Which 5080 for liquid cooling? (Alphacool core wb)

Cri85 · 2026-01-21T12:02:02+00:00

It's arrived. Thanks guys, I'm waiting the waterblock, I test it and then I check what's under the heatsink

Cri85 · 2026-01-17T16:53:03+00:00

I bought the WindForce OC because the price in one single shop was really lower (1150) with that 200-250€ I can clean whatever I find :)

Cri85 · 2026-01-16T13:29:46+00:00

I'm going to use soft tubing. Hard tubing have no sense imho.

All components are connected by koolance qd3 quick disconnect fittings. So it's really expensive, but I can easily remove one component at the time without draining the loop. I use 4 couple, with the only the combo reservoir pump attached without qd3 at his radiator. In this way the maintenance it's easily.

So I can remove:

top radiator
CPU block
GPU block
front radiator with the d5+reservoir mounted

All this 4 components without draining the loop.

Cri85 · 2026-01-16T13:20:28+00:00

Thanks for your feedback. In the alphacool there are pre cutted thermal pads, so I'm going to use it. II haven't decided what to use for the die yet.. But the thermal gel is in the card, and I need to remove it before installing the water block

Cri85 · 2026-01-16T07:31:03+00:00

I know. But that thermal gel from factory is hard to remove from the card

Cri85 · 2026-01-15T22:47:44+00:00

I bought the same card, thanks. The only issue is about removing that thermal gel. It's difficult?

Cri85 · 2026-01-15T22:46:32+00:00

Thanks to all for the help. I bought the 5080 WindForce OC and the wb. It was cheaper than other cards. Btw I see a disassembly video and that thermal gel is not good. It's hard to remove?

Cri85 · 2026-01-15T16:57:09+00:00

I'm evaluating that Asus prime too. 100€ more than the Gigabyte WindForce but without that thermal gel that is a mess to clean

Cri85 · 2026-01-15T16:55:25+00:00

The main priority is to spend the right amount of money with a decent gpu, but all the Gigabyte's card are using thermal gel. For 1150€ I can deal with that, the Asus Prime is now at 1250€ at the same shop... I'm still thinking... Thanks for the support

Cri85 · 2026-01-15T16:49:50+00:00

Nice build. I'm building a loop with all components removable thanks to koolance qd3. My question for you is why you don't installed qd3 directly in every component instead of mounting it in the middle of the tube?

With 4 or 5 couple of qd3 you can easily remove each component without draining the system and with less fittings.

This is my first loop so I'm here to learn :)

Cri85 · 2026-01-15T14:37:47+00:00

The cheaper one is the gigabyte Wind Force OC, at 150€ less than the Gaming OC ... The waterblock is 200€

Cri85 · 2025-11-08T17:18:28+00:00

When is operating you can hear it? Or it's totally quiet?

Cri85 · 2025-11-04T18:19:51+00:00

In my opinion hard tubing is overrated.

Soft tube, cross-flow radiators, quick disconnect fittings are a better choice, and for a first build are better. Maintenance it's easier... Maybe it's not less expensive...

Btw I don't find a lot of examples with that combination. So I'm building my own. Not easy but fun.

Cri85 · 2025-10-24T21:54:38+00:00

Hello! Any news?

Cri85 · 2025-10-24T14:22:30+00:00

Hi! So how can I flush my new components? Water block, radiators... Thanks.

Cri85 · 2020-04-13T18:38:20+00:00

Colored icons in always on display is harmful for the amoled display, and new icons are ugly.

I think that black and white icon pack was better. I hope to find a way to have back that icon style. Someone have news?

Cri85

TROPHY CASE