Hi all, I have now acquired all the kit I need to watercool my 2 RX480s. One is a Sapphire 8gb reference card and the other is a Powercolor 8gb reference card. I plan to add alphacool gpx blocks to these cards and they are both listed as compatible. What I want to know is, should I tell/ask the manufacturers above about warranty with an aftermarket cooler. Or, should I say nothing and if a problem arises (bearing in mind I have stress tested both gpus to test them) then replace the stock cooler and rma?
Morally, you should be honest... but if you want to maintain warranty, then you don't say a word. Just make sure there are no stickers in the way of the screws.
They'll know if you've replaced the stock coolers, even if you reinstall them - either through the warranty voiding stickers they put on the main screws or by the new TIM that will suddenly be on the chip. Best thing to do if you're really concerned is check with them where they stand on watercooling. As far as I know only Gigabyte and XFX explicitly say warranty isn't voided if you remove the stock cooler, everyone else is pretty strict...
Sapphire warranty is void if you remove stock cooler. The limited warranty does not cover products that the user has disassembled. GPU or ASIC devices (VGA) are sensitive to thermal (heat) issues. The heat sink has been designed to meet the requirements to ensure reliability of the product. Any warranty is rendered invalid if the product has been dismantled or the heat sink has been removed as this may cause damage to the GPU or ASIC device. Non-compliance will cause the warranty of the product to be void and repair will be at the users cost. Linky: https://www.sapphiretech.com/support.asp?lang=eng
Do you think that they have enough time to go through each one, take them apart, and verify? I highly doubt it...
Do you think they can afford to trust people and send out a brand new card to every Tom, Dick and Harry, no questions asked? I doubt that.
Both websites say they don't but there are several forums for both that counter that with emails saying if the cooler is reinstalled they will honour it. This is why i'm not sure if being honest at the start would do me any favours if one where to fail later on.
