Alphacool Eiswolf 2 for 3090 Strix - wrong size of padding

KrazeyKAmi

New member
Hello there,

I've bought an Alphacool Eiswolf 2 for my Asus ROG Strix 3090. While my CPU temps were lowered by quite a bit, I still noticed a very high Memory Junction VRAM temperature of 90c+, even running up to 100c when playing very demanding games at Ultra / custom + (e.g. RDR2).

I decided to re-pad the chips, and when I removed the waterblock from the GPU, I saw what the problem was:
The 1 mm padding that is supplied with the AIO for the 'front' side of the GPU is not thick enough, and is not making contact with the VRAM:
20220201_185024.jpg
Image 1: The side I'm referring to.

20220201_185028.jpg
Image 2: No imprints of the VRAM whatsoever.

20220201_185045.jpg
Image 3: No imprints for the VRAM.

20220201_190515.jpg
Image 4: No imprints for the VRAM.

So, above are the thermal pads that come with the Alphacool Eiswolf 2 AIO, and are 1 mm in height.

I've replaced these with 1.5 mm padding and re-seated the waterblock. This time, you can clearly see the VRAM making the imprints. I've also taken care to make sure the height was correct, so the GPU main processor and the mosfets etc are still making contact with the block when using 1.5 mm VRAM padding:

20220201_201346.jpg
Image 5: Clear VRAM imprints with 1.5 mm padding.

20220201_201354.jpg
Image 6: Clear VRAM imprints with 1.5 mm padding.

20220201_201356.jpg
Image 7: Clear VRAM imprints with 1.5 mm padding.

20220201_201358.jpg
Image 8: Clear VRAM imprints with 1.5 mm padding.

For the record, the VRAM on the backplate was showing correct imprints, and these are 2 mm (as supplied by Alphacool).

Another thing I noticed, was that Asus is padding the VRM chips also, but AlphaCool is not supplying these, or mentioning this in the guide.
In fact, there is a rather large 'gap' in the waterblock, so the VRMs are not even touching the block:

Alphacool.jpg
Image 9: Incorrect sizing for supplied padding / VRM not making contact.


I've filled the gaps with 2.5 mm padding, making sure that the VRM is now also making contact with the block:

VRM.jpg
Image 10: Clear imprints for the VRM.


The results.

The difference after applying the correct padding is amazing. Mind you this card is running a slight overclock @ +165 gpu mhz & 112% TDP.

Before (using the supplied padding by AlphaCool) while running heavy benchmarks (Unigine SuperPosition, RDR2 @ Ultra+):
VRAM temperature: ~90 - 98 degrees.

After repadding (using another brand, but thicker padding, now VRAM making contact):
VRAM temperature: ~60 -66 degrees.

This is a whopping 30 degrees celcius difference in GPU Memory Junction temperature. Also, the VRM is now ~10 degrees lower (from ~44 degrees to ~34 degrees).


@AlphaCool, I hope you can make adjustments to the way the 3090 Strix is currently being padded.
Also, could you contact me in private to discuss a compensation of some sort?

For the record: I'm VERY happy with the Alphacool Eiswolf 2. Compared to the (not so bad) stock coolers delivered with the Asus ROG Strix, it chewed off a large piece of temperature, and obviously it's running extremely silent. I'm hoping very much that an active backplate will be devised soon, so I won't have to mod it with my own heatsinks and fans :)

Hope this helps anyone who wonders why their Memory Junction VRAM temperature is still rather high with this AIO.
 
Last edited:

Thomas_S

... the nice marketing guy next door
Staff member
Hi, thanks for the detailed explanation. Your card is affected by Nvidia's package problem. If you haven't heard of it yet, here is a article from IgorsLab that explains the issue well.


The solution is simple. Please write to our support via email (info@alphacool.com) and link to this thread. If necessary, the appropriate pads will be sent to you immediately and free of charge. Should fit or?
 

KrazeyKAmi

New member
Hi, thanks for the detailed explanation. Your card is affected by Nvidia's package problem. If you haven't heard of it yet, here is a article from IgorsLab that explains the issue well.


The solution is simple. Please write to our support via email (info@alphacool.com) and link to this thread. If necessary, the appropriate pads will be sent to you immediately and free of charge. Should fit or?

Hello Thomas!

Thanks for your reply. I did make contact with the support team, and will handle things with them (since I've already bought my own padding, I don't have use for the extra padding).

One remark:
Yes, the height difference due to packaging could explain the VRAM not making contact as there might be as much as 0.3 mm difference. However, that does not explain that the VRM modules are not being padded and need as much as 2.5 mm padding to actually make contact. I tried this height in stages, so 1mm, 1.5mm, 2mm were all not sufficient. 2.5 it finally contacted with the gap in the block.

What is the reason that AlphaCool decided not to cool the VRM modules? I know mosfets can run very high temperatures and I found that it will never get above 55 degrees anyway, even without propper cooling or padding, but on various resellers, the AlphaCool AIO 2 is advertised as to actively also cool VRM, which it clearly does not. Would that be a description fault by the reseller? (e.g. https://www.highflow.nl/watercoolin...m-rtx-3080-3090-rog-strix-with-backplate.html).

Again, very happy with the product overall! Hopefully we will see an active backplate soon. In the meantime, I've sawed my stock heathsink in half, stuck it to the backplate with the AlphaCool Adhesive Padding, and put a fan on it that respons to the Memory curve:

20220207_201919.jpg

This lowered the memory temperature by yet another 8 degrees celcius! At a moderate overclock (+175 MHZ GPU / +250 MHZ Memory / 137% TPD) my memory is now actually running at lower temperatures than my GPU hotspot:

Temp.jpg
Looking forward in hearing from you!
 
