RTX 3080 XC3 Alphacool Waterblock FIX + BOYCOTT

When companies screw you over, who you gonna call... FRAME CHASERS
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#alphacool #rtx3080 #waterblock

[@FrameChasers]

Thank you to all the many supporters that allow me to purchase products and review them unbiased. Always call out shitty behaviour from companies, always.

[@skoopsro7656]

Alphacool isn't so impressive. They launched that 1260mm rad and dont even have a stand for it. Theyve got holes drilled for it. Like how TF is anyone gonna mount that thing. (Their direct competition has legs and a stand.)

[@michaelhughes9278]

you think that's bad you should hear what gigabyte did to me, which is why i don't ever buy gigabyte and let other people know. i bought a windforce 2080 a few years ago and i did what i do with all my new cards before i put them into a build to sell i took it apart and changed the thermal paste and i had to change 2 pads that tore on the ram and when i put in the card it would give a video out but it couldn't communicate with the ram. i sent it in for rma and like 2 months later i saw a thing that said card is being returned un repaired because customer tried to repair it. i called them and let them know that what they were doing was illegal, the card was broke when i bought it and they said since i changed the thermal pads they wouldn't repair the card. then i got ahold of a manager who then changed the story to i incorrectly changed the thermal pads, which makes zero since. because even if that were the case only 2 sticks of ram would overheat, over time and not that soon. it was a brand new unused card. what was probably wrong was the ram controller chip on the pcb was nonexistent or malfunctioning. luckilly after i got it back i was able to return it to the online store that i purchased it from, whos name i won't mention because they were cool about it. but i've hated gigabyte ever since then and never use their product in client builds no matter what. oh right i forgot the part where the rma manager literally insulted my intelligence and ability to do my job... which is building high end custom pcs and selling them, and pc repair.

[@ronaldsanpedro1976]

Waterblock on a new gpu is always a hit and miss. EVGA deviate from the reference board design and alphacool admitted they just eyeball the EVGA pcb layout and it was off by a little bit. They did remove the compatibility on their list and offer a 30 day refund. Seems fair. And as you said. Frame chasers don't complain they just fix the problem. Watercooling your new card is always a diy thing and warranty always goes out of the window. Not for the faint of heart.

[@browney89]

Ronald is spot on and maybe if evga hadn't forgot the EU they wouldn't have to eyeball it.

[@Smood47]

Restricting it to a 30 day window when it was their fault pretty scummy thing to do. I won't buy from them.

[@NPurvis7622]

@@browney89 Forgot what? EVGA is a company here, not there. Just like when I want JDM parts, for a JDM car, am I going to complain about some middle man, MAKING THE PARTS, to make it correctly? Oh wait, yeah, I am. Seems funny you're putting it on the group making the card instead of the part maker.

[@Antykain]

I have owned multiple EVGA GPUs in the past, and all of them have had waterblocks on them at some time or another. EVGA states that any GPU currently covered by their warranty, will not be voided by the installation of a waterblock. EVGA does say that if you do need to RMA the card, to make sure the card is sent to them in it's original purchased state.. i.e., stock cooler reinstalled. ASUS and Gigabyte are similar with their warranties. I've only used the RMA process with EVGA though. And I emailed EVGA ahead of me sending them my card to let them know that I previously had a waterblock installed on the GPU I was sending in for RMA. EVGA rep said that it was not an issue.

[@cadetrenew]

Umm no. You can watercool an EVGA card and they will still honor the warranty. EVGA warranty is among the best in the business, if not THE best.

[@12Burton24]

Well but thats the same with EK they dont check every card with the coolers for the reference designs.

[@Antykain]

Some of these waterblock were rushed out it feels like.. Even the EK 3080/3090 FTW3 blocks had slight issue with the mounting on the Gen1 blocks. EK released the Gen2 blocks fairly quickly though, and replaced any effected water blocks that customers sent in. I received a gen2 block for my 3080 FTW3.. been a great waterblock!

