🛑 Power Modding A 5080... 😱👑 (FE Disassembly)

Summary

In this video, the creator explores overclocking and power modding the 5080 Founders Edition graphics card. After encountering power throttling, the video details the process of dismantling the card, applying liquid metal, and adding thermal pads to improve cooling. Despite the risk involved, the mod only results in a modest performance boost, with temperatures and power draw significantly improved. The creator also highlights the card's thermal pad issues and emphasizes the importance of using quality thermal paste. Overall, while the mod offers some improvements, it may not be worth the effort for most users.

Takeaways

• 😀 The 5080 Founders Edition graphics card is power limited, which causes downclocking during heavy loads, leading to lower performance than expected.
• 😀 Overclocking potential of the 5080 is high, with suggestions to increase the power limit by 25-50 watts and base clock speed by 400 MHz to improve performance out of the box.
• 😀 Modern consumers are less interested in fiddling with overclocking, which has shifted the focus to expecting optimal performance straight from the manufacturer.
• 😀 The goal of the video is to remove the power limit on the 5080 Founders Edition by power modding the card to achieve better performance.
• 😀 The presenter uses new tools purchased from Northridge Fix to perform the power mod, with funding supported by channel supporters.
• 😀 In the Port Royal benchmark, the 5080 card initially hits a power limit of 350 watts, causing throttling and downclocking of the GPU to below 3200 MHz.
• 😀 Upon disassembly, the cooler of the card is found to be capable of handling more power, with thermal pads missing from certain components, which could be a design flaw or oversight by Nvidia.
• 😀 The thermal paste used in the 5080 is very dry and crusty, which hampers thermal performance; the solution is to replace it with fresh paste or liquid metal for better heat dissipation.
• 😀 Liquid metal is applied to the GPU die for better thermal conductivity, though it is noted that it will require reapplication in about six months due to absorption into the copper base.
• 😀 Despite modding the card with additional thermal pads and liquid metal, the performance improvement after the power mod is only around 2-3%, which is considered marginal compared to the risks and effort involved.
• 😀 The lack of a nickel-plated cold plate and Nvidia's omission of liquid metal from the 5080's design could be a missed opportunity for improved cooling and performance, similar to the 5090's design.
• 😀 The video emphasizes that power mods and liquid metal application are risky and should not be attempted by the average user, especially considering the relatively small performance gains.

Q & A

What was the main issue the creator faced with the 5080 Founders Edition graphics card?

The main issue was that the graphics card was downclocking during benchmarking, which the creator realized was due to hitting the power limit on the card.

What recommendation did the creator suggest for improving the 5080 Founders Edition?

The creator suggested that Nvidia should increase the power limit by 25 to 50 watts and also increase the base clock speed by 400 MHz to improve performance and reception of the card.

Why does the creator get excited about overclocking headroom in products?

The creator gets excited because, in the past, overclocking headroom was seen as a sign of getting more performance for the money spent, especially in the mid to late 2000s when 50% to 100% overclocks were common.

What was the creator’s goal for the video?

The goal was to dismantle the 5080 Founders Edition, perform a power mod to remove the power limit, and see how much performance could be gained from the mod.

Why does the creator say most people should avoid power modding their graphics cards?

The creator emphasizes that power modding is a complex process and is not suitable for the average user, especially on the 5090 Founders Edition, due to the risks of damaging the card.

What issues did the creator find during the disassembly of the card?

The creator found that some thermal pads were not placed correctly, leaving certain chokes uncovered, and the thermal paste was dry and crusty, which could lead to worse cooling performance.

What method did the creator use to improve the thermal performance of the 5080?

The creator added additional thermal pads to cover the uncovered chokes and applied liquid metal to the GPU die to improve heat transfer and cooling efficiency.

How did the creator handle the risk of liquid metal drying out on the GPU's copper surface?

The creator used a method of polishing the copper, then applied liquid metal in stages and sealed it with thermal pads around the GPU die to create a better contact seal, aiming to prolong the liquid metal's effectiveness.

What was the performance gain after the power mod and liquid metal application?

The performance gain after the modifications was around 2.3% in benchmark scores, with a 3.5% overall improvement in performance when factoring in additional tweaks.

What was the creator’s conclusion regarding the value of these mods for the 5080 Founders Edition?

The creator concluded that the power mod was not worth it due to minimal gains, and the liquid metal mod wasn't particularly valuable either due to the non-nickel plated cold plate, suggesting that good thermal paste would suffice.