This is how you make a 4090 even more expensive... 4090 Strix EK Waterblock Install

[@xxJOKeR75xx]

I'd like to see a comparison on how the temps change between the normal and the active backplate blocks. Just so we know if it's worth the extra price and effort.

[@RGBeanie]

It will lower VRM temps, which will definitely help in demanding scenarios

[@AKTechIT]

@@RGBeanie how would it lower vrm temps if there is no memory on the back?

[@joeldiramon]

@@RGBeanie i think someone already posted this in the r/watercool subreddit. very minimal gains for the price

[@stansz]

@@AKTechIT VRM = voltage regulator module

[@AKTechIT]

@@stansz ah my bad

[@ytmaxxammo8591]

I have 3 PCs with the mystic fog. Absolutely nothing that you can’t clean. No gunk just a lil bit of milky dusting. Easy to clean with sys prep.

[@KentBurgess]

I've put Mystic Fog in several builds. The loop really needs to be flushed thoroughly with distilled water before using the Mystic Fog or the reflecting particles will fall out. I've also found that diluting the recommended mixture with about 50% more distilled water leads to much better longevity. The system I built for my wife has been running Mystic Fog for a year and a half with no fallout.

[@warpedphreak]

no reason to dilute if done right the first time around, and maintain flushing per manufacturer specs (def less than 1yr... hint hint)

[@KentBurgess]

@@warpedphreak If there is no color fallout, temperatures are identical to new, and there is no chemical breakdown in the system, then there is no reason to flush the system.

[@anivicuno9473]

@@KentBurgess You know that particles in suspension can still react and clump with other particles over time right? Especially in systems with more tham zero energy....

[@chubbysumo2230]

I had the premix drop out after just 6 months. The loop had EK cryofuel clear in it beforehand, and was not flushed with distilled water or any cleaners, just some clean cryofuel clear(literally used 2 liters of clear premix to flush the loop to even remove the possibility of water contamination). still failed after 6 months. didn't stain the tubes or stuff tho, and was able to be flushed out in 1 go by using the pump to pull from a new bottle of clear and just sucking the old crap out of the loop.

[@ms3862]

I've used premix for a year and a half and the mystic fog still looked new. Eventually drained it anyway and the tubes had some discolouration

[@B13ro]

Haha Doug's surprise appearance was hilarious! Thanks Jay for showing us all of the water cooling quirks and features

[@sipher3516]

Doug popping up out of Jay's box of goodies made me spit water on my desk. Thankfully I missed my keyboard lol.

[@NJerseyBoy]

Straight up legendary.

[@biLLy-op5pr]

Shit made me smile

[@Buddy63631]

Surprise appearance foiled 😢

[@CadeCraze]

Impossible, now I have to sell the other kidney.

[@carbon_no6]

Or, you can start your stripping business again. Don’t charge 2 cents. You’ll need to reduce it to 1 cent.

[@CadeCraze]

@@carbon_no6 with this economy? Inflation put me out of business in the first place

[@arride4590]

Do you live in US or Zimbabwe?

[@digizilla164]

Just make sure its not your kidney youre selling.

[@ReflectivitytivitcelfeR]

​@digizilla164 sell blood, sperm, or eggs (don't know your gender) valuable and replaceable

[@solocamo3654]

Performance PCS is great, based out of FL and always do you right. One of the only reliable non "major site" unlike frozen cpu & xoxide unfortunately.

[@arztje]

Their manuals (EKWB) are easy to find and well done. I just did a 2080 OC Strix with an EKWB GPU Water Block - took maybe 20 minutes total between the ASUS being easy to take apart, and the EKWB documentation being well written.

[@hypnotiq]

Instructions arent worth how overpriced they are imo. It's getting insane how much they charge for their parts when there are other companies that have better cooling performance for almost half the price for some things.

