All disclosures, notices and warranty conditions are being written on the EKWB website. Please read terms of use. Released on 31
st
of July, 2012. Revision 1.0
Installation and mounting manual for EK-FC7970 Lightning water block
This product is intended for installation only by expert users. Please consult with a qualified technician for installation. Improper installation may result in damage to your equipment. EK Water Blocks assumes no liability
whatsoever, expressed or implied, for the use of these products, nor their installation. The following instructions are subject to change without notice. Please visit our web site at
installation of this product please read important notice, disclosure and warranty conditions printed on the back of the box.
Before you start using this product please follow these basic guidelines:
1.
Please carefully read the manual before through before beginning with the installation process!
2.
Please remove your motherboard from the computer to assure safest mounting process in order to prevent any possible damages to your CPU and/or motherboard’s circuit board (PCB).
3.
The EK High Flow and EK-PSC type fittings require only a small amount of force to screw them firmly in place since the liquid seal is ensured by the rubber o-ring gaskets.
4.
The use of quality, market proved corrosion inhibiting coolants is always strongly recommended for any liquid cooling system.
STEP 1: GENERAL INFORMATION.
Sample picture of MSI HD7970 Lightning
STEP 2.: PREPARING YOUR GRAPHIC CARD
1. REMOVING STOCK COOLER: Remove encircled screw on the I/O bracket:
STEP 2 cont.: PREPARING YOUR GRAPHIC CARD
1.cont. REMOVING MSI FACTORY PROVIDED BACKPLATE:
Remove all encircled
screws attaching the aluminium backplate to the circuit board. All backplate assembly
screws should be removed. There are 13 screws on the back of the graphics card (see photo
below). Do not unplug the backplate power connector if you intend to re-use the backplate
with the EK-FC7970 LTG water block (see STEP 3.3)!
1.cont.: Carefully detach metal heat spreader plate. This step may require
some force as the thermal pads may adhere the backplate firmly to the
components on the circuit board. We recommend users to slowly and
carefully pry the metal heat spreader plate from the PCB using bare hands
(tool-less approach).
2. CLEANING THE PCB & APPLYING THERMAL COMPOUND.
Carefully detach the original stock cooler after removing
all
screws
securing it to the board. Wipe off the remains (by using non–abrasive
cloth or
qtip
) of the original thermal compound until the components
and circuit board are completely clean. Apply thermal compound:
lightly coat
AMD
GPU chip with for example GELID GC-Extreme™ or
Arctic Cooling MX-2 ™/ MX-4 ™ thermal grease. EKWB recommends to
apply thermal grease in cross form for best performance (see sample
picture).
3. CUTTING THERMAL PADS.
Your block comes with thermal pads, some of which are already pre-
cut. Others have to be cut to smaller chunks in order to cover all the VRM components such as
MOSFETs and drivers. PLEASE REMOVE THE PROTECTIVE FOIL FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE THERMAL
PADS PRIOR TO INSTALLATION.
Replacement thermal pads: 1x Thermal Pad A – 0.5mm (100x16mm), Thermal Pad B – 1mm (100x16mm).
STEP 3: INSTALLING WATER BLOCK
1. PLACING THERMAL PADS ON PCB.
Place thermal pads on chips so that numbers on chips match size of thermal pads. EKWB made sure users have more than
enough pads to cover all surfaces that need to be covered to make block fully functional). EKWB recommends using small drops of electrically non-conductive (for
example: GELID GC-Extreme™ or Arctic Cooling MX-2 ™/ MX-4 ™) thermal grease on each phase regulator (that is being covered with thermal pad) in order to even
further improve the thermal performance of the EK-FC7970 LTG series water block.
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1:
Thermal pad A – 0.5mm
(for memory IC):
2:
Thermal pad B – 1.0mm
(for VRM):
