RTX 3080 Mod with 11 Fans Drops Temp Significantly but Yields Minor FPS Gain

Experiment Overview

TrashBench tested the performance improvement of an Asus ROG GeForce RTX 3080 with an extensive cooling modification. The setup included 11 fans and a 360mm AIO cooler, aimed at reducing temperatures and improving overclocking potential. The testing was structured to see if increased airflow led to better frame rates.

Initial Testing with Stock Cooling

Initially, the RTX 3080 was tested with its stock cooler, reaching a stable temperature of 63°C under maximum fan speed during the Unigine Heaven benchmark. This provided a baseline temperature for comparison with the modified setup.

Modification Process

The modification process began by replacing the stock cooler with Arctic case fans, which lowered the temperature to 52°C. Further attempts to improve cooling involved using thicker server fans, but results varied, ultimately leading to stabilization at 54°C.

Final Cooling Setup

The final configuration included a 360mm AIO cooler in conjunction with multiple fans. This setup achieved the lowest temperature of 41°C. However, subsequent testing in the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark revealed only a slight performance uplift despite the significant cooling improvement.

Conclusion and Observations

While the temperature reductions from the modifications were notable, the minimal increase in FPS highlights that simply improving cooling does not necessarily translate to significant performance gains. The experiment serves as a reminder of the complexities in GPU performance tuning.