EK announced at the EK EXPO at CES 2021 a brand new active cooling backplate that can also cool the back of the GPU PCB with liquid.

EK suggests that its new cooler is suitable for Nvidia's RTX 3090 graphics cards. Since these chips need cooling like any other, why not make them look as good as the GPU block?

According to EK, the cooling possibilities offered by backplate cooling are not limited to what is actually affixed to the back of the PCB: the PCB's many layers of copper traces act as a "huge heat sink," and cooling these can lower the overall temperature of the card This cooling helps to reduce the overall temperature of the card. Thermal pads can also be attached to these components to reduce coil whine.

Unless you are operating a GPU with an unconventional case and riser setup, active backplate cooling can also be done as a purely aesthetic decision, to point in another direction. Adding stunning cooling where a very visible backplate should be is a braggart's dream, and we PC gamers all fall into that category.

We'll have to wait a little longer for more details, but according to TechPowerUp, the new backplate kit will be available next month for RTX 3080/3090 reference PCB designs in either acetal or nickel plexi options