Help required with replacing thermal paste on gpu(msi r9 290x Lightning)

[VengefulSpirit]

Hello, Since 2 days ago im an owner of a used r9 290x, since the previous user did not remove the stock cooler , i was concenred about the factory thermal paste being all dried up so i decided to replace the paste. Longstory short, i can't seem to be able to get it right. I've already reapplied the paste 3 or so times using different methods ( line down the middle, an x with a - over it -to get as much of it as possible on the gpu die, and a pea method) and the temperatures stay in high 80ies and low 90ies to mid ( when to 1140/1350 which should be a walk in a park for this particular model oced) and whenever i take the card apart i immediately know why ( http://imgur.com/a/CtO88 ) as you can see for some weird reason the thermal paste gets a weird air pocket or is magically squished out of the middle . i removed the old thermal paste , applied the new one, and tried to place the card onto the cooler as accurately as possible ( note that i never placed it perfectly over the screws so i gently nudged it a milimeter or so to the right or left to align the screws) and then i proceeded to tighten the screws in an x pattern until tight, but then did not try to screw any further so as not to strip the threads. I used the arctic mx-4 paste , but this tube looked differently than the previous mx-4 that i had( http://imgur.com/a/mmatm as opposed to this https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/519SY4zgtzL._SL1200_.jpg ) is this thermal paste bad for gpus? should i buy thermal grizzly, or anything else more viscous so it doesnt squeeze out of the core? im really resigned now, i was getting 82C on water ( kraken g10 with thermaletake water performer 3.0 with Noctua fan on rad) which is really bad, considering i was getting 69 on a top card in crossfire on it previously

 

[OneMoar]

way way wayyy to much paste wtf ...

put a thin coat on and spread it with a gloved finger

make sure you get the aliment right the first time when putting the card together don't let it move

 

[VengefulSpirit]

what You mean way too much paste? thats how I alwasy apply it and had no issues before. both my hd 7870 and my r9 270x i applied quite a lot

hymm so it might be the amount issue? ill try to fix it, theres this one spot on the die that looks like its a bit tinted btw

 

[OneMoar]

its all over the gpu package you only need to cover the center with a tissue paper thin coat
too much is worse then not enough
make sure you don't have a crusty old thermal pad preventing good contact
don't be afraid to torque it down it looks like its not tight enough

 

[VengefulSpirit]

thanks, i will try to tighten it more, right now i've switched back to my kraken g10 and thermaltake rad, ill try to redo it ( for the 5th time ) and this time do it right. do You think adding a copper shim might help ?

 

[OneMoar]

thanks, i will try to tighten it more, right now i've switched back to my kraken g10 and thermaltake rad, ill try to redo it ( for the 5th time ) and this time do it right. do You think adding a copper shim might help ?

put a strait edge on the cooler and card and see if its warped if it wasn't disassembled the in the right way they can flex the pcb

do the back screws first then the X clamp then go back and tighten everything again working in a 8 pattern

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

I use a credit/debit card to spread TIM.

 

[AsRock]

As onemoar said, way to much paste. i am just glad you did not use some thing conductive . i normally put a bit on and use some thing smooth to get a nice flat even spread.

Be careful not to over tighten and always tighten evenly corner to corner.

To clean the cooler use isopropyl and those large coffee filters as they do not leave fibers behind, and if you want ultra clean use Arcti Clean

 

[VengefulSpirit]

http://imgur.com/a/E8BlZ i used nail polish remover adn window cleaner, i dont have isopropyl alcohol , might need to get it. Im thinknig about buying IC diamond which is thicker so it doesnt squeeze out oif the middle, what do You think? http://imgur.com/a/E8BlZ this is as clean as i can get the die and the cooler, note theres an area on the die that looks like its a finger print but its somethingelse it doesnt want to coem off

 

[OneMoar]

acetone can dissolve some pcbs and plastic don't use it any-ware near a pc window cleaner has water in it .... thats also a no
I am done with this thread you re beyond my help

 

[AsRock]

Nail polish will most likely have other crap in it too, i would of thought at least denatonium benzoate so it will not be pure, kinda like using rubbing alcohol other crap in it what gets left behind.

Although do not think this is your issue. just think you using way to much paste and tightening incorrectly.

