Modular water cooling for graphics cards
Lynk+ is a new European company that developed a full-cover water cooling solution for graphics cards. While the concept design showcased at Computex last week could only fit Radeon RX 7900 XTX and GeForce RTX 3080 graphics cards, the company has plans to introduce more variants in the future.
LYNK modular GPU cooling, Source: der8auer
The Lynk+ GPU cooler features a large aluminum die cast block that hosts a GPU cooling block inside. The fact that this design uses die cast could potentially mean that the cost of a waterblock module alone would be much lower compared to fully CNC drilled blocks.
The design is modular, which means it is possible to add more radiators and water blocks should one require more cooling power. To accomplish that, the radiator’s tube needs to be disconnected and simply added in series with a secondary unit. More importantly, the modularity allows gamers to swap water blocks for newer generation of GPUs, while using the same radiator/pump module. Those radiators will be available in 240 to 360mm sizes.
LYNK modular RTX 3080 GPU cooling, Source: der8auer
In terms of the cost, a die cast block design could potentially compete with air-cooled solutions that are already offered on the market. The only new cost is the modular radiator that could still be used for future GPUs. Such a design would probably make a lot more sense should a big brand invest and cooperate with Lynk for a broader adoption to span across multiple generations of GPUs. Otherwise, we are just looking at another liquid cooler with possibly a slightly better pricing and ability to reuse parts for GPU upgrade.
A prototype of the cooler for Radeon RX 7900 XTX GPU has been demoed showing only 48°C (76°C hotspot) during Furmark test while consuming 345W of power. That’s an excellent result, but one should note that the prototype cooler was using CNC milled design instead of die cast.
LYNK modular GPU cooling, Source: der8auer
A modular liquid cooler is nothing new, however. EK have developed a similar design that can add more devices to existing loops (secondary GPUs or CPU blocks). This design featured a radiator and pump integrated into one core module. The company designed as many as 23 modules that could be added to this system and this was in 2017 when GeForce GTX 10 series were still popular.
EK-MLC Phoenix AIO modular AIO, Source: EK
Source: Lynk, der8auer via Wccftech