[@baoquoc3710]

@@hypnotiq uhm, aren't you kidding? This is EK water blocks, their cooling solution is always end to end, if there's cheaper ones, it's either just noctua which hardly comes close

[@hypnotiq]

@@baoquoc3710 are you drunk? Watercool/Heatkiller waterblocks just to name one, have been a few degrees cooler at almost half the price for YEARS. EK is just a well known pay for the brand overpriced.

[@hypnotiq]

@@baoquoc3710 The only reason EK is considered "end game" is because its expensive and way more popular than other brands. Their waterblocks are good, but for the price there are countless other brands, even aliexpress waterblocks hold up to EK blocks within a few degrees.

[@arztje]

@@hypnotiq Part of it for me was on availability. I wanted a Corsair model, but it wasn't restocked. I went with this as an alternative and wasn't disappointed. It's a good point to say there are plenty of options, and I agree that shopping around is best. I appreciate that this channel is big on that recommendation because as Jay has mentioned before - it can get really expensive very quickly to spec out a custom cooled build (esp if you use a lot of fittings).

[@AusSkiller]

I'm probably going to do this with the TUF instead of the Strix, the performance difference is going to be negligible but the price difference will cover the cost of the water block.

[@bepbep7418]

FINALLY builds are starting back! 🙌

[@rustler08]

Blocks like these are where I love using TG-PP10. No need to cut up specific thickness pads, just ball it up using your fingers or use a syringe to apply to all areas, put on your thermal paste, put it together, done. The best part is if there are any tolerance differences, you don't have to worry about thermal pads that are too thick or too thin. And with a thermal conductivity of 10.00W/m-K, it's up there with some of the better pads.

[@bs11100010]

Excited to see the quirks and features

[@kalapanas]

Tomorrow he's going to review it and then he's going to give it a Jay score.

[@ImranIsak]

THISSSSS

[@JetsetDruid]

He's gotta look in the glovebox for the owners manual

[@mczulian603]

I love the detail of the tool to take the cable off. That's so toughtful from EK. I love it

[@kekked1584]

I think it would be really cool to see how this compares to an Alphacool Eiswolf 2 4090.

[@cfrozen6210]

Yes, I would like to see the performance of different blocks. I think Igors Lab once did it with CPU blocks some years ago, and many cheaper brands were cooler than EKWB.

[@B0B_BELCHER]

He did a review of the 4090 alphacool cooler two weeks ago 😊 you can find it on his site

[@MaheerKibria]

I am glad you are getting back to water cooling and hopefully custom builds. I am really hoping you do some really nice custom stuff now that you guys have a 3D printer and I mean stuff other than brackets for a sensor panel display.

[@raven4k998]

well if he's doing it atleast he's doing it with something that will utilize the liquid cooling like a 4090 that things a nuclear reactor in and of it's own

[@SpecialCheeseWaffle]

More watercooling videos!! YES! Would love to see an updated how-to on watercooling loops for PC's :)

[@BeheadedKamikaze]

It's literally no different. The way you prep, flush, fit, fill, drain, etc. is all exactly the same as it always was. This is good because it means all the old content is still relevant

[@josephmabanag6254]

I installed an Ek waterblock on a Suprim X liquid. I removed the AIO and installed the block. The connector is also recessed. Thank for the video!

[@Gruffdonut]

That EK waterblock looks really sick! As much as I like the 3080 Strix air cooler design, that water block design is so chill and understated. Wish I could do a custom loop in my system

[@chubbysumo2230]

I used mystic fog premix for about 6 months. it started dropping out in the last month when the PC was off. I flushed the loop by having 2 liters of premix cryofuel clear, cracking the loop open, and running the pump to push the mystic fog out, while pulling the clean fluid thru. worked a treat, and got rid of it all in about 20 seconds, leaving just a couple of res rinses with clean fluid to clean the rest. did not stain my waterblocks at all, but did stain the gasket of my EVGA Hydrocopper card quite a bit(from clear to a white haze now). I will have to change the fluid again in a week as it dissolves the rest of the crap that fell out, but the clear fluid has a slight haze to it now.

