i see people use pads

It's preventing the air from going through the card and forcing it to go out the back through the IO shield.

Makes sense. In the XC3, there is actually VERY little area for air to go around the pump in the cover. There probably is actually more area going through the card then around the pump...

Another option might be too cover the back of the backplate and around the edges but leave the edge at the back of the card by the IO shield open. This would still allow some air through the card but still likely increase the air going across the front of the card. The potential extra benefit being it also forces air across the back of the PCB to help cool the PCB as well.

ty_ger07
What are you attempting to accomplish by using Kapton tape? I am very confused.

Yeah I dont get all these bastardizing Cards I have seen here over the last few months....yes backplates get hot...thats what theyre supposed to do, dissipate heat.
 
If thats the purpose of the tape (thermal reduction ..no idea)...not really sure, I gave up on air cooling a GPU many years ago ;)
 
Ninja'd...someone bet me to it ;)

kevinc313

rjbarker

ty_ger07
What are you attempting to accomplish by using Kapton tape? I am very confused.

Yeah I dont get all these bastardizing Cards I have seen here over the last few months....yes backplates get hot...thats what theyre supposed to do, dissipate heat.
 
If thats the purpose of the tape (thermal reduction ..no idea)...not really sure, I gave up on air cooling a GPU many years ago ;)
 
Ninja'd...someone bet me to it ;)

The air flow through the shroud does in fact help cool the vram, as it flows over the back of the AIO memory plate and PCB, if you turn up the shroud fan on a constant load vram temps drop.  OP is talking about taping up holes on the backplate where air flow is lost out the back, he linked to a post where someone put cardboard in there.  This will definitely work and I'm kicking myself for not thinking of it months ago.

Makes sense then, especially if its been trialed and proven.....I do recall back when I had my SLi / Tri SLi 580's, prior to finally moving to water....I had all kinds of fans and stuff going on trying to keep things cooler....the Northbridge on those Evga X58 Classified Boards were a challenge, throw 3 GTX 580's on the Board and you could heat a house while benching ;)

03whitegsr
Meh...

Covered the back plate and sealed the sides of the backplate leaving only the IO edge uncovered.

Ran 5 minutes of Heaven as a warm up, then 10 more minutes while logging GPU-Z. Average memory temp was 0.5 degrees higher. Peak was the same.

I'd say it did nothing or made things marginally worse.

 
Covering a heatsink = insulation = higher temps
 
Limiting airflow .. not the best idea ....... just have a fan blow directly on the backplate = better cooling for benchmark runs
 
 

Cool GTX

03whitegsr
Meh...

Covered the back plate and sealed the sides of the backplate leaving only the IO edge uncovered.

Ran 5 minutes of Heaven as a warm up, then 10 more minutes while logging GPU-Z. Average memory temp was 0.5 degrees higher. Peak was the same.

I'd say it did nothing or made things marginally worse.

Covering a heatsink = insulation = higher temps
 
Limiting airflow .. not the best idea ....... just have a fan blow directly on the backplate = better cooling for benchmark runs
 
 

Thats exactly how I cooled my(infamously) hot Northbridge on my Evga X58 Classified Board.....fan blowing right onto it...not pretty but it helped.

03whitegsr
Meh...

Covered the back plate and sealed the sides of the backplate leaving only the IO edge uncovered.

Ran 5 minutes of Heaven as a warm up, then 10 more minutes while logging GPU-Z. Average memory temp was 0.5 degrees higher. Peak was the same.

I'd say it did nothing or made things marginally worse.

I do have thermal pads on the back of the VRAM and I essentially insulated the backplate from air going across it. Maybe I'll try blocking off just the PCB holes, as originally posted.

If you're already conducting heat to the backplate, I find you results to be expected.  I'd try just blocking the pass through vents opposite the fan.

Pro4tlzz
Hi,
https://imgur.com/gallery/H2c2Sbo
So I put Kapton tape on the pcb cutouts so the airflow goes out the back of the gpu.
 
 
After some testing with mining the memory reaches 86c with all fans at 100%.
 
That is GPU Hybrid Fan, Push Pull P12 fans & a X2 GP-12 fan on the back of the gpu.
 
So it hasn't really made much of a change from having the tape on the backplate.
 
I can feel a lot of air coming out of the gpu where the LED connector is, so that is probably the next place to block outbound airflow.
 
Thanks

 

ty_ger07
If you are going to do this mod, it seems that plugging those holes with wide strips of thermal pads would be way more effective. Tape can loosen up, the edge can flap around, it doesn't seal well around complex shapes, etcetera. A thermal pad would be wedged in place, wouldn't go anywhere, would seal better, would conform to complex shapes, and would at least conduct some heat from the PCB around the edges.

Sounds expensive and a bad idea.

kevinc313

ty_ger07
If you are going to do this mod, it seems that plugging those holes with wide strips of thermal pads would be way more effective. Tape can loosen up, the edge can flap around, it doesn't seal well around complex shapes, etcetera. A thermal pad would be wedged in place, wouldn't go anywhere, would seal better, would conform to complex shapes, and would at least conduct some heat from the PCB around the edges.

Sounds expensive and a bad idea.

Not expensive. Cheaper than a roll of kapton tape. Way better than kapton tape.

Thats interesting 

Those temp reductions in the reddit post seem exaggerated.

homestyle
Those temp reductions in the reddit post seem exaggerated.

I am not able to replicate it.  Hardly any air goes through those holes even with the blower fan at 100%. 
 
It made no difference for me, outside margin of error. 

kevinc313

ty_ger07

kevinc313

ty_ger07

kevinc313

ty_ger07
If you are going to do this mod, it seems that plugging those holes with wide strips of thermal pads would be way more effective. Tape can loosen up, the edge can flap around, it doesn't seal well around complex shapes, etcetera. A thermal pad would be wedged in place, wouldn't go anywhere, would seal better, would conform to complex shapes, and would at least conduct some heat from the PCB around the edges.

Sounds expensive and a bad idea.

Not expensive. Cheaper than a roll of kapton tape. Way better than kapton tape.

I've got three rolls of kapton doing nothing and where are you buying the stuff that it's more than $10 for a roll?

Hey man, do whatever you want. I'm just saying a thermal pad is a better long-term solution. Where are you buying stuff that a generic large thermal pad is expensive?

You mean like a generic silicone insulating pad?  Or a thermally conductive pad?  

Your questions are ridiculous.

kevinc313

ty_ger07
Your questions are ridiculous.

Why are you even in this thread with your condescending BS?  You don't even own one of these card so why do you care?

I am just trying to offer some assistance. I'm not the one arguing that $10 worth of thermal pads is an outrageous expense. Why you need to find me and argue with me is beyond me.