XFX Merc 310 RX79000XT(X) Shroud Mod

Required materials

• About 120g of filament (assuming 15% infill) - PLA is fine, but PETG / ABS is preferable
• 3 x 120mm fans (not every single fan will be compatible; take a look at the instructions for further detail)
• 12 M3 Heat Inserts (5mm outer diameter and 5mm length - AliExpress) - The M3 size is what I currently own, but if you own a set of different heat inserts, feel free to use them instead while remixing the model
• 12 M3 x 6mm (or 8mm) screws
• A screw driver for the screws above
• A philips “small” screw driver for the heatsink screws you're about to remove. A magnetic one is prefered
• A soldering iron
• 1 3-way “mini PWM” male end splitter cable (I'm not really sure if it the standard is actually called mini PWM, but this AliExpress splitter cable is pretty similar to I've used in the pictures
• Zip ties or velcros to manage the cables
• [Optional, but recommended] A pincer

Instructions

• Print each of the ducts (Left, Middle and Right)
• Use a soldering iron to push the inserts into the 12 5mm holes (4 in each model)
• Carefully remove the pin that connects the fans to the GPU board (you'll probably need the pincer for this step)
• Remove the fan shroud along with the stock fans and keep the screws that hold them together (you will use them later). I don't have a instructional video, but you can remove the fan shroud without removing the screws that bind the PCB to the heatsink. Look closely at the fan shroud and you'll be able to spot 6 screw locations. Using a magnetic screw driver we'll help you in not losing the screws
• Insert the 3-way splitter into the PCB
• Position the printed ducts along with the fans (which should be pushing air towards the heatsink) aligning the holes with the heatsink threaded slots, just like the reference photo shows
• Connect the fans to the splitter
• Manage the cable to keep them hidden below the fans (use the zip-ties / velcros if necessary)
• Use the screws you've kept from before to attach the ducts to the heatsink
• Attach the fans to the shrouds using the M3 screws. Take note that not all fans are compatible; you should use ones that have an “open side” to avoid having issues with the screw head being too wide. The reference photos have examples of fans that should and shouldn't be compatible. I've used Arctic P12 fans and those work perfectly

Thermal results

This mod will not make the GPU run any colder; the stock fans are pretty capable of that. This, however, will imensely help on the acoustics, since 25mm fans are much quieter (for a given performance level) than the stock slim fans