EK, the leading computer cooling solutions provider, releases a premium high-performance GPU water block for the Founders Edition NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 Series graphics cards. The new water block is named EK-Quantum Vector FE RTX 3070 and it's exclusively engineered for the RTX 3070 Founders Edition GPUs. It comes in two versions, with Plexi and Acetal top, where the Acetal one has no RGB whatsoever.

EK-Quantum Vector RTX FE 3070 water block is compatible with Founders Edition GeForce RTX 3070 graphics cards. It is purpose-designed with a much thicker copper base to clear the tall components on the card. This kind of design also allows the terminal to be screwed directly onto the copper cold plate of the GPU block, making it more rigid and reducing the chances of damaging the water block. EK-Quantum Vector RTX FE 3070 features a unique acrylic terminal located in the far end of the GPU, making the whole enclosure slimmer and perfect for small form factor cases.

CORSAIR, a world leader in high-performance gaming peripherals and enthusiast components, today announced the immediate availability of a wide range of NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30-Series compatible water blocks in its award-winning Hydro X Series of custom cooling parts. The new range of Hydro X Series XG7 RGB GPU Water Blocks delivers exceptional cooling performance and unrivaled aesthetics for GeForce RTX 3080 and 3090 Founders Edition, ASUS ROG STRIX, MSI VENTUS, and dozens of reference design graphics cards. A full compatibility list for all supported models is online at https://www.corsair.com/custom-cooling-configurator/gpu-search.

Equipped with more than 50 high-density cooling fins, a full-length aluminum backplate, and 16 individually addressable RGB LEDs, the new water blocks allow enthusiasts to experience all the benefits of custom liquid cooling alongside the breakthrough performance of NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 30-Series graphics cards.

The upcoming NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Founders Edition has recently been pictured ahead of its launch on December 2nd. The upcoming graphics card features the GA104-200 GPU paired with 8 GB of GDDR6 14 Gbps memory on a 256-bit bus. The RTX 3060 TI Founders Edition cooler is near identical to that of the RTX 3070 Founders Edition except for a slightly more silver design on the 3060 Ti. The RTX 3060 Ti Founders Edition is rumored to retail for 399 USD and includes 4864 CUDA cores, 152 Tensor cores, and 38 RT cores which NVIDIA claims will help it beat the previous generation RTX 2080 SUPER.

Alphacool presents three new Eisblock Aurora Acryl GPX-N blocks for the NVIDIA RTX 3070, 3080 and 3090 graphics cards. The blocks offer outstanding cooling performance thanks to the full cover design. The new backplate, which is included with the coolers, also contributes to this. This stabilizes the graphics card and ensures an even contact pressure of the cooler. The cold plates are made of solid nickel-plated copper. The coolers cover all relevant components such as voltage converters and the graphics memory.

EK, is proud to finally unveil its Special Edition high-performance GPU water blocks for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition graphics card. The EK-Quantum Vector FE RTX 3080 D-RGB comes in two versions - Silver and Black, both featuring stark contrasts between the aluminium outer shell and backplate, as well as the Plexi window and terminal illuminated with addressable D-RGB LEDs. Both water blocks come with two types of connection terminals, offering unrivaled versatility. The performance is one of the key elements of the design, which is why this block features a 30% larger fin area compared to other water blocks from the Vector family.

The EK-Quantum Vector FE RTX 3080 D-RGB water block enclosure is the most complex GPU cooling solution developed by EK to date. The small form factor and unique shape of the RTX 3080 Founders Edition PCB presented a rare engineering challenge. The water block is purpose-designed with an extremely thick copper base for high-performance, allowing it to clear all components of the densely-packed PCB and adding more heat removal capacity in the process. The cooling engine used in this water block is the largest EK has built to date, having roughly 30% more surface area than the rest of the existing Vector series water blocks.

Phanteks today announced the availability of the new 12-Pin GPU Power Cable specifically designed to connect the new RTX 30 Series Founders Edition Cards directly to select AMP and Revolt series power supplies. Any customers who have purchased a qualifying Phanteks AMP or Revolt power supply and supported RTX 30 Series Founders Edition graphics card qualify for a complimentary 12-Pin GPU Power Cable.

