So I've only had air cooled components up to now. Aside from the obvious 'it uses liquid cooling, are they better than standard air cooled GPUs?

Yes owned a EVGA 1080TI Hybrid great at staying cool during gaming but pumps will fail after 3 yrs or so.If you decide liquid get extended warranty.

To put this in perspective for you so you can make an informed decision about whether or not liquid cooling is for you, keep in mind that building a full custom loop to run a fully blocked card (not an AIO card) is going to run you at least around $500 or more for the parts you need to get a loop up and running.
 
An AIO/Hybrid card will not run as cool as a full cover block card, but it will run cooler than air UNLESS your case's airflow is horrid - because the Hybrids of this generation (30 series) have 240mm radiators on them or in the case of the Kingpin Hybrid, 360mm.  Adding another radiator to a case that's already got bad airflow can definitely make it worse, and thusly the card won't run much cooler than an air cooled card.
 
For full coverage block, it's night & day compared to air.  You can scan these forums & see people talking about high 60s, low 70s or even 80s Celsius load temps on their air cooled 3090s in games.  My Kingpin is now under a HydroCopper block, with a full custom loop that has 2 radiators in it, and depending on the title, it's either high 30s, or in the 40s Celsius load temps for the GPU core.
 
I just played about an 4 hour session of CS:GO with some friends, GPU power draw with an undervolt/OC running was as high as 383W, maximum GPU temp was 45C, GPU2 was 43C.
 
So there's a big big difference in terms of running cooler - and then of course as others have mentioned, there's the noise thing.  With a well-setup loop, you can run your fans on a pretty darn silent setting, and still get excellent temperatures.  Whereas with AIO/Hybrid cards, or Air, you need good airflow in your case, and even then, you basically want to run the fans as high as you can still stand the noise of them so that it can cool your card down as much as possible.  Even the Kingpin with it's 360mm AIO radiator benefits from Push/Pull fans, and higher fan speeds.  Some people have tested and seen 5-12C drops in GPU temps just buy going to push/pull on their GPU radiator on their Hybrid card, and upgrading to better fans... worth noting, the fans on the Kingpin Hybrid stock are G_A_R_B_A_G_E, if you plan to get one, plan on replacing the fans.
 
The stock fans on the regular 3090/3080 FTW3 variant hybrids are pretty good fans, but they are very loud at maximum speed.  I can't comment on the fans used on the XC3 Hybrid variants.

MonkeyBanana
So I've only had air cooled components up to now. Aside from the obvious 'it uses liquid cooling, are they better than standard air cooled GPUs?

Liquid Cooled Graphics cards are the ****. They're the Bee's Knee's. The 30 series especially because they get pretty noisy when you are pushing them to the limit, especially the FE, the FE has a blower fan in it which are notoriously noisy, I sold my swapped my FE for a triple fan and never looked back, I'm in the process of putting together a custom loop and a water block from Byksky. I'm excited. You do need a nice rad for liquid-cooled cards, though, so a larger case is nice to have, especially as you need a place to put the pump/reservoir too. I really wish that EVGA sold just water blocks for their cards, I guess I'm going to have to stick with their air cooling once the damned queue finally gets too me... should be any month now... The best way that liquid-cooled cards improve upon their air-cooled 30 series counterparts besides the noise reduction is the VRAM cooling. I don't know why in certain AIB designs, the VRAM cooling was just completely overlooked, maybe an attempt to stop mining so much, maybe cost reduction, but you'll find a lot of TERRIBLE heat pads on the VRAM in like the Gigabyte and Zotac and Dell cards. On my card there were no heat pads whatsoever going to the metal backplate, it may as well have been a heatshield... Any overclocking of the mem at all causes throttling. Luckily there are a lot of custom water blocks out there. So yea, Liquid-cooled cards are probably better than liquid-cooled CPUs even imo, but it all depends.

Open loop parts are expensive and add up.  The radiators from EK are all around 100 or more depending on thickness and length.  If you choose other brands you could save 10-20 bucks, but if you need two then you are looking at around 150-200 minimum just for rads.  Pumps can go as crazy or simple as you want.  A simple D5 pump can go for around 50 bucks but once you start getting fancy with a pump/res combo or a distro plate you are easily looking at 200-400 dollars for that.  You still need to add your blocks for either/both your cpu and gpu.  CPU blocks have been pretty cheap and can be had for around 100 or if you want more the upper 100's to mid 200s just for the CPU block.  The GPU is another story, can get cheap depending on model of GPU you have and brand you go with. I seen some for the 30 series cards go for around mid 100s.  But then can also go all out for the Optimus and EK blocks which will set you back 200-400 dollars for those blocks.  Then the fittings and tubes.  If you hard line your system, the tubes and fittings along with the time it takes will all add up.  Soft tubes and fittings can be had for the entire system for around 100-200 bucks and is easy to install and maintain.  Hard tubes and fittings is another beast when it comes to time and money.  Depending on how you route your hard tubes and the angles you have based on what you got, you could easily spend 200-300 bucks on fittings and tubes.  Then fluids and prep solutions can add another 50-100 bucks or so for the initial and then maintenance based on what you use and how it holds up to use every 6 months or so.  
 
