Nvidia rtx 3090 discussion

I've found that a disassembly and thermal pad replacement is a must with the FE cards. I'm literally running 20C cooler on the memory just by replacing the pads.
what pads did you go with, and did you do the 'extra' pads around the power delivery chips in the V of the card?
 
First Time Spy run of my 3090 FTW3 HC while on the lower 450W BIOS:

21,873

Pretty sure I'll easily surpass 22,000 with the 500W BIOS (probably can break it on the 450W BIOS with a bit more tweaking). Not sure why 3DMark doesn't recognize the GPU...I'm using Nvidia WHQL drivers and haven't made any modifications to anything...
 
First Time Spy run of my 3090 FTW3 HC while on the lower 450W BIOS:

21,873

Pretty sure I'll easily surpass 22,000 with the 500W BIOS (probably can break it on the 450W BIOS with a bit more tweaking). Not sure why 3DMark doesn't recognize the GPU...I'm using Nvidia WHQL drivers and haven't made any modifications to anything...
you should post in the timespy 3090 thread :D
 
what pads did you go with, and did you do the 'extra' pads around the power delivery chips in the V of the card?

Thermalright and gelid. All 1.5mm and on both sides. And yes, on the power delivery in the V.
 
Thermalright and gelid. All 1.5mm and on both sides. And yes, on the power delivery in the V.
so the 12-12.8w/mK stuff. I am going to use 11w/mK pads on my 3090fe this weekend when I install the water block.
 
Its a fresh OS install and I used the latest version of all drivers/updates of everything.
What about your chipset drivers? 3DMark not recognizing your GPU screams something kind of fucky is going on here. What about GPU-Z or other utils like HWiNFO64? Did you buy this 3090 from a guy selling it out of a van in a Walmart parking lot?
 
What about your chipset drivers? 3DMark not recognizing your GPU screams something kind of fucky is going on here. What about GPU-Z or other utils like HWiNFO64? Did you buy this 3090 from a guy selling it out of a van in a Walmart parking lot?
I'm on the latest chipset drivers from AMD's website. GPU is straight from EVGA, no other way to get HydroCoppers right now. Everything else recognizes it fine as a 3090. So its clearly a 3DMark issue.
 
I'm curious from what I have read on evga forums if the newer cards shipping with the 500W bios in the OC spot have a different bios revision level different from the beta 500W bios. Some people were suggesting a hardware change may have been made and the 2 bios files would not be compatible....
 
I'm curious from what I have read on evga forums if the newer cards shipping with the 500W bios in the OC spot have a different bios revision level different from the beta 500W bios. Some people were suggesting a hardware change may have been made and the 2 bios files would not be compatible....
I'll dump my FTW3U bios as soon as I get the card back.
 
Got a UPS today for my rig which can show how much power is being pulled. With my 5950X and 3090 FTW3 (450W BIOS) under stress testing at the same time I'm topping out at 780W. I'm running a 850W PSU...this is too close for comfort. Time to try and score a 1000W+ PSU.
 
Got a UPS today for my rig which can show how much power is being pulled. With my 5950X and 3090 FTW3 (450W BIOS) under stress testing at the same time I'm topping out at 780W. I'm running a 850W PSU...this is too close for comfort. Time to try and score a 1000W+ PSU.
It's probably fine. Full load like in your stress test rarely happens in real world scenarios. You ideally want to keep it under 80% of max generally, which for an 850w psu is 680w. That being said 780w from the wall is really like 700w from the PSU assuming your psu is about 90% efficient. But more PSU is never a bad thing, just merely saying it isn't cause for panic. FWIW, I have a 750w psu for my 3090/3950x rig.
 
It's probably fine. Full load like in your stress test rarely happens in real world scenarios. You ideally want to keep it under 80% of max generally, which for an 850w psu is 680w. That being said 780w from the wall is really like 700w from the PSU assuming your psu is about 90% efficient. But more PSU is never a bad thing, just merely saying it isn't cause for panic. FWIW, I have a 750w psu for my 3090/3950x rig.
Nah I’m actually just an idiot. I forgot the fact that I also have my 38” Ultrawide and 27” monitors plugged into the same UPS which likely accounts for at least 100W of the 780W.
 
It's probably fine. Full load like in your stress test rarely happens in real world scenarios. You ideally want to keep it under 80% of max generally, which for an 850w psu is 680w. That being said 780w from the wall is really like 700w from the PSU assuming your psu is about 90% efficient. But more PSU is never a bad thing, just merely saying it isn't cause for panic. FWIW, I have a 750w psu for my 3090/3950x rig.

I only have a 700W Platinum in my SFF system (NR200). I had a 5950 with a 3070 and a 3090 with a 5600, but not 5950 with 3090. I was thinking of essentially running it in "eco" mode to limit the top end power draw (more like a homemade 5950 non-x?). Haven't gotten that bold yet though.
 
it was either that or use the mystery blue pads that came with the block. Almost all the blue pads I can find are 6w/mK.

