RTX 3080 FTW3 EK Vector Waterblock Install & Results

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May 20, 2011
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Installed a EK Vector Waterblock on my 3080 FTW3 a few days ago. There's lots of discussion on the EVGA forum about people bricking their 3080/3090's while installing the EK Waterblock, so I decided to document my install and share the results.

The EVGA card is a pain to disassemble. The thermal pads they use is more like thermal putty, it adheres to the cooler and components like glue. Using a hairdryer to heat up the pcb, I was eventually able to separate the cooler from the card. Used a small plastic scrapper and alcohol to clean off the thermal pad/grease residue.
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EK doesn't supply precut thermal pads anymore, pretty lame for such an expensive block. I measured and cut the supplied thermal pads, following EK's directions to the letter. Used the spread method to apply the thermal grease(kryonaut). I installed the block, then uninstalled to check the coverage. Both the pads and grease looked good so I reinstalled and tested the card without water, booted into windows no problems so far.
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Next came the backplate. I have been suspecting for awhile that if this is a problem with EK that its the backplate causing problems. I applied the 3 different thermal pads as directed and installed the backplate. While installing, I realized that because the side with the power connectors don't have any thermal pads, as you start tightening the screws the backplate bows slightly. Looking between the pcb and the backplate, some of the components, especially the metal pins on the back of the card come extremely close to the backplate. I know very little on the tolerances for these kind of things, but having less then 1mm gap between metal parts seemed like a bad idea to me. I decided to use kapton tape to apply over any area I thought there might be a chance of touching.
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Put the backplate back on, and tested in the system and it booted into Windows just fine. Hooked up the water loop, leaktested for 12 hours and here we are. Card is fully functional, has been running a looped 3dmark test for 4 hours. 48C core, 58C memory junction. I recommend anyone installing this to be very careful with the backplate and not to torque down the screws, especially the ones on the power connector side.

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Nice write up ,what kind of overclocking are you doing to get such a high port royal score ? I have Evga 3080 Ftw ultra hydrocopper overclocked to 2145 and I can't get my port royal score over 12k. Maybe some setting I'm doing

 
My first ftw 3 card I put on a alphacool block went poof after a day. The card I got back also wouldn't post after trying to again install the block on it. I got pissed off and shoved the entire computer into the corner and didn't touch it for a week. I was about to start taking apart and throw away the block and rma again but it booted up fine when I gave it a shot. Been running beautifully for the past 2 months. My temps don't go past 50c on memory and gpu. All the power delivery stays under 50c but one that sits in the mid 50s under load. The alphacool block came with all the pads pre cut for a 3080 and 3090. I get +125 on the core and +1500 on the memory with no issues mining and games. So in the end I am happy with the block given it was the first to be released for the 3080 ftw3 and cheaper then others.
 
Nice write up ,what kind of overclocking are you doing to get such a high port royal score ? I have Evga 3080 Ftw ultra hydrocopper overclocked to 2145 and I can't get my port royal score over 12k. Maybe some setting I'm doing

Core +165, Memory + 1350. Holds around 2175 for core clocks. Maybe up the memory? Also I'm running the XOC bios with the 450w power limit. I like many have a bug though where the 3rd 8pin power only draws half of what the other 2 8 pins draw, meaning I still hit the power limit around 390w.

Two people over on the EVGA forums that "bricked" their cards when installing the block & backplate fixed them by adding the kapton tape like I did. Maybe my theory about the backplate shorting something is correct.
 
The tape is a great idea but could you have have also put some of those very small nylon or non conductive washers (like would go against the motherboard) on the side without the thermal pads to act as spacers?
Off topic but is your tubing white? If so what is it pls? I am looking to achieve milk tubes without using opaque fluid which everyone says turns to cheese.
 
Off topic but is your tubing white? If so what is it pls? I am looking to achieve milk tubes without using opaque fluid which everyone says turns to cheese.

Not sure what the OP is using but I used Primochill Advanced LRT white tubing in the past. Great stuff if not a bit stiff.
 
