kit for 150$ but I'm wondering if it's worth it. My gpu was always loud but a upgrade would be 600$+. And the 280x runs fine on games I play. Those options you mentioned do you have links to where they sell them or information about the product. Things are usually a little more expensive here in Canada

 

[Armadillo]

For third party cooling for a 280X, you basically have the choice of:

Artic cooling.
https://www.arctic.ac/eu_en/products/cooling/vga.html.
Do both liquid cooling and air cooling. Neither options are very cheap.

NZXT G12 adapter
https://www.nzxt.com/products/kraken-g12-black + one of the Kraken AIO. Again, not a cheap option.

EKWB stuff is for proper custom loops, so that's out. Corsair do conversion kits for their AIO coolers, but you need the blower fan from a reference design card and don't think Corsair make a kit for the 280X anyway, so they are out as well.

All options are generally based on reference pcb design, so if Gigabyte has done any weird shit with a custom pcb, you might be out of luck.

Other than changing, you could try a custom fan curve. Reviews say the 280x windforce has an aggressive fan curve, you can notch it down a bit without much of a hit to temps. Could also replace the fans, like most customs cards the windforce has a rather nice heatsink under the shroud, 2 decent 120mm fans zipped tied to the heatsink would probably do a better job and be quieter. Just need to buy/make the relevent adapter to hook the fans into the cards pcb. Doesn't look pretty, but it's actually a pretty common solution and tends to work well/better than stock. I've done it myself when the fan on my old 5850 died.