Installation on our RTX 4080 FE:
As we mentioned during the unboxing, we chose an NVIDIA RTX 4080 Founders Edition to host this iCUE Link XG3 RGB Hybrid waterblock. Our choice fell on NVIDIA’s card in view of its proportions. It should become ultra-light once the block is in place. We’ll also be able to judge the cooling performance of such an imposing radiator. But let’s start with the trickiest part: disassembling this NVIDIA RTX 4080 Founders Edition.
Removing the cooling system :
Before we start disassembling the cooling system of our NVIDIA RTX 4080 Founders Edition, we wanted to highlight the difference in size between the two cooling solutions. The idea is to give you an idea of the size of the RTX 4080’s radiator.
Disassembling the card is not in itself very complicated, and will only take about ten minutes if you’ve already done it, since it’s no different from the other Founders Edition models. The first step is to remove the rear cover marked “RTX 4080”. To do this, carefully lift it from the HDMI side – it’s magnetically attached, but there’s also a small metal tab that you may need to press inwards if the cover doesn’t lift immediately.
Remove the 8 screws which are now accessible, then remove the back plate. This will reveal the rear of your RTX 4080’s PCB. This is where you’ll need to perform the 3 most sensitive tasks. You’ll need to remove two flat ribbon connectors. As a reminder, you need to lift the black part to unlock the retention system.
Next, you need to deal with the connector with the silver cover. You must first shift it to the left before lifting the black plastic connector upwards.
Finally, remove the four screws around the GPU chip and those holding the PCI bracket in place. We advise you to have a box ready to store all the screws, so as not to lose anything for future reassembly!
Installing the waterblock on the PCB of our RTX 4080 :
Nothing too complicated here either, as our iCUE Link XG3 RGB Hybrid waterblock already comes with pre-installed thermal pads and pre-applied thermal paste. For our test, as we always do, we’ll be using Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste. Don’t forget to remove the plastic film from the thermal pads before installing the waterblock . On the PCB, we’ve surrounded the chips of the power supply stage, which will be cooled by the airflow produced by the fan. There is therefore no contact between the waterblock and these chips.
The waterblock is attached to the graphics chip using the 4 screws in the block’s box. Don’t forget to respect the direction of flow when installing it on your cooling loop, otherwise performance could be affected.
When your cooling loop is installed, you’ll need to connect the iCUE Link cable to your iCUE Link HUB after installing the latest version of Corsair iCUE software.
So, isn’t there a big difference between before and after? Our NVIDIA RTX 4080 Founders Edition has just undergone a rather extraordinary weight loss. It remains to be seen whether the performance will still be there!
Let’s get down to the comparative tests between these two cooling solutions!
