this makes MSI (for me at least) the worst brand for pre applied thermal paste and dethroned ASUS and Zotac.
I think you have to consider something other than the paste ... look at any TIM comparison .... never seen a best to worst anywhere near double digits. So where do we begin ?
1. If there was a bad paste, it's hardly logical that your 1 (or 3) anecdotal experience is representative of the entirety of the GPU market. Consider that the panic seller knew something wrong. The likely cause here has little to do with the paste and everything to do with a bad / uneven pressure mount. We have been building PCs for almost 30 years. From 2005 - 2013, we were almost exclusively an Asus Shop (GFX and MoBo). .... now most our builds are getting MSI cards because users tend to rank cards in order of 1) performance 2) noise and 3) temps, In recent years MSI has been putting up the best numbers .... we don't make the choice, we point the users to TPU reviews and suggest they choose their components accordingly.
The 2070 was the most poular card chosen and here's TPUs numbers in order of fastest card at top
Zotac AMP Extreme 145.4 fps 69 C 36 dbA
MSI Gaming Z 144.5 70 30
PalitGameRock 143.1 70 33
Asus Strix 142.7 65 37
Nvidia 2070 FE 138.7 77 34
EVGA Black 137.4 64 34
Of particular note in this grouping ....
-EVGA card was the poorest performer, worse than FE
-The top for close in performance
-Asus stood out with 65C / MSI stood out with 30 dbA
-Between those two ... what would you rather have 5C cooler of 7 dbA ? ... 7 dbA is 1.62 times as loud.
-With the Zotac, you're trading 1C for 6 dbA, 1.52 times as loud
Looking at the 2080 .....
MSI Gaming X Trio 180.2 fps 71 C 36 dbA
Zotac AMP Extreme 177.7 84 36
Asus Strix OC 175.0 63 36
Gigabyte Gaming OC 172.2 69 34
Palit Gaming Pro OC 172.7 73 36
Palit Super Jet Stream 171.7 71 34
Nvidia FE 169.0 74 35
This is discussed further in Item 3 ... but at the top end squeezing that extra bit of performance out if a card results in exponential increased in power. Drop the OC a lil bit and the impact on power consumption is much larger. If ya want that top spot, it's gonna cost ya ... only one AIB 3080 beat the FE card and that was MSI
We often do custom painting and custom loop builds which involve removing the coolers and painting the shrouds or adding water blocks. We bench the cards to make sure they meet advertised specs outta the box in case it's a bad card and needs to be sent back, recording temps and voltages under stress testing. It's tested again after painting and reassembly, and we only use premium TIMs after an Indigo Xtreme surface cleaning . Same with water blocks; if they are removed and blocks / cards sold separately, we reinstall the cooler and test again. We have never seen more than a 1.0 C swing.
2. If you look at any of those 80 way TIM tests, the max difference is like 2-3 C from best to worst ... even changing from peanut butter wouldn't drop 20C ... and yes, it's been done
So you popped off you heat sink without realizing you are out of your favorite thermal compound. Before you go running around screaming and hoping to god that your local late night electronics store is still open sit down and be stationary and quiet while you panic. You have a few options, wait u...
forums.overclockersclub.com
3. There's always a balance between sound and temps ...when setting up default sound curves, different manufacturers will have different targets for their base sound curve. many vendors also set up two BIOSs , one with lower temps / more noise and another with lower / noise / higher temps. Noise has a variable impact .... it's matter of how much; temperature does not ... if you are 65 or 75C, who cares ? , there's no impact on performance or the user experience. That does not hold for noise ... the impact on the user is different whether it is 28, 33, 35, 38 or 42.
Look at the 3090
ASUS RTX 3090 STRIX OC 68°C 42 dBA 2175 RPM
MSI RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio (Low Temp BIOS) 67°C 37 dBA 2016 RPM
Gigabyte RTX 3090 Eagle OC 71°C 36 dBA 1809 RPM
ZOTAC RTX 3090 Trinity 76°C 37 dBA 1700 RPM
MSI is cooler than all others and 2nd in sound, 2 have a quiet mode ... more rpm = more noise and lower temps
ASUS RTX 3090 STRIX OC (Quiet BIOS) 75°C 34 dBA 1615 RPM
MSI RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio 77°C 33 dBA 1543 RPM
4. TPU Hit 72C w/ max load + OC on your card... you are 20C below that ? ... seems odd no ? .... if WoW test is so grueling ? How is it that when TPU, tested the same card, they couldn't break 72
5. At full fan speed (1225 rpm) , under Furmark, my GPUs are at 39C ...I can hear them tho. When they drop below 850 rpm, hear nothing and GPU temps are 44C ... they never break 625 rpm and 42C in gaming, .... why go cooler if it means more noise.
6. If you look at any of those 80 way TIM tests, the max difference is like 2-3 C from best to worst ... even peanut butter doesn't add 20C
So you popped off you heat sink without realizing you are out of your favorite thermal compound. Before you go running around screaming and hoping to god that your local late night electronics store is still open sit down and be stationary and quiet while you panic. You have a few options, wait u...
forums.overclockersclub.com