WE USUALLY FOCUS on the GPU later on in the build but we need
to do some prepping now to get it ready for some liquid cooling.
Yep, on paper it’s scary, and if you do this it will probably void the
warranty on your card, but it’s actually not as worrisome as you
might think. We’re after the bare bones of this GPU so to start off
with, we need to remove the screws that hold the casing on. Then
we remove the GPU bracket that sits around the processor on the
board. Be careful when doing this as it’s spring-loaded so loosen
a corner gradually at a time. With all the screws aside, we can
take the mighty fans and heatsink unit off our ASUS 3080 OC but
unfortunately, we had to then set this aside for now.ADMITTEDLY, we initially ordered the wrong GPU cooling block
here. The one we initially chose was Corsair’s XG5 GPU block,
and it took us all the way until stripping the GPU to figure that
out. After trying to line up the screw holes, I started to feel like
I was in over my head a little on this build. The incorrect Corsair
GPU cooling block also looks sleeker than our replacement
part, thanks to its mainly transparent design, but looks aren’t
everything and we’d always opt for the version that fits, of course.
Luckily, we managed to order the correct Corsair Hydro X Series
XG7 block for next-day delivery and parked this issue until later.
We’d ordered the non-OC variant for our ASUS Strix 3080 GPU
and well, it just didn’t fit.NOW THAT THE CPU, CPU cooling block, and SSD are installed,
we can put the motherboard into the case. We know what you are
thinking, “what about the RAM”? That’s one of the easier things
to install in this build, so we’re saving that until later to give us as
much clearance in the build as possible. Back to the motherboard,
lay the case down flat, and then slot the mobo’s I/O shield into
the gap in the back of the case first. Once this is in place, rest
the motherboard down into the case and align the screw holes.
Then with a long neck screwdriver, screw down the mobo into the
case starting with the corner screws. It’s not always necessary
but using all the screws possible ensures that the motherboard
is well grounded to the case.WITH A BIT OF MOVIE MAGIC, our XG7 Strix GPU cooling block
arrived and so we could begin with the next part of our RTX 3080
OC. We already have the mighty fans of the 3080 OC and plates
stripped off so we can add our newly acquired GPU block in place.
Try to remove as much of the pre-existing thermal padding as
possible from the original GPU board as the new GPU water block
should have some pre-applied thermal paste, but of course, do
check before securing it down. Talking of which, securing it down
in place was a simple process using the screws that came with
the kit, just remember there are just a lot of them. The only thing
you have to do differently to fit the block on the GPU is to hang the
I/O shield off a table edge so that it can be secured and aligned.GPU TEARDOWN THE WRONG BLOCK
IN POPS THE MOBO THE RIGHT BLOCK
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watercooling
20 MAXIMU MPC JUN 2022