Always doubted custom water cooling but my GPU temps dropped 20C

I built my first loop last month using a $60 alphacool kit I found on sale. My 3080 was hitting 82C under load with air cooling and I was skeptical liquid would make a real difference. After 3 hours of leak testing and bleeding air bubbles, I fired up a game and saw 62C at full load. The noise drop surprised me even more than the temps. Anyone else here been hesitant to try liquid cooling and wish they did it sooner?

2 comments

2 Comments

tylerw721mo ago

Oh man, 20C drop is solid. But just a heads up, that 82C is pretty normal for a 3080 on air, especially in a warm room or with a bad fan curve. My EVGA 3080 ran at 78-80C stock, so your temps were fine. The bigger win is the noise for sure. I went from sounding like a jet engine to barely hearing my pump, that made the whole build worth it.

nelson.finley1mo ago

Wait, isn't 82C pushing the thermal limit on those cards though? @tylerw72 I thought they throttled hard past 83C. Yeah noise is nice but I'd rather have lower temps for longevity.