[@Z1M0Z1M]

Great video and extremely helpful since I just purchased a EVGA 3080 XC3 Ultra today and was looking to save $40 and buy the Alphacool WB instead of the EK WB. Thanks for this heads up. It sucks because I was going to get 2 rads and a pump from them for my new system but seeing the lack of care for customer satisfaction and concern I'll spend the extra cash for a complete EK system. You've got a new subscriber.

[@not_your_business666]

Before I finished watching the video and have no idea what's all beef about I have to say that I absolutely love their rads

[@ezveedub238]

I have used an Alphacool GPU block for 2070S fitted to a 2080S, but it did require some tweaks to work after sending them PCB pics. I had to check the thermal pads to the block and install correct thickness thermal pads to make it work correctly, as if it was installed as per the manual, it would cause overheated VRMs. It now cools well, but its more restrictive using this block over an EK block. Not much to complain about for experienced water builders, but their block designs have very small channels as seen in this 3080 block and if you're not experienced enough to know what to look for, you'll have issues. As for support, Alphacool can be abrasive at times. I had one of their DDC 5.25' reservoirs and shortly afterwards, the front facia was delaminating and peeling off. It took several emails with the retailer communicating with Alphacool to get them to admit it was defective. That was 6-7 years ago and I avoided them since up till recently. I advise anyone using them to just make sure you check before you buy or use their products. Just go to the OCN forum on the VP755 pump they made and see the sh*t show that was.

[@resort125]

imho the best wb for the gpu is bitspower, 5-8 degrees less than EKWB and the others

[@eazypeazy6650]

It seems like u don't know but it's the same with EK compability lists and has been like that forever when its comes to watercooling equipment suppliers.

[@nubtau4573]

Support!! I come form taiwan, i also have this card and i plan to build a customize watercooling. At this moment only EKWB's waterblock fit on evga xc3 but it's expensive for me.Hope alphacool can make a waterblock for evga xc3.Sorry for my poor english, hope you can understand what i mean.

[@austinchasteeny]

Your English is good, nothing to apologize for

[@ronnzi]

Like I’ve said on others, really love your channel. Any way to get an invite to the Discord? I’m not much of a Twitch user, but the whole 30 series search has gotten me into Discord and I’d love to have the chance to discuss and learn from you all there. Thanks for the great content!

[@Jayhawker32]

So this video is now three years old, and I didn’t find it until I was already installing the block. However, they fixed it, they put a standoff right where you drilled lol

[@deezydanemane2471]

This video made me subscribe !👍🏾

[@Attila_Gobor]

Since you have no email listed as a contact, I will just do it right here. EK is willing to send you a compatible water block so that you can enjoy your liquid-cooled PC the way you really should. Let me know if you are interested. Cheers!

[@FrameChasers]

Hey Attila, thanks for reaching out, I already shipped off the XC3 3080 to a follower of mine so I wouldn't have any use for the waterblock now anyway, but thanks for the offer! I do however have a 3090 strix EK waterblock on order that I am waiting for, you can reach me at (BLANKED) I had to turn off my email and PM's because I was getting totally overwhelmed with help requests from viewers. One of your customer reps insisted that I had to wait for my block like everyone else though so I didn't bother emailing again. order# 200043425

[@Attila_Gobor]

Can't promise anything, but I will try to bump up that order! 😎

[@FrameChasers]

@@Attila_Gobor thanks so much for reaching out with the offer anyway though, keep my email on file incase you guys need to contact me in the future, il probably delete my email from here in a few hours so youtubers and spammers don't grab it =(

[@sgru9558]

Thanks for the video, would be good to check how the EK one for XC3 performs as compared to Alphacool.

[@FrameChasers]

yeah they offered to send me one but I already sold the 3080 to a subscriber of mine, so I didnt need the block. But I would be ok recommending EK regardless at this point

[@JeanPierreVenson]

First my GPU block (2080 Super) burned to death because the Alphacool CPU AIO pump died. Got a replacement block from alphacool, that one leaked and killed my gpu. Now we play the wait game for an 3080 with an EKWB.

[@anderslundstrom4388]

Would you recommend any alternative brand for Radiator? I thought Alphacool was cooler than corsair because of less paint on the copper surface area

[@DragónTest]

hello friend I have an EVGA RTX3090 XC3 ultra, this watercooler works for that version or is that product also bad? I found it in amazon (Alphacool Eisblock Aurora GPX-N GPU water block and motherboard, RTX 3080/3090 (XC3 Ultra Gaming) , D-RGB, Nickel / Plexi).

