EK Water Blocks is developing a active backplate for liquid cooling of video cards . In essence it is a separate waterblock which is responsible for dissipating the heat that thickens in the back of the PCB.

“Since the PCB itself is basically a huge heat sink made up of several layers of copper traversed by electrical tracks,” explains EK, “it is great for absorbing the heat of all the components it houses. Removing excess heat from the PCB lowers the overall temperature of all components it houses , even those that are not directly cooled ” .

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The latest high-end GPUs take a lot energy, moreover the components on the printed circuit are very dense , and for this reason greater cooling is welcome, both for those who want to overclo ccare is to allow the GPU boost algorithm to maintain higher and longer operating frequencies.

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Models like the GeForce RTX 3090 feature memory chips also placed on the back of the PCB , so an active backplate can lend a big hand. “Another aspect is the advantage of having thermal pads between the PCB and the backplate, which reduces coil whine”, says EK, recalling the annoying phenomenon that arises from the vibration of the components induced by electromagnetic forces. “Having a small water block on the back of the GPU makes the whole group more solid than having a standard backplate”, concludes the Slovenian company without, however, mentioning the availability date or a possible price.