The Phanteks 12-Pin GPU Power Cable has been developed with Seasonic to offer a cleaner and direct connection between the RTX 30 Series Founders Edition GPU and a Phanteks power supply. The power cable is made with high quality 9 A terminals and heavy duty 16 AWG copper wire to deliver a highly efficient and stable power delivery. The black flat-ribbon cables are 750 mm long and connect directly to two 8-Pin ports on the power supply.

Bitspower today released its Classic series full-coverage water blocks for NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 Founders Edition graphics cards (model numbers: BP-VG3090FE and BP-VG3080FE). The two cards take advantage of the short PCB length of NVIDIA's Founders Edition PCBs, and position their coolant terminals at the tail ends, rather than at the top.

The blocks use nickel-plated copper as primary material, with mirror finish at the GPU and memory contact areas. The top is clear acrylic, and studded with addressable RGB LEDs. A back-plate is included with the block. The main coolant channel passes through nearly all hot-zones on the obverse side of the PCB, including the GPU, the up to 24 memory pads, and DrMOS. Even the RTX 3080 variant includes a back-plate, possibly in anticipation of the 20 GB variant that has memory chips on the reverse side of the PCB. The BP-VG3080FE is priced at USD $158, while the BP-VG3090FE goes for $202.

NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card went on sale last week, and practically its entire inventory was gone in sixty seconds. The NVIDIA GeForce store exclusively selling the Jewelry-like Founders Edition card was hit by sophisticated scalper bots originally designed for limited-edition apparel sales, and one scalper gloated on the web having picked up over three dozen cards to auction off on e-bay for tens of thousands in profit. Frustrated genuine buyers were left disenchanted with NVIDIA over the handling of the launch.

NVIDIA posted an FAQ on its GeForce blog attempting to explain much of the criticism surrounding its handling of the RTX 3080 launch. NVIDIA's main explanation appears to be an unprecedented market demand for its RTX 3080. The company claims that "The demand for the GeForce RTX 3080 was truly unprecedented. We and our partners underestimated it," NVIDIA says. On scalping, NVIDIA explained that while its store had certain anti-bot measures in place, they underestimated the sophistication of scalping bots this time around. NVIDIA also claims to have manually cancelled hundreds of orders suspected to have been placed using bots. "While individuals using bots may have shown images of email inboxes filled with confirmed orders, NVIDIA has cancelled hundreds of orders manually before they were able to ship."Find other interesting answers by NVIDIA to FAQs below.

EK, the leading computer cooling solutions provider, is ready to offer its premium high-performance GPU water block for ASUS ROG Strix edition NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 Series graphics cards. This huge new water block is named EK-Quantum Vector Strix RTX 3080/3090 D-RGB, and it is very important to keep in mind that it's meant only for the ROG Strix graphics cards.

"For years now, each generation of ROG Strix edition full-cover water blocks was utilizing bridge covers to channel coolant over the tall capacitors in the VRM zone. This time around, the layout of the PCB allowed us to make a water block without a stainless-steel bridge cover, making the entire coolant flow path visible. Our engineering team also went the distance on the copper cold plate design that now extends over almost the full length of the PCB," said Edvard König, the founder of EK.

CORSAIR announces more new products each year than most companies, and this often means that marketing resources get devoted to the high-ticket items more often than not. Their custom watercooling line, the Hydro X Series, is not always one of them and so we end up seeing quiet updates without a press release or even a direct note from their representatives to the media. With the new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3000-series cards coming in three different categories as far as custom watercooling goes (reference, Founders Edition, AIC-variants), we took the weekend to briefly check what the usual custom watercooling suspects were up to. A page on the CORSAIR website confirms, among other things, that Hydro X GPU blocks are on the way for at least the reference PCB, if not more.

