3080 FE waterblock v AIO question

JollyJamma

JollyJamma

JollyJamma

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Hi all

I'm looking at watercooling my 3080 FE in the future and I've just done a google for waterblocks for it and they start at expensive and go to stupidly expensive.
I'm dumping a ton of heat into my chassis (specs in sig but it's an ITX build with a Q58 and a AMD 5700X) and I have 2 times 140mm fans extracting heat out the top for it.

A lot of the heat is just from the GPU so why not watercool it and extract the heat out the top via a rad?

I would, if I could, just get an AIO and a mounting bracket like the NZXT G12 and be done with it if it worked.

However, the G12 doesn't work with a 3080 FE unless you modify the bracket which I am prepared to do and several forums have raised the concerns that it doesn't properly cool all of the hot points on the GPU and just has a fan. That can be fixed with some copper heatsinks but not ideal.

A waterblock would be ideal for cooling but the whole setup is expensive. I would go cheap and not pretty - I don't really care about looks that much. Some soft tubing, a basic pump-res combo and a basic GPU waterblock would be fine.

Any suggestions? The below waterblock price is mental.

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £258.65 (includes delivery: £8.70)​



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Unfortunately there's no cheap way to do watercooling and it's only got worse in recent years. I did manage to find an alphacool block for under £200 but that was over a year ago now.

If you're desperate to get into wc then try the members market for 2nd hand kit to get your loop started. You might even get lucky and find someone upgrading that's wanting to get rid of a 3080 block in a few months once the rest of the 40 series launches, although with the pricing that might be a bit of wishful thinking!
 
SirConfused said:
Unfortunately there's no cheap way to do watercooling and it's only got worse in recent years. I did manage to find an alphacool block for under £200 but that was over a year ago now.

If you're desperate to get into wc then try the members market for 2nd hand kit to get your loop started. You might even get lucky and find someone upgrading that's wanting to get rid of a 3080 block in a few months once the rest of the 40 series launches, although with the pricing that might be a bit of wishful thinking!
Click to expand...

I think you're right. second hand would be my best bet. Happy to do it piecemeal and work around the FE waterblock. I can't see me needing more than a single 280mm rad, some tubing and a pump res combo and I know that isn't cheap but if I'm patient, I can try get them for not huge amounts.

Mcnumpty2323 said:
Fe edition blocks are very expensive
Compared to others
Which are just a bit expensive
Is this the one?
Still £155 isn't cheap but might be a little wiggle room
In that price and its still 100 quid cheaper than a new one at least
Click to expand...
So I see that, you can get a non FE waterblock for not a huge amount, say £90 if you shop around and get a sale on.

Thanks for your input! I will keep my eyes peeled.
 
That's such a pretty waterblock for a good price second hand.

If I wasn't going through a breakup and basically broke, I'd have snapped their hand off.
ek-quantum-vector-fe-rtx-3080-3090-d-rgb_4.jpg
 
Yeah mm or even clearance section/b grade
Is best bet to get a bargain
Don't forget in clearance section/b grade
You can make offers on the price that's shown

As that's a small case yeah limited to a 280mm
Can't get a 360mm in there
Would this sort of aio fit in there?
Takes a bit more space because of the reservoir and pump placement
www.techpowerup.com

Swiftech H240-X Review

They say bigger is better, and it seems as though Swiftech is following through on that mantra with the H240-X. Similar to its smaller sibling, the H220-X, this new version offers a larger 280 mm radiator. Though is the increase in surface area enough to place this Swiftech cooler firmly at the...
www.techpowerup.com www.techpowerup.com

While I wouldn't say aio is best option
As I would prefer a full cover block
From a price point of view yes its likely cheapest option
But despite the crazy price of it that fe block does look amazing
Though you would want it vertically to really show it off
Pay that much I would want to see it in all its glory lol
 
Wing-Man said:
This option is the best one. If you get an aio from Bgrade it can be done for under £110 with a 360 rad
Click to expand...
I don't know if it's the best one but it's certainly the cheapest. I see that the VRMs aren't cooled by the G12 bracket so you need to spend extra on heatsinks for them.
 