 

[VengefulSpirit]

ill buy some isopropyl alcohol and reapply a small amount of paste, this time spreading it. Thansk for help guys, didnt want to seem obstinate ^^ haha

IU've finally fixed the issue, bought and applied some thermal grizzly conductonaut. temps went down 7 degrees on load

 

[Marstg]

I have a reference 290X that has been babied and TIM reapplied and it stays at 92 dec C constantly while folding. While gaming is around 82-85. If you really want to have it well coled you need the Arctic Cooler Accelero III, with that it will stay at 60 deg C, or use water cooling with a NZXT Kraken G10 and an AIO unit.

 

[VengefulSpirit]

LOL i have a kraken g10 and AIO unit, it was hitting 87 C on it before, now its at 81. I think i have a defective model or voltage is overapplied, but my overclock is damn solid, 1170/1650

 

[peche]

put stop there dude... the application is ultra bad, way too much for a GPU,
you might apply small rice grain dot in the middle of GPU die, like this:

The try to re-assemble back your cooler, trying not to move it that much, as steady as possible, the screw it tightly in a X patern, start on the disired corner moving to the opposite screw at the time, use arctic clean to take out all paste if not available use isopropyl alcohol to remove it!


thanks god you are using Arctic MX which is no conductive, otherwise you will ended with a broken or dead GPU....

Regards,

 

[jboydgolfer]

If you want an easy way to learn how much thermal paste to use with pretty accurate results this is what you can do.

Take either a magazine with a glossy cover, or a sheet of glass if you have that would be optimal, or something flat that isn't absorbent or porous.

Next put a tiny drop of thermal paste in the middle of your chosen flat nonporous surface. Now take either a CD case or the backside of a credit card or gift card which is also flat ,and push it down on top of the thermal paste drop. If it spreads out to a circle larger than a stamp you've put too much if it's smaller you've put too little. Or you can just do the spread method which is very simple as well. What you're looking for is a spread radius slightly greater than the size of the die of your GPU, that doesn't include the substrate just the shiny part you can see your face in

 

[fullinfusion]

Kind of funny nobody said to use arcticlean cleaner.. that shit paste MSI use is a wax based tim and it wont matter how much isopropyl you use it wont remove it off the cooler by itself.

IU've finally fixed the issue, bought and applied some thermal grizzly conductonaut. temps went down 7 degrees on load

7c not to bad.. i got 20+c cooler doing this.

Warning, not for the faint of heart

 

[VengefulSpirit]

thats a shitton of liquid metal XD i think i might have underapplied in that case

 

[eidairaman1]

Kind of funny nobody said to use arcticlean cleaner.. that shit paste MSI use is a wax based tim and it wont matter how much isopropyl you use it wont remove it off the cooler by itself.



7c not to bad.. i got 20+c cooler doing this.

Warning, not for the faint of heart

Most oem tims are paraffin based junk.

 

[VengefulSpirit]

i applied less liquid metal on my gpu, i appleid too much at hte end adn had to rub a layer off with a cloth from my AIO coldplate, but i agree i sitll get 81 c at load on my aio, i htink my aio is just crappy. or its just that the waxfrom the original tim is still on there haha. i might get me some arcticlean cleaner

 

[fullinfusion]

thats a shitton of liquid metal XD i think i might have underapplied in that case

Na that amount you see on the chip did both the chip and cooler as you can see the tape on the cooler was used to take up the extra clu.

I just use the small brush and am able to dab from the chip to the cooler.. the photos look like theres waaaay more on then whats actually on

 

[VengefulSpirit]

aah i see, well i aplied on both chip and the cooler, i applied it in a rather big circle on the cooler coldplate isne i didnt know there the die iwll make contact exactly, but the ruel of thumb is, i believe, to apply only as much liquid metal to cover the entire surface withotu any uncovered spots, withtou leavign any blobs of it on the surface that woudl squish out

 

[fullinfusion]

aah i see, well i aplied on both chip and the cooler, i applied it in a rather big circle on the cooler coldplate isne i didnt know there the die iwll make contact exactly, but the ruel of thumb is, i believe, to apply only as much liquid metal to cover the entire surface withotu any uncovered spots, withtou leavign any blobs of it on the surface that woudl squish out

Yup you see where I scored the coolers surface?

I used the original TIM imprint and a straight edge and a scoring pen to make the traces as a reference

 

[Athlonite]

HOLY F@*K that's shit ton of tim on there

to get the rest off use cotton buds and methylated spirits or Isopropyl Alcohol