Time for a silly question...

[Surfie]

Ok. I've got a1080ti, at a nice price. It comes with quite a nice backplate. Trouble is, it's an air cooled card, and i plan on incorporating it into a water cooling loop.

Now for the silly question. I know i need a water block (that much is obvious), but do i have to get another back plate to match the water block? Or can i recycle the backplate from the gpu manufacturer (and save that 40 bucks)?

 

[tinytomlogan]

It actually depends on the block, screw size can become an issue. Depends how ready you are to crack the drill out to the backplate.

 

[AlienALX]

Yeah usually WC back plates are pretty thick and thus the screws may or may not bottom out before they hold it on.

Ed. I strongly recommend the block and back plate I used. The block was a good £20 cheaper than full cover and the back plate is also water cooled, right over the VRM section on the back of the card. Very neat, and works very well

 

[Surfie]

Yeah usually WC back plates are pretty thick and thus the screws may or may not bottom out before they hold it on.

Ed. I strongly recommend the block and back plate I used. The block was a good £20 cheaper than full cover and the back plate is also water cooled, right over the VRM section on the back of the card. Very neat, and works very well

Yeah that's about what i suspected.

Haha @Tom. It's still an expensive card. I'd sooner pony up 40 bucks, than drill the pcb. Edit: Oh! To the BACKPLATE. That's different. Perfectly ok with drilling that sucker to save a few bucks.

@AlienALX: Oh? Which block was that?

 

[AlienALX]

Yeah that's about what i suspected.

Haha @Tom. It's still an expensive card. I'd sooner pony up 40 bucks, than drill the pcb.

@AlienALX: Oh? Which block was that?

lol good question ! I used the Aquacomputer.

And BP

Fitted.

And here you can see how the BP works. Basically it has a heat pipe that is inserted into the flow, then connects to the BP with TIM and a plate that holds it down.

Edit. IIRC I paid about £110 all in? Block is £85

http://www.pcmodders.co.uk/water-co...-nvidia-titan-x-und-gtx-1080-ti-black-edition

BP £34.11

http://www.pcmodders.co.uk/water-co...scal-nvidia-titan-x-und-gtx-1080-ti-aktiv-xcs

Do note it ships from Germany, so allow about 5 days.

 

[Surfie]

Not the most aesthetically pleasing of blocks, is it? Edit again: actually, the more i look at it the more i like the look. Weird.

The look is important to me, as the block will be on display.

Edit to add: the heat pipe appears to be nickel plated copper. Is there a non played version to your knowledge? Couldn't find in the site (i would also be shipping to Australia, so it may not be worth it).

I wonder if there's a bitspower backplate for the ek block...

 

[AlienALX]

Not the most aesthetically pleasing of blocks, is it?

Edit to add: the heat pipe appears to be nickel plated copper. Is there a non played version to your knowledge? Couldn't find in the site (i would also be shipping to Australia, so it may not be worth it).

I wonder if there's a bitspower backplate for the ek block...

Photos do not do AC any favours. However, I can tell you now it's the most beautifully made block I have ever had. I've got a couple of EKs and the quality is just miles apart. It's one of those things you need to handle etc to truly appreciate it.

I don't know if the pipe is plated. If it is then they dunked the whole thing because if you look at the pinched ends you can't see any copper.

Unless you are going to side mount the GPU and have the block staring at you in the face every day it's worth having. The back plate is gorgeous.

It's hardly like you say to yourself "hey I think I will just turn my head upside down and stare at my water block"

Also a little bit of advice. If you look at the pic look for the GPU rad (top right of the machine). You can see the original 120mm AIO rad cover on there, and how that rad (Koolance) dwarfs the original AIO rad. However, my Titan XP is a f*****g mad man, and will easily clock to +240 on the core. Very, very fast. However, it then gets very, very hot.

So make sure to use at least a 240 rad for the GPU alone. That way you can get the absolute max out of your card

 

[Surfie]

Rad space is a non issue for me. It will be joining a cpu and sharing a 360 and 240mm (60mm deep) rad together, so will bee nice and chilly for them.

Sorry, i edited the post, so you may not have seen it yet: one of the mods will be type display that card: so the block will definitely be visible.

Thanks for the tips and suggestions though! I appreciate them!

 

[AlienALX]

Rad space is a non issue for me. It will be joining a cpu and sharing a 360 and 240mm (60mm deep) rad together, so will bee nice and chilly for them.

Sorry, i edited the post, so you may not have seen it yet: one of the mods will be type display that card: so the block will definitely be visible.

Thanks for the tips and suggestions though! I appreciate them!

No worries man. I think my next step down from Watercool and Aquacomputer would be EK. I do really like how their blocks look