THE GPU COOLER PROJECT

What I want is a GPU cooler that blows air in the usual “reference blower” direction – from front to the back and out of the case – but it should be three bays wide: my motherboard is nothing special but it has the 16x PCIE sockets 3 bays apart: why not use all of that space (60mm wide by about 120mm) to run a duct with radiators in it endwise? Then you could mount two of them side by side with no cramping and maybe get enough airflow to cool them quietly.

After searching the net I discovered that there are very few aftermarket GPU coolers for recent video cards and none of them really use the whole area to cool the GPU. There are several coolers that come on the card that blow air out everywhere inside the case and I think this idea is not a good idea: that will heat up things that should not be hot and worse still, hot air going into the CPU cooler is a very bad idea. The only thing going for these coolers is that they are simple and use easily made radiators.

I bought one of these, the Raijintek “Morpheus II” and it's pretty good, comes with all the extras to make it work, but there is a new problem: the whole thing along with fans is too wide to permit a second GPU to be fitted.

My motherboard has a gap of three PCIE slots between the GPU (PCIE 16x) connectors but the standard “blower” cards are only two slots wide. This does allow room for air into the blower but surely it would be more efficient to expand the cooling space to cover all three bays: that way we get more outlet area, more radiator area and a simple flow-through from end to end. This then suggests an ideal fan system of two 60mm blowers on the far end.

I have drawn this design idea up below.

The one area I am unsure about is the layout of the radiator for such a cooler: the fins must be in line with the airflow but I am unable to find any existing unit or parts that could be modified to do this job. You can get solid metal radiators that would fit this area but they have no heat pipes so they would need to be added – but most important is the design : such things must be designed right. I am unsure of how exactly to do this. Oh yes – you also need to make sure certain parts of the card apart from the GPU chip itself are cooled too.

The simplest idea is to get a chunk of heatsink about 265mm long, 55mm high and 120mm wide and then mount heatpipes under it to spread the heat out.

The ATS 2206-ND is an aluminum extrusion 300 x 93.4 mm in size and has fins 40mm high.

This might be used -or at least tried out – but there are problems with this idea:

1. Will it cool well enough? I cannot get heat data on the 1080 GPU other than the vague “250 Watts TDP” and the max temp of 90 degrees, at which point it thermal throttles itself.

2. Attachment? This is a big issue because it is Alu and there will be electrolytic issues to consider.

I have posted to a forum hoping that someone will help with this . . .  but I'm not holding my breath.  

I just had another idea too: maybe I could chop off the end of the card cover where the fan is and fit a bigger fan endwise with a shroud to adapt it . . . . .

 

PC Update December 2018

 Corrected PC Parts Prices

CPU Intel Core i9 7980XE                                               $2775

GPU Asus Geforce GTX 1080 Ti                                   $2000 (approx)

Motherboard Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming 3              $530 (approx)

Case Silverstone FT05B                                                 $419

CPU Cooler Noctua NH-D15S                                      $141

SSD Samsung 2TB                                                        $890

PSU Corsair HX1000i                                                  $326

Wifi Card                                                                      $79

Windows 10                                                                 $199

TOTAL                                                                        $7359

32in Display                                                                $1304

TOTAL2                                                                     $8663

This is therefore pretty much even with the $9000 iMac Pro price wise. On the other hand, having now used Win 10 for a long time I am quite happy with it.

Since I put the second fan on the CPU cooler, according to NZXT's CAM software (which puts a small readout on the screen), the CPU now never gets above 67C which is very good for a 7980XE.

Everything is working fine . . . . well, apart from the GTX 1080 Ti GPU: when I run The Valley it gets to 85C after about 15 seconds which pops up an alert. Note that this occurs regardless of what I run including Nvidia iRay, the whole point of getting the PeeCee - any time the GPU is run full power it gets hot and the card cooler is noisy and inadequate. This version of the card (ASUS Turbo GTX) cannot run full power without overheating. Well, that's how it looks on my PC. I am sure it works just fine for the average joe – but when I want to render it will be running full on.