[@1Petergreat]

Good work dude. These companies don't care about there customers. They should get there shit together. I love the way you say how it is with no bullshit. Keep up the good work. It's very interesting.

[@aaronactive]

Nice mate. Yeah I might be forced to do this, or I might just change the XC3 I have on order to a ref board haha.....

[@xDownSetx]

Unless you already have this block in hand the EK XC3 blocks are just a couple weeks away. If you get drill and tap guides this mod is a breeze though. 3.3mm drill bit and an m4x.7 bottoming tap.

[@aaronactive]

@@xDownSetx Not fussed with the DIY part. The fact is I don't even have the 3080 yet anyway, who knows when that'll arrive. Also EK will prob cost me double what this setup already costs so will likely just go with it! Thanks for the reply though. Being in australia sucks.

[@SimStig]

I bought a reference board and checked before hand several times to ensure 100% was reference I’m not really surprised that the EVGA one didn’t fit they always modify there boards slightly if your going evga get a copper block card to start with I had 2 of there hydro copper ones before there lovely looking cards, anyways my Alphacool block fits my Palit gaming pro 3090 perfect, I did get screwed over buying a full build I made a mistake and accidentally ordered soft tube fittings for all the hard tubes I ordered it took 1 month to get my 1st shipment and another month to get the replacement parts to start building a friendly email saying hey man these parts are not compatible would have been cool specially when dropping a 1000 euros on watercooling parts but my own fault.

[@nosajmartinez6175]

Alphacool customer service is highly suspect. I had one block get corroded after just a few months of use and they wouldn't replace it. Another GPU block leaked right out of the box and they wouldn't accept it DOA. Thankfully performance PCs accepted the return. Hats off to that store! Love buying from them.

[@ALJessica]

Well I just got my Inno3d 3090 X4 and I am going with the Alphacool Eisblock Aurora Acryl GPX-N RTX 3090/3080 It says physical under the compatibility list, so I guess that it means they have physically checked that it is actually compatible, right?

[@johnvandeven2188]

I must admit that the fix you made is something I would have done as well. Good job. Consumer laws in Australia are super tight and advantage the purchaser. This type of shit would have been jumped on so quick that the company would have been offering their heart and soul to make the problem go away. Oi,oi,oi.

[@minibotpc]

Sorry but alot of companies do this these days, they visually check because they simply cannot get the stock for every single card to check physically. EK do this as well, to boycott any company over this is ridiculous! You could have just returned it and got your money back but you decided to drill it and void your own warranty! With the scarcity of the cards of the 3000 series can you blame them really? Yes the response wasn't great but yt isn't really a place to be conducting CS issues which should be dealt with privately over email.

[@FrameChasers]

Sounds like a them problem doesn’t it, They said no replacements, and they said if you bought it from a third party vendor that it’s the vendors responsibility to RMA it. Not acceptable in my opinions. If it’s acceptable to you then by all means continue buying their products. What is acceptable varies from person to person. I however will do my best to let people know about their practices, that is my job. Not to secretly email around

[@Attila_Gobor]

EK "didn't do this as well". EK removed the cards from the list and made NEW blocks, and replaced orders for everyone who had compatibility issues.

[@FrameChasers]

^I cant confirm this, but if this is true this is the approach I was seeking from Alphacool, Replace the blocks with new versions, and if you cant just offer a return/refund without a 30 day hard window. Seems so simple

[@12Burton24]

Im buying since ever just fittings, hard tubes and radiators from them. Never thought about buying their gpu coolers they dont look good at all.

[@AKTechMods]

It's not only EVGA XC3 block. It's been proved that they have also messed up with RTX 3090 Gaming X trio. See their compatibility list for the prove.

