Overview
- Reports published Saturday and Sunday describe TrashBench building a custom 3D-printed block that pumps water directly over bare GPU silicon after initial leak tests on a dead RTX 3060.
- Benchmarks on an RTX 2060/2060 Super showed large gains with Unigine Heaven reporting about 28°C with direct water versus about 36°C with a 360mm AIO and roughly 70°C with the stock cooler.
- TrashBench used protective steps including epoxy and adhesive seals, nail-polish coating on nearby surface-mount parts, PCIe riser use, and iterative leak fixes to prevent shorts and PCB damage.
- A follow-up CPU test on an Intel Core i5-7600K performed worse with direct water than with an AIO, indicating the method’s benefit depends on chip package and cooling geometry.
- Writers and testers caution the approach is high risk, likely to void warranties, lacks commercial backing, and raises open questions about long-term corrosion, contamination, and practical adoption.