[@Opi_Baettlebeard]

Just about died when I saw Doug! Literally just finished one of his vids

[@THEK0TU]

To make things easier, i highly recommend before screwing in the backplate to insert the power cord and insure it is properly seated, then install the back plate. it'll help IMHO with the issues with seating it flush, and can do so without forcing it further causing damage, or worrying and not putting it in correctly--regardless if it will or won't with the backplate already on.

[@BeheadedKamikaze]

I got pretty much the same block but for the Gigabyte Gaming OC 4090 upon launch (I think it arrived in Nov). There's one extra thing you didn't show - the metal plate with "GEFORCE RTX" is magnetic and detaches easily so you can rotate it either direction so it can be read properly when used in vertical mounting :)

[@surly_mel]

I installed a 3080 version of this not too long ago, so nice. Love the active backplate, minimal RGB, and no fuss no leak build. I've tried other water cooling products in the past and ALWAYS come back to EK.

[@adamlittle9177]

Doug DeMuro @3:50 !!! Made me laugh, thanks Phil!

[@sloreo8278]

That cooling pad note is why I started using putty over pads. I had a Dell G15 I repasted 6 times in a week because the pads kept being too thick or too stiff and giving bad contact. Went to K5 and later TGPP10 and never had another issue. The K5 admittedly left a residue when cleaned off but the TGPP10 has been great and cleans off well all things considered.

[@SirChaosS]

i love watching these types of videos. I wanna liquid-cool my system, but i wanna run 2 separate loops (1 for CPU, 1 for GPU--i know there really isn't a "need" to, but for the design i have in mind, it's what i want) so i am always inspired watching what you come up with. Now i'm thinking AIO for CPU and a custom loop for graphics. i can still make that work with the theme of the build.

[@grievesy83]

I’m here to say build whatever custom loop you like! Don’t let convention dictate how you want your system to look. 😁 I very nearly intertwined/crossed tubes on my loop just because I knew it would trigger custom loop snobs. 😆 Chickened out in the end because it was going to be too difficult to bend. But my system is massively over-cooled (2 x 360 rads for a 5600X & RTX 3070), just because I wanted the loop a certain way & for reduced fan speeds/noise. It was fun, & that’s the whole point.

[@hellraserfleshlight]

Not only is it not necessary, it will perform worse. With a single loop, all components have access to the full cooling potential of the system. In a dual loop, each component is limited to the cooling capacity of its respective radiator. Since there are almost no scenarios where both will be operating full tilt, you are basically throwing away the unused capacity of one of the loops. The *only* reason to do a dual loop is aesthetics, and it costs you performance.

[@jimflagg4009]

The main advantage to liquid cooling is it moves the heat sink over your CPU and GPU to the edge of the case. This makes it look much cleaner inside. The second advantage is you can then use larger fans. The larger your fan the quieter it is. Still might get a noise from the pump depending on the pump you go with. Also I would start with soft tubing. Hard tubing is such a pain if one of you components quits working.

[@hellraserfleshlight]

@@grievesy83 congrats on spending enough to upgrade to a 3090 and maybe 5800X3D on your loop, I guess? Your also triggering this value-enthusiast.

[@grievesy83]

@@hellraserfleshlight spending money on a hobby doesn’t need to be a value proposition. If it did, we wouldn’t have hobbies. The actual benefit in the end was in noise reduction vs air cooling - my fans are all running super slow and quiet because i have so much thermal headroom.

[@orated762]

I use CRC Lectra Motive when cleaning pcb's. Non-Flammable and Non-Conductive. Makes PCB look brand new. Alcohol is flammable and conductive but evaporates quickly, i use alcohol for cleaning thermal paste and spot cleaning but never allow it to flow throughout the board. There is space under those surface mount chips that it can get trapped in if not blown out. I use Mother back to black for all plastics, looks new but not like you wiped armor all on it.