The Video Card Fix

Okay, I know they try to keep GPU cards small but the downside to that is that when they cool them they cram a radiator and fan into a small space and that alone means noise, never mind the low efficiency of this design. In theory you could fit two video cards on an ATX board but the cooling would then be even worse – unless you upgrade the cooling.

so the next stage of my PC project is the GPU fix.

First, I had this idea at the start of the whole thing thanks to an English chap who does the YouTube channel DIY Perks - he made a GPU cooler without a fan for his silent PC project. I definitely need a fan but his work suggested that this might not be too hard, so off I went and got a Noctua NH-D9L as this looks like it will fit the space once the old cooler is removed . . . buuuut then there is the WifI card. My Mobo does not have Wifi built in so I had to get a separate card and wouldn't you know it, this will block the radiator on the GPU.

After some digging, it turns out the next model up, The Aorus 7, does have built in Wifi so I could buy one before I swap the cooler over, then sell off the current board and wifi card - but I wonder how much it will get.

This also doesn't mention the technical issues here either: I don't know what sort of special tool heads (screwdriver tips) will be needed to take the radiator off, the fan header will need to be changed, a special adapter plate must be made to bolt the rad to the GPU card and of course while all this goes on the PC won't be running – and then at the end of it all, will it run cooler than the original? I can only hope: in theory it should all be fine, and worst possible case I can always fit a second fan just like the CPU cooler.

I don't like the idea of buying more expensive parts and then trying to sell off the old ones so I think I have found another way: First, a different GPU cooler, the Raijintek Morpheus II.

The downside is that this cooler will have fans that blow horizontally which is not the best airflow according to my ideal of all vertical airflow. There is a lot of room “under” it however and I am hoping that I can make my own ducting to get the airflow out the end. Or in the case of my case, the top. Got that? On the other hand, maybe two GPUs can fit with this type of cooler in the space at hand . . . provided you can cheat more space by moving the wifi card – so I got a PCIE riser , basically an extension cable for the last PCIE slot that can then mount the wifi card alongside the GPU cards and thus provide room for the second GPU. I will need to create a new mount for it but that is a relatively easy job.

Just waiting for the cooler to arrive next month. I also bought two new fans (Noctua NF-12's) to mount on it . It's tempting to buy another 1080 Ti but I will wait and see how modding the first one works out first – and a used one can only get cheaper.

Final comment: Note that my preferred CPU cooler, although very good, still needed an extra fan to keep it properly cooled. It is no surprise that the GPU also needs better cooling from stock: but if Ihad got a Mac instead there would be no choice: you take their cooling solution and that's that.  I am much happier having a choice.

What about overclocking?

According to estimates on YouTube, I can gain at most 10% speed boost by overclocking. That's hardly worth the time and trouble for me - I want to focus on actually doing something, not tweaking.

Alright, I confess. I got another Mac. In this case, a Mid-2011 Mac Mini Server with a 4 core i7 and 16GB of Ram. It sits next to the PC and plays music and lets me surf the net while the PC renders. No, it's not a new Mini either. That came out after I had already got this one and it cost a lot more for something that does not need to be very new or powerful for my purposes.

The Asus Turbo GTX 1080 Ti

REAL SCIENCE

Have you ever had the idea that our science has become a rigid, bureaucratically defined fake?

I had that idea from childhood - even though I liked the idea of scientific study itself, our science seemed disconnected from the real world – all math and vagueness. Just consider the idea of “dark matter” - preposterous! Something is very wrong with your theory if you must invent some invisible “thing” to try and make your math add up.

Where is the evidence for The Big Bang, the Higgs Particle or the speed of light? 

We have been lied to, often and in detail. The first place I have seen where real intelligent people are discovering what the universe really is can be found at

The Electric Universe, from The Thunderbolts Project (thunderbolts.info)

This vid is quite long but it is full of amazing stuff if you have the patience.

This is what I really think is the truth: our universe is of unknown age and size, it is all alive and energy flows everywhere – we can't see all of this with our human eyes but it is going on. No big bang, no heat death, no invisible dark matter, no black holes. Life grows everywhere it possibly can and we are definitely not alone, and never were. 