The open loop is for performance and/or enthusiast who use their pc as a form of artistic creation.  I use mines as stress relief as I like to build pcs as it is much different than my primary job.  With an open loop, your cooling can be much better if your system is planned out correctly and you execute your plan properly.  Thermals could be way better depending on how hard you push your pc, ambient temperatures, and what you use your pc for.  

For gamers, most should be fine with AIOs and a ton of fans circulating air in and our of the case unless you live in an extremely hot area or have bad air flow in your case.  For people who want to push overclocks to compete, then open loops provides them the one step under LN to maximize their performance.  
 
You just need to sit back and do some research into costs and if you think you have the abilities needed to install an open loop.  I would look at your pc as you have now, what you plan on doing with it, and then could you really benefit from additional cooling?  The nexus between ambient and your gaming/overclocking temperature is what I would look for.  You would want those numbers as close to each other as possible.  If there is a large gap and you are nearing or past thermal throttle then there could be a large benefit of using a properly installed open loop.  
 
Either way, good luck with your decision.  

Better temps and better temps on the ampere cards means higher boost clocks so better performance. (Though not a huge gain)

I think a lot of people confuse radiators with direct cooling ability.  Remember, there are two parts to water cooling: removing the heat from the component and removing the heat from the system. The better the waterblock, the better you remove heat from the component. Very simple. Get the best you can afford. The real thermal design issues develop when trying to figure out how much air is needed to be moved over any number of radiators while controlling your noise level. This is further complicated by figuring out the right amount of pump capacity to match your system.  Some radiators are designed for high water flow due to their larger internal passages which create a large pressure drop in the overall cooling system.  Some have more narrow passages but more of them which helps keep a more consistent flow across the entire system but overall have a higher rate of restriction.  The best water blocks have a very high restriction due to their design of many small, densely packed fins in the heat exchange area. Once that is figured out now you need to find fans that optimize your radiator choice while keeping in line with your noise requirements.  It's all a balance of efficiency.
 
Personally, I run 3 radiators but they are all pretty stupid. 2x Alphacool Monsta 480s are very open internally and have a lower fin density however if you keep your flow rate very high and have moderate speed fans they can keep water at ambient temps plus a couple degrees.  I also have a MORA3 420 external radiator which has a similar design where it requires massive flow. Because of this I run three pumps: 2x D5s in serial before my radiators to increase flow rate after my high restriction water blocks and 1 Little Giant aquarium pump after my last radiator which has excellent lift and pressure head specs which helps push the water through those high restriction water blocks. As for fans, I have 12 push/pull noctua industrials at 800rpm on the Monstas.  I have 4x 200mm noctuas also at 800rpm on the MORA.  Needless to say, my system is ****ing loud and I didn't even mention the second PC running in the same loop.  The whole damn thing takes an entire desk. That said I have a 5950x running 4.7 all core, heavily overclocked RAM (also water cooled), and my 3090 mining at 75% power level, an overclocked 3950x plotting Chia coin and my water temp is 5C above ambient (25c ambient, 30c water). My system is a compromise of cost/noise vs performance.  I realize many other people will hold lower cost higher than certain levels of performance or space requirements or noise.
 
The point of the post, I guess, is that you need to determine what your goal is ahead of time and figure out what you are willing to invest into it and what you can compromise on. I'm very lucky to have a partner that understands this is my hobby and doesn't care how much I spend. More info on each system in the comments here: https://imgur.com/a/gZntNRM
 

One thing I want to point out that no one here has touched on yet. Ultimately, liquid cooling is going to increase the total heat output to your environment if you use the extra headroom for overclocking. You're more effectively moving heat from your system components to the room's ambient air and increasing its temperature. One of the big things you have to consider besides your comfort level with noise and system performance is your overall comfort level with heat and/or your ability to remove that heat from your system's location.
 
I previously had my system set up in a small 12'x12' converted office with no fan on the second floor. Despite running my AC system with the fan constantly circulating air at a 74 deg. F setpoint, my system would still heat the room up into the high 80 deg. F range during the summer. That was with about 800W power consumption from the PC itself, plus another 100W or so from other components. It got so bad that I bought a box fan to blow out of the room toward the hallway air return duct. Moving the system into a basement room with about double the airspace drastically reduced ambient temperatures. Now ambient is about 65 deg. F without having to have the AC constantly cycling. It also doesn't kick up the fans nearly as much, so I barely even hear my computer any more vs. the constant whooshing drone of fans in my previous setup.
 
TL;DR: Make sure your computer room has enough ventilation and space to dissipate additional heat.

spiffy_1
Hey @Dabadger84, I see your system links but am curious on what youre running for cooling.  I've read a 3090 videocards sweet spot is 1 triple radiator.  I don't know about the 5950x but I would also assume a triple.  I think I see a triple in the top of your case but is that a fatboy quad radiator in the front of your case?

