EKWB Demos Waterblock for GeForce RTX 3080/3090 FE Cards: Half-Length Single-Slot?

(Image credit: EKWB)

Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 Founders Edition graphics cards are notoriously known for their rather extreme dimensions. Still, we also know that even though the new Ampere boards use a short PCB, they are large because of their cooling systems. To take advantage of the diminutive PCB and make your 3090 more compact, you'll need to swap the cooler for something smaller. EK Water Blocks seems to have a solution. 

EKWB published the first picture of its upcoming waterblock for Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 Founders Edition graphics cards on its Twitter account on Friday. The image is mostly a teaser, but it also gives us a basic idea about what to expect from the product.

(Image credit: Nvidia)

Since the PCB design used for the GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 Founders Edition is rather short (i.e., it is shorter when compared to previous-gen flagship graphics cards), using a custom-built liquid cooling solution can easily make the cards shorter, too. Meanwhile, it is unclear from the photos whether EKWB’s upcoming waterblock for Ampere Founders Edition cards still features a single-slot design, or is somewhat thicker.  

(Image credit: EKWB)

Because both upcoming Founders Edition cards use Nvidia’s new 12-pin auxiliary PCIe power connector that is located in a rather unusual place, EKWB had to move water fittings to the back of the waterblock. The fittings are nickel plated and look very elegant. 

It is noteworthy that EKWB’s waterblock has a black cover that mimics the shape of the PCB above its transparent acrylic surface. We don't know if this cover has certain functionality or serves decorative purposes only, but it certainly adds to the style of the product. 

EK Water Blocks is not the only one company working on a waterblock for Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 Founders Edition graphics cards. Bykski recently announced its own waterblock for these cards. This part will be priced at €140 for European customers.

Anton Shilov
Contributing Writer

Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.

  • nofanneeded
    Because both upcoming Founders Edition cards use Nvidia’s new 12-pin auxiliary PCIe power connector that is located in a rather unusual place, EKWB had to move water fittings to the back of the waterblock. The fittings are nickel plated and look very elegant.

    Not really , there is still enough room for tubes behind the power plug . my guess is that they wanted to take advantage of the Circular cut of the PCB that huge hole is a waste to ignore .
    Reply
  • drivinfast247
    I like it. All that power in a super small footprint.
    Reply
  • nofanneeded
    drivinfast247 said:
    I like it. All that power in a super small footprint.

    Yep ! SFF watercooled will be amazing.
    Reply
  • Chargino
    EKWB equipment is absolute garbage. I honestly don't know how they stay in business. Bought 8 fans from them. One was dead on arrival, five more failed before they were a month old. One more died before reaching 60 days. Quick disconnect from them leaked right out of the box. Absolute TRASH. Buy at your own peril.
    Reply
  • spongiemaster
    Chargino said:
    EKWB equipment is absolute garbage. I honestly don't know how they stay in business. Bought 8 fans from them. One was dead on arrival, five more failed before they were a month old. One more died before reaching 60 days. Quick disconnect from them leaked right out of the box. Absolute TRASH. Buy at your own peril.
    They're water cooling parts are solid. But, I've had similar experiences to you with their fans. They're failure rate is like nothing I have seen to the point I thought I was doing something wrong. Buy someone else's fans.
    Reply
  • nofanneeded
    Chargino said:
    EKWB equipment is absolute garbage. I honestly don't know how they stay in business. Bought 8 fans from them. One was dead on arrival, five more failed before they were a month old. One more died before reaching 60 days. Quick disconnect from them leaked right out of the box. Absolute TRASH. Buy at your own peril.

    no they are not.
    Reply
  • vinay2070
    nofanneeded said:
    Yep ! SFF watercooled will be amazing.
    You need a big radiator to cool that card and CPU that drives it.
    Reply
  • nofanneeded
    vinay2070 said:
    You need a big radiator to cool that card and CPU that drives it.

    Many SFF cases can handle 240 Radiatator , some even 120+240 ...
    Reply
  • Izttzi
    nofanneeded said:
    Many SFF cases can handle 240 Radiatator , some even 120+240 ...
    Yea, a single 240mm will not be sufficient for a CPU/GPU cooling load on a 3090.

    The card itself, unoverclocked, is rated at 350 Watts. Add in a 100W CPU (again unoverclocked) and you're looking at 450 Watts of cooling to dump on a single 240mm rad? That thing would need 3000 RPM push pull fans to keep up.

    MAYBE 360mm of rad could do it but you would still be pushing heat VERY high.

    You'd want 480+mm of total rad for that much. For a 3070 build or something? Sure, a 240 might pull it off, but not a 3090. In custom loops a 240mm rad is NOT a big radiator.
    Reply
  • Izttzi
    Chargino said:
    EKWB equipment is absolute garbage. I honestly don't know how they stay in business. Bought 8 fans from them. One was dead on arrival, five more failed before they were a month old. One more died before reaching 60 days. Quick disconnect from them leaked right out of the box. Absolute TRASH. Buy at your own peril.
    Because people don't buy EK for the fans? Buy Noctua or something for the fans, EK make great blocks and reliable pump/res combos and they look great.

    This is like saying a Lian Li case is terrible because their power supplies are junk.
    Reply