Last edited:

Thomas_S

... the nice marketing guy next door
Staff member
Hi, Alphacool has not decided against cooling the V-RAM modules. The problem lies in Nvidia's package problem. The pad heights were planned for the PCB design that was available at the time of development. But now it turned out that many cards of the 30XX series have different tolerances especially in the heights of the components. This can lead to heat conduction pads having little or no contact with e.g. the VRM modules! Our support solves this problem by checking the pictures of your thermal pads and, if necessary, sending you the right pads free of charge!
 

KrazeyKAmi

New member
Hi Thomas,

I'm talking about VRM (voltage regulator modules), not VRAM. See the picture with the blue outlines I provided.
 

T800Unit

New member
amazing, thanks for this thread, im currently facing this exact problem and im waiting for my 1.5mm pads.

at my first run with 1mm alphacool padding my vram went up to 105C! I hope no damage has been done :-(
 

Thomas_S

... the nice marketing guy next door
Staff member
Hey, you're right! I should read better! I have to read better! ;-)

The VRM coils do not need to be cooled in the same way as other components. The cooler provides the cooling that is needed without direct contact.

In addition, direct cooling of the VRM coils creates another problem - if the card is under load, an annoying noise can arise and the card becomes extremely loud! You don't really want that! Believe me. :)

And your temperatures also confirm this. Some 3090 owners would probably sell their grandmother for these values ;-)
 

KrazeyKAmi

New member
Hey, you're right! I should read better! I have to read better! ;-)

The VRM coils do not need to be cooled in the same way as other components. The cooler provides the cooling that is needed without direct contact.

In addition, direct cooling of the VRM coils creates another problem - if the card is under load, an annoying noise can arise and the card becomes extremely loud! You don't really want that! Believe me. :)

And your temperatures also confirm this. Some 3090 owners would probably sell their grandmother for these values ;-)

Thanks :) Took some effort in sawing the stock heatsink in half and making it fit, but it was definitely worth it as it lowered the memory temps even more (-6 / -8 degrees)!
 

yoyoitsjoe

New member
amazing, thanks for this thread, im currently facing this exact problem and im waiting for my 1.5mm pads.

at my first run with 1mm alphacool padding my vram went up to 105C! I hope no damage has been done :-(
Any luck with the 1.5mm? Thinking I need the same just need to wait for support to reply :)
 

andi0139

New member
Amazing, thank you so much for this thread, i have the 3090 Strix and the Eisbär 2 aswell and facing the vram heat issue as well, it goes up to 100 degress , mostly beeing between 92 to 96 degrees. I ordered the 1.5mm gelid extreme for the front side and 2.0 mm for the backside, i hope this works for me as well
 

yoyoitsjoe

New member
Help guys, this hasn’t Been anyway near as easy to do than i was anticipating, my system has this warning that states “warring - we have detected the fan is not spinning please check fan setting” checking temps with a stress test in kombustor sent temps to 86 both on vram and Gpu core which sounds high. Any input? The fans are the weird part as i can;t find where the error is coming from
 

pdifolco

Member
Help guys, this hasn’t Been anyway near as easy to do than i was anticipating, my system has this warning that states “warring - we have detected the fan is not spinning please check fan setting” checking temps with a stress test in kombustor sent temps to 86 both on vram and Gpu core which sounds high. Any input? The fans are the weird part as i can;t find where the error is coming from
If you use a waterblock or GPU AIO there's no fans anymore connected to the GPU, so it's pretty normal tho having a warning is weird!
But 86C isn't normal, did you check the pump was running and properly plugged to a 4pin header ?
 

yoyoitsjoe

New member
Can hear the pump start up also. As soon as I turn the benchmark off the temps trip really quickly. Idk if that helps at all
 

yoyoitsjoe

New member
If you use a waterblock or GPU AIO there's no fans anymore connected to the GPU, so it's pretty normal tho having a warning is weird!
But 86C isn't normal, did you check the pump was running and properly plugged to a 4pin header ?
Am thinking about just sending it back and going for a custom solution instead since atm I can’t use the card at all with the warnings popping up
 

pdifolco

Member
Am thinking about just sending it back and going for a custom solution instead since atm I can’t use the card at all with the warnings popping up
Something isn't working properly sure, an Eiswolf2 should give you nice temps, can you detail your setup and what are your power consumption, clock freqs, wattage, idle temp ?
 

yoyoitsjoe

New member
I would but my motherboard has now decided to give up on me. It’s showing a vga light so I’m in contact with asus to try and get a replacement fingers crossed otherwise this is going to be a really expensive journey
 

pdifolco

Member
I would but my motherboard has now decided to give up on me. It’s showing a vga light so I’m in contact with asus to try and get a replacement fingers crossed otherwise this is going to be a really expensive journey
Sorry for you ... But VGA light means the mobo can't get the GPU to run, not that the mobo doesn't work...
If you can try with whatever spare GPU you have, or run on iGPU if you have one
 

yoyoitsjoe

New member
I’ve tried bothe the 3090 I’ve messed around with and an older 970 that I know works both caused the vga light. Using a 12700kf so no I gpu either. Assume it’s a fault on the board as I’ve tried everything else. Appreciate the help
 
Top