[@flobbzz5363]

I can't rely on myself. Who do you think I am

[@FrameChasers]

LOL my man

[@chrisjohnson261]

Canceling my alphacool order for the 6800xt red devil water block that had been supposedly stuck in a customs he'll for 7months. Mines I've been waiting for for 2 months. Nah this is unacceptable

[@FR33THY]

Can confirm owned alphacool cpu cooler, x2 gpu coolers. Water pumps died after 8 months and pretty trash temps

[@ryanhamrick8426]

Does the Alphacool j3070 reference block work on the xc3 3070?

[@SandyGe]

fuck, I'm so concerned about buying the block now because I can't really find a concrete yes on water blocks for a 6800XT MSI Gaming X Trio :'( ... now what do I do..

[@samuelrogers2384]

Keep it up bro love ur videos

[@lowstandar]

It's shady behavior on their part, agreed! However, I have the same cooler on the same card and only the top back plate screw don't line up on Alpha back plate. However, I found that the 3 remaining screws with thicker thermal pads is sufficient for good contact. No issues this far, however I am not OCing. I notified PPCS on Oct 12 about the improper fit; they replied thankful and they noted it asking if I was going to return. This is my 2nd and last purchase from them.

[@FrameChasers]

be careful dude, I am extremely lucky my card didnt blow up because I was power modded. I always wondered why my backplate got so hot I couldnt touch it

[@johnvandeven2188]

Will you be testing the new Radeon 6000 series and comparing results with competing Nvidia models. If you are doing this, will you be totally honest and open with the results. This will mean an awful lot to me if you are transparent.

[@heyguyslolGAMING]

If I were water cooling I'd probably go w/ EK.

[@manticore4952]

Had to bring EK to arbitration after they refused to refund me for defective kits. They were really abusive to me in e-mail as well as other people I've seen on the forums. Once it went to arbitration they quickly changed their tune.

[@lordzed83]

well nobody else is doing block for GIGABYTE 3080s so far. I would have drilled pass and just have longer screw with spacer

[@D0mie7]

I hope the FTW3 blocks are okay. EK had the wrong standoffs and broke my 3090...I just bought Alphacool to give it a shot

[@ABike_Pilot]

Bring out the Big Stick on alphacool Jufes !!

[@Adrian-lr5xq]

Thanks for this haha another company on my avoid list.

[@12Burton24]

Alphacool lies often they lied already to me in their forum. I said packing was bad of the new fittings just a bag no spare o rings anymore.....they said all products will end up like this from fitting side. Just recognized later that they have a more industrial like product and a consumer nice packed product and i bought the "wrong" one, less premium one.

[@reinaweis]

I was considering alphacool before now.

[@Slade111984]

So nobody else is going to mention that his keyboard is like 20 bucks and his Microsoft Microsoft intellimouse is about 20 years old? but he cant afford a watercooled 3080 build... Can definitely say his "frame chasers" priorities are perfectly aligned. In a serious note, thanks I'm looking to get a AMD 6800XT waterblock and was looking at the Alphacool options as they had a lot of support and quite a few of my components are already Alphacool, so its good to be aware of a shitty returns policy, as I'd likely have to ship it Internationally to Australia which will probably take 3 weeks, which leaves me in a very poor predicament of the 28 day window for RMA.

[@cameronjohansen2676]

Ek also “visually” checks water block compatibility, it’s nothing new. Simple screw up on whoever checked it. I love alphacool and will not boycott cause someone is salty.

[@rustycopperpot]

If you look on the Watercool compatibility list, some of them just say visual check too for some cards.

[@cameronjohansen2676]

@@rustycopperpot right! A lot of companies do this, have for a long time.

[@callum2277]

This was the same situation with EK and the zotac trinity card they only had pictures of most cards PCBs on launch day. At least EK removed the zotac cards from, their compatibility list before they sold the blocks. 99% sure what alphacool did is illegal in the EU selling and advertising a product without testing it is just negligent. EU has protections for goods not as described.

[@FrameChasers]

Im starting to get more and more info that what they did it illegal, which is actually good for consumers with these parts so that they can take action and get a refund at any point in time, not just the arbitrary numbers set by alphacool

[@callum2277]

@@FrameChasers In the UK you should be able to get a refund as it breaks the trade descriptions act "manufacturers can't falsely describe good and services ". under the EU law in not sure what the specific act is called. If any one payed for the block with paypal they could open up a "significantly not as described" claim saying a block fits a card when it doesn't is a clear case of not as described. Its also concerning that many retailers still show the outdated compatibility list with the XC3 as supported.

