Soldato
I take it you've tried fitting the original cooler and it still has the same problem?
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Watercooled GPU - 3090
- Thread starter Zdb
- Start date
Soldato
Do they? Vertically mounted is perfect for watercooling as you can actually see fantastic block.
Each to their own I guess but that just looks messy to me. The side of the card when mounted normally looks much sleeker imo
Ok, I took the card out, stripped it down. Redid all the thermal paste, tried it in another machine. Same thing. Tried it without the riser cables, same thing.
the problem follows the card. I do t think I’m going to be able to put it back together again. I’m at the mercy of Zotac support - is it a fried card and I’m on my own, or will they take it back and look to repair it. No idea, I just have to wait now... I’ve put a ticket into Zotac, will wait and see the response. It would be most disappointing to have them say “you’re on your own...”.
the problem follows the card. I do t think I’m going to be able to put it back together again. I’m at the mercy of Zotac support - is it a fried card and I’m on my own, or will they take it back and look to repair it. No idea, I just have to wait now... I’ve put a ticket into Zotac, will wait and see the response. It would be most disappointing to have them say “you’re on your own...”.
There’s at least one YouTube video of a Zotac 3090 teardown out there if that helps you to put the original cooler back on.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mKnVkNatvpk
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mKnVkNatvpk
Soldato
Contact the retailer first. Put the card back together as new and don't mention waterblocks or bent backplates.
Happy New Year all...
move tried a few rebuilds, check for bends, replace thermal pads, etc. Nothing changes. I managed to get the air cooling back on - and same issue. Clearly something going on with the card itself. Works in Windows safe mode fine - overnight even - so I don’t think it’s a heating issue. Seems to struggle with running in default resolution.
I logged a ticket with Zotac RMA, and told them the situation. Either they look at it or they won’t. If they won’t, I guess £1600 fingers burned with a brand that won’t support the mod community...
Time will tell. If they won’t look at it, I’ll follow some of the Linus videos about heat gunning the board - nothing to lose, right.
move tried a few rebuilds, check for bends, replace thermal pads, etc. Nothing changes. I managed to get the air cooling back on - and same issue. Clearly something going on with the card itself. Works in Windows safe mode fine - overnight even - so I don’t think it’s a heating issue. Seems to struggle with running in default resolution.
I logged a ticket with Zotac RMA, and told them the situation. Either they look at it or they won’t. If they won’t, I guess £1600 fingers burned with a brand that won’t support the mod community...
Time will tell. If they won’t look at it, I’ll follow some of the Linus videos about heat gunning the board - nothing to lose, right.
Soldato
that is a nightmare my zotac 3090 hasnt dispatched yet i wouldnt have the stones to strip a card down£1600 samoleys down.
good luck with your rma i hope you get a new card soon..
good luck with your rma i hope you get a new card soon..
No, there were no Warranty stickers. I’ll see what the response is - it’s an email to Zotac for RMA - and no response so far.
On the 3090, i figured with the official EK waterblocks for the specific card, it would be fine. Clearly, either I did something to it or it was wonky before I touched it. I’m confident enough with these types of things to know I didn’t make a mistake - I work in enterprise server space, so I know what I’m doing on the hardware. But the thermal pads that it came shipped with were very poor quality - so if I bought another Zotac, I’d probably want to strip it and redo anyway. Which begs the question, why not wait for another Manufacturer. I’m willing to give Zotac the benefit of the doubt on their build quality if they have a good support for the community.
On the 3090, i figured with the official EK waterblocks for the specific card, it would be fine. Clearly, either I did something to it or it was wonky before I touched it. I’m confident enough with these types of things to know I didn’t make a mistake - I work in enterprise server space, so I know what I’m doing on the hardware. But the thermal pads that it came shipped with were very poor quality - so if I bought another Zotac, I’d probably want to strip it and redo anyway. Which begs the question, why not wait for another Manufacturer. I’m willing to give Zotac the benefit of the doubt on their build quality if they have a good support for the community.
Soldato
Actually quite a lot of the early cards used Micron, mine included.
Soldato
My arous has t had to rma it but the zotac has been flawless.
Associate
- Joined
- 24 Sep 2020
- Posts
- 319
Have you heard anything back from Zotac? I've just ordered the EK block for my Zotac 3090 but now am a little worried about ripping it apart.
Zotac encouraged me to simply put it all back together and claim warranty with OCUK. OCUK replied to me today, warranty is voided, as it's been opened and i replaced the thermal pads (yep, thats standard process for putting new waterblocks on - that you sold me). To say I'm a little disappointed is an understatement. So, I'm 1600GBP, plus 200 for the waterblocks down as it stands. That was an expensive trip into PC modding, thanks OCUK... Overclockers UK, where we void your warranty if you dare to try to mod or overclock anything...
I pinged Zotac back, and see what they say...
My advice - send back the Waterblocks, and run the card as it is. If you open it, the warranty seems to be voided. Should have waited for the EVGA.
I pinged Zotac back, and see what they say...
