Alphacool Eiswolf 2 for 3090 Strix - wrong size of padding

yoyoitsjoe

New member
I’m getting a HDMI cable tomorrow to try and see if that works, heard I’m some cases it does. Probably won’t be going ASUS next time for a build. I don’t understand because nothing has changed :/
 

pdifolco

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
Could be a problem with the PCie x16 slot itself - happened to me when some paste went in !
Did you try putting the GPU in the x8 slot ?
 

gAm0r91

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:
View attachment 3616
Image 1: The side I'm referring to.

View attachment 3617
Image 2: No imprints of the VRAM whatsoever.

View attachment 3618
Image 3: No imprints for the VRAM.

View attachment 3619
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:

View attachment 3620
Image 5: Clear VRAM imprints with 1.5 mm padding.

View attachment 3621
Image 6: Clear VRAM imprints with 1.5 mm padding.

View attachment 3622
Image 7: Clear VRAM imprints with 1.5 mm padding.

View attachment 3623
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:

View attachment 3624
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:

View attachment 3625
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.
Hello there,

I have exactly the same problem but can not solve it your way.
Same card and everything.
Disassmbled the waterblock like 8 or 9 times and tried a lot of combinations.

With 1mm padding on the front the GPU is cool (60+ degrees) but VRAM is hitting 104 degrees.
With 1,5mm padding on the front the GPU is hitting 80+ degrees and VRAM is cool like your results.

I don't know what to do anymore. Either my GPU is too hot or the memory freaks out.
At first I tried Arctic pads and today Gelid Extreme. No luck at all.

Maybe I would need 1,25mm or so.
This is a rather expensive experiment and I am very disappointed and frustrated by now.

Has anyone an idea left?
What am I missing here?

Thanks in advance
 
Last edited:

Eddy

Iceman
Staff member
For all here who have problems with the pads. Write to our support. We know the package problems with Nvidia and we know what kind of pads you have to use to make it work as good as possible in the end.
It makes little sense to buy any pads with the wrong heights or the wrong consistency. We have different pads with different consistencies to compensate for height differences. All the support needs is a picture of the prints of all the pads. From this we can determine from our experience which pads would give the best result. If you can provide us with an invoice, no matter from which dealer, we will send you the pads free of charge within the warranty period.
 

oorensan

New member
For all here who have problems with the pads. Write to our support. We know the package problems with Nvidia and we know what kind of pads you have to use to make it work as good as possible in the end.
It makes little sense to buy any pads with the wrong heights or the wrong consistency. We have different pads with different consistencies to compensate for height differences. All the support needs is a picture of the prints of all the pads. From this we can determine from our experience which pads would give the best result. If you can provide us with an invoice, no matter from which dealer, we will send you the pads free of charge within the warranty period.

Thank you very much for your support, I wonder if you could help me on this one:

I will receive my Alphacool AIO next week for my Zotac Holo AMP 3080, I will be installing copper pads, I wonder if you know if 1mm is enough or I should go 1,25 or 1,50 for this Zotac, I'm not really sure about the problems with Nvidia and if they affect Zotac's cards somehow

Thanks again!
 

gAm0r91

New member
For everyone with problems: just buy K5 Pro instead of thermal pads. This solved it for me after trying lots of pads and wasting money.
Now I can finally use my card again with acceptable temperatures.
 

Thomas_S

... the nice marketing guy next door
Staff member
Thank you very much for your support, I wonder if you could help me on this one:

I will receive my Alphacool AIO next week for my Zotac Holo AMP 3080, I will be installing copper pads, I wonder if you know if 1mm is enough or I should go 1,25 or 1,50 for this Zotac, I'm not really sure about the problems with Nvidia and if they affect Zotac's cards somehow

Thanks again!
Hi, we can't say until we see the pad prints. Please upload a photo of the pads for the cooler & the backplate after initial assembly here. Only then can we see if your card is affected by the package problem.
 

oorensan

New member
Hi, we can't say until we see the pad prints. Please upload a photo of the pads for the cooler & the backplate after initial assembly here. Only then can we see if your card is affected by the package problem.
Thanks for replying Thomas,

I finally installed Thermal Right pads on the front and included pads for the back side of my Zotac 3080 Holo Amp

1 hour installation, very easy and worthy. Idle 32ºC and full 50ºC (1900mhz 850mv 250w), delta temp is 29º so the Idle is +3/4ºC, impressive

Mems stay at 40 Idle and 68 full (oc +1000mhz)

I recommend this AIO so far and my 3080 is the one with 10GB so no need for active cooling back plate

Edit: Do you recommend the pump working 100% all the time or can I use curve?

Thanks Alphacool
 

Eddy

Iceman
Staff member
Can you hear the pump running at full speed? I'm guessing you can't hear it out of the closed case unless you put your ear right up to it, right?
A pump that is constantly regulated is clearly more heavily loaded. If you are bothered by the noise, it is better to fix the speed. However, then the performance also drops.
 

oorensan

New member
Can you hear the pump running at full speed? I'm guessing you can't hear it out of the closed case unless you put your ear right up to it, right?
A pump that is constantly regulated is clearly more heavily loaded. If you are bothered by the noise, it is better to fix the speed. However, then the performance also drops.
I can't hear anything, just wondering if reducing the speed % can increase its life span :D

Thanks Eddy
 

Eddy

Iceman
Staff member
The lifetime of the pump does not change with lower speed. So not to the extent that it would be worthwhile. The pump is already throttled. Theoretically, it can also run at around 3800rpm. We have it only throttled because the higher speeds are quite quickly very very loud.
Short.... the lifetime you gain with it does not matter. I doubt that you want to run the AIO longer than 10 years.
 

oorensan

New member
Update: I had to replace my thermalpads from 1.0mm to 1.5mm, now mem temps are 64ºC full load with a delta of 30º, with 1.0mm it was 75-80

GPU never goes past 54ºC no matter what, undervolted to 1890mhz 850mv 250w instead of 320 for the same performance

Pads were Thermalright and card Zotac 3080 Holo Amp

1655136391765.png
 

oorensan

New member
The temperatures are very good even on the memory and hotspot. Good job you have done really.
Thank you so much sir, I am so very surprised with the results and this is with a temperature room of 30ºC, the summer is really aggresive in south-east Spain, so it is like +3ºC only on the GPU lol

Idle temps are also amazing, watching 4k videos on YT, twitch etc stays the same

1655196718828.png

Good job Alphacool
 
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:
View attachment 3616
Image 1: The side I'm referring to.

View attachment 3617
Image 2: No imprints of the VRAM whatsoever.

View attachment 3618
Image 3: No imprints for the VRAM.

View attachment 3619
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:

View attachment 3620
Image 5: Clear VRAM imprints with 1.5 mm padding.

View attachment 3621
Image 6: Clear VRAM imprints with 1.5 mm padding.

View attachment 3622
Image 7: Clear VRAM imprints with 1.5 mm padding.

View attachment 3623
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:

View attachment 3624
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:

View attachment 3625
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?

Pentru înregistrare: sunt FOARTE mulțumit de Alphacool Eiswolf 2. În comparație cu răcitoarele de stoc (nu atât de rele) livrate cu Asus ROG Strix, a mestecat o bucată mare de temperatură și, evident, funcționează extrem de silențios. Sper foarte mult că o placă de spate activă va fi concepută în curând, așa că nu va trebui să o modific cu propriile mele radiatoare și ventilatoare:)

Sper ca acest lucru să-i ajute pe oricine se întreabă de ce temperatura lor VRAM Memory Junction este încă destul de ridicată cu acest AIO.
ROMÂNIA

Good job. The best review...
 
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