Preparing The Graphics Card; Removing The Stock Cooler; Cleaning The Pcb - EK-Quantum Vector2 FTW3 RTX 3080 D-RGB Manual

PREPARING THE GRAPHICS CARD

STEP 1

REMOVING THE STOCK COOLER

Place your graphics card on a flat surface and use the Phillips head
screwdriver to remove the thirteen (13) marked screws, the Stock
Backplate, and the Stock Cooler Backplate from the backside of
the GPU.
Carefully and slowly detach the PCB from the stock cooler and
disconnect the four cables connecting the stock cooler to the PCB.
STEP 1
STEP 2

CLEANING THE PCB

Wipe off the remains of the original thermal compound using a
nonabrasive cloth or Q-tip, as shown in the sample image, until the
components and circuit board are completely clean. EK recommends
the use of denatured alcohol for removing TIM leftovers. After that,
remove all remaining stock thermal pads from the PCB.
STEP 2
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Always remove the stock cooler slowly and with
uniform force - it might be firmly glued to the PCB with
thermal pads.