Installation

Behold the unicorn that is the working RTX 3080 PCB! I was originally conflicted on whether to go with the Founders Edition, which has led to some clever and different GPU blocks because of the unique PCB design, or the reference PCB used by several NVIDIA AICs and for which there is more support from block makers. In the end, the latter logically won out, so here we are.


Installation of the Alphacool Eisblock GPX Aurora GPU water block for the NVIDIA RTX 3080 reference PCB is about average in terms of effort and ease. Begin with the removal of the stock cooler, which is outside of the purview of this article, and place the block over the card for a quick fit check. At this point, apply thermal paste to the GPU and thermal pads to the other components as laid out in the manual. Mate the block and PCB together again and flip the assembly over carefully on a box, such that the card's own I/O section hangs past the edge. Use the four spring-loaded screws in a diagonal manner to screw the block in around the GPU itself before placing the thermal pads on the back of the PCB and fitting the backplate in place with the other four longer screws. There was an extra spring-loaded screw in my sample, which I rather Alphacool wouldn't have placed just to remove any ambiguity for newcomers.


Remember to connect the cable to a compatible 3-pin, 5 V d-RGB header on your motherboard, or compatible controller, if you wish to take advantage of the integrated LEDs. The finished looks are seen above, and we see that this is effectively a single-slot cooling solution. The backplate does not extend as far back as the block itself, which did irk me, though it is of course inconsequential in terms of functionality. I think I personally prefer the acetal version with this specific design, but am curious to read your thoughts in the comments section.

Lighting

Given LEDs are already here, the least we can do is take a look at the block lit up. I appreciate Alphacool using what is basically a universal control mechanism as far as DIY PC builds in 2021 go, with basically any halfway decent motherboard having the hardware and software for powering and controlling the 12 RGB LEDs. These are on the bottom of the block and shine upwards, which has the light uniformity take a dip towards the top. The actual number of LEDs is higher than on some of the others tested to date, although they still appear as discrete light sources without much diffusion. It still makes for a bright light show, however, especially given the acrylic top is polished well out of the box.