JollyJamma said:
I don't know if it's the best one but it's certainly the cheapest. I see that the VRMs aren't cooled by the G12 bracket so you need to spend extra on heatsinks for them.
Click to expand...

the G12 comes with heatsink for the VRM so they are cooled.. it also as a 92mm fan mounted so there is a way actively cooled
it really actually is a very good option, you can stick a 360 on the gpu and a 360 in the cpu and you have 2 independent loops

Edit: in an open case it dosent look as nice as a block but it can look very good, i put an EK black plate on the gpu i cooled and it looked very good


What is the cost of a full loop now days? basted on cost and looks if i water cooled now days i wouldn't have a peace of EK in my system
 
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the G12 comes with heatsink for the VRM so they are cooled..
Click to expand...

Are you sure about that? I can't see anything to suggest that there is a VRM heatsink included.

I see people installing a 3rd party heatsink.
 
Looking further into the matter, there is no VRM heatsink for the VRMs with the G12 bracket. It uses the fan to cool the VRMs and if you aren't using a GPU with VRMs that expel a ton of heat, you should be fine.

I'm going to get the G12 bracket and AIO to being with and actually do a write up and post it here (or to the forum) as many people are asking the same question.

I would like a K coupler for direct temp monitoring but I think HWINFO will work in the mean time.
 
JollyJamma said:
Are you sure about that? I can't see anything to suggest that there is a VRM heatsink included.

I see people installing a 3rd party heatsink.
Click to expand...
to be honest i had a G10 and just made the assumption the G12 had them too, but also TBF a pack of heatsinks cost £5er


JollyJamma said:
That is a slightly better price than the EK but I can get an AIO and the G12 brack with some VRM heatsinks for roughly that same price so I will go the AIO method first.
Thanks tho.
Click to expand...
if you fully water cool without EK the cost drops by about a 3rd, EK have got too big for the boots other brands are pushing hard and look better.


i have a G10 and H55(120mm) on 290x and all temps dropped to about 50c in games that's from 100c stock.
i did a full custom loop and got the same temps, from that point on i only ever used G10's and stopped custom water cooling

for the cost of a pump and res(EK) you can buy a 360mm AIO and G12.. for the cost of a good block(EK) you can put a 360mm on the cpu too
thats before rads, fitting, cpu block, tubes and all the other crap, and buy having 2 loops so you get better temps.. a hot GPU doesn't up the cpu temp and vice versa
 
Its a pity you missed out on the Alphacool Eiswolf 2's AIO GPU cooler I think there was still an FE one when I bought my TUF one. Only an EVGA one left now.

£209 when on offer from OCUK 360 rad and full water block with quick release couplings. Only other place now that has them is direct to Alphacool.
 
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JollyJamma said:
I'll probably get either of these. I'd prefer to get a 280mm AIO though and the X63 does fit (just) but it's much more expensive.

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £228.68 (includes delivery: £8.70)​

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Click to expand...

the cooler mater is not compatible, you need an asetek aio, corsair, nzxt and so so mant more but you need that type fitting
 
varkanoid said:
Its a pity you missed out on the Alphacool Eiswolf 2's AIO GPU cooler I think there was still an FE one when I bought my TUF one. Only an EVGA one left now.

£209 when on offer from OCUK 360 rad and full water block with quick release couplings. Only other place now that has them is direct to Alphacool.
Click to expand...

for £209 its more than a NZXT set up but for a full block its worth it in comparison to a custom loop what your performance like?
 
 
Wing-Man said:
for £209 its more than a NZXT set up but for a full block its worth it in comparison to a custom loop what your performance like?
Click to expand...

Yeah but a NZXT G12 isnt any good for 3xxx. It doesnt cool the left hand side of the chip where it needs to for instance it doesnt cover the same parts the original cooler does. The NZXT brackets were good I had several but the last chipset they were best with was the 2xxx series. I wouldnt risk it on say a 3080.

Performance is great been wanting a 360mm rad for ages but never had the right case. I've got the fans at 40% and it idles at 25c and most I've seen it in games and benchmarks is 50c. It has quick release connectors so I could add it to a further loop but I already have the AC 280mm which is a decent cooler its not really worth spending the money.
 
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