I fixed my Eiswolf 2 RTX 3080 high VRAM temps!

[davvv]

Product: Alphacool Eiswolf 2 AIO - 360mm RTX 3090/3080
Article number: 11931
GPU: Inno3D GeForce RTX 3080 Twin X2 OC, 10240 MB GDDR6X

I ran into the same problem as many others: VRAM breaching 100°C at 100% TDP.
Turns out that my card needs 1.2-1.3mm thermal pads with the Eiswolf Zwei.
(It used 0.8mm with the awful stock cooler)

Vram temps are 30°C lower now.

Ambient temperature: 25°C

320W @ MSI Kombustor FurMark-Donut-6500MB, 15 minutes
Alphacool fans @ 1500 rpm (loud, but bearable)

Gelid GP-Ultimate 1mm thermal pads:
Core: 65°C
Vram: 106°C
HotSpot: 74°C

Gelid GP-Ultimate 1.5mm thermal pads flattened to ~1.2mm:
Core: 66°C
Vram: 76°C
HotSpot: 77°C

80W (5k×1440@240Hz HDR) @ desktop idle
Alphacool fans @ 700 rpm (silent)

Gelid GP-Ultimate 1mm thermal pads:
Core: 36°C
Vram: 64°C
HotSpot: 54°C

Gelid GP-Ultimate ~1.2mm thermal pads:
Core: 36°C
Vram: 48°C
HotSpot: 54°C

Story time
First I was using Gelid GP-Ultimate 1mm thermal pads:


Then I tried 1.5mm:

Too thick:


So I flattened the 1.5mm's a bit by rolling a small bottle over them
Edit: don't bother doing this, just e-mail Alphacool support (info@alphacool.com) for thermal pads with appropriate thickness.


I could have discarded the excess thermal pad surface, but I've already spent countless hours installing this cooler:


To my surprise, it finally fit well enough. Hotspot is a bit higher, but temps are excellent all-around.

 

[eldon]

Hello Davvv, thanks for this information. I recently bought a second hand Gigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 10GB, and was included a Eiswolf 2 360. I am a bit worried cause when playing my games the core temp reach 104ºC at the first 1 minute of gaming, and them the temp stabilize at this value. But the radiator seems not to be able to cool down the GPU, cause it's very cool and the GPU is suffering. From what I can see, the pump and the coolers are ok, cause I can monitor their speed and it's ok. The problem is: I can't transfer the heat from the core to the radiator.
First I changed the Thermal pads, I bought from a Chinese vendor on AliExpress, The temps reduced 2ºC (from 106 to 104). Then, I thought the problem was the poor thermal pads quality, so I replaced by Arctic thermal pads, didn't change anything. I also replaced the thermal paste from the old one to Arctic MX-4, absolutely nothing changed, even a single degree. Any clue? Thanks in advance.

 

[Eddy]

Since the RTX 3000 series, Nvidia has had extreme tolerances when it comes to GPU die height — we're talking over 0.25 mm, which might sound minor, but it's actually a significant difference.

What you need are ultra-soft 1 mm thermal pads — something like our Ultra Soft Pads or any other brand that is really, and I mean really soft. The pads on the RAM and VRMs push the cooler upward, while the GPU die sits too low. This issue affects roughly 1 out of every 100 cards, based on our experience.

 

[eldon]

Since the RTX 3000 series, Nvidia has had extreme tolerances when it comes to GPU die height — we're talking over 0.25 mm, which might sound minor, but it's actually a significant difference.

What you need are ultra-soft 1 mm thermal pads — something like our Ultra Soft Pads or any other brand that is really, and I mean really soft. The pads on the RAM and VRMs push the cooler upward, while the GPU die sits too low. This issue affects roughly 1 out of every 100 cards, based on our experience.

Thanks for the tip, Eddy. Could you please help me with some other questions?

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1) CPU Temperatures: Idle and Load​

What are the normal temperatures for the core at idle and under 100% load? Currently, my GPU core idles at 50.5°C and reaches 104-105°C when 100% loaded, with an ambient temperature of around 28°C. Are these values normal? I don't think so. I saw on another site that someone was playing Cyberpunk in 4K at 75°C.

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2) Pump Speed​

Is it okay to keep the pump always at 100% speed? My Asus ROG STRIX Z390E Gaming motherboard has dedicated water pump and AIO pump connectors, but their speed cannot be controlled. I'm concerned about how long the pump will last running constantly at full speed.

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3) Disassembling and Cleaning the Water Block​

Do you think disassembling and cleaning the water block would yield positive results? I've noticed that the channels where the water flows inside the block are a bit dirty. I have some experience with manual jobs and DIY electronics repair.


I will check how soft these Arctic thermal pads are, I remember it said on the packaging that these thermal pads were soft.

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Thanks in advance!