More interestingly, we noted that the Hydro XC7 and XC9 CPU blocks had been updated in more ways than one. We have detailed reviews of both (XC7, XC9) for those who want to see, and our review of the iCUE Nexus also showed a rebranding in the making for the company. The updated CPU blocks carry the new wordmark design for the logo on all 5 SKUs and, more importantly, change the mounting mechanism to allow for a captive system with new thumb screws that should make installation even easier on all Intel and AMD CPU sockets. This should bring with it increased compatibility with crowded m-ITX motherboards as well, and we see it reflected in the additional 719 motherboards in the compatibility list relative to before. Finally, a motherboard ARGB LED adapter is now included in the packaging, so you can use the integrated lighting with motherboard LED headers and control software, should you not want to pony extra for CORSAIR's ecosystem. Pricing for the Hydro XC7 is now $5 higher and the same as the XC9, which is confusing given it uses fewer fins on the cold plate and, the launch versions at least, employed a plastic trim compared to the metal on the XC9. We have contacted the company for clarification on this, and will update the post as we receive more information.

[Update, September 16: CORSAIR has a new photo for their example GPU block that looks suspiciously like it is meant for the FE RTX 3000-series cards. Note also the revised I/O port terminal which should help address some concerns people had about the previous design.]

Social media is abuzz with a screengrab of a regional webpage of the NVIDIA website purporting a "GeForce RTX 3090 CEO Edition" graphics card. Positioned a notch above the "Founders Edition," this $3,499 card, if even remotely real, could be a limited edition product. The screengrab references "48 GB of G6X" memory. We're not sure how this is even possible. The RTX 3090 already uses 8 Gbit GDDR6X chips, piggybacking two chips per 32-bit memory channel, unless Micron has done the unthinkable by launching a 16 Gbit G6X chip within 2020. Frankly, we're very interested to see how the next-gen Quadro RTX even achieves its alleged 48 GB of GDDR6.

That aside, the alloy frame now comes with a gold finish. We wonder if memory and a fancy trim is all that NVIDIA is asking the extra 2 Grand for, or if it even maxed out the "GA102" ASIC (there are two more TPCs left to unlock). As for the name "CEO Edition," there have been instances of tech CEOs flexing their vanity on limited edition products. Limited edition Ryzen and Radeon products, for example, bear the AMD CEO's signature. So the name "CEO Edition" by itself isn't implausible. Just not with these specs, and not this price.

Seasonic today shared with us some additional details regarding its 12-pin Molex MicroFit 3.0 modular PSU cable, and how it plans to market it. If you've read our NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition Unboxing Preview, you'll know that NVIDIA ships its Founders Edition cards with a printed warning not to use any third-party adapters to convert 8-pin PCIe power connectors to the 12-pin connector. The warning also asks you to use the included adapter, and that using a third-party adapter would void the warranty. There's no clarity from NVIDIA on whether modular cables that plug directly into a modular PSU and put out 12-pin connectors strictly fit this description, as they're not "adapters."

Seasonic believes that its cable is a perfect match for NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 30 series graphics cards. The cable uses 16 AWG wires. Each 12 V pin of the connector is rated for 9 A current, which means the cable is capable of ferrying up to 540 W of power. On one end of the cable are two 8-pin 12 V connectors (which plug into the 12 V modular back-plane of your PSU), and on the other is one 12-pin connector. The cable is 75 cm in length. The cable is compatible with the company's Prime, Focus, and Core series modular/semi-modular PSUs.

NVIDIA in a GeForce community forums post by staff member, announced that reviews of the GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition have been delayed to September 16, with the review NDA lifting at 6:00 AM Pacific Time. This NDA was originally slated to be lifted on September 14. According to a Reddit post by an NVIDIA representative "NV-Tim," the delay was in response to certain reviewers requesting more time from NVIDIA as COVID-19 impacted their sampling logistics.

In other news, NVIDIA announced that its $499 (starting) GeForce RTX 3070 graphics card will be available on October 15, 2020. The performance segment graphics card is hotly anticipated by the gaming community as the other two products in the series—RTX 3080 and RTX 3090—are enthusiast segment products. NVIDIA claims that the RTX 3070 beats the RTX 2080 Ti in performance, which means the card should be capable of 1440p high refresh-rate gaming, and 4K UHD gaming at 60 Hz.

