jnayna
 
 
And get confirmation from EVGA that they agree the issue is only from heatsink removal if that is what they stick with rather than the standoffs.

catsailor
I just want to share my install success story to hopefully put some at ease.  I received my 3080 FTW3 Ultra last week and finally got around to installing the EKWB Block and backplate tonight.  Reading though this thread I was a bit scared to do this but went for it.  I'm not new to water cooling and have had blocks on all my video cards going back too many years at this point.
 
I ran some stress tests and got the GPU up to temp then shut down the machine.  While everything was still hot I removed all the screws from the backplate and slowly started to evenly pry up the PCB from the heatsink.  The GPU area seems to stick the most but a tad bit of twisting while evenly prying on one side and it came loose with no flexing of the PCB.  After a bunch of cleaning I cut all the thermal pads to size and applied everything where needed.  I then went for the install of the block starting with the GPU screws followed by the rest working my way out.  I did not fully torque everything down on the first pass but slowly over a bit of time kept tightening things up.  This allowed the thermal pads to squeeze out a tad and did not warp the board in the process.  I did the same thing with the backplate working slow to tighten things up over time.  I did add some kapton tape to the back side of the 2 rows of thought soldered components and the power plugs since they did stick out a bit more then everything else.  This is more of an insurance policy but while peaking in with a flashlight I did not see them coming close to the plate.  One thing that is not in the EKWB instructions but I did anyway was remove the backlight module for the EVGA logo for the stock backplate.  When doing a dry fit I saw this getting in the way.  After plumbing everything up and doing a leak test I held my breath and hit the power switch....  Success!!  Temps are amazing any I now have a quiet gaming rig again. 
 
All I can say is take your time and double check everything.  Get a bright flashlight and peak along the edges to look for anything touching or not looking right.  If you start to tighten things up and it does not feel right stop, reset and start again. 

Vipilicious

JustinMcLauchlin

stealthvitus
My 3090 FTW3 Ultra after installing an EKWB waterblock didn't want to rise freq more then 210mhz... Temp is 28deg. Fan speed 0.
 
MB: ASUS ROG MAXIMUS XIII EXTREME GLACIAL.
 
Have anybody same problem ?

Actually, have this same thing going on. Just a bug? Games are running fine, etc. Seems like its just idling at 200 or something and doesn't reach boost speeds until I start gaming. I will monitor this as I test today on 3dmark

Had this problem too. Refers to energy settings. Use maximum power. Should solve the issue.
 
@ Topic - installed the block 2 months ago still running. What i figured out: One Screw was not fitting perfectly. During the installation i figured out that some copper pieces from the screw hole were noticable at the board. Furthermore dont overtighting the screws. I screwed them until I recognized only small resistance nothing more. Furthermore I recognized that the thermal pads at the backplate were not fitting perfectly. Before installing the backplate just hold it at one end and look if it fits or not.

TrumpyAl
EVGA do not want to RMA the second card and are telling me that I shouldn't use EK products on their cards.
 
EK assure me that EVGA ok'd the design before it was released.
 


I will follow it up with Eric Ding.  This has further damaged my impression of EVGA as being a provider of quality products.

richard203
wow i was gonna give ek block a try but i research a lot of people had their graphic card not working after the install. i guess i have to wait for my time for those hydro copper card.

earlmarinus
I am curious have you all that have had success with the ekwb water block put the 1 mm pads on the vrms? I notice in you tube video by Arithin Hanzo that he did not put them on vrms. In the instructions on ekwb PDF it states to cover them with pads.

TrumpyAl

wmmills

TrumpyAl
EVGA do not want to RMA the second card and are telling me that I shouldn't use EK products on their cards.
 
EK assure me that EVGA ok'd the design before it was released.
 


I will follow it up with Eric Ding.  This has further damaged my impression of EVGA as being a provider of quality products.

There not telling you that you cant use EK products, they are telling you to beware that yes your covered under warranty BUT if you install a aftermarket part like a waterblock and theres any physical damage to the card it will void your warranty. They are covering there asses, rightfully so, and making sure you were advised of this part of the warranty. Of course they would suggest you not use other companyhs stuff, they want to sell you there stuff. Its a business so they tend to be a little biased at making money for it. 

I know that their English is not great, but you I'm quite sure that you have invented your own message there: their response made no mention at all of physical damage to the card.  They have not 'suggested' that I do not use EK's product, but rather they have stated that doing so will void my warranty.  I asked for RMA approval and instead received that message and I think it is reasonable to interpret it as them saying that they covered it last time, but it is not covered by warranty this time.  As you can see, they did not ask anything about physical damage.  Only when I escalated it, and pointed out (with photo evidence) that the card that they sent me from the first RMA had been assembled with a misplaced thermal pad, did they approve the RMA.  Had they provided a card in good condition from the first RMA I believe that they would have upheld the rejection of my RMA request.


 

skyline090
EK is now using a shorter standoff on the 3080/3090 blocks. They will send you one for free if you have one. They are sending me one which I will swap out when I pull it out for maintenance.

When I enquired to EK about this they ignored my query and instead told me to stress test the card before disassembly and to be gentle (both of which I was already was doing).  Not sure why EK haven't updated their online instructions to stress test the card prior to disassembly.