Introduction

We already took a look at the Bykski brand in the review of the FOUR series CPU water block here, and I had noted that the FOUR series was a color-coordinated match of fittings, CPU water blocks, and GPU water blocks. Along with the former two, Bykski had also sent me a full-cover GPU block for the NVIDIA reference GTX 1080, and thanks to them, we now get to examine it in more detail.


As mentioned above, the Bykski FOUR Founders GTX 1080 is a full-cover block in that it covers and cools the GPU core, VRAM, and VRMs. Similar to the FOUR CPU block, it has a colored metal top cover over an acrylic top and what appears to be a nickel-plated copper cold plate. Let us begin the review as we always do by taking a look at the specifications below.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

The entire package is nondescript in that we have a plain black cardboard box with only an identifying sticker on the back in a corner. No seals or flaps here either, so there is really no telling if the box has been opened after having being shipped from the manufacturer. I encourage Bykski to add a tamper-proof seal here. Opening it up, we see the first accessory - a GPU backplate that is included in the price, which is always nice to see.


The backplate comes in a separate protective wrap, which in turn does have two seals on it, and taking it out, we see that it is made out of anodized aluminum. It is among the thicker GPU backplates at over 2 mm on average and is not a solid piece of aluminum as with most others I have seen. If anything, it is more open than closed, and unfortunately, this does mean it is more form over function here. One of the ways a GPU backplate helps in a fully watercooled build with a standard ATX configuration is to act as a barrier that prevents any coolant leaks from touching the GPU's PCB directly, and this particular version will not do so. It is rigid enough, however, to help prevent PCB warping should the GPU block's mounting pressure be uneven along the length of the card, so that is something, I suppose. In the end, I am not a fan of this design and would rather see at least a thin continuous piece of acrylic in a similar fashion to the GPU block's top here.

There are six standoffs on the backplate, but the openings on the side facing outward are not shaped to allow countersunk screws for installation. As such, screw heads will jut out and not be in-line with the backplate's surface here. This is another change I want to see since the backplate is thick enough to allow for countersunk screws.


In the lower compartment is the GPU block itself and a pouch, which contains more pouches inside of which are the accessories. The block is protected by a wrap similar to the backplate and is then placed in a shaped, cut foam compartment with foam on all sides but the top, where you have the upper compartment anyway, so overall, this is good packaging.

You get an installation guide, and while it is in Mandarin only, the pictures are thankfully detailed enough to be able to tell how to install both the GPU block and the backplate. Bykski also provides two spare stop plugs that are made out of nickel-plated brass for the two spare ports on the water block I/O manifold, both with a nice knurled finish with no brand-specific markings or logos anywhere, and there is the necessary mounting hardware - three strips of 10 cm x 1 mm long thermal pads, lots of plastic washers and spring-loaded M2.5 screws with a precision Phillips head, three plastic spacers, and seven longer screws that are used to install the backplate. As you may have figured out by now, there are more screws, washers, and spacers than necessary, seeing as how the backplate has six standoffs only, so do not worry about any that are left over after you are done. I would have liked to see the thermal pads for the VRAM modules marked to length, but this way is the norm more often than not yet among the various offerings, and there is plenty of thermal padding available here anyway.

What is not included is thermal paste, and I have been counting this as a con as of the beginning of this year as there is really no excuse not to include some anymore.