How difficult is it to apply new thermal paste to a GTX 590?

[CK011885]

I've built PC's and handled parts before but I've never actually opened any of my GPU's ever. My GTX 590 seems to be running a bit hot, and the fan is clear of dust and spinning just fine so I'm thinking it might need new thermal paste. As I've said, I've never opened a GPU before so I'm not sure how difficult it is, anything I might need to watch out for and do specially. It's gotten to a point where I disable SLI on the card because with it on it's always in the 90C+ range. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

 

[Solaris17]

the machanics itself are simple. the screw pattern needs to be re-tightened in a criss cross pattern like so
13
42

other then that just be extremely careful because the little caps and transistors on the PCB are fragile. its best not to rush if its your first time. but its not to hard in theory.

 

[CK011885]

I see, thanks. Is the same Arctic Silver paste I use on my CPU good to use on the GPU as well? Or is there something better to use? Lastly, are there any aftermarket GPU fans for a GTX 590 that I might want to check out? I looked on Google but I'm not sure if any of these are compatible with my exact card.

 

[Solaris17]

FOR GPUs alot of people like to get more exotic pastes http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835242026 because of the heat generation. for the $$ its worth it if youve got deep pockets. as for an aftermarket cooler unfortunately someone else would have to chime in. im more of a water block guy when it comes to cards when i did go aftermarket. so I dont know too much about your options.

though yes AS5 should be fine on your GPU

 

[CK011885]

What do I do about the thermal pads when opening up the GPU? I've heard they can break apart or fall off, what do I do in that case?

 

[Solaris17]

dont break them.

if you do you will need to get new ones. probably best to ramp the fan speed and order some new paste and pads. if its your first time you dont want to go a week without a card because their was a rip.

 

[CK011885]

I already keep the fan speed at maximum and I still get these high temps. I watched a Youtube video of someone opening a 590 and a few of the thermal pads broke, does Newegg sell thermal pads I can use if any break? Or do I need something very specific for my card? If any pads break, do I have to go and replace them all with the same one or can I just replace whichever ones break? Sorry for all the questions, but as you said I don't want to be without a card =)

 

[Solaris17]

honestly the stuff on newegg sucks. you really want to try and get your hands on the 3m thermal pads. .5mm to 1.5mm thickness should be ok. but nothing thicker. I found someone that carries it but try to shop around. koolance also makes a good product.

http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l2/g8/c487/list/p1/Thermal_Interface-Thermal_Pads_Tape.html

 

[CK011885]

I was on the fence about opening the card up and replacing the paste/pads but I decided I'm going to go ahead and do it. I'm on the site you listed that sells thermal pads but am uncertain which to buy. You said 0.5-1.5mm thickness, which is best? I was going to replace the pads in it regardless if they ripped or not to make it as cool as possible. Also, you recommended the PK3 thermal paste, is that the best option or is there anything better (Even if more expensive), that I could put on to cool the GPU's?

 

[newtekie1]

You do not have to remove the backplates or the uni-sink to re-paste the GTX590, so you should not disturb the thermal pads at all.

First go around the edge and unscrew all the screws in the side of the shroud like the one circled here(there should be 4 total):

Then unscrew these two screws here:

You should now be able to life the plastic shroud off of the card, leaving behind the heatsinks and the uni-sink. You just have to squeeze in on the plastic shroud and pull it up. Also, be careful of the wire for the LED light when removing the plastic shroud, you'll have to unplug it from the card.

Now you can see the 8 screws holding down the GPU heatsinks, 4 per heatsink. They are spring loaded. Unscrew them like you would any heatsink. This will allow you to pull of just the GPU heatsinks repaste them without disturbing any of the thermal pads.

If you need more help you can watch this video. You only have to follow along through the 10:30 mark to the GPU heatsinks off. Then repaste the GPUs and reverse the process.

 

[CK011885]

Ah that seems really simple. 0% chance of messing with any thermal pads right? Do you only remove the back if you're attaching a water block? The video I watched was doing that and removed pretty much every screw along with the thermal pads. I can use a flat head to undo the torx screws? I was going to order a T6 which another video I watched said the GTX 590 used. Or is T6 only required for the back?

 

[qubit]

That 590 is an expensive card, so before you go pulling it apart, you might want to consider a couple of things.

Firstly, run GPU-Z from the downloads section on TPU and check VDDC isn't sitting high. That alone will cause your card to run super-hot and could indicate a problem with the power circuitry. Repasting it in this case will be a waste of time and effort.

Is the card still under warranty? If so then it might be best to RMA it instead of messing around with it and potentially voiding the warranty or breaking it, especially if the voltage is high.

And finally, I've got my EVGA GTX 590 Classified sitting on my desk right now. She has been for some time now and she's a beauty.

 

[CK011885]

The VDDC is 0.8750V when the card is in adaptive mode and sitting at 51 MHz Core Clock. When I go into a game and the Core Clock goes to 630 MHz, the VDDC goes up to 0.9380V. I don't know anything about VDDC, are the numbers normal or high?

 

[newtekie1]

Ah that seems really simple. 0% chance of messing with any thermal pads right? Do you only remove the back if you're attaching a water block? The video I watched was doing that and removed pretty much every screw along with the thermal pads. I can use a flat head to undo the torx screws? I was going to order a T6 which another video I watched said the GTX 590 used. Or is T6 only required for the back?

Yep, zero chance of messing with any thermal pads if you do it the way I said. You only have to remove the backplates and the uni-sink if you are putting on a water block.

I believe all the screws you will be removing will be P1 or P2, you shouldn't need any torx bits.

 

[CK011885]

I ended up replacing the paste today with my Arctic MX-2. The most difficult part of it all was dealing with a stripped screw, it took me about 15 minutes to get it out -.- The card now idles at 37C and tops out at about 75C under heavy load, which doesn't seem too bad to me for a GTX 590 which are known to get hot. Overall, I'm pretty happy =) Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[qubit]

That's great news. It sounds like you're getting better than stock performance with those temperatures, possibly due to the use of better paste. It should also eliminate or greatly reduce throttling. I've seen my card do it and it's very annoying.