[@JezyYT]

Great hanging out with you today Jay! Love these more in depth more detailed hands on water cooling videos

[@khaychi]

I repasted&repadded a gpu last year for the first time. What a drama if you continue to use the aircooler and you have to reassemble it, but it worked. If i ever go water cooling, it will be really interesting to install a waterblock. 😀

[@peterpeter5666]

nice to see water cooling stuff again feels like a long time. but like most have mentioned i would love to see the temps , im sure performance will be marginal

[@Silverhks]

My gigabyte card never goes above 50c and generally is between 40-45c while gaming. I am not able to talk about performance gains but it seems to keep higher clocks.

[@peterpeter5666]

@@Silverhks is it water cooled?

[@Silverhks]

@@peterpeter5666 yep, that's why I mention it. I have no comparison data because it actually wouldn't fit in my case without the waterblock 🤣

[@liamtilliam5866]

Imagine you drop a screw down the fins 7:30 and all you hear is that tinking sound when you drop a coin down a turbine engine, you lift it up and its just gone. Im loving this

[@EagleEye8208]

Man, that is one sleek water block. Never seen a 4090 so small. Just bought a MSI 4090 Suprim X, but was offered the AIO, tempted to exchange now given the space saving.

[@jjlw2378]

Swap the AIO for a cheap Byski block. It worked wonders for me. The AIO is too small for the power draw on these cards. Get the Byski, flash the Galax 666w bios, and enjoy your card.

[@ANSWERTHECALLOFJESUSCHRIST]

I have the 4090 Liquid Suprim X and it's such a blessing to not have a humongous card. Cooler works nicely too, because the radiator fans push out literal hot air and the card's temps themselves stay cool.

[@hj-redravenheng3822]

I have this same block and the active backplate for the evgs 3090 FTW... the blocks add a TON of weight - but its sooooo quiet afterwards... couldn't care less about the price because I can't hear it. Except for a tiny bit of coil whine, sometimes. Well worth it if you're not scared of the cost.

[@BlueMetal]

That Doug cameo caught me off guard lol.

[@DDD-xx4mg]

This is my set up. I found trouble lining the ABP block up. Was much harder than with my old 3090

[@tyson3758]

I like watching waterblock installs. It's ironic how the best ek wb videos are not made by them. they are made by Snaxan and others like these.

[@Jim-yr9zl]

I wish she would only do pc stuff, it's a same she doesn't do more her pc content is really good.

[@tyson3758]

@@Jim-yr9zl 100%. Today I learned how to electroplate ek radiators from her channel lol. I didn't even know it was possible.

[@TotallyNotRoadkiill]

The Daddy Doug "This" 😂

[@Drsokol01]

Would love to see a video on active backplate vs non active backplate on a 3080/3080ti or 4080/4090 without ram on the back side of the board. I have an EK Velocity TUF on my 3080ti and their passive backplate. The backplate gets so hot that you cannot hold your hand on it for more than a few seconds. GPU temps are low 50s so normal, but I would have to imagine sucking all that heat that is still coming off the board on the backside may help cool the ram/board overall to make a difference that is greater than margin of error.

[@inoob26]

On today's episode of "Jay lives out the dream of building expensive PCs in place for the the viewers"

[@zzygyy]

Facts

[@cardsfanbj]

Living vicariously through this man lol

[@TheZoenGaming]

Last month I picked up the ABP set for my 3080 and it's massive. Also, I bought three triple fan X-Flow rads from EK and I'm very impressed with the build quality. They look okay, but I don't care for the satin detailing. I would have preferred either a choice of color that matches the color rings of their fittings, or a choice of black. I'm still waiting for the rest of the parts that I ordered to come in.

[@estikenal3078]

Ah yes, the utimate WK waterblock.