[@skaikey]

All these people who don't own a waterblock talking hard. I have it on a 3080 FE and work great and looks more amazing in person.

[@12Burton24]

Alphacool has a really strange supoort department...sometimes it looks like the people working there fell personally attacked if someone complanes about a product. I ones wrote them that PETG tubes 13/10mm do not have 3mm wall thinkess as they stated on their page. Because 13mm-10mm=3mm and due to the fakt that in a circle you have twice the wall means you devide it by 2 =1.5mm wall thickness. They actually started a fight with me and i had to send them a picture that wall thickenss on a tube/pipe is always out diameter minus inner diameter and then divided by 2 because its a circle and with the diameter you face the wall twice. Took them a while to understand it and than the removed wall thickness from their page 😂. Imaging they would sell hydraulic pressure tubes and the would explode because the call it double a thick as they actually are 😂🤣

[@shreddz]

Its a small company making super niche shit. Fuck ups happen! That said I live in a country with consumer protection, so theres no risk of this stuff leaving people out of pocket anyway

[@FrameChasers]

Fuck ups do happen, it’s how the company reacts to them is what matters

[@dsayiasdad8099]

Have you ever thought about making your own benchmark for the lols. Like Frame chasers hell on earth fanboy apocalypse benchmark.

[@FrameChasers]

I like this idea, hahaha. Although I have no idea how I would go about it

[@dsayiasdad8099]

@@FrameChasers a blender render test? Modded Minecraft? Something that's just stressing things out to the max. It could be like you trademark benchmark to include with other tests.

[@FrameChasers]

@@dsayiasdad8099 you sir, won the MVP award today, I’m gonna do that

[@dsayiasdad8099]

@@FrameChasers please use the name as well "Frame chasers hell on earth fanboy apocalypse"

[@choatus]

@@FrameChasers This sounds pretty dope, I must say!!!

[@WalterJHuaman]

Commenting for the algorithm!

[@thesupernad]

Alphacool is doing a great job showing h.ow not to handle public interaction on the internet.

[@TCfert]

Nice fix! Epoxy is god! Kneel before the epoxy God. I just bought a load of alphacool stuff a few weeks back... :O Will you still be my friend? :P

[@FrameChasers]

Did you use my affiliate links =))

[@TCfert]

@@FrameChasers 😟 it was before the link! 😭😭😭

[@FrameChasers]

LIAR

[@TCfert]

@@FrameChasers 😭😭😭

[@Petrolhead66]

Jesus, i cringed watching you drilling and tapping. No ctr pop to stop drill slipping. If the tap does not go low enough grind off the pointed tip of the tap

[@FrameChasers]

Damn that’s a good idea, I never claimed to be a master craftsman, hahaha. JB for days

[@tyranus7]

What an unprofessional company and what a crappy customer support from Alphacool

[@eazypeazy6650]

U always have to check their lists for visually and physically inspected problem solved

[@michaelhart5969]

That might be the worst technique for tapping threads I've ever seen lol.

[@RevansNightmare]

Isn’t that actually false advertising?

[@SilentHillFetishist]

They once spread illegal Google ads stating EKWB is bad and leaks. This is considered a serious crime in Germany.

[@NoBodysGamer]

Bro, you dont make sense, if I just got a block and its not compatible, it has scre hole in different place, whatever the issue, WHY the Fuck i would keep it for 30 days? ill be emailing them angry and asking for refund!

[@daisyduke4919]

Looked to me that they can't get hold of the card to confirm fitting. If evga stated it was a reference then thats on them. If people drill and trash their card then thats on them. Not evga or alphacool.

[@FrameChasers]

Your saying it’s ok for alphacool to advertise a product without testing it... yikes, this is probably why they do it and get away with it. Evga stated it was modified reference, not reference

[@daisyduke4919]

@@FrameChasers I'm saying that no matter what they say you probably won't accept it. Even if they are doing everything they can to make it right. How are they getting away with it if they are refunding everyone. Its not right that they incorrectly advertised it and didn't test. But who does have a 3000 series gpu these days to try things on?

