Replacing the AIO on a Hybrid with a different Model???

[I am a teapot]

Hello lads, I've got an interesting thing I've been wondering about lately.

 

I have an EVGA 980ti hybrid and I've been wondering if it would be possible to remove the stock 120mm AIO and replace it with an AIO that has a similarly sized pump/block and still fit under the EVGA shroud? Based on my research, the stock AIO appears to just be the unbranded Asetek version of the Corsair H55. So since the H105 has a similarly sized and shaped block, would it be possible for me to mount the new cooler and put the shroud back on over it?

[hconverse02]

It's high risk, low reward. You won't get much (if any) more performance from a different rad/heatsink combo so I would say just keep what you have.

[PrimeSonic]

My graphics card was a 980Ti Corsair Hydro GFX (MSI Seahawk), the kind that comes out of the box with an AiO on it.

Removing the cooler was a nightmare for me. Good thing I had no intentions of actually preserving it since I was going full custom loop.

(The original cooler was all manner of destroyed in the process.)

 

Even being EVGA, I can't guarantee that the cooler will necessarily be easy to disassemble and reassemble with another AiO.

I pretty much agree with @hconverse02. You are basically putting your whole card at risk here and you won't get any noticeable returns.

 

I say this because when it comes to overclocking my own GPU, both on the AiO and on the custom loop, heat was never the limiting factor.

Sure, I'm getting lower temps now than I was before on a single 120mm AiO, but that was going from something like 60C to 50C.

In either case, the GPU was not being thermally limited and it was all about just how much the silicon itself could be pushed while remaining stable.

 

So, yeah. Don't do this.

Unless you plan on trading the AiO for a full custom loop, I wouldn't bother ripping it out.

[r3loAded]

There is no risk if you take your time. As for the size, yeah, measure twice cut once style. Make sure you gather all the possible info about both coolers and compare them. Make sure you can install the bracket onto the new AIO otherwise you wont be able to use it.

 

It's very doable and not that risky if you take your time and do you research.

21 minutes ago, PrimeSonic said:

The original cooler was all manner of destroyed in the process

I'm really curious how on earth to managed to destroy a mechanically (screws and bolts) fitted piece of engineering?

[PrimeSonic]

23 minutes ago, r3loAded said:

I'm really curious how on earth to managed to destroy a mechanically (screws and bolts) fitted piece of engineering?

(You can destroy anything with the right tools. I had tools.)

It was the plastic shroud over the AiO that was destroyed and the item most likely to be troublesome in this procedure.

The AiO itself was fine. I may still have it. I can't really do anything with it now but it's fine.

 

I was using the word "cooler" to refer to the whole thing, not just the AiO since it did have an additional fan and heat sinks for the VRMs.

But man, you do not want to see the state it ended up in.

[PrimeSonic]

22 minutes ago, r3loAded said:

It's very doable and not that risky if you take your time and do you research.

Issue was that the tiny screws holding some parts of the shroud to the graphics card wouldn't come undone no matter what.

Normally, this shouldn't be a problem, but it's still a risk.

And going from one AiO to another just isn't enough, in my mind, to risk the tear down of the card in the first place, especially if the original shroud needs to survive to be used again.

[r3loAded]

9 minutes ago, PrimeSonic said:

Issue was that the tiny screws holding some parts of the shroud to the graphics card wouldn't come undone no matter what.

Normally, this shouldn't be a problem, but it's still a risk.

And going from one AiO to another just isn't enough, in my mind, to risk the tear down of the card in the first place, especially if the original shroud needs to survive to be used again.

That's why I told to the OP that he should do a lot of research beforehand. He needs to check a teardown of the model. I've seen one on Games Nexus but I can't seem to find it anymore. He did a teardown of an EVGA Hybrid. he eve disassembled the AIO to check if there was any liquid loss over time.

 

I did took off the plastic shroud of an Sea Hawk 980 Ti and I know what you mean about the small screws. I almost ended up braking the shroud but then decided to go full on and took of every single screw that had connection with the shroud.

 

So steady hands, research, time and should be a nice project.

 

14 minutes ago, PrimeSonic said:

It was the plastic shroud over the AiO that was destroyed and the item most likely to be troublesome in this procedure.

The AiO itself was fine

Oh. Ok. I really thought that you broke the pump assembly :).

[PrimeSonic]

9 minutes ago, r3loAded said:

I did took off the plastic shroud of an Sea Hawk 980 Ti and I know what you mean about the small screws. I almost ended up braking the shroud but then decided to go full on and took of every single screw that had connection with the shroud.

I feel for you, buddy.

Knowing which screws to remove wasn't the problem for me, though.

It was that these screws were so tight that any screwdriver I used (and I have many in all sizes) would just strip the head without budging the screw itself at all.

In the end, they couldn't be removed without the use of a crazier tool.

 

It was an exercise in patience and testicular fortitude when I took a Dremel to my graphics card to finish liberating it from the shroud in a "no going back now" move.

I wouldn't wish that experience on anyone.

And why I wouldn't recommend removing a graphics card shroud unless you've got a replacement ready and waiting (like a new water block).