[@Distracted_Easily]

Seems to be a small company. They don't have a website.

[@bobbysinks6085]

LOL

[@GLHerzberg]

Like an engine head, start with middle fasteners and alternate out towards the edges then repeat the process while gradually increasing fastener pressure.

[@cpbpilot]

WK water block? Lol

[@shotokanads3325]

I went with a full active back plate block with a 380ti, it's heavy! I also went with a satin titanium CPU block, that also weigh's a ton. Idle temps are 36 degree C with the 13700K and 27 degree C with the ABP GPU block. Expensive but worth it. I have 3 x MP360P rads in a Lian Li 011XL (with Distro) and its great. Old but good. GPU Block is vertical with the EK E-Loop bracket (comes with 4.0 riser cable). The distance between both blocks is very tight if the bottom rad is MP360P (AMD would not work). I have drain ports drilled into the case so each rad has a drain option.

[@Mistio.]

Classic EK. I paid 360 EUR for my WB when the 3080 Ti came out and I could not separate the back plate. One screw was welded to a point where the standoff was moving . After a month of waiting they did right by me tho! So if you are willing to accept their QC issues and are patient they will fix everything,

[@jasonprestonATX2140]

I got a water cooled PC from EK a few years back it’s been a great rig love EK

[@cronopoly344]

Just picked up a TUF '90 for "15" pre Tax so this vid is perfect timing. Love the perfect wrapping of the 4090 by the EK enclosure. Shocked it's so well designed.

[@rickysreviewsandhowtos]

I’ve used the mystic fog coolant in my loop for the last several years with no issues, I like the color in my system.

[@konstantinbaeter2736]

That Doug Demouro reference killed me xD

[@radbanshee4508]

Jay I switched to EK Mystic Fog last year when all the Mayhems products dissappeared from the market. I have 3 systems using it and one of those only gets turned on once every couple months. Mystic Fog is the best coolant I have used yet and absolutly dose not fallout or gunk at all. The build that hardly gets turned on has a sharp 90° vertical to vertical bend and has never collected any settlement at all. My old Mayhems coolant would almost fill the bend with fallout but would mostly clear out when run for a while.

[@pirobot668beta]

Prestone 50/50 premixed! Sure its a horrid color (fluorescent green) but it has lubricating qualities that protect your pump. Yes, pure water has a slightly higher heat capacity than this mixture, but it's a narrow difference and nothing that is gonna fail your system. EKWB on a GTX1080ti for 3+ years; 65C is peak temp under load (Cycles in Blender, Stable diffusion, photogrammetry) I will have my 4090 in a few days, water-block time!

[@chris81983]

That's probably the cleanest gpu water I have ever seen. It's like a full case that totally surrounds the pcb. AWESOME 😎👍

[@bmherbst9895]

Hey Jay, I used EK's Mystig Fog in my current build. It lasts maybe 2 months, then turns into clear. It gunked up my reservoir (a large 360mm), and my monoblock leaked between the seals, now I have permanent stains in between the loops as well. EK just said it is normal, and I can take apart everything, wipe it clean, and retorque the bolts at 0.6nm. No thanks!! I will not be using them again, that's for sure.

[@tyerker]

Performance-PCs are OG. I remember in 2007 they made me a custom Lian Li PC-7 windowed side panel with my gamertag laser-etched. No idea where that thing got to... sad.

[@bradclark2922]

You will use most of those thermal pads. I already installed on of those blocks on a Strix 4080. The backplate is an active heat spreader.

[@opoxious1592]

Nice JAYz, doing a good job removing the cooling paste residu. I do it exactly the same way. Friends of my always say i always "overkilling" when i'm cleaning my cpu when i replace my cooler. And now i can show this video to them that i don't.

