EK-280GTX WATER BLOCK

[mastering3d]

Hi all .

Well long story is that i got the block and fitted it to find that i was getting some very bad glitching and system lockup .

So i RMA the card to the shop for testing .And have them send me it back saying that the card is 100% fine ,So i am thinking how can this be when i see it with my own eyes the problem.

Well when i RMA it back to the shop that i got it from it had fan and heat sink on it that came on the card as standed from factor.

So any way when i got the card back .I tryed it on stress test for about 2 hours and the card was running at 95c in the stress test and pass all . so then i got the water block i reinstalled it back on to the card to find that it was glitching again .


So now i have come here looking for some help as i dont have a clue why it would be fine with stand fan and heat sink and not fine with waterblock on it .

As far things go its installed right to the card and i find it very hard to understand why its not working right ,is this just a bad block or some thing .

Its really starting to drive me nuts having to bleed the systen to do a test then dran it all again to try and find the problem. I am @ boiling point now and will end up losing my temper with lol .hammer time

Thanks for any help that you guys can give me .

 

[WJA96]

The first release of the EK GTX 280 block was an abomination that actually destroyed cards and the newer one isn't a great deal better.

There are two things that really need cooling on the GTX 280 - the GPU itself and the VRMs which are the 7 knobbly bits on the end of the card furthest from the DVI ports.

If you download a copy of GPUz you should be able to see three temperature VDDC1, 2, 3 which are almost certainly what is causing your problem. Run a good stress test like OCCT GPU and watch those temperatures. With my initial EK block I was hitting 160C on VDDC3 before it either went black or I got a screenfull of boxy garbage.

The first thing I would check is that you have the right thickness pads on the VRMs and that you have good contact. DO NOT ALLOW THE CARD TO BEND. You do not need to tighten all the screws up to 11.

The other thing worth checking is that you used a non-capacitive thermal paste on the GPU and memory mountings because AS5 is capacitive and can cause shorts but generally these only happen if you've bent the card and been especially slap-happy with the AS5. IF you can, use MX-2 or MX-3.

Also - you shouldn't be seeing GPU temperatures over 50C with that water block as it's quite an efficient cooling system.

If you can, return the block and buy a Danger Den Tieton, Swiftech MCW60 with Caldera plate or best of all, EVGA 200-CU-HU (almost impossible to get in the UK).

 

[Blackwhite]

I'm using AS5 and everything is fine.
U should use 1mm thermal pads for VDDC - 0.5 mm is recommende but don't working propetly.
Check that contact between GPU and Block is fine - sometimes you have to use a little bit force to screw block.