EVGA 1080Ti SC2 Exploded after waterblock install! Detectives Needed

[Sleepy944]

Hello everyone, I think this is the correct place for my post, I didn't find any water cooling specific sections Please redirect me if needed.

Anyways! I recently bought a broken GTX 1080 Ti with a EKWB water-block and backplate for 75 bucks... I could not pass on it since I have been trying to add a water block to my GPU.

The guy told me the card popped and started smoking as soon as he started up the system. I dont want to fix the card. However, I want to make sure i dont make the same mistake he did!

The card i want to install this water-block on is also a EVGA 1080Ti SC2.

There was nothing crazy apparent as to why the card broke to me but these are the things i noticed.

1) a bit excessive use of thermal paste on GPU, (I know GPUs use more than a processor but there was quite a bit on it)

2) thermal pads where installed a bit sloppy.

3) the thermal pad used for the back plate on the possessor locks like it was the stock one. which is thicker than EVGA provides I believe.

I wouldn't think any of these problems would lead to an instant failure as he described.
If anyone has any thoughts on why this would happen i would love to hear them.

Here are some pictures of the aftermath.

 

[trents]

The second picture from the top shows a blown mosfet. That explains the sparks and smoke. Usually, blown mosfets result from excessive power draw and/or excessive heat (of the mosfet itself), which go together of course. Were the mosfets in that area sinked?

 

[Blaylock]

Agreed. The waterblock should be undamaged and good to go for your card, asuming it fits. Just be sure to use new thermal pads and TIM (with the proper amount).

 

[EarthDog]

A short could have done it... metal touching where metal shouldn't.

Agreed. The waterblock should be undamaged and good to go for your card, asuming it fits. Just be sure to use new thermal pads and TIM (with the proper amount).

This.

If you want to use the block on your card, get the right size and quantity of thermal pads and follow the original instructions with the block.