[@TheRealSteviee]

when I got my 4090 block, my jaw hit the floor. I went with all Acetal blocks as I dislike the toy look that acrylic gives. Now I have the prettiest rig I've built to date. Chrome tubing, dual D5, 6 rads, 23 fans lol

[@arthuratkinson8346]

Looked like the simplest water cooled setup I’ve seen. Threw my off when I heard Doug’s “this” in the begining, thought I might of clicked one of his videos

[@LKLM138]

Put the active backplate on and watercool motherboard too! That's what I did. All looks nice and makes no sound

[@majinmew7745]

Would be really nice to see different brands of watercooling stuff once in a while. EKWB generally gets worse results on any GPU blocks than their competitors (namely Alphacool, Phanteks and German Watercool or Aquacomputer). On top of that, their quality control is lackluster at best. They also charge the highest prices nevertheless...

[@66mikkim]

Yeah, they have to charge the high prices, cause they send out all this free stuff too youtubers, that prais the freaking hell outta this EK crap.

[@jamesborb4255]

Love the reference to Doug DeMuro

[@kevinbarnard3502]

Medical gauze bandages work great for cleaning with alcohol. No leftover bits of cloth or dust like from a microfiber cloth or paper towel.

[@beardedgaming1337]

you should cut the pads individually. in testing its been shown when clamping - they can bind up and keep the heatsink pushed high as they dont have enough elasticity to squeeze out when its one solid strip.

[@rmp5s]

I have EK blocks on my 3090...both front and an active block on the back and I've got to say, it's AMAZING how well it performs. The memory on the back used to get CRAZY hot while mining and now? Not even warm. It's amazing. Expensive, but amazing. lol

[@lost_lt9736]

Jay, thanks for making a point in videos like this to explain putting the dark side of the TIM down on the components and making an outline. I always find a video you make to double check. EK instructions should include that. Way to be better than the manufacturers yet again!!!!

[@SpencerBilodeau]

Why have I NEVER thought about getting cheap kids toothbrushes for small surface cleaning before?

[@BansheeBunny]

10:52 LN2 thermal paste has a high quantity of silicone to help it stop from cracking at sub zero temps. They are designed to be short term use (1-4 runs, between a remount). This will pump out with every major thermal cycle ((Gaming/work)/(Not Gaming/work)). Thermal Grizzly Hydronaut, noctua NT-H2 or the like, are good long term (4-5 years) thermal solutions with overclocking headroom. 12:42 I received a EK-Quantum Surface X480M ($180.00) with a bent G1/4 port, that had touch-up paint on it. 15:00 alphacool blocks still come with cut to size pads, and they are color coded by thickness. 16:14 Heed Jay's warning and advice or pay the price. A proper anti-static mat is a must for a job like this; if you don't have one, you shouldn't be doing this. 20:02 Can you secure a CableMods 90° custom cable to it? This would be a deal breaker.

[@op_jazz]

I ordered almost the same parts for a 4080 last week and its my first liquid cooled build. That's in a Hyte y60 and I got the backplate so should be no problems putting that in vertically. Coincidently I got mystic fog and ordered everything I could to make the build easy. Its for my co workers daughter who has no idea what a Gpu is but she gets a couple beast pc's and im happy to build them for no charge. I just got the trio 4090 & v3000+ for me but no other parts yet & I really like the parts from EK & Amazon but I will give that performance PC a try.

[@alorrick7546]

JAY! hey I had the same issue with running active backplates on my MOBO, if the heat sink on the motherboard is affecting it, 99% of the heatsinks can be removed, then cut and trimmed down carefully to fit the active backplate. I'm not sure what kind of mobo your going to run just yet but. even my EVGA x570 I was able to cut down the fins very carefully and make it all fit snug as a bug in a rug! the ABP is soooo worth it as the back of these cards do get very honestly scary hot. or to change the location like you said but that's no fun! Also I agree the boxes and ABP come in and the sheer weight of the card after with it all installed is just INSAIN! on the sad department.