My advice - send back the Waterblocks, and run the card as it is. If you open it, the warranty seems to be voided. Should have waited for the EVGA.
That is disappointing and confusing, how would they treat warranty's with their prebuilt watercooled systems if the same issue happened on a card installed in that system.
They would honour the warranty like they should on a card sold separately especially if you have spoken to the manufacturer and they were fine with you taking it apart as long as there's no damage done to the card whilst opening it up.
Associate
- Joined
- 24 Sep 2020
- Posts
- 319
Faaaak, not good news buddy. Hopefully Zotac pull through. You should be able to get it repaired by Zotac if OCUK are refusing. Also if Zotac say the warranty isn’t void but you need to return it to the POS them OCUK need to do their part and send it away for repair for you. Zero cost them other than a little shipping. Poor show really.
Keep us updated with how you get on, my block is due to arrive next week from EK
So, I've tried contacting Zotac - but at every turn they just ignore my responses. Clearly, they wanted OCuk to sort it, and OCUK are following Zotac guidelines. So, I'm up **** creek without a paddle now. I've tried everything I can, it boots up into windows, maybe 35-40 seconds in and I get colourful boxes all over the screen. I've tried running it without fans, watercooled, heatsink only, stripped it down, cleaned it, heatgunned it, I can't make it do anything different at all. Something is goosed in it. Looks like its for the bin, and I'll buy something not Zotac. No big deal, I build a new rig fairly regularly, and normally stick to Asus/MSI for components and the first time I stray I get burned... 
All I'd say is, the lessons I've learned in the last 3 months;
- Zotac ran away. They wouldn't even answer emails. I've got a EK Waterblock and Backplate that is specific to the Zotac, but I'm happy to bin that as well to keep well away from Zotac. It's a poor quality build, the thermal pads were brutal, and I can see why there are plenty left on the shelf... It's an expensive mistake to make, but I've learned my lesson. If I can't get a quality brand, then just wait. Zotac are the biggest collection of chancers I've ever had the misfortune to engage with.
- OCUK are brutal. If you place an order for something in stock on the monday, they don't pick/ship until thursday/friday. zero likelihood of turning things around quickly. It's happened 3 times on this build when I needed something quickly. As a comparison, I ordered from a recommendation on here from a german site. Item was in stock, and i asked for normal delivery (from Germany mind), it arrived the next evening via DHL. WTF, the level of service compared to OCuk was night and day.
There looks to be a ASUS ROG Strix white 3090 coming - i may just wait for that, or go for the Aorus when its in stock in 2022...
After this build, which was in keeping with 2020 in fairness, I may just give custom loops a miss next time! But thanks for all the pointers, sometimes its good just to bounce thoughts with like-minded folk...
Stay safe people.
All I'd say is, the lessons I've learned in the last 3 months;
- Zotac ran away. They wouldn't even answer emails. I've got a EK Waterblock and Backplate that is specific to the Zotac, but I'm happy to bin that as well to keep well away from Zotac. It's a poor quality build, the thermal pads were brutal, and I can see why there are plenty left on the shelf... It's an expensive mistake to make, but I've learned my lesson. If I can't get a quality brand, then just wait. Zotac are the biggest collection of chancers I've ever had the misfortune to engage with.
- OCUK are brutal. If you place an order for something in stock on the monday, they don't pick/ship until thursday/friday. zero likelihood of turning things around quickly. It's happened 3 times on this build when I needed something quickly. As a comparison, I ordered from a recommendation on here from a german site. Item was in stock, and i asked for normal delivery (from Germany mind), it arrived the next evening via DHL. WTF, the level of service compared to OCuk was night and day.
There looks to be a ASUS ROG Strix white 3090 coming - i may just wait for that, or go for the Aorus when its in stock in 2022...
After this build, which was in keeping with 2020 in fairness, I may just give custom loops a miss next time!
But thanks for all the pointers, sometimes its good just to bounce thoughts with like-minded folk...Stay safe people.
if i was to take anything from this it would be - a card at almost hallf the price (3080) offers about 10% less performance, if i had screwed that up i wouldnt have been so out of pocket and could buy another. the watercooling would probably make up for that 10% performance gap wouldnt it anyway?
the only reason i ever use OCUK is because i have free next day delivery. there prices are always more than most other places.
but i cant beleive what ocuk have said. Zotac pretty much said they are happy to take it but you have to go through the shop you bought it from. so they could have taken it in and saw that it wasnt damaged from the cooler switch and then sent it off.
has this made anybody think twice about buying there card from here? i seriously doubt it. they would drop 1500 on one of these if they had "fallen off the back of a truck" just to chance it.
the only reason i ever use OCUK is because i have free next day delivery. there prices are always more than most other places.
but i cant beleive what ocuk have said. Zotac pretty much said they are happy to take it but you have to go through the shop you bought it from. so they could have taken it in and saw that it wasnt damaged from the cooler switch and then sent it off.
has this made anybody think twice about buying there card from here? i seriously doubt it. they would drop 1500 on one of these if they had "fallen off the back of a truck" just to chance it.