jealous of all these pics in the comments bruh

snoopy3525
Here's mine in a Corsair 5000D
 
What's with a lot of people putting their radiators vertical with tubes on top?  Everywhere I've read tubes should always be on the bottom...  Unless I'm missing something.

The tubes on my 360 radiator wouldn't reach the bottom. It was like 1 inch too short. lol

Unfortunately hidden behind glass away from the drool splatters of me staring at it.  Patiently waiting for it's Hydrocopper carapace upgrade. 
 

Good thing is you can buy the hydro kit and always revert it later. That’s what I ended Up doing with mine.

GTXMan
Despite violating my rule about buying from scalpers, I snagged one for $1550 cash after randomly going on Craigslist (where there are very few 3080Tis and the ones there are typically asking for an absurd amount of money). Was a new listing so I just got lucky and given that with tax and shipping I wouldn't be paying a whole lot more from EVGA and I'm nowhere near getting one in the queue, I'm content. Would have liked to get a HC but I'm trying to decide on blocks now. I'd love an Optimus but hard to get so we'll see.
 
Will be paired with a direct-die cooled 10850K in a custom-painted Thermaltake P5.
 

If you want the Optimus, watch their twitter account.  Sometimes they post when they have blocks available for preorder or when they have blemish units available for immediate sale.  They are really good blocks and to me worth the money especially when you consider they come with a full passive cooling rear plate.  To me, it was really worth the money and time.  

Since the 3080/3090 FTW3 water block has been out for a while it wasn't a F5 battle for me.  I don't think it is that crazy anymore trying to get one.  Just keep in mind that when they say it's in stock, it means that the materials are available and that it will still take about 4-6 weeks to get it to you once you order unless you buy a blemish model.  The blemish models are pretty good still as an option plus they give a 20% discount as well.  The blemish models usually ship within a day or two.  
 
When I was looking to block my 3090 I did a ton of research on the cards.  The Optimus block is really a great product.  The materials used are really good and if you look at how they manufacturer the parts it speaks volumes.  If possible, do yourself a favor by either using a vertical mount or you'll have to make sure you have enough bracing since the block is so darn heavy.  If you go the vertical mount, be sure to get a PCI-E 4.0 riser cable to make sure you don't have issues with the install.  
 
The large back plate Optimus provides with their kit does a great job of keeping the backside of the GPU cool.  I really doubt that you would see any real gains on temps with an active back plate versus the Optimus with proper air flow in the case.  If you really are that worried about rear temps, you could add alter the rear plate to add some fans to it, but I've run multiple Timespy and Port Royal runs with no issues for rear temps.  
 
Without a doubt, the money I spent on the Optimus parts I would do again if I had to do it over again.  Their products are just that great.  Communication might be a bit suspect, but understand what you are getting into before you order so you don't get frustrated with the wait.  

This is my current build, but it should be going through a mod sometime next week.  Currently has a 5800x but will be changing that out to a 5950X and the SL120 unifans will be changed to AL120 unifans as well.  Waiting on the Optimus Water Block for the Kingpin I have sitting under my desk.  
 

 
Port Royal with the 450 watt bios:  14,660
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 video card benchmark result - AMD Ryzen 7 5800X,ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. ROG CROSSHAIR VIII DARK HERO (3dmark.com)
 
Time Spy with the 450 watt bios:  18.919
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 video card benchmark result - AMD Ryzen 7 5800X,ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. ROG CROSSHAIR VIII DARK HERO (3dmark.com)
 
This pc is built for gaming, minor OC on the GPU since I plan on changing it out when I have the Kingpin ready.  

GTXJackBauer

snoopy3525
Here's mine in a Corsair 5000D.  Not the prettiest setup due to AIO fan color (Noctua NF-A12x25 made a world of difference), but airflow and cooling is working well!
 
What's with a lot of people putting their radiators vertical with tubes on top?  Everywhere I've read tubes should always be on the bottom...  Unless I'm missing something.
 

Nice setup you got going.  I'll be joining the AIO train soon enough once I upgrade my rig completely.  Custom liquid cooling for 10 years now and feel the bug has since left me, not to mention the ease of access to the components to name a few.

Great choice on the fans (A12s) and yes, many system builders install their vertical rads with the tubing up top.  Heck, even seen some AIO mfgers advertise them as such.
 
Either way, it's still doable but don't recommend it but the way you have it installed is the perfect way of doing things.  Unfortunately sometimes there are limitations that force builders to only install with the tubing coming and going from the top.

 
Sorry, couldn't help it.
 
Thanks for posting your rig snoopy. I was curious what that exact setup looked like in the 5000d. Thinking about replacing O11 Dynamic with it.
 
 
 

I can't seem to make up my damn mind. I posted before the QL120s were horrible radiator fans but they look really nice. Well I went back to my ML120 Capellix... The edges are a little dull, so I added a RGB strip around them. It's like a disco in my build now. 
 
Before left, After right. Temps are a 5C difference on the GPU... 
 

 

Gotspeed_2000
Since the 3080/3090 FTW3 water block has been out for a while it wasn't a F5 battle for me.  I don't think it is that crazy anymore trying to get one.  Just keep in mind that when they say it's in stock, it means that the materials are available and that it will still take about 4-6 weeks to get it to you once you order unless you buy a blemish model.  The blemish models are pretty good still as an option plus they give a 20% discount as well.  The blemish models usually ship within a day or two.  
 
