Computer Midlife Crisis - Upgrading a 5 year old computer with new graphics board, etc. - Part 1

Just like people, computers suffer from midlife crises. It happens when your computer just can't handle the latest games and equipment (like VR headsets). Usually it can be solved by upgrading the graphics card, but even just replacing that can lead to having to upgrade other components like the power supply.

This video series covers the upgrading of my custom-built gaming PC 5 years after I first put it together.
I wasn't happy with the performance of my graphics card (EVGA 2080 Super) with the HP Reverb G2 VR headset I bought.

I replaced the EVGA 2080 Super with an EVGA 3080ti hybrid graphics card. This required upgrading the power supply to a 1000 watts (from 750 watts) along with other changes. See below for more information about why and how I upgraded.

Part 1 covers Introduction to the existing computer configuration, getting the dust out (using a DataVac duster: see link below), talking about radiator positioning, and removing the old power supply.

Part 2 covers removing the old graphics card and removing the fans on top to make room for relocating the CPU radiator up there. I need to move that because as was explained in Part 1, you want the top of a radiator to be above the water block on the part you're trying to cool.

Part 3 covers removing the 5 year old CPU AIO radiator with a brand new one in the top of the case where it should be. I did that because the original AIO had reached the end of its warranty (5 years) and had been installed in the front of the my BeQuiet case. That turned out to be a mistake. The cooling block on the CPU was above the top of the radiator in this configuration. So any air trapped in the system would migrate up to the cooling block resulting in worse heat transfer. It also covers installing a new 140mm rear exhaust fan. My old graphics card (EVGA NVIDIA 2080super) had a 120mm radiator that was installed on the rear of the case with two 120mm fans in a push/pull arrangement. With my new graphics card having a 240mm radiator that I'm going to install on the front, that space was open and has room for a 140mm fan.

Part 4 covers: reinstalling the USB-C card and the EVGA 3080ti hybrid graphics card.
I need a standalone USB-C card to support my HP Reverb-G2 VR headset. My motherboard has a USB-C connection on the back, but that didn't work with the HP Reverb-G2, so I had to buy a standalone card.

Part 5 covers installing the EVGA 3080ti hybrid graphics card radiator at the front of the cabinet with a push/pull fan configuration (required a lot of tricky maneuvering, booting it up for the first time with the new graphics card, and a summary of what was done.

----------------------------
I have a custom built (by me in 2017) PC powered by:
1) ASUS ROG MAXIMUS X CODE Motherboard
2) Intel Core i7-8700K 3.7 GHz 6-Core LGA 1151 Processor
3) be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 ATX Full Tower: Orange case

----------------------------
Link to EVGA RTX 3080 ti RTX 3080 Ti FTW3 ULTRA HYBRID GAMING, 12G-P5-3968-KR:
https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=12G-P5-3968-KR

----------------------------
Link to EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 T2, 80+ TITANIUM 1000W Power Supply (220-T2-1000-X1):
https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=220-T2-1000-X1

--------------------------
Link to EVGA CLC 280mm All-In-One RGB LED CPU Liquid Cooler:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N16CAKN/

--------------------------------------------------
Link to Noctua NF-A14 PWM, Premium Quiet Fan, 4-Pin (140mm):
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CP6QLY6/

--------------------------------------------------
Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM, Premium Quiet Fan, 4-Pin (120mm):
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C5VG64V/

--------------------------------------------------
Noctua NF-B9 redux-1600 PWM, High Performance Cooling Fan, 4-Pin, 1600 RPM (92mm):
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KF7S9F6/

-------------------
Link to HP Reverb G2 VR headset:
https://www.hp.com/us-en/vr/reverb-g2-vr-headset.html

----------------------
Link to USB-C card:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B089YN57TD/

-------------------------
Link to be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 (Rev 2. - Mine is Rev 1. I bought it in 2017):
https://www.bequiet.com/en/case/1472

-------------------------
Link to ASUS ROG MAXIMUS X CODE motherboard:
https://rog.asus.com/us/motherboards/rog-maximus/rog-maximus-x-code-model/

----------------
Here's a link to the DataVac Duster I used:
https://smile.amazon.com/Computer-Powerful-Electronic-Environmentally-Friendly/dp/B01FWSYOME/

-------------------
Link to my Etsy Store:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/BetaCygniDesigns

-------------------
End Screen Video Acknowledgement:
Cosmic Reef Video produced by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI).
https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/videos/2020/16/1277-Video