I haven't WC'd a card in a long time, but I'm guessing it only cools the GPU side/memory, etc. and then the backplate cools the rear side with thermal pads? I used something like this as a guide, and I'm pretty happy with the result.

ttF7Nla.jpg
 
I haven't WC'd a card in a long time, but I'm guessing it only cools the GPU side/memory, etc. and then the backplate cools the rear side with thermal pads? I used something like this as a guide, and I'm pretty happy with the result.

View attachment 338846
Depends on the block you buy. If for the 3090FE, this one definitely cools the rear/backside of the card using thermal pads and it’s back panel/plate is designed to also contact the front block to help actively cool the rear memory as well: https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-quantum-vector-fe-rtx-3090-d-rgb-black-special-edition
 
I haven't WC'd a card in a long time, but I'm guessing it only cools the GPU side/memory, etc. and then the backplate cools the rear side with thermal pads? I used something like this as a guide, and I'm pretty happy with the result.

View attachment 338846
correct, for my block and most, that is how it works. With that being said, I am going to do something similar to you assuming clearances on the block and backplate allow for it. If someone wanted to, they could put thermal pads to the right of the nvlink connector on both sides, which would transfer heat through the pcb there, where there are no components, to theoretically keep the backplate cooler. The backplate for my block is a serious chunk of 3mm thick aluminum though, so I don't feel like I am going to have any issues with memory temps once it's installed.
 
The fact that people are doing this so soon into ownership is kind of telling that these cards were not designed with the heat GDDR6X produces in mind. That heat problem with that memory is nothing new, and its very embarrassing that many GPU manufacturers never accounted for that inevitably. DIY $2000+ video cards, F.
 
The fact that people are doing this so soon into ownership is kind of telling that these cards were not designed with the heat GDDR6X produces in mind. That heat problem with that memory is nothing new, and its very embarrassing that many GPU manufacturers never accounted for that inevitably. DIY $2000+ video cards, F.
If I am not mistaken, I believe almost all AIBs did account for it; just for some reason the FE cards did not?
 
The fact that people are doing this so soon into ownership is kind of telling that these cards were not designed with the heat GDDR6X produces in mind. That heat problem with that memory is nothing new, and its very embarrassing that many GPU manufacturers never accounted for that inevitably. DIY $2000+ video cards, F.
Typically if you want to overclock beyond the air limits from the standard cooler configuration you step up to water cooling. I wouldn't say this is anything different than the last 20 years of enthusiasts pushing the bleeding edge.

If anything I've been really impressed with the memory cooling on my asus card. After 24 hours running dagger the memory sits at about 96*c, with +1000 on the memory slider (alot), which is 24*c below the 'rated' thermal limits. For the amount of power and close proximity/volume of memory chips, I'd say this is pretty fantastic design on the part of the AIB for GDDR6x.

Honestly i find your quote to be rather far from the mark, and would recommend the [H] 3090 3dmark thread as good reading material for further elaborating on the fantastic results users have achieved on the stock designs from respective manufacturors. Many users have blasted 500w+ into the mid 300w-ish designed cards without issue.
 
The fact that people are doing this so soon into ownership is kind of telling that these cards were not designed with the heat GDDR6X produces in mind. That heat problem with that memory is nothing new, and its very embarrassing that many GPU manufacturers never accounted for that inevitably. DIY $2000+ video cards, F.
I can't speak on the 3090, but I do know when I've got my 3070 in gear, my computer room is the warmest room of the house. XD
 
Typically if you want to overclock beyond the air limits from the standard cooler configuration you step up to water cooling. I wouldn't say this is anything different than the last 20 years of enthusiasts pushing the bleeding edge.

If anything I've been really impressed with the memory cooling on my asus card. After 24 hours running dagger the memory sits at about 96*c, with +1000 on the memory slider (alot), which is 24*c below the 'rated' thermal limits. For the amount of power and close proximity/volume of memory chips, I'd say this is pretty fantastic design on the part of the AIB for GDDR6x.

Honestly i find your quote to be rather far from the mark, and would recommend the [H] 3090 3dmark thread as good reading material for further elaborating on the fantastic results users have achieved on the stock designs from respective manufacturors. Many users have blasted 500w+ into the mid 300w-ish designed cards without issue.
Add the evga FTW3 cooler to that list too of good memory cooling capabilities on air. With +1000Mhz on my GDDR6X, I nave not even pushed close to 80C yet on them after punishing loads for hours. Only thing I do not do is crypto mine, so maybe they would get a little warmer then. But for gaming? Perfect cooling for me.
 
Yep, mine is thankfully silent as well and I have an additional 120 mm on the backplate so the RAM doesn't get too hot. Never thought I'd say this but it is mostly worth the premium over the 3080 given the much better cooler and future proof VRAM amount.
I envy you guys, I 've gone through 2 3090 FEs and both buzz like crazy.
 
And many zotac users are already going through replacing their thermal pads 1 month into ownership, and the FE pics just make me cringe.

Glad your memory is doing better than others, but 94c is still hot as hell, imo.
 
