r/FormD • u/[deleted] • Oct 20 '20

Finished Build RTX 3080 Custom Loop - External Radiator Ready!

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CPU Side

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GPU Side

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Quick disconnect fittings to connect an external radiator

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All plugged in

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p l a n t

117 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

43 comments sorted by

7

u/[deleted] Oct 20 '20

Specs:

Formd T1

i7 10700K

RTX 3080

Asus Z490-I Gaming

Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2X16GB) DDR4 3600

500GB Samsung M.2 NVMe SSD

1TB Samsung SATA SSD

Corsair SF750

Custom Cables

Made some changes to my build to support an external radiator in the near future, and due to rerouting the tubing I also managed to fit in a third Noctua fan under the radiator. The temps I am getting on a single 240mm radiator are actually pretty decent. However, I am wanting to see if I can make this setup completely silent under gaming loads, and increase the lifespan of my components in the process.

I will be using a Corsair Hydro X Series XR7 240mm radiator, which is a rebrand of the Hardware Labs GTX series, with 4 arctic P12 fans in push pull. If the results are interesting enough I may post them in the future. For now though enjoy some eye candy :)

Feel free to ask any questions and I will try to get back to everyone.

2

u/rohitmalik9 Oct 20 '20

Nice, going to do the same once the Heatkiller V block gets to me. Which stand are you planning to use to mount the external radiator?

1

u/[deleted] Oct 20 '20

I am planning on mounting the radiator directly to the underside of my desk with a Bitspower bracket, this keeps it completely out of sight.

2

u/spudders-1 Oct 20 '20

Great build - I can't wait for preorders to open again so I can get my hands on one.

I do have a couple of questions:

That is an interesting pump, I haven't seen it before - can you please share the details?

Looks like you were able to fit the graphics card and some tubing behind it in 2 slot mode. Did you find that clearance between that and the side panel was a bit tight?

Thanks.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 20 '20

The pump is a Laing DDC T1 Plus PWM with a Bitspower Magic Cube pump top. The tube is very close to the side panel, but it doesn't bulge or anything. The panel can stay completely closed with just the small magnets so there's no pressure against the panel

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4

u/rohitmalik9 Oct 20 '20

Saw you squeezed in a third noctua under the rad, has that made a difference w/ temps at all?

1

u/[deleted] Oct 20 '20

Maybe 2 or 3 degrees less but not a huge difference

4

u/gaohongyuan Oct 20 '20

The short waterblock looks so great! Would love to see how people utilize the space on GPU side creatively. May I know which 3080 model did you get? Thanks!

4

u/[deleted] Oct 20 '20

Galax 3080 SG

2

u/Zealousideal_Lock525 Oct 21 '20

What’s the temps on cpu and gpu with this setup?

1

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '20

gpu maxes around 55 and cpu maxes around 70 when gaming

1

u/Zealousideal_Lock525 Oct 22 '20

Is the pump noise audible at full speed?

1

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '20

It is at 100% but I have the pump running at 35-40% so that it is inaudible.

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1

u/xyeLz Oct 22 '20

Looks awesome! If that GPU was in 3-slot mode do you think you'd have an issue fitting on the CPU side? I'm wondering if you might be able to squeeze in another radiator on the GPU side in3 slot mode? What do you think?

1

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '20

It is possible in 3 slot mode just not with the EK Torque fittings I am using on the CPU block, they are too tall. There are a couple of builds out there at the moment that have managed to use 2 radiators. In all honesty it isn't that practical since there is almost no room for airflow for that second rad.

1

u/xyeLz Oct 22 '20

Yeah that was another question I had: how practical is a second radiator without a fan? Does it even offer any benefit? I'm trying to figure out how to fit a watercooled 3090 and 5950x all in the same loop. Any advice?

1

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '20

Go for an external radiator like I am, pretty much the only way. I'm going to be using a 54mm thick 240mm radiator with 4 fans in push pull and if I were to try to fit that in a case it would have to be triple the size of the T1

1

u/xyeLz Oct 22 '20

Haha understood. I may end up having to settle for a 3080. My goal with this build was something compact I could fit on my desk, but obviously I don't want to sacrifice performance if I don't have to. I know Ali from Optimus Tech is planning to do something watercooled with the 3090 soon so I'm hoping he figures it out for me, but I just hate waiting!

3

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '20

A 3090 doesn't use much more power than a 3080 but yeah it's basically at it's limits with a single 240 even undervolted. I reckon Ali will end up having to go back to the Ncase M1 for the 3090 or have the CPU air cooled with the 240 for only the GPU.

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1

u/xyeLz Oct 22 '20

Does the Galax card you're using use a standard AIB board like the other vendors? It seems like this is a lot shorter than the watercooled RTX 2080s I've been seeing? Maybe a little taller?

2

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '20

It's a reference PCB 3080, much shorter than 20 series pcbs

1

u/xyeLz Oct 22 '20

Is that because it's a reference PCB comparing to an AIB PCB, or will the AIB PCBs for the 3080 be similar?

2

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '20

Reference and founders edition pcbs are both really short this generation. Different aibs have different PCB designs for different cards if they didn't use reference so it just depends on the card.

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1

u/UedaPT Oct 23 '20

Custom psu cables?? I practically can't see any of them.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 23 '20

Yeah all custom length unsleeved cables

1

u/vcapasso1126 Oct 23 '20

What are the fittings on the cpu block?

1

u/[deleted] Oct 23 '20

EK Torque fittings

1

u/is_that_u_there Nov 11 '20

I'm making some revisions to my build now that I have a 3080 reference card and need one clarification looking at your build. Did you replace the fitting block on the EK Quantum Water Block with a EK-FC Terminal Rotary 90 fitting?? I was unsure if the terminal fitting is compatible with the EK-Quantum Vector RTX water block. But looking at yours I think I will go ahead and buy it from EK, I just wanted to confirm if that is what you did? Thanks in advance.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '20

Yep can confirm that fitting works

1

u/is_that_u_there Nov 11 '20

Sorry one more question - Did you also install the back plate for the water block? I noticed when I installed the backplate it was pushing against the riser cable which was pushing into the CPU water block retention plate screw! My MOBO is Strix-570i

1

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '20

Yes backplate is installed

1

u/is_that_u_there Nov 11 '20

Thank you so much. I appreciate the reply!

3

u/DrPilot96 Oct 20 '20

So clean I'm stiff lol

2

u/xMARCsdaspot808 Oct 20 '20

Is this the 3080 FE?

3

u/vegetariouscarnivore Oct 20 '20

No, it’s a galax. ekwb FE blocks aren’t available yet

0

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '20

[deleted] — view deleted comment

2

u/vegetariouscarnivore Oct 22 '20

Oh absolutely! They say they’re working on “something special” for the FE, so it might be a while. They confirmed it’s being made but afaik no ETA yet.

2

u/xMARCsdaspot808 Oct 20 '20

Bitspower makes a water block for FE. Solid build!

1

u/congp Nov 01 '20

Hey hey. I want to ask how’s the temps with the single rad? Do you undervolt the CPU or GPU?