Welcome to the living universe.

I gladly sponsor Wal Thornill and the Thuinderbolts Project as our best hope for a better future.

Personal Transport

Have a look at this:

 . . .  and here is where it comes from:
https://www.infentorides.com/kits/

This is Infento. It is parts you can assemble for yourself into various vehicles and then ride them.
Okay, so it is aimed fiirst at children, but the potential for this is great.
Yes, there is one model you can make from the Master kit that will handle 70Kg riders, it is a trike reclining bicycle (as shown above), so there is definitely the possibility of making something for adults  . . . . or is that "kidults" ?
You won't be winning any races with something made from Infento but that's not the point: just the idea of this is  great, I wish I had this stuff when I was young.

I wanted to ask them when they would bring out an adult version but there doesn't seem to be anywhere on their site to send messages.  Oh well, it looks to me like the joiners are made of plastic and by casting copies of them in aluminium  you could probably get a much stronger kit.

I keep looking at personal transport gadgets on the net, it seems to be a major interest.
I am considering getting something to ride on instead of taking buses, but it still needs to be compact enough to carry on a train easily (not a bicycle) . . . . I considered getting something powered but then you need to recharge it all the time - and it also ends up being a minus because it stops me walking which is big no-no.
Walking is the best exercise in my view - to replace it completely would not be wise. 
I could also get rollerblades but they have one serious problem: you can't take them off quickly and transition to walking for stairs etc.  . . . . . which seems to leave skateboards and maybe their newfangled powered cousins, and the Onewheel. The latter looks to have the best basic plan  - all in one gadget, one big fat tyre so it can go offroad and cushions your travel, but it pricey, in the 2000 dollar plus range. I have also noticed some areas of pavement that would make for spectacular boarding  so even before one tkes to the streets it may be wise to check out the terrain first.
This also brings me to the matter of crapping off. I have a helmet but it is not made for my shape of head and every other one I have seen in shops and tried so far seems designed to fit eggheaded people (literally), not me -  who seems to have a bulging forehead (maybe I am a Metalunan?) that helmets are not available for.  Maybe when summer returns I will practice grazing my knees and falling off wheeled things on weekends so kids can laugh at grandpa on a funny skateboard.

Something completely different

I don't play computer games.  Here is why:

There are a few games I have actually enjoyed that don't involve combat  - Monument Valley is really good but it is only on phones and tablets - this vid actually encourages me to try and make my own game but there is only so much time in my day. Even the relatively simple works I make on computer easily take up my free time. Still, if you have an idea for a good game that doesn't involve war and murder, let m know, maybe we can get together on it.  

The Rant plus Shutup10

For those of you who use Windows 10, you might want this: ShutUp10.
It's a free app that lets you turn off all those little messages to Redmond just in case they might be spying on you watching pron or something, I don't know.  Apparently everyone is supposed to be doing things with their gadgets that they don't want anyone else to know about.
Yeah right. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE RANT

Frst, I got Netflix here in OZ specially to watch The Expanse. Then they stopped at Series 2.
Okay, so it got canned after series 3 by SYFY in the US who have now sold it to Amazon because it is such a good show and the fans raised such a hullabaloo about it. (Some of them got a plane to fly above SYFY HQ trailing a banner saying "Save the Expanse!"  Yep. )
I still can't get any more Expanse.
Then there is The Orville. Somehow I can't watch it here in Oz AT ALL.
Am I the only person who thinks this is absolute Bullshit? We live in a world where content can be purchased online for a few bucks, but somehow the few shows I actually want to watch ARE NOT AVAILABLE HERE. Instead we get SHIT like Star Trek Discovery, which I have not watched, but thanks to DOOMCOCK I know enough not to waste my time on.