Here's the first picture of an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition card installed in an tower case. The triple-slot card measures 31.3 cm in length, and is 13.8 cm tall. Its design is essentially an upscale of that of the RTX 3080. The card still pulls power from a single 12-pin power connector, with an adapter included for two 8-pin connectors to convert to the 12-pin. The typical board power of the card is rated at 350 W. This particular card in the leak, posted on ChipHell forums, is pre-production as VideoCardz comments, given that some parts of its metal superstructure lack the chrome finish of the card NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang unveiled on September 1. The RTX 3090 launches on September 24.

Here's one of the first clear pictures of an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Founders Edition graphics card pictured in the flesh (that isn't an NVIDIA press-shot or render). A PC enthusiast in China with access to Founders Edition cards of all three RTX 3000 series cards announced on September 1, posted a family shot, which provides a nice size comparison.

The RTX 3070 Founders Edition is noticeably shorter than the RTX 3080 FE. Both cards are dwarfed by the RTX 3090 FE. Unlike the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090, the RTX 3070 FE uses a more conventional approach to air-flow, with both of its cards on the obverse side of the card, even through the second fan still pushes some of its airflow through the PCB, through a partial cutout. All three cards use the 12-pin Molex MicroFit 3.0 power connector. The previous generation flagship RTX 2080 Ti is the butt of gamer memes thanks to the RTX 3070, as NVIDIA advertised it as being faster than the RTX 2080 Ti at half its price of $499 (starting price). This announcement has forced some RTX 2080 Ti owners to dump their cards on Ebay at throwaway prices.

Bykski Tuesday unveiled its full-coverage water-block for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 and RTX 3080 "Ampere" Founders Edition graphics cards (model: N-RTX3090-X). The block works with both the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 Founders Edition cards as both share a common PCB design, with a few bits changed for the RTX 3090, such as added height and NVLink fingers. The block uses nickel-plated copper as its primary material, with two options for the top - clear acrylic, or POM acetal. The acrylic variant is studded with addressable RGB LEDs.

The main coolant channel of the N-RTX3090-X passes through all the hot components on the business end of the PCB, including a micro-fin lattice over the GPU, and mirror-finish contact surfaces for both the GPU and memory chips. The block comes with support for standard G 1/4" fittings. In addition to the N-RTX3090-X, Bykski unveiled the B-VGA-SC-FX Custom Mount (to be purchased separately), an accessory with an LCD segment screen that displays coolant temperature. The N-RTX3090-X is expected to be priced at 140€.

NVIDIA just yesterday made a big announcement and forced everyone to turn their head and check out what are they doing. Today, we are finding the first listings of Add-In-Board (AIB) partner cards and their respective price points. Thanks to the findings of a Reddit user u/slyquick we have information about the pricing of RTX Ampere cards in the UK/EU, specifically on the Overclockers UK website. There are listed several models of AIB cards, covering the whole range of RTX 3070, 3080, and 3090. NVIDIA has officially published the UK/EU pricing of the cards with Founders Edition (FE) GeForce RTX 3070 costing $499 in the US, costing about £469. The OCUK website lists RTX 3070 AIB cards at £449 and the highest costing models are about £499.

Next up comes GeForce RTX 3080, a GPU costing $699 in the US, is being officially listed for £649 by NVIDIA. On the OCUK website pricing starts at £639, and goes as high as £848.99 for ASUS ROG Strix Gaming OC card. The bigger brother of the RTX Ampere lineup - the RTX 3090 - is priced at $1499, while NVIDIA lists it at £1399 for EU/UK pricing. AIB cards are going anywhere from the NVIDIA FE card at £1,399, all the way up to at £1589.99. This is a big markup compared to the FE model, however, AIB cards are known for providing better cooling solutions and better power delivery circuit.