[@Polyh3dron]

Yeah the Strix has more stuff on the back than the FE does. The 4090 FE just has tiny caps on the back, I just tore mine down to get the EK block on, also to prep for a 7950X3D build with a ROG Crosshair X670E Extreme. I'm also forgoing the active backplate due to that mobo's heat sink. Since I am just about to get to the thermal pad stage of the water block installation, your imprint trick is something I will put to use for the first time, don't know why I never thought of that before, but it is brilliant.

[@jonlenin1977]

4:26 THEY REALLY TASTE LIKE GOOD I found a box full of them just so I can teste them it was worth it

[@captainlooney4356]

I buy from PPCS a lot, my only gripe is having packing peanuts all over my floor as I try to dig out my loot. They also sell Mayhem coolants like XT-1 Nuke which is hard to find elsewhere for cheap. They’ve been my go to for fittings, coolants, blocks, tubing pretty much anything custom loop. No tax 😊 One comment about the ABP, I have it for the 4090 FE, there is a contact on the back for the back of the GPU die (thermal pad to the copper block) so it does help with the thermals to some extent.

[@Sossingro]

My GPU block has water on both the front and back. Of course it lowers temps but doesn't make a real difference, it just feels so nice when there's 2 huge chunks of metal on both sides though, looks amazing.

[@Klaas_H]

You forgot two small thermal pads. You can see it at 18:00 when you put the paste on. They are both at the bottom / back of the board (They mirror the top).

[@chasewalker3924]

Yep, I want one! Been looking at EK and Optimus components for my first build. Love the modern, minimalist look!

[@Ducki3.-]

Jay! Please make a video on what coolant you think is the best for temps looks and fallout! What brands you would trust and what brands have problems. Can’t find anyone with a good breakdown on all them! Especially all the new coolants

[@thiennguyen9747]

Jay is the only tech channel that gets away with words like "girth".

[@tracyfox1892]

The Active Back plate is actually causing a decrease in memory overclocking limits on the 4090. For whatever reason, the GDDR6X on the 4090 likes to run warmer. Cooling it down makes it more unstable and reduces overclocking headroom. Even if there isn't memory chips on the backside like the 3090, the backplate still affects it.

[@menotyou7762]

been using mystic fog for a year, no gunk and its so wicked when you get the lights on it. Great stuff

[@majorpain71]

@Jayztwocents I have ran Mystic fog in my system since I built it in August of 2021, I just did my first coolant change back in november when I upgraded my CPU and GPU. I did not any issues with it guming up my system and the coolant was in the system for over a year. I also ran their clear coolant for amonth before i swtiched over. It dose look awsome thou with the lighting on.

[@rubenaguilar5414]

Some consideration about the thermal pads on the backplate. The reference thermal pads indicated for the backplate are too thick, causing an insane coil whine (ask me how I know). Consider reducing the thicknes 0,5 mm or even 1 mm in some points to reduce the coil whine to almost nothing. And yes, even with the reduced thickness, the backplate makes contact with them.

[@robertcochran7103]

I too would like to see additional watercooling videos featuring EKWB products.

[@randomhobbies5796]

We love Phil's editing skillz. And yes show us more watercooling pads choices and all that

[@therealforestelf]

I have to sell my body or something, this is incredible, the screws married with the backplate, now this is finally becoming high tech without skipping the low tech sweet mech!

[@reiiigns]

the minimal footprint on this is soooo appealing. way nicer than that massive radiator

[@kahvozeinsfang6953]

Im going to order everything from EK from now on. I like the fact they send you a snack you can eat while you build your PC.

[@superflyguy4488]

Its the same block as i have on my TUF 4090, the instruction are 'ok' and putting on the pads is a pain but no different from any other top end block. Just beware that the block is pretty wide.

