I changed the thermal paste on my GPU...

[Thimblewad]

Well, as the title states, I changed the factory thermal paste on my XFX R9 270X DD Edition with some aftermarket ArcticCooling MX-2 (I've been using it for years, best stuff) and the results I got are just astonishing.

During gameplay under full load I dropped down to 60 °C max (-10 °C from previous temperature). I mean, damn, that's a 10 °C difference, just bi changing the thermal paste!

Does anyone here have similar experiences?

Oh, and for a fact, the GPU is a little bit over a year old so there's no way the thermal paste was "getting old" and should be changed.

Just to clarify: the GPU is overvolted, that's why the higher temperatures than other similar models.

 

[eidairaman1]

Well card builders no matter the manufacturer use a certain supplier of tim because its easier to apply than properly applying mx2, mx4, ASC,AS5 by hand- less mess.

I havent touched my gpu because It does what it needs to do.

 

[Thimblewad]

Well card builders no matter the manufacturer use a certain supplier of tim because its easier to apply than properly applying mx2, mx4, ASC,AS5 by hand- less mess.

I havent touched my gpu because It does what it needs to do.

Well, my OC game is strong so I was wondering what changin the thermal paste would do. Pretty happy tho. And I also noticed that the card has proper VRAM and VRM cooling pads, so kudos XFX.

 

[eidairaman1]

Well, my OC game is strong so I was wondering what changin the thermal paste would do. Pretty happy tho. And I also noticed that the card has proper VRAM and VRM cooling pads, so kudos XFX.

Well it fills in micro valleys in both the heatsink and die to give better thermal transfer to the hsf, the faster heat is wisked away fromthe die, the lower the temps and the better chance the gpu will remain stable and last longer

 

[Thimblewad]

• Factory:
  • Core: 1050 MHz
  • Memory: 1400 MHz
  • Voltage: 1.206 V

• Current:
  • Core: 1250 MHz
  • Memory: 1550 MHz
  • Voltage: 1.256 V

I'd say cooling is pretty good

 

[Kanan]

• Factory:
  • Core: 1050 MHz
  • Memory: 1400 MHz
  • Voltage: 1.206 V

• Current:
  • Core: 1250 MHz
  • Memory: 1550 MHz
  • Voltage: 1.256 V

View attachment 79389

I'd say cooling is pretty good

Yeah pitcairn is still one of the best overclockers of radeon amd. Good job.

 

[droopyRO]

Plus that TIM could get bad with time(mostly that pre-supplied one), i changed it on my secondary PC(HD5770) and it went down from 85ºC to about 70 in load.

 

[GreiverBlade]

Akasa MX-2

nope ... it's Arctic (ex Arctic cooling, a reputable swiss brand) MX-2 and indeed it's good (MX-4 ought to be better but the MX-2 already supersede the AS5, even if the AS5 still have some "fan")

Akasa eventually it would be Akasa AK-450/AK-455/Prograde 460/Prograde+ 5022 but no MX-2 from them

(current lineup for me is Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut>Gelid GC-Extreme>Hydronaut>MX-4>Aeronaut>AS5 as per test, still need to test the Cooler Master MasterGel Maker Nano, but no doubt it will be above the AS5 or even between Kryonaut and GC-Ex)

changing TIM is a must, when needed, as most "pre-applied" TIM dry up, heck i even remove the AIO pre applied TIM to replace it with one of my favorites right out of the box for GPU well as long as my card behave as intended i hold on until i see the need to do it.

 

[arbiter]

Its very possible to get those results, When a company buys TIM they usually pick the cheapest stuff they can get in bulk since they are buying a lot of it and even few cents per gpu works out to a lot. Other thing to take in to account is how old was the gpu and TIM that was on it before you reapplied it. Over time it does dry out and lose its thermal properties and not work as well as it did.

 

[jboydgolfer]

Such a large temperature difference can only be attributed to an improper application on the part of the manufacturer. They are assembling units fast and each phase does its best to cut out time.anything from A back plate screw or heatsink screw in properly fastened , To debris in between the heat sink or the memory chips and/or the gpu

 

[Komshija]

That's one major temperature drop! Thermal paste shouldn't dry within two years, but manufacturers always tend to spare as much as they can, so they might be using some crappy Chinese TIM - it wouldn't surprise me.

My temps on laptop went down by about 3°C on CPU and about 2°C on GPU with Arctic MX-4 compared to previous Spire SP-700.
Few years ago I managed to lower the temps on Sapphire HD4830 by about 5°C with some Zalman TIM in a very small white-colored tube (I don't remember the model), but I also thoroughly cleaned the entire GPU and its cooler.

 

[Thimblewad]

nope ... it's Arctic (ex Arctic cooling, a reputable swiss brand) MX-2 and indeed it's good (MX-4 ought to be better but the MX-2 already supersede the AS5, even if the AS5 still have some "fan")

Damn it, I was thinking about Akasa at that moment, even all my fans are AC, I just, hahahah, fixed. As for the other part, I didn't have to do it, it was just an experiment. I think that 70 °C on an overvolted and overclocked card isn't too much. But going sub 60 °C feels nice.

Its very possible to get those results, When a company buys TIM they usually pick the cheapest stuff they can get in bulk since they are buying a lot of it and even few cents per gpu works out to a lot. Other thing to take in to account is how old was the gpu and TIM that was on it before you reapplied it. Over time it does dry out and lose its thermal properties and not work as well as it did.

That's one major temperature drop! Thermal paste shouldn't dry within two years, but manufacturers always tend to spare as much as they can, so they might be using some crappy Chinese TIM - it wouldn't surprise me.

