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CORSAIR iCUE Link XG3 Hybrid GPU Block (RTX 4080/4090)

VSG

VSG

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CORSAIR adds a hybrid GPU block to its portfolio with extensive GPU compatibility. The iCUE Link XG3 for GeForce RTX 4080/4090 features a large cold plate for direct cooling of the GPU core and VRAM with a central fan that blows air over the VRMs to make for an affordable cooling solution with an integrated temperature sensor too.

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Pepamami said:
Cool stuff, to kill your high power GPU faster by ignoring good VRM cooling.
Click to expand...
It cools VRMs fine enough though? Of course it depends on the actual PCB but I suspect most will be okay.
 
Thanks for doing these reviews.
 
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VSG said:
It cools VRMs fine enough though? Of course it depends on the actual PCB but I suspect most will be okay.
Click to expand...
vrm is not some kind of SSD chipset, that can go throttle mode when hits critical temperatures.
VRM on high power gpus should have at least some basic "mass" attached to it, like radiator, at least small piece of metal. Also since vrm has it by card design.
Vrm needs it to deal with short-timed stress loads, where mass of attached radiator works as some kind of capacitor.
I can't grant that this open vrm design is safe for use 24/7 on 4090. On 4060Ti, sure, but 4090, idk.
 
those are being cooled through the pcb itself. assuming 90-95% efficiency seems doable. only 7-8C raise above the other blocks and 40 above ambient. best seller in their own words..
 
I've seen Jayz on this and even he was struggling to find anything positive to say about it so my take away was avoid it at all costs. How they hoped to manufacture a catch all water block is beyond me and if they think anyone is buying a generic catch all design on a card costing anywhere from 500 and up they are wrong. If it had been cheaper it may have had play in the low end but nah it's got a premium price tag. I can see uninformed peeps buying this and when the air fan portion is maxed out cooling the VRM's but not succeeding and the card is overheating and throttling into oblivion Corsair will have a headache.
 
vrm is not some kind of SSD chipset, that can go throttle mode when hits critical temperatures.
VRM on high power gpus should have at least some basic "mass" attached to it, like radiator, at least small piece of metal. Also since vrm has it by card design.
Vrm needs it to deal with short-timed stress loads, where mass of attached radiator works as some kind of capacitor.
I can't grant that this open vrm design is safe for use 24/7 on 4090. On 4060Ti, sure, but 4090, idk.
Click to expand...
Basic EE chip packaging knowledge = 0
Broken Processor said:
I've seen Jayz on this and even he was struggling to find anything positive to say about it so my take away was avoid it at all costs. How they hoped to manufacture a catch all water block is beyond me and if they think anyone is buying a generic catch all design on a card costing anywhere from 500 and up they are wrong. If it had been cheaper it may have had play in the low end but nah it's got a premium price tag. I can see uninformed peeps buying this and when the air fan portion is maxed out cooling the VRM's but not succeeding and the card is overheating and throttling into oblivion Corsair will have a headache.
Click to expand...
LMAO, same as comment above. DrMOS dumps heat to PCBA via central drain, only transient heat is being dissipated via epoxy resin encapsulated FET. Look up wire bond packaging method and you will understand why direct airflow is superior to direct thermal contact with wire bonds without exposed drain on top. PCBA design, layout, lamination is the second most important cooling factor after airflow. Flip chips like MCU die (GPU, CPU) are a different story. If you have ever seen or worked on a mission-critical EE heat exchanger you would know.
 
It looks stupid and like a rebranded version of a generic Chinese hybrid block I saw on Aliexpress some years ago, and should have had at least had more of a shroud to direct air at various components like older hybrid Air/Liquid coolers (like the old Arctic Accelero AIO that at least had a long shroud to direct airflow across the rest of the card).
 
Haile Selassie said:
Basic EE chip packaging knowledge = 0

LMAO, same as comment above. DrMOS dumps heat to PCBA via central drain, only transient heat is being dissipated via epoxy resin encapsulated FET. Look up wire bond packaging method and you will understand why direct airflow is superior to direct thermal contact with wire bonds without exposed drain on top. PCBA design, layout, lamination is the second most important cooling factor after airflow. Flip chips like MCU die (GPU, CPU) are a different story. If you have ever seen or worked on a mission-critical EE heat exchanger you would know.
Click to expand...
I am talking about Mass, a chunk of metal, that gonna make you feel cold when you touch it, by absorbing ur energy, even PSUs have these chunks of metal to tolerate the "burst loads". PCB does not have decent mass to make VRM safe to operate on 4090, u should use a back plate with thermal pads or a radiator, to add some Mass to VRM. Or you will end up with EVGA GTX 1080 disaster with a video from GamersNexus about how to fix ur VRM cooling.
 
soldering bumps on the GPU substrate serve as a heat transfer medium to the GPU block 50W difficult but not impossible
the fan helps as well but judging by what it looks like it's a mockup blower style can't do much
 
Haile Selassie said:
Basic EE chip packaging knowledge = 0

LMAO, same as comment above. DrMOS dumps heat to PCBA via central drain, only transient heat is being dissipated via epoxy resin encapsulated FET. Look up wire bond packaging method and you will understand why direct airflow is superior to direct thermal contact with wire bonds without exposed drain on top. PCBA design, layout, lamination is the second most important cooling factor after airflow. Flip chips like MCU die (GPU, CPU) are a different story. If you have ever seen or worked on a mission-critical EE heat exchanger you would know.
Click to expand...
Perhaps you can explain the thermal throttling with this cooler on YouTube. I could care how it's cooled as long as it works. This appears not to.
 
The VRMs on these cards have a ton of phases and are overkill for the kind of current that GPU will ever draw, they can probably run fine even without any cooling whatsoever, that being said it seems ridiculous that you'd not put a full coverage block on a card this expensive.
 
Vya Domus said:
The VRMs on these cards have a ton of phases and are overkill for the kind of current that GPU will ever draw, they can probably run fine even without any cooling whatsoever, that being said it seems ridiculous that you'd not put a full coverage block on a card this expensive.
Click to expand...
Keep in mind that it's just me who happened to use the block with the 4090 Strix because I was already doing a GPU block roundup with it. The block itself is compatible with a lot of different GPUs.
 
It would be nice to see just how the Comino GPU WATERBLOCK FOR GIGABYTE GEFORCE RTX 4090.
Link - https://www.comino.com/products/gpu-waterblock-for-gigabyte-geforce-rtx-4090

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Got enough screws?
 
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