[@Vittrich]

i always had EK Blocks but for my 4090 EK has non atm, so i bought an Alphacool Eisblock and HOLY MOLY, was that a gamechanger. All pads are labeled, precut and dont have that alomst unremovable plastic on them, disassembling and reassembling my 4090 took less than 10 minutes, i was stunned. i guess ill never buy any EK Block ever again lol.

[@superflyguy4488]

@@Vittrich I used the Phanteks block on my TUF 6900Xt and that was an awesome experience but unfortunately the EK one was all that was available for the TUF 4090 at the time so had little choice.

[@MSquared135]

For a 4090 its a worthwhile investment. The EK blocks for the Arc 770 are beyond ridiculous.

[@YorugataTV]

Fun fact with EK's newer GPU blocks: flip the cardboard insert over and it's also the same thermal pad placement for the block (the active has the printout on both sides). Also has a key for which thickness of thermal pads are what that go in specific spots. On another note. Wonder if you might have been able to get away with opening the active kit you had, Jay, to pillage the black PCIe bracket to hopefully replace the scratched up one in your non-active kit.

[@1ColdfFire]

Doesn't for mine I'm installing right now..

[@MEGIDD0]

I built my 13900k / MSI 4090 build with full EK watercooling (like this build is). My temps are pretty amazing. Long gaming sessions will see vid temps no higher than 52c. Overclocked CPU temps hit about 60-65c (way better temps). EK Quantum CPU monoblock, EK Quantum Video cooler (NO active backplate) with EK vertical mount bracket, EK Asus z790 hero, 13900k, Gskill CL28 ddr5-5600, seasonic 1300w, LianLi 011D ROG case, EK-Quantum Reflection² PC-O11D XL D5 Reservoir/Pump, Hardlined, (2) EK P-series 360mm rads, (1) EK X-series 360mm rad. I'm just gonna say, the Lian Li case has a lot of room. But all of this gear will fill that sucker right up! I'll take a little vid and put it on my youtube channel. "Shaun Bomber"

[@manxome65]

Based on this and the singularity computers video it looks like you are building almost exactly what I was thinking about putting together. Maybe I will wait until I see your build and the benchmarks

[@Mike_lombardo]

Great video and all but the “this” with Doug……. Chefs kiss- perfection.

[@joeytumbleson9723]

I appreciate that homage to Doug Demuro. Besides you being a good guitarist, you're also into cars which I feel not many people know.

[@Nobody-vr5nl]

Captive screws are only nice if they line up with the hole. At work we have them but they can slide on rails 1" on a non flat survice trying to find the hole. I ALWAYS break the captive screws so I can get them out of the way and use a normal screw.

[@stonehartfloydfan]

Other great thing about ISO alcohol is it pushes moister out and gets rid of any oil contaminants.

[@stoddern]

Coffee filters make great TIM removal rags, dirt cheap and lint free. Save the expensive blue towels for oil in the garage.

[@britonhutchison1437]

Jay just throwing a packing peanut in his mouth with 100% confidence got me on the floor crying 😂😂

[@luisquintero8806]

Bykski are awesome, their anti-off fittings are just so crazy good !!! their distro plates and gpu plates are just awesome

[@phillipzan2005]

I have Bykski GPU, Pump/reservoir combo, radiator, tubes and fitting. Plus some other manufacturer tubes cause bykski tubes are only so long and had a few very long 1 piece runs. For a cheap chinese brand, they make some really good stuff. I really love their sleeve compression fittings a lot better then the O-ring style ones from other manufacturers. You are the reason Jay that I went with colored distilled water.. Also I think Ek gives extra pads and hardware is cause well if you make mistake, loose stuff and so you can take the block off and a parts for maintenance and such.

[@ryanwhipple7703]

Just got the same Strix 4090 and EK water cooling kit, except I went for the active backplate. I figured why the heck not if I am already in for that much!

[@warpedphreak]

Yes, AB blocks DO make a difference even is no VRAM on the back of the card ans it does improve heat disapation. Required? no. But for heavy overclocking, nice benefit.