Will this waterblock fit to my GTX 980?

[Jaiel]

Hello,

I hope Im posting in the right section. I have purchased the GTX 980 from KFA2 ->http://www.kfa2.com/980v.html

And I want to use the XSPC Razor GTX 980/980ti as a waterblock on it -> http://www.xs-pc.com/waterblocks-gpu/razor-gtx-980-980-ti

I cant find any source which tells me that whether my VGA cards is reference design or not

thx

 

[Nebulous]

Hard to say with 100% certainty that the XSPC block will fit. Unless you can match the pcb of the video card in question to a reference pcb, it's a guessing game

Never heard of that KFA2 brand either

 

[Jaiel]

Whats about a pic of the backplate?



Heres the reference one



Does this look like a reference gtx 980 PCB? It looks pretty similiar but does this mean anything without pictures of the front?!

I mean yeah ok I can anticipate how the front looks like from the back picture but I just want another opinion on that, since neither the card itself is cheap nor the waterblock

I just want to be sure

 

[Nebulous]

Yeah that back isn't relevant as pretty much all the 980's (ti) look the same. We need a pic of the front pcb. This will show all the components and will give a better indication if the block will fit. Personally I wouldn't risk it.

My suggestions:

Don't buy that videocard. If you already did, either send it back for a swap/refund and get a reference 980 from a well known branded company: Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, EVGA

Don't buy the waterblock yet. If you did, then when you swap video cards to a reference 980, you may be in luck.

 

[Jaiel]

unfortunately the card is still on its way to me. When she arrives I can make a pic of the PCB, after testing the card ofc.

I have one side (http://extreme.pcgameshardware.de/g...r-version-2-0-update-jetzt-mit-gtx-980ti.html) which tells me that its the custom PCB but the card does not appear on xspc's compatibility list :/ (http://static1.squarespace.com/stat...18a/1440467576184/compatibility+gtx+980ti.pdf)

How do you interpretate this?

 

[Nebulous]

I can only speculate why your card isn't on XSPC's site is because the KFA2 brand is not widely known therefore they cannot take into account the component's locations for said card.

Pretty much all the other brands ie: Asus, EVGA, MSI, Gigabyte follow a set pattern for their components locations. Off brand like KFA2 may use a different approach to where they put their components on the PCB so it may not follow suit.

Again I'm only speculating so take this info with a grain of salt.


Your best bet is to wait until you recieve your video card, remove the stock cooler and take a few clear snapshots of the front of the PCB, Then go to EK's configurator's site: here and match your PCB with the ones in their list to see if any match up.

That's the only way you can be sure the XSPC block will fit.

 

[Jaiel]

Allright. I see its not sent yet, so I wrote an Email to them to change it back to the Inno3D Hercules x3 one. This seems to be fully supported on XSPC's list...

 

[Nebulous]

There ya go. Hopefully they'll recieve your email before they ship out the KFA2 branded card. You'll then be set. It's better to be sure this way with a card that is supported by the gpu block manufacturer's list, than to play a guessing game and "hope" the wb will fit.

On another note: unsure if the KFA2 brand video card's warranty will stay intact if you removed the stock cooler for the waterblock. Be sure the Inno3D Hercules x3 card's warranty allows that as well, otherwise if something goes wrong, you won't be screwed warranty wise

 

[Jaiel]

Yeah maybe dodged a bullet there

Hope there is no protection seal or so that they can see if I unmounted the cooling block

 

[Dlaw]

I just googled the model number provided on the site, "98NQH6DHC8XX", which returned 980s from Galax. Looking at the Galax cards on google, it seems that the one you purchased was just rebranded. I'm pretty sure it's reference PCB, but if you can get the Inno3D one instead, that would probably be best.

 

[Jaiel]

yeah Im sticking to Inno3D although it costs 30€(~33$) more...nevermind though it comes with a backplate

 

[Jaiel]

So I think they sent it out without changing it

But I also googled the modell number myself and this is what I found



It looks like the reference PCB

https://www.ekwb.com/configurator/step1_complist?gpu_gpus=1569

and is also listed here on Nebolous link for EKWB as a reference design. So maybe Im lucky!

 

[Nebulous]

Nice! A shame they didn't change the order out before shipping it out, but you may be in luck after all! My suggestion would be to get an EK waterblock instead of the XSPC one just to be on the safe side!