To radiator is a PE360mm x 38mm radiator, front is a XE 480mm x 60mm radiator, she thicc.  I went pretty overkill with the radiator dissipation because I want my temps as close to ambient, especially when idling between benchmark runs, as possible.  It also helps with load temps - switching from the PE360 to the XE480 in the loop when I only had the CPU in it dropped my load temps by another 2C - which considering they were already pretty low for a 5950X, is pretty neat.

You tell 'em, Jack.
 

rjbarker
A few months ago prior to replacing the 2 x 1080Ti SLi with single 3080 FTW3Ultra...there were 2 drain valves in this build (one so I could isolate GPU's)....total liquid damn near 2 Liters....all Bits Power Fittings...
XSPC Rads RX 480 ....EX360 .....EX 240...all set as intakes...another set of 3 x 120 fans at the front of the Corsair 900D all set to intakes (no rad there)...one single 140mm exhaust top rear....
 
GPU Temps always the same as ambient (and should be in properly set up efficient loop)...note load temps after an hour or so looping Heaven...the 1080Ti's OC'd pretty good (not outrageous as I hadnt flashed the BIOS....didnt need to)....
My current build is identical, just replaced 1080Ti's with 3080FTW...
 
I may rip it all apart and replace the MXIE Board / 9900k / Dominator 3200 with a Maximus XII Apex / 10900k and 4233 Ram....would like to see how far I can push the 10900k on that Apex board !
 
I'll see if I can get some pics of my 3080FTW w EK Block / Nickel Backplate ....load temps etc later next week.
 
 
 Found some pics with FTW3 Ultra w EK Block and Nickel Backplate....the Card is massive vs the Evga 1080Ti SC Blacks...the tube off the top of the Rez is left there for "topping up"....too lazy to disconnect it...harder to get decent pics of it .....I have had the 3080FTW3 Ultra to +160 / +1100.....but cannot hold a sustained boost above 2030 as Im one of the ones with a borked PCI-E #3 plug (power balancing issue) so even though I have the XOC 450W Bios I'm stuck at 398W Max draw......9900k easily overclocks all cores without much effort (1.325 v) to 5.1 Ghz with Uncore (cache) at 4.8 Ghz.....I can do some Benchmark runs at 5.3 Ghz (all Cores) 1.465v....but not a 24/7 set up.....for gaming CPU 5-5.1 Ghz....settled on +100 / +650 GPU...
 

That's an interesting loop you have there! I also have a 900D, but with a different setup. Kept the 3x120's for the front and 1x120 back exhaust, and I have an XE480 mounted on the top, another XE480 mounted in the basement (left side) and an XE240 on the other side of the basement (right side, shared with PSU). All are setup in push-pull except for two pull fans off the basement XE480 to make room for the PSU shroud. There's literally 3mm of clearance between the two radiator fan banks in the basement. I have a drain leg set up hidden under the mess of PSU cables in the basement. The one thing that I don't like about the 900D is that there's no good place to mount a fill line/port. You either have to go with your solution and just have tube hanging off the reservoir, or you have to hole saw through the structural metal of the case to mount a port.

Moving to  [Computer Hardware & Software] » Overclocking Lab

water cooling is addictive

rmorse27
water cooling is addictive

It definitely is......just be sure to buy a case that limits the size of your loop or loops ;)
 
You also wind up with a closet full of Water Blocks (CPU n GPU)....a box full of fittings...bunch of O rings...random pieces of compression fittings...spare pumps you cant part with...at least Rads are easy to sell..oh and a bunch of different length and types of hose kicking around....deserving of a cull every few years!

rjbarker

ahsany
liquid cooling is great as less noise and great overclocking potential but the catch is more investment and pumps might require replacement after some time and watch out for leaks !

My Laing D5 Varios have always been bullet proof...seem to last forever. One of them the little red dial broke off though, so did replace it.
OC'ing absolutely and far less noise than those ridiculous  howling jet drive GPU fans. I recall running Tri Sli GTX 580's on air....the noise and heat was insane.
 
Knocking on wood have never had a leak....only once I managed to pinch a little tiny O Ring in my SLi EK Terminal Block....but that was really obvious when I started to fill, pull apart re-seat that little tiny o ring and back in business.
The biggest pita for me was pulling apart the EK GPU Block to clean the fins on the heat sink.....never let that big O ring fall out.....its a real pita and frustrating as hell to get back in the groove and stay there when re-assembling.....anyone that has pulled the Block apart knows what Im talking about!!

My biggest problem was when I was first assembling my loop and figuring out that those EK XE Coolstreams absolutely NEED the little extension pieces to be water tight. If you try to run a standard G1/4 fitting directly to the rad without the piece, it won't be water tight. It's juuuust tight enough that it can hold liquid when the system is off, but as soon as you turn the pump on it starts slowly leaking out between the radiator frame and the interior reservoir space. It was a pain to diagnose and an even bigger pain to re-engineer the loop due to the clearance changes.
 
Also, don't get me started on loop maintenance in the current environment. I use Tygon B-44-4X tubing, and the only place I can find it any more are laboratory distributors that charge way more for it than PC or food/beverage distributors.