The tape is a great idea but could you have have also put some of those very small nylon or non conductive washers (like would go against the motherboard) on the side without the thermal pads to act as spacers?
Off topic but is your tubing white? If so what is it pls? I am looking to achieve milk tubes without using opaque fluid which everyone says turns to cheese.
Nylon washers might have worked also, but I felt this was the simplest, safest solution. Washers on one side might cause improper contact over cooled components or cause stress to the pcb.

Primochill LRT in solid white. Probably the best soft tubing around.
 
Any chance of a photo of the card/block at the back of the inside of the case near the pci slots to show how far down the block comes into the second pci slot space? Wondering if the EK block hangs lower then the HC blocks. Don't really want to change my 280GTS for a XT45 due to fitting clearance with the block but pretty sure I won't have a choice. If it's shorter I may give up my 15 second queue spot for a HC and go back on the hunt for a air cooled XC3 Ultra and use the block I've had for 3 months now.
 

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An update to this thread, the card I installed in the OP is still working great. I helped a friend install the same EK block on a ftw3 3080ti, he had already disassembled the card but got confused with the thermal pads. Helped him put those on but didn't have any kratom tape so went without. Card would not boot. Disassembled the block and put the aircooler on, still would not boot. Card is bricked, at least EVGA will replace. I believe he put too much pressure while disassembling the aircooler, that thermal putty is like glue if it isn't heated. A reminder to be careful with these FTW3 cards, the amount of people posting over at evga forum bricking their cards while installing waterblocks is still growing.
 
An update to this thread, the card I installed in the OP is still working great. I helped a friend install the same EK block on a ftw3 3080ti, he had already disassembled the card but got confused with the thermal pads. Helped him put those on but didn't have any kratom tape so went without. Card would not boot. Disassembled the block and put the aircooler on, still would not boot. Card is bricked, at least EVGA will replace. I believe he put too much pressure while disassembling the aircooler, that thermal putty is like glue if it isn't heated. A reminder to be careful with these FTW3 cards, the amount of people posting over at evga forum bricking their cards while installing waterblocks is still growing.
Nice write up. I have been looking at buying the EK Vector for my FTW3 3080 this weekend to take advantage of a sale and some Paypal incentives on my credit card. The problem I'm running into is my case. I have a Lian Li PC O11 Dynamic. I'm seeing that the block measures 6 inches in width. I wouldn't be able to put the glass side on after mounting it. As it is now, I can barely get the power wires plugged in and put the side back on. I would have to mount the gpu vertically. I actually tried this when I first bought it, but for some reason, I get no video output using the same Phanteks adapter that worked fine with my 1080 Ti. I'm not sure if that is just an incompatibility thing or what. However, if I mount the gpu vertically, then I can't fit a second radiator with fans on the bottom of the case anymore and I'll have to mount the 2nd radiator on the front of the case. The only upside is that I could go with a thicker radiator there. I happen to already have a custom front panel for the case that will do this, but I'll only be able to fit a 240 there because of the top rad and connections. I have the distro plate and pump mounted in the back slot, so I can't add anything there. I'm just trying to decide if it's all worth it. I looked into the hybrid kit, but those are unobtanium without going on eBay and some people have already been on the evga waiting list for 6 months. Any ideas?

ETA: Quick search shows I' may have been having issues with the vertical mount because of PCI Express settings in BIOS. Apparently, setting to Gen3 may resolve those issues.
 
I installed using the method OP outlined. No issues so far. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
Thanks for the info in this thread. I put my Vector together with my 3080 this weekend and completely rebuilt my loop. I also upgraded my pump to a DDC 3.2. But, it leaks. I tried 3 different O rings, then finally deduced, it's leaking somewhere inside the pump housing. I'm going to see what EK says about that. For now, I'm back on the pump that came with the EK/Lian Li distro plate for the PC-O11 Dynamic. By the way, the only way to fit the massive GPU water block is by using a vertical mount, which complicates things.
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Not pictured is the 360 rad up top. That case is as full as can be now. Can't wait to get it actually going. I'm afraid of performance with the anemic pump though.
 
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