Best case airflow for EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 24GB FTW3 ULTRA GAMING

element059 · 24 Dec 2020 at 11:38

Hi guys,

I've just got the EVGA 3090 and it's producing a ton of heat compared to my 1080ti. This was to be expected but I wanted to check that I have my case airflow correctly setup. My previous 1080ti was a founders edition with a fan blower design so my case setup did fine, but with this 3090 my case has been turned into a radiator.

The card is idling around 58 - 60c and +80c at load.

My setup
EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 24GB FTW3 ULTRA GAMING
Intel Core I7-7700K 4.20 GHz Socket 1151 8MB (overclocked to 4.6ghz)
Asus rog maximus ix code lga 1151 atx intel motherboard
Corsair Dominator Platinum Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 DRAM 3000MHz C15
Corsair Hydro Series H100i v2 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
Corsair AXi 860W Fully Modular 80+ Platinum Power Supply
3x Corsair Sp120 Rgb Fan - With Controller
Jonsbo RM4 Zone Window ATX Aluminium Case
https://www.quietpc.com/jonsbo-rm4

I'm aware my current setup is old and not suited for the 3090 but ill soon be upgrading to a 5950. However, in 4k gaming the 3090 has performed well, with the exception of FS2020!

Thanks in advance!

Nghtmare · 24 Dec 2020 at 11:45

I am not sure the difference between a FTW3 3080, and 3090 in terms of temps. However my 3080 idles around 26C on idle and 62C under load on this set up (OC BIOS) and Auto fan speeds.

Aretak · 24 Dec 2020 at 11:45

Buy a better case with a mesh front panel. You're never going to get great thermals in a case with such poor ventilation. Something like the Corsair 4000D Airflow is only £80 and is one of the better airflow-focused cases on the market. You can also see how much difference it makes simply putting a ventilated front panel on the exact same case by comparing it to the non-airflow version:

Amidar · 24 Dec 2020 at 12:04

That is high, even before using undervolting my idle temp was still around 28-30c. It currenty ldles at 28c @ 20% fan and load 58-62c 60-70% fan after undervolting.

Mine used to hit 72-74 full load at 80% fan, then i used MSI Afterburner and undervolted it and you then should see some decent temperature drops.

Case wise i am ussing a Phanteks Evolv-X with 3 x 140mm fans running at 1100rpm and one rear 140mm fan at 1100rpm. Also using a Noctua DH-D15S air cooler with 2 x 120mm fans at 1000rpm.

Nghtmare · 24 Dec 2020 at 12:07

Amidar said:
That is high, my currenty ldles at 28c @ 20% fan and load 58-62c 60-70% fan.

Mine used to hit 72-74 full load at 80% fan, then i used MSI Afterburner and undervolted it and you then should see some decent temperature drops.

^ If you are going to undervolt make sure you dont follow Youtube videos, 90% of them are ******* up the voltage curve and overvolting the GPU undet light load.

element059 · 24 Dec 2020 at 12:10

Thanks guys. I guess when I upgrade the motherboard and CPU I'll just upgrade my case.

Nghtmare · 24 Dec 2020 at 12:11

element059 said:
Thanks guys. I guess when I upgrade the motherboard and CPU I'll just upgrade my case.

In the mean time I would recommend undervolting the GPU, it will help with the temps until you change the case.

element059 · 24 Dec 2020 at 12:21

As a temporary measure I've just taken the side panel off the case lol

no_1_dave · 24 Dec 2020 at 12:26

element059 said:
As a temporary measure I've just taken the side panel off the case lol

Make the rear fan an intake and turn the rad fans into outtake fans
You are currently blasting hot air from the rad over your GPU and cooking everything inside your case

Amidar · 24 Dec 2020 at 14:09

This is the guide i used: https://hardforum.com/threads/rtx-3000-series-undervolt-discussion.2003050/

chaparral · 24 Dec 2020 at 14:36

element059 said:
The card is idling around 58 - 60c

Are the GPU fans stopped when the card is idle ?

element059 · 24 Dec 2020 at 15:52

no_1_dave said:
Make the rear fan an intake and turn the rad fans into outtake fans
You are currently blasting hot air from the rad over your GPU and cooking everything inside your case

Thanks I'll give that a go. I'm assuming I need to move the fans to the front of the rad, rather than flip them around?

element059 · 24 Dec 2020 at 15:52

chaparral said:
Are the GPU fans stopped when the card is idle ?

Yes they stop in idle.

dirtybeatfreak · 24 Dec 2020 at 15:56

Don't know how feasible it is in that case but you also want to swap the orientation of your radiator too so tubes are at the bottom.

Mesai · 24 Dec 2020 at 16:03

There's not much room for improvement with that case. You need a case where you can mount the AIO to exhaust out the top and then pull fresh air through the front and bottom. Corsair 4000D Airflow or Lancool 2 Mesh are great options.

Nghtmare · 24 Dec 2020 at 16:21

Lancol 2 Mesh
P400A
P500A
Those are all good options, and are not expensive in my opinion as Mesai suggested.

If you make the rear fan intake all you have to do is flip the fans so they push air through the rad, dont move them.

element059 · 24 Dec 2020 at 16:32

Thanks all for your help. It looks like I'm going to need a complete system rebuild to do this properly. I think I'll return the 3090 and buy a complete new system from OC.

eeii · 24 Dec 2020 at 16:58

Heat rises is there any way you can take the top off your case. I would certainly be thinking about putting some very large holes in the top of your case so you can attach some fans to blow air out the top of your case. I would be very careful when being a new case as some of the class fronted cases have terrible airflow

no_1_dave · 24 Dec 2020 at 17:05

element059 said:
Thanks I'll give that a go. I'm assuming I need to move the fans to the front of the rad, rather than flip them around?

Just flip them around. Won't take more than 5 mins. See how it is after that

eeii said:
Heat rises is there any way you can take the top off your case. I would certainly be thinking about putting some very large holes in the top of your case so you can attach some fans to blow air out the top of your case. I would be very careful when being a new case as some of the class fronted cases have terrible airflow

Hot air rises when there is no airflow. If there is airflow the hot air will 'go with the flow' so to speak, so having the top as an exhaust is not always the best solution. My top fans for example are intake fans because it makes sense to keep the air flowing

chaparral · 24 Dec 2020 at 17:32

element059 said:
Thanks all for your help. It looks like I'm going to need a complete system rebuild to do this properly. I think I'll return the 3090 and buy a complete new system from OC.

Could you not just cut two 120mm round holes in the top panel of the case to fit two 120mm fans