RTX 4080 Hacked Down to Two Slots For SFF Build

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Dreams of dual-slot, dual-fan air-cooled RTX 4080 GPUs can come true.

Modded RTX 4080 with dual-slot dimensions
(Image credit: TechTaxi on reddit)

A PC and DIY enthusiast has taken to Reddit to show off their home-modded dual-slot dual-fan GeForce RTX 4080, one of the best graphics cards. Redditor TechTaxi also shared some exciting benchmarking, power usage, and thermal test results from before and after modification for your enjoyment.

TechTaxi’s modified dual-slot dual-fan GeForce RTX 4080 design mates the Gainward 4070 Ghost OC cooling shroud with the Gainward 4080 Phoenix GS PCB, with a few modifications to fit. Specifically, a few VRM clearance distances weren’t quite right when the cooler was swapped over, so the smaller cooler had to be milled down in several strategic places (over some VRMs).

Mark Tyson
Mark Tyson
News Editor

Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.

19 Comments Comment from the forums
  • endocine
    The coolers on the 4080 were all overkill, something more sane could have easily been implemented and still kept the thermals under reasonable control. The size of the GPUs and their power consumption has risen to absurd levels. They are cracking, melting, using way too much power and generating too much heat
    Reply
  • Alvar "Miles" Udell
    MSI makes a 2 slot liquid cooled 4090, could have just used that.
    Reply
  • aberkae
    Alvar Miles Udell said:
    MSI makes a 2 slot liquid cooled 4090, could have just used that.
    yep mine fits in an itx h210 case doesn't throttle even with 150 mhz oc on core and 150 mhz on memory.
    https://photos.app.goo.gl/vcuRQkaSQfS8Vm2g6
    Reply
  • kira-faye
    aberkae said:
    yep mine fits in an itx h210 case doesn't throttle even with 150 mhz oc on core and 150 mhz on memory.
    https://photos.app.goo.gl/vcuRQkaSQfS8Vm2g6
    I mean, an H210 is gigantic for an ITX case, so that's not really saying much.
    Reply
  • jkhoward
    Alvar Miles Udell said:
    MSI makes a 2 slot liquid cooled 4090, could have just used that.
    The size of the heatsink is an old marketing trick, the bigger the better, hence Intel and AMD’s giant CPU boxes.
    Reply
  • umeng2002_2
    Or the rumors about these cards originally using like 600 watts were true.
    Reply
  • WinThenChill
    Alvar Miles Udell said:
    MSI makes a 2 slot liquid cooled 4090, could have just used that.
    The liquid cooled 4090 by MSI is effectively more than twice the size of this modded 4080 though. If you take the measurements of both the card (280x140x43) and the radiator + fan (274x121x55), the MSI is by all means a huge card.
    The modded 4080 has a much smaller footprint and can be used in many small form factor cases that otherwise are limited to 4070 cards at best.
    Reply
  • SyCoREAPER
    "Dreams of dual-slot, dual-fan air-cooled RTX 4080 GPUs can come true."

    I'd keep the 4 slots over a 20° increase
    Reply
  • Joseph_138
    Look at the difference in those operating temps, though. Over time, that's going to have a detrimental effect on the longevity of the GPU. Performance could also be impaired if it starts throttling. If you're someone who upgrades every time something better comes out, it might not be a problem, but if you're like most people, who keep their cards for several years, you may end up having to replace it earlier than you budgeted for.
    Reply
  • Joseph_138
    Alvar Miles Udell said:
    MSI makes a 2 slot liquid cooled 4090, could have just used that.
    "Dreams of dual-slot, dual-fan air-cooled RTX 4080 GPUs can come true."

    You obviously missed this part. The whole point was to make an air cooled card. Having to install a separate radiator and fan assembly is like adding a second video card, in terms of space, which actually makes it 4x wide. You're not saving any space at all.
    Reply