FSP today rolled out the "Ampere Cable," an accessory that converts two 8-pin PCIe inputs from modular PSUs to the 12-pin Molex MicroFit connector standard introduced to the client segment by NVIDIA and its GeForce RTX 3000 "Ampere" Founders Edition graphics cards. The cables are compatible with any modular PSU that has 8-pin 12 V connectors that put out 8-pin PCIe. It should work with all FSP branded modular PSUs, as well as modular PSUs of other brands that use Fortron as their OEM source. FSP is Fortron's DIY channel brand. FSP is setting up web-forms for existing owners of FSP power supplies to claim a free unit.Update Sep 10th: FSP has informed us that they have decided to not sell this cable

Here are some of the clearest pictures of an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 "Ampere" Founders Edition PCB, albeit bare (components not yet placed). The PCB goes in this form to another production line, where a PCB placer machine with reels of components places them along both sides. We can still make out quite a few things. To beign with, there are six high current traces near where the 12-pin Molex MicroFit power connector goes in.

NVIDIA seems to have utilized both sides of the PCB effectively. The card features traces for a mammoth 20-phase VRM. The obverse side has the chokes and DrMOS, the reverse side has the capacitors. Twelve memory pads for the 384-bit wide GDDR6X memory interface surround the GPU pad. There are pads for four display output connectors, which could be a mixture of DisplayPort, HDMI, or even USB-C VirtualLink. The PCB still has its spacers on, which will be cut out after component placement, after which the PCB heads for testing and product assembly. NVIDIA is expected to announce the GeForce RTX 3090 Ampere at an online event later today.

Korean tech publication QuasarZone posted three high-res pictures of the new Molex Micro-Fit 3.0 12-pin connector that NVIDIA adapted for its GeForce "Ampere" graphics cards, at least the reference-design Founders Edition ones. As we detailed extensively in an older article, the 12-pin connector has significantly smaller pins than the standard PCIe power connectors, and is only slightly longer than an 8-pin PCIe power connector. Placed side by side, you can tell how the PCIe connector is taller, if not wider. Despite its relatively compact dimensions, the 12-pin connector is rumored to be rated for a significantly higher power delivery than the 8-pin connector, with some of the oldest reports even suggesting 600 W. The cables going into the 12-pin connector appear to be of a higher gauge than the ones making up the 8-pin. NVIDIA in a video presentation released on Wednesday explained how it plans its upcoming GeForce graphics cards to address many fundamental engineering problems with modern graphics cards, in the areas of efficiency heat dissipation, board durability, and power delivery.

NVIDIA today shared the design philosophy behind the cooling solution of its next-generation GeForce "Ampere" RTX 3080 / 3090 graphics cards, which we'll hopefully learn more about on September 1, when NVIDIA has scheduled a GeForce Special Event. Part of the new video presentation shows the evolution of NVIDIA's cooling solutions over the years. NVIDIA explains the four pillars behind the design, stressing that thermals are at the heart of its innovation, and that the company looks to explore new ways to use air-cooling more effectively to cool graphics cards. To this effect, the cooling solution of the upcoming GeForce Ampere Founders Edition graphics cards features an airflow-optimized design focused on ensuring the most effective way to take in fresh air, transfer heat to it, and exhaust the warm air in the most optimal manner.

The next pillar of NVIDIA's cooling technology innovation is mechanical structure, to minimize the structural components of the cooler without compromising on strength. The new Founder Edition cooler introduces a new low profile leaf spring that leaves more room for a back cover. Next up is reducing the electrical clutter, with the introduction of a new 12-pin power connector that is more compact, consolidates cabling, and yet does not affect the card's power delivery capability. The last pillar is product design, which puts NVIDIA's innovations together in an airy new industrial design. The video presentation includes commentary from NVIDIA's product design engineers who explain the art and science behind the next GeForce. NVIDIA is expected to tell us more about the next generation GeForce Ampere at a Special Event on September 1.

Over the weekend, we got some of the first pictures of a production-grade NVIDIA 12-pin graphics card power connector that debuts with the company's GeForce "Ampere" Founders Edition graphics cards. HardwareLuxx.de received a set of modular cables by Seasonic that can be plugged into the company's modular PSUs, directly putting out a 12-pin connector. The publication's editor Andreas Schilling posted this striking picture that is sure to change our perspective about the 12-pin connector - it is tiny!