Such a large temperature difference can only be attributed to an improper application on the part of the manufacturer. They are assembling units fast and each phase does its best to cut out time.anything from A back plate screw or heatsink screw in properly fastened , To debris in between the heat sink or the memory chips and/or the gpu

Plus that TIM could get bad with time(mostly that pre-supplied one), i changed it on my secondary PC(HD5770) and it went down from 85ºC to about 70 in load.

Well the GPU probably sat in a storage house for at least a year before I bought it. I'm still very happy with the purchase. What intrigues me is the fact that they went far enough to give VRAM and VRMs proper cooling, but not choose a proper thermal solution. There was also at least twice as much thermal compound before, than what I put on, way too much.

 

[Kanan]

Then this was maybe the culprit of failure that made temperatures kinda bad. Too much TIM is never good.

 

[peche]

Well im pretty happy that you did a great work, and also the most important part, you got a result that can be seen,
TIM on the Gpu's are other have said isn't properly applied, since its a mechanized process in line i guess, might be way much which is the case of Gigabyte Video cards that comes with too much, or EVGA that have so little but still applied horrible... for giving some examples,

also when re-applying TIM its pretty nice to also take out the cooler and all parts and give a deep clean, Cooler fins, Fan blades and all the possible places around that dust and filthiness will find home.


Also you can check this other topic!
Thermal paste applied on your GPU / CPU, survey!

Regards,

 

[Thimblewad]

Thanks! It's the best community when it comes to PC hardware and it's always a pleasure to post your findings, because there's always someone who knows more than you and new knowledge is bliss.

Also, thanks for the link!

 

[peche]

we are here to help each other!

 

[Ithanul]

(current lineup for me is Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut>Gelid GC-Extreme>Hydronaut>MX-4>Aeronaut>AS5 as per test, still need to test the Cooler Master MasterGel Maker Nano, but no doubt it will be above the AS5 or even between Kryonaut and GC-Ex)

changing TIM is a must, when needed, as most "pre-applied" TIM dry up, heck i even remove the AIO pre applied TIM to replace it with one of my favorites right out of the box for GPU well as long as my card behave as intended i hold on until i see the need to do it.

Hmmm, so Kryonaut is pretty good then?

I been using Gelid GC-Extreme mostly on everything. Just nabbed some Kryonaut when I do the tear down and cleaning on my water loop. Going to see if it is good as everyone keeps saying.

I do the same to AIOs as you. Plus, that pre applied TIM becomes like cement when on a long time. All most damaged my 1090T when trying to get the blasted AIO off. Had to take a hammer and piece of wood to knock the AIO off the poor thing.

But on GPU TIM.....seems ever darn manufacture over applies it. The TIM is such a mess to clean off to.

 

[peche]

seems ever darn manufacture over applies it. The TIM is such a mess to clean off to.

with these dudes its pretty easy to clean out everything,

if you dont have those, you always can get isopropyl alcohol at drugstores

 

[Thimblewad]

with these dudes its pretty easy to clean out everything,

if you dont have those, you always can get isopropyl alcohol at drugstores

I use my moms makeup remover and clean stuff with that. It's acetone free, hahahaha.

 

[GreiverBlade]

with these dudes its pretty easy to clean out everything,

if you dont have those, you always can get isopropyl alcohol at drugstores

that's the only Arctic Silver product i would touch again ... pretty effective

Hmmm, so Kryonaut is pretty good then?

I been using Gelid GC-Extreme mostly on everything. Just nabbed some Kryonaut when I do the tear down and cleaning on my water loop. Going to see if it is good as everyone keeps saying.

I do the same to AIOs as you. Plus, that pre applied TIM becomes like cement when on a long time. All most damaged my 1090T when trying to get the blasted AIO off. Had to take a hammer and piece of wood to knock the AIO off the poor thing.

But on GPU TIM.....seems ever darn manufacture over applies it. The TIM is such a mess to clean off to.

well both are my favorite TIM 1st choice being Kryonaut and GC-Ex if i run out of the 1st option which is kinda ... NOT GOING TO HAPPEN... i always take the bigger tube, which is nice with Thermal Grizzly as they offer at last 2 to 3 size, except for the Conductonaut (LM-TIM) although i still have a half syring of GC-Ex and a small one that was bundled with my EK block

i used the GC for quite a long time (which followed a MX-4 period ) before my etailer finally got TG in their assortment, tested the Hydronaut 1st nonetheless.

 

[peche]

that's the only Arctic Silver product i would touch again ... pretty effective

well said! the only worth product they still have!

Regards,

 

[Ithanul]

with these dudes its pretty easy to clean out everything,

if you dont have those, you always can get isopropyl alcohol at drugstores

Yeah, I have cleaners to get the old TIM off. Still, it is ridiculous how much they put on the cards.

 

[peche]

Yeah, I have cleaners to get the old TIM off. Still, it is ridiculous how much they put on the cards.

they last forever also!

well both are my favorite TIM 1st choice being Kryonaut and GC-Ex if i run out of the 1st option which is kinda ... NOT GOING TO HAPPEN... i always take the bigger tube, which is nice with Thermal Grizzly as they offer at last 2 to 3 size, except for the Conductonaut (LM-TIM) although i still have a half syring of GC-Ex and a small one that was bundled with my EK block

i used the GC for quite a long time (which followed a MX-4 period ) before my etailer finally got TG in their assortment, tested the Hydronaut 1st nonetheless.

have you ever tried all Thermal Grizzly pastes?

Regards,

 

[GreiverBlade]

All beside the conductonaut, hence my current listing a few post above.

 

[peche]

All beside the conductonaut, hence my current listing a few post above.

great, so which is the high end one?