Modders have once again demonstrated that it’s possible to improve the performance of GPUs with a little time and know-how, without breaking the bank. This time around, a pair of tinkerers have cobbled together a custom shrouds for their Nvidia RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 graphics cards that are cool in every sense of the word, harnessing the power of Noctua and Phanteks fans.
Redditor madsmadalin replaced their MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Ventus 3X stock shroud with a custom 3D-printed frame, built exactly to fit their bespoke quad-fan design. Surrounding two Noctua NF-A6x25 fans that lie in the centre are two Phanteks T30-120 blowers, which slot together perfectly to cover the entire heatsink. Kudos to the modder for manufacturing such a clean-looking shroud, though I would love to see one printed using resin for a higher-quality finish.
Putting the RTX 5090 to work, madsmadalin claims their design is far quieter. In their tests, the modder reports the stock cooler could run as loud as 51db, while their replacement peaks at just 42db. This is a significant reduction, as noise measurement is logarithmic.
Meanwhile, VRAM temperatures decrease by a welcome 6°C using this custom shroud. The modder has perfectly placed the Noctua fans for that particular task. Should madsmadalin want to go even further in improving cooling performance, there is still room for an optional 120mm rear blower over the flow-through area.
madsmadalin isn’t alone in using Noctua to improve their RTX 50 Series GPU. Turning attentions elsewhere, we find aatr replacing their Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5080 Gaming OC’s blowers with three brown-cream fans, one 92mm and two 120mm. Rather than screws, the Redditor opts to secure the new cooling apparatus with zip ties and a 3D-printed adapter sans any shroud.
Even after pushing the RTX 5080 power limits to 400W, fans running at 1,250rpm, the GPU ran at a cool 74°C in 3DMark Steel Nomad benchmarks. The card was apparently able to maintain a 3,150MHz clock speed all the time, which is 15% higher than stock conditions. To the credit of the fans, aatr reports that coil whine was in fact louder.
Now, whether you prefer a full-refit like madsmadalin or a quick swap like aatr’s, both approaches showed nice results. Most importantly, neither requires removing the heatsink assembly, making them easier and safer. For those looking for an entry-level mod, this seems like a beginner-friendly step to more ambitious tinkering.