When I was looking to block my 3090 I did a ton of research on the cards.  The Optimus block is really a great product.  The materials used are really good and if you look at how they manufacturer the parts it speaks volumes.  If possible, do yourself a favor by either using a vertical mount or you'll have to make sure you have enough bracing since the block is so darn heavy.  If you go the vertical mount, be sure to get a PCI-E 4.0 riser cable to make sure you don't have issues with the install.  
 
The large back plate Optimus provides with their kit does a great job of keeping the backside of the GPU cool.  I really doubt that you would see any real gains on temps with an active back plate versus the Optimus with proper air flow in the case.  If you really are that worried about rear temps, you could add alter the rear plate to add some fans to it, but I've run multiple Timespy and Port Royal runs with no issues for rear temps.  
 
Without a doubt, the money I spent on the Optimus parts I would do again if I had to do it over again.  Their products are just that great.  Communication might be a bit suspect, but understand what you are getting into before you order so you don't get frustrated with the wait.  

EK block and backplate arrived yesterday and I was thinking of cracking them open tonight to put them on - then I went to Optimus' site a little after 12pm eastern and what do you know, FTW3 block was in stock. I went for it (nickel + XL backplate). I'm waiting to confirm on the timing because I swear when I was on the site there was a pop-up referencing 3-4 weeks shipping but I went on a few mins ago and now it says week of Sept 13th, so not sure if I misread or the timing has simply changed based on the orders that went in after mine.
 
Either way I've waited this long so another 4-6 weeks is whatever. I'm pumped. EK stuff is still sealed in its shipping box so I'll simply return. Can't wait to test it out.

Gotspeed_2000
GTX, 
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but with the Optimus site when they show in stock it usually means that they have the materials to make the block, but need additional time to manufacture and ship.  I think the normal turn around time is around 4-6 weeks.  I also got excited when I bought mines for the 3090.  I saw that they were "in stock" and I jumped on the purchase.  I waited around for a week or so to see if there was a status change to "shipped" when I realized through the Optimus thread that I still needed to wait for production.  
 
I would still do it again with no regrets.  If you can wait for the block and are able to return the EK block I would do so.  I highly doubt you would regret that decision if it was available.  I like my Optimus block so much that if I sell my 3090 I'm going to revert the card back to air and keep it for my son when he gets his name called for the step up to the 3080.  If you haven't bought a cpu block I would also take a look at their as well.  
 
I just ordered their Kingpin block the other day so I'm also waiting like you for my new block.  That Kingpin block is nuts, but for most people the rear active cooling might be overkill.  For my use it probably is, but it was the only way to order it right now.  Their backplate is great at cooling the rear components and I have no concerns about it in my current setup.  The 600 for the Kingpin kit is a bit steep, but what you get with it does make it reasonable to me.  

Haha no I understand that. I learned a while ago that with Optimus placing an order is really a pre-order.
 
I was just trying to figure out the disparity between their site telling me 3-4 weeks when I ordered vs week of Sept 13th if you go to the site now. Not like it's a big difference either way.
 
I've been following the chatter about the KPE on overclock.net. Looks nuts. Definitely post your results when you get it. 

 
Just finished my hybrid to hydro conversion.  Still finishing a few things (waiting on fans mostly) then time to load this thing up with fluid and get it on the wall.

Nazarus

Explixit
Safe to say that I'm loving this build. It was beyond anything I had planned. 
The rest of the build shown here. Imgur: The magic of the Internet
 

 
What are you using for a light source on the GPU?  A small light strip?

Yeah, it is a 200mm long strip from NZXT. I simply connected the LED strip in series to the other NZXT RGB fans that I have in the front which then connects to the Kraken Z63 Cooler. I was thinking of feeding the LED strip through a diffuser to spread the light evenly, but I turned out liking the way it came out.
 
I still have another LED strip that it came with, so I may play around with different ideas later. 

oceansong34

GTXJackBauer

snoopy3525
Here's mine in a Corsair 5000D.  Not the prettiest setup due to AIO fan color (Noctua NF-A12x25 made a world of difference), but airflow and cooling is working well!
 
What's with a lot of people putting their radiators vertical with tubes on top?  Everywhere I've read tubes should always be on the bottom...  Unless I'm missing something.
 

Nice setup you got going.  I'll be joining the AIO train soon enough once I upgrade my rig completely.  Custom liquid cooling for 10 years now and feel the bug has since left me, not to mention the ease of access to the components to name a few.

Great choice on the fans (A12s) and yes, many system builders install their vertical rads with the tubing up top.  Heck, even seen some AIO mfgers advertise them as such.
 
Either way, it's still doable but don't recommend it but the way you have it installed is the perfect way of doing things.  Unfortunately sometimes there are limitations that force builders to only install with the tubing coming and going from the top.

 
Sorry, couldn't help it.
 

Actually I have been saying this for many years along with other veteran custom liquid coolers before Nexus did a segment on it.  Been in the liquid cooling game for years.
 
Some of the folks who had pump issues/audibles had their tubing at the highest point. 
 
Many influencers/'experts' used to say either nothing about it or claim that anyway you install them is just 'fine'.  Sure it's fine if you have no choice but if you run into issues, there's a good chance that's the issue.