Called the Molex Micro-Fit 3.0 12-pin connector, the NVIDIA 12-pin connector looks visibly smaller than a single 8-pin PCIe power connector, and only slightly broader. It yet uses high gauge wires and pins, so it can push up to 600 W of power - more power than two 8-pin connectors. The space-saving connector shouldn't just be easier to plug in, but also cable-manage, since you're only having to wrestle with one cable, even for a high-end graphics card. Not only is the connector NVIDIA-exclusive, but there are also indications that only the Founders Edition (reference design) GeForce "Ampere" cards feature it, while custom-design cards based on the GPUs make do with a bunch of 8-pin PCIe power connectors.

Leading PSU manufacturer Seasonic is shipping a modular cable that confirms NVIDIA's proprietary 12-pin graphics card power connector for its upcoming GeForce "Ampere" graphics cards. Back in July we did an in-depth analysis of the connector, backed by confirmation from various industry sources about the connector being real, being a proprietary design by NVIDIA (and not a PCI-SIG or ATX standard), and its possible power output limit being 600 W. Seasonic's adapter converts two versatile 12 V 8-pin PSU-side connectors into one 12-pin connector, which tends to back the power output information. On typical Seasonic modular PSUs, cables are included to convert one PSU-side 8-pin 12 V connector into two 6+2 pin PCIe power connectors along a single cable. HardwareLuxxx.de reports that it's already received the Seasonic adapter in preparation for its "Ampere" Founders Edition reviews.

NVIDIA leaker with an extremely high hit-rate, kopite7kimi, however predicts that the 12-pin connector was designed by NVIDIA exclusively for its Founders Edition (reference design) graphics cards, and that custom-design cards may stick to industry-standard PCIe power connectors. We recently spied a custom-design RTX 3090 PCB, and it's shown featuring three 8-pin PCIe power connectors. This seems to be additional proof that a single 12-pin connector is a really fat straw for 12 V juice. The label on the box for the Seasonic cable reads that it's recommended to use the cable with PSUs with at least 850 W output (which could very well be a system requirement for the RTX 3090). Earlier this weekend, pictures of the RTX 3090 Founders Edition surfaced, and it is huge.

The rumor mill has no weekend break, and it churned out photos of what appears to be an NVIDIA Founders Edition version of the upcoming GeForce RTX 3090 next to the equivalent FE RTX 2080, with the latter looking like a toy compared to the massive triple slotter. The cooler comprises of the same design we discussed in detail in June, with the unique obverse dual-fan + aluminium heatsink seen in the images below. We also covered alleged PCB photos, in case you missed them before, and all lines up with the most recent leaks. The only difference here is that pricing for the RTX 3090 FE is claimed to be $1400, a far cry from the $2000 mark we saw for certain aftermarket offerings in the makings, and yet significantly higher from the previous generation- a worrying trend that we eagerly await to see justified with performance, before we even get into case compatibility concerns with the increased length here. Either way, if the images below are accurate, we are equally curious about the cooling capability and how it affects partner solutions and pricing.

In signs of NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce Ampere graphics cards getting a brisk market launch across several SKUs, a Tweaktown report predicts that custom-design graphics cards based on the chips will launch alongside Founders Edition (de facto reference-design) cards. NVIDIA's add-in card partners are believed to be ready with their next-generation original designs that will debut with the new chips, with renders of the ASUS ROG Strix 3000-series cards having leaked in early June. Tweaktown predicts series reveal by September 9, followed by SKU announcements on September 17. AIC partners tell them that custom-design products can be expected within the month. The first major teaser could come out by August 31.

NVIDIA on Monday tweeted its very first web teaser of the new series, under the hashtag #UltimateCountdown. We predict DirectX 12 Ultimate to be central to NVIDIA's marketing, especially a play on the word "ultimate," (eg: the "ultimate ray-tracing performance"). It wouldn't surprise us if "Ultimate" is somehow integrated into the product branding itself (à la "RTX").