[@FrameChasers]

@@daisyduke4919 I would agree with you if they said “we will offer people exchanges or refunds if they bought the product for an XC3 and provided proof of XC3 ownership” or something to that effect. And also no deferring to 7 and 14 day return policies of third party vendors, again you are saying it was ok for them to advertise the product without having tested it, they could have just NOT advertised it as compatible if they weren’t sure. The fact they didn’t have an XC3 on hand for testing isn’t the customers problem. Feel free to continue buying their products if you feel that their 30 day return policy and their neglect at confirming compatibility of products is an ok practice to you, no one is stopping you

[@daisyduke4919]

@@FrameChasers ok. The section i wrote saying "its not right that they incorrectly advertised it and didn't test" is me saying its ok for them to do these things

[@FrameChasers]

@@daisyduke4919 what is the point you are trying to make? that a 30 day return policy and differing to resellers is them doing everything they can to make it right? If you believe that to be true then again, continue buying their products, I'm not sure what your trying to get at. If we have different idea's of what "making it right" means, then that's fine. Their attempts are not fine in my books. We don't have to agree here

[@andreabaccelli8533]

Ekwb take a responsability of my dead 4090...

[@AlexanderWare3]

Obviously this is a pretty big screw up but some of your reaction can easily be explained by the fact that they are halfway across the world and speaking a different native language lol

[@eriknastovski1330]

Next time go EK ;)

[@dirtvalle]

EK is way worse

[@2Drip007]

Frame Hypocrites, you gave zero fs when Zotac finessed people for thousands but cry when your poor little waterblock does not fit.

[@FrameChasers]

Zotac never lied about their part or mis advertised it? False advertising is different than whining about cheap capacitors. The zotac cards still worked as advertised. I also fixed the problem myself which is what I told and showed all the zotac buyers how to do. Whining vs Action

[@0002nicejay]

Well if a manufacturing didn't test the products or willing to back up the customers before selling it... tells me that they will never see my money . PERIOD .....also they need to fire who every design that ugly waterblock

[@Armi151]

Their fittings are crap too… 🤢🤢🤢

[@dnsean03]

Free waterblock send yours in to them..

[@FrameChasers]

Yeah honestly I would have except this option is only available in europe

[@dnsean03]

@@FrameChasers oh is it that sucks

[@dnsean03]

Try to send to ek?

[@bashcrawler3431]

Damn! I used to love Alphacool all my rads are from them... Guess it's back to Koolance.. just gotta watch out for the aluminum shit they sell.

[@stevenross-watt8640]

No way this one situation is enough to write off years of a good brand delivering great radiators and other parts.

[@NoIPHU]

Even one year later this is very useful. I'd not buy nor recommend Alphacool to anyone. EK is the way to go i guess.

[@Barb4sale]

@Frame Chasers You should reach out to gamers nexus and have him get on the band wagon.. This is pretty messed up. The one thing you didn't mention on the video regarding the 30 day window... Most of everyone should be over the 30 day window right?! The only reason I'm watching this video is because I'm getting a water block now so I have it ready for when I can get a card.. No one can get a card yet, all out of stock!!! So naturally most of everyone buying water blocks from them are for when they can get their hands on a card - by the time people realize it doesn't fit in more ways than one, they can't even refund it...

[@FrameChasers]

yeah that's a good point, I think I am too small to be reaching out to any of those big shots to be honest, but if you read above EK has reached out and offered me a replacement for Alphacools mess up, and has said that in similar situations they do not have these restrictions and has offered replacements for their buyers. If that's the case I would take your business there, although I can not confirm it keep that in mind since I never had an issue with a launch EK product in the first place

[@Ryxxi_makes]

Alphacool brings shame to german manufacturing. i stopped buying their shit ageees ago.

[@dnsean03]

Someone has a xc3

[@Xpl0jd1]

I bought Alphacool once becouse it was cheaper, but the quality is crap and leaking issues is standard. Will never buy Alphacool again.

[@12Burton24]

100 dollar waterblock...thats why thy do it.....to safe money they count on people like you fixing their shit.