Got a PNY 3090. That is my goto brand when all else fails. Think this is the third/fourth PNY I've used. Do lots of folding@home and it runs cool compared to 19 threads of the CPU running at full git! (one thread is reserved for the GPU) Kept hearing all this noise and thought it was the 3090--today not able to get a CPU project, just GPU and can barely hear any fans at all. Pleased with the 3090 temps thus far.
 
Add the evga FTW3 cooler to that list too of good memory cooling capabilities on air. With +1000Mhz on my GDDR6X, I nave not even pushed close to 80C yet on them after punishing loads for hours. Only thing I do not do is crypto mine, so maybe they would get a little warmer then. But for gaming? Perfect cooling for me.
yeah mining eth cooks the mem, in my experience ~20c hotter than gaming
 
Add one more to the pile of "people who bought without being able to read a review and getting shafted"

XC3 Ultra. Power Limit. I'm swearing loudly. I've had it for ages but finally did the waterblock and took a look at OC, and oh look I can only get 145 cpu and 200 memory becuase it bounces off the power limit. Just bullshit artificial differentiation. It's my own fault for not thinking it through that two connectors would likely be limited, but I'm still annoyed that they differentiated over a few cents. Pissing off a customer dropping that much over a dollar or two is a bit stupid. It's not American Airlines and their olives.

Been a loyal EVGA customer for years but I'm pretty pissed. 26 degree celcius at idle is nice though. Begrudgingly have to give EK some credit on that one, not a fan of theres and generally try and avoid them but this gen waterblocks work a'ight.
 
Add one more to the pile of "people who bought without being able to read a review and getting shafted"

XC3 Ultra. Power Limit. I'm swearing loudly. I've had it for ages but finally did the waterblock and took a look at OC, and oh look I can only get 145 cpu and 200 memory becuase it bounces off the power limit. Just bullshit artificial differentiation. It's my own fault for not thinking it through that two connectors would likely be limited, but I'm still annoyed that they differentiated over a few cents. Pissing off a customer dropping that much over a dollar or two is a bit stupid. It's not American Airlines and their olives.

Been a loyal EVGA customer for years but I'm pretty pissed. 26 degree celcius at idle is nice though. Begrudgingly have to give EK some credit on that one, not a fan of theres and generally try and avoid them but this gen waterblocks work a'ight.
I feel you on this one. I had the 3090 XC3 before upgrading to my 3090 FTW3 HC. The card is definitely power limited pretty hard at 366W, it was bouncing off the power limit 99% of the time.

After hours and hours of tweaking I was able to get my XC3 to just barely crack 21K in TimeSpy (by 7 points to be exact). With my 3090 FTW3 HC I hit nearly 21.9K on my first run with only a moderate overclock and only on the 450W BIOS, not even the 500W.

The GA102 honestly needs at least 400W to get the full potential out of it. Explains why even the 3090 FE’s power limit is 400W. You probably sacrifice somewhere between 5%-10% of performance from the lower power limit of the XC3 when compared with similarly binned chips on a card with a 400W+ power limit.
 
I feel you on this one. I had the 3090 XC3 before upgrading to my 3090 FTW3 HC. The card is definitely power limited pretty hard at 366W, it was bouncing off the power limit 99% of the time.

After hours and hours of tweaking I was able to get my XC3 to just barely crack 21K in TimeSpy (by 7 points to be exact). With my 3090 FTW3 HC I hit nearly 21.9K on my first run with only a moderate overclock and only on the 450W BIOS, not even the 500W.

The GA102 honestly needs at least 400W to get the full potential out of it. Explains why even the 3090 FE’s power limit is 400W. You probably sacrifice somewhere between 5%-10% of performance from the lower power limit of the XC3 when compared with similarly binned chips on a card with a 400W+ power limit.
Yeah that’s pretty much what I’m finding. Afterburner just hits the limit and adjusts. Theoretically I shouldn’t care as the main reason for the 3090 over others was work related but I hate that they made the decision.

I’m somewhat tempted to try and whinge at them to try and let me step up but have no real expectations. If it had been the the price difference at the time I’d have paid it no worries, but with prices having crept up, plus the loss on reselling It’s too much of a hit.

I thought I was being clever because I had to make a decision quick and just thought “well I’m water cooling anyway so what’s the point paying for fancy shit I’ll rip off anyway”

Jokes on me. Dick move evga.
 
Yeah that’s pretty much what I’m finding. Afterburner just hits the limit and adjusts. Theoretically I shouldn’t care as the main reason for the 3090 over others was work related but I hate that they made the decision.

I’m somewhat tempted to try and whinge at them to try and let me step up but have no real expectations. If it had been the the price difference at the time I’d have paid it no worries, but with prices having crept up, plus the loss on reselling It’s too much of a hit.

I thought I was being clever because I had to make a decision quick and just thought “well I’m water cooling anyway so what’s the point paying for fancy shit I’ll rip off anyway”

Jokes on me. Dick move evga.

Just flash one of the 390w bios. Not a huge gain, but gets it close to 400w. Maybe you're worried about the warranty though?
 
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