EK Waterblock on the Radeon HD 5870
Posted on 4th Dec 2009 at 10:41 by Richard Swinburne with 13 comments
We had planned a whole article around this, but our Asus 5870 voltage tweak isn't playing ball and we can't work out why. During the review it worked perfectly, however after applying the waterblock and reinstalling the card it wouldn't overclock for toffee.
Unfortunately, after a day and a half of solid fiddling we had to call it a day and move on with other reviews. However - I couldn't pass up the opportunity to give our friends at EK some love, and show off their lovely waterblock.
The block with the acrylic top looks gorgeous, and being solid copper also weighs a ton!
In the box there's a set of fitting instructions (READ THEM!) as well as all the screws and thermal pads that are essential to make this block work.
The memory pads are precut, however the pads for the power hardware require measuring and cutting by hand from the extra squares provided in the pack. It takes some time to do, but it's essential due to the way ATI designed its product.
With the pads fitted, it should look like this.
Then it simply requires screwing in...
And finally, fitted, it looks like this. The barbs can be inserted either side, but it specifically requires short threads - so make note. While I can't give comparative numbers, I can say that connected to the Swiftech kit we previously reviewed except with a single 120mm radiator it runs lovely and cool, even under extended load. This being the case, it should happily allow for GPU core and memory overvolting along with copious amounts of overclocking, if your card allows.
Unfortunately, after a day and a half of solid fiddling we had to call it a day and move on with other reviews. However - I couldn't pass up the opportunity to give our friends at EK some love, and show off their lovely waterblock.
The block with the acrylic top looks gorgeous, and being solid copper also weighs a ton!
In the box there's a set of fitting instructions (READ THEM!) as well as all the screws and thermal pads that are essential to make this block work.
The memory pads are precut, however the pads for the power hardware require measuring and cutting by hand from the extra squares provided in the pack. It takes some time to do, but it's essential due to the way ATI designed its product.
With the pads fitted, it should look like this.
Then it simply requires screwing in...
And finally, fitted, it looks like this. The barbs can be inserted either side, but it specifically requires short threads - so make note. While I can't give comparative numbers, I can say that connected to the Swiftech kit we previously reviewed except with a single 120mm radiator it runs lovely and cool, even under extended load. This being the case, it should happily allow for GPU core and memory overvolting along with copious amounts of overclocking, if your card allows.
13 Comments
Discuss in the forums ReplyYou mean until after you've cut the right shape out?
Otherwise you've said do not use them, then used them anyway.
Sorry I had a massive brain fart. I meant you MUST use them. It's been changed. ;)
Your volt tweak could come from the fact of overtightening the screws and thus bending the card - and that would play havoc with your tweaks.
IMHO all blocks should come standard with stand-offs to prevent overtightenning especially when you slap them on a rare and/or expensive card.
True, I've killed two cards by blocks either flexing the PCB too much or fouling something creating a short circuit. Some extra support would be a great idea given that your average person's GPU is the most expensive bit of kit in their system.
Yea I admit it's pretty easy to REALLY tighten the chunky screws.
I was going to say the same thing, so that would be it.. how about dangling the fan on there and see what happens?
I've taken it all apart now sorry, but it's worth keeping in mind for the future! Thanks!