Alphacool Core RTX 5090 full-cover GPU water block
The short answer

To water cool a graphics card, swap its air cooler for a full-cover water block made for your exact card, then connect it to a loop: a pump and reservoir, a radiator, tubing, compression fittings and coolant. The step people get wrong is the block. It has to match your card's board, not just the GPU chip.

1

Check which water block fits your card

A GPU water block is machined for one circuit board layout. Two RTX 5090s from different brands, or even two models from the same brand, can use different boards, so "fits RTX 5090" is never enough on its own. Match the brand and the exact model name printed on your card's box, for example "MSI GeForce RTX 5080 SUPRIM SOC" or "Sapphire NITRO+ RX 9070 XT".

Some blocks cover more than one card when the manufacturer shares a board between models. That is why you will see blocks listed for both an RTX 5080 and an RTX 5070 Ti of the same series.

Every current GPU category has a fitment table at the top. Find your card, and it shows every block that fits:

RTX 5090Water block fitment table RTX 5080Water block fitment table RTX 5070 TiWater block fitment table RTX 5070Water block fitment table RX 9070 XT / RX 9070Water block fitment table All GPU water blocksEvery block we carry
2

Everything else a GPU loop needs

Radiator

Gets the heat out of the coolant.

Shop radiators

Pump and reservoir

A pump/reservoir combo is the simplest way to cover both.

Shop pump and reservoir combos

Tubing

We recommend 16/10mm (3/8" x 5/8") soft tubing. It is the most flexible common size and the least prone to kinking.

Shop 16/10mm tubing

Compression fittings

Two per component. A simple GPU-only loop with a block, a radiator and a pump/reservoir combo needs 6.

Shop 16/10mm compression fittings

Coolant

Clear or colored, whichever suits your build.

Clear coolant  ·  Colored coolant

Tight routing?

90 degree fittings make it easier to get tubing in and out of a block near the side panel.

Shop 90 degree fittings
3

Kit or parts?

If you would rather buy one box, a GPU water cooling kit bundles the loop hardware. Building from parts lets you pick the block for your exact card and size the radiator to your case.

Can I cool my CPU in the same loop? Yes. Add a CPU water block and two more compression fittings, and it runs on the same pump, radiator and coolant. Bigger loops usually add radiator space as well.

Not sure which block fits your card?
Send us the exact model name and we will tell you.

Ask us