Yeeessss, I could muck aroun and use a VPN service to illegally spoof my location and watch American TV directly - but WHY SHOULD I NEED TO DO THIS?
 I am prepared to PAY for these shows, it is not as if there is some terrible shortage of bandwidth that would prevent these shows from being shown here . . .  no, this is nothing more  than stupid.
NOT ONE of the streaming services here - Netflix, Stan, Fox(?) Amazon Prime - even mention either of these shows apart from Neflix still posting those same two serieses that I have already seen.  
 There is no extreme violence or pornography in these shows - nothing that censorship rules might consider dangerous . . . . . oh wait, that could be it . . . . about the only thing there IS in these shows is perhaps some new, intelligent ideas that might make people THINK while they are being entertained - instead of sport, soap and phoney politics that seems to contain only personal attacks and fearmongering.
PAH!

Windows 10 Software, the Post – Mac Users's Guide

this is not a complete list, it is a work in progress.

All of these work with the current version of Windows 10.

Also, please note that I don't get any money or support from the makers or vendors of the wares shown here.

A good place to look for alternatives to wares you know and like is . . . ..

https://alternativeto.net

I can't thank these folks enough. Just fill in the name of whatever you want an alternative software to and pop! There it is. Or to be exact, there they are.

MaComfort 

I've already mentioned this one - it makes multiple desktops work sensibly. 

Even if you never used Mac OSX it would be worth it just to have that feature.
Actually it sometimes doesn't quite work properly - but that is because I use DAZ Studio which takes a lot of computer power just to open a detailed scene. It's also not an essential feature, just a nicety: nothing stops you from having several programs running and switching between them on a single "desktop", after all. That's what CTRL-TAB is for.

Seer

This provides the "Preview" feature that I really can't go without: just pick an image or movie icon, tap he spacebar and there is your picture! 

Listary

This does what Default Folder X did on Mac OSX – namely, remember where you opened that file from and let you go straight back there. The free version of Listary does that and more. To use it, when you go to open or save, click the middle mouse button and pop! There's a menu of everything you just accessed called “recent” along with some other options I haven't even looked at yet.

WindowBlinds

Once or twice, for a brief time before Apple updated their OS again, we had OS skins on Mac, but Apple DID NOT WANT ANYONE TO SKIN THEIR OS so they killed it. Not once but repeatedly.

Over in Windowsville, folks never had that issue: they have Windowblinds and there are hundreds of themes that work with Windows, 7, 8 and 10. All of this cost me a whopping $14 AU and there are lots of free themes, and some that you can buy too, although I am very happy so far with the free ones. You can also edit the colours of any theme to your preference which is very, very useful – and I haven't even dug into all of the features yet. There is also an editor for themes that you can buy for a modest price and make your own.  

This is sooo good! 

MicroSoft doesn't seem to mind either.

This one is called "Aspect":

FolderMarker

This allows you to change a folder icon to a different colour or a whole different icon from the right-click popup menu – and you'll see “Mark Folder”. This doesn't quite go as far as the Mac OS tagging system I went on about in previous posts but it sure helps a lot. The free version works fine but is limited to ten personalised icons. I got the Home Edition for $36 which has more room for icons but even the free version is perfectly usable. It is also a whole lot quicker than changing icons the standard windows way – it's there, but it's four clicks away and then you still have to find the icon and confirm it, twice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finalised performance info for you tech heads out there: I fitted a Noctua NF-A12 fan to the NH-D15S cooler to lower the max temperatures and it seems to have worked by about 5 degrees.

Now, running at 100% load, the Max temp is 75-77c with a max of 45-47 Db of fan noise from the two fans on full. I'm not so worried about the noise since I always have music playing when I am using the computer but it's there for your info.

Adding a second smaller fan to the D15S was the only way to get more air moving and it is a little bit odd since the fan that came with the D15 is a 140mm but the new one is 120 and faster – but nothing bigger would fit in the case due to the RAM height.
 

Performance figures- Blender Tests

Mac Pro

BMW               6:17        377

Classrooom   18:20        1100

Pavilion         20:00       1200

7900x

BMW              3:52        232

Classrooom   11:54        714

Pavilion        13:08        788

7980XE

BMW             2:28       148

Classrooom    7:32       452

Pavilion          9:58       598

So for all three Blender CPU tests, the time has been halved or better.