Replacing thermal paste on GPU

[Deleted member 6693]

Do you replace your thermal paste on the GPU card?

Asking, because the thermal paste question often comes on CPU.
(I know, you probably change TIM more frequently on the CPU, because of CPU change, cooler change, motherboard change etc)

And then we could go on - is there a difference on TIM for CPU vs GPU? (probably not)

 

[kiriakost]

I did vote Never.
Several years ago, I got a graphic card with a high performance cooler as factory option.
I just blow away the dust from it, ones a year.
And I will continue this trend at my upcoming ASUS DUAL GTX 1660 SUPER OC MINI

 

[Assimilator]

Never.

I have no reason to go through a potentially warranty-voiding process that could end up with my GPU thermals in a worse place than they started at.

I just wish people would use their brains in this regard. "Hey I bought a Vega 64 and it's running hot, should I change the TIM?" No doofus, you bought a card that is known to run hot, maybe you should've done some homework before buying it. Similarly for EVERY SINGLE POST about laptop GPUs running hot or throttling - the manufacturer has crammed a GPU that runs nice and cool when it's installed in a 3-slot 28cm-long discrete card in a desktop PC - why on Earth would you expect it to run nice and cool when it's squeezed down into a laptop form factor?

Honestly, people need to try thinking once in a while.

 

[Vya Domus]

As the paste dries out cracks appear due to thermal stress. Although it should never require a repaste the thermal performance will go down by a couple of degrees over the years.

 

[Hemmingstamp]

EVGA allow it and it won't void the warranty. I did it to my now gone GTX 980 Ti's and 1080 Ti because the paste had solidified after prolonged use.
I see no harm in it if you know what you are doing. After all you'd do the same to your CPU if temps started rising.

 

[Brandenburg]

ive replaced the paste on a gpu because i added an aftermarket hs/f.. around 2007.. cant remember but i think its a gforce 9800.. still kicking too.. i had to use it as a backup when my vcards died last year and still in my spare pc, which was also released around 2007

 

[Hemmingstamp]

ive replaced the paste on a gpu because i added an aftermarket hs/f.. around 2007.. cant remember but i think its a gforce 9800.. still kicking too.. i had to use it as a backup when my vcards died last year and still in my spare pc, which was also released around 2007

See, I can't understand those who say don't do it, or it's pointless when we all know heat is the killer.
All I can say is check with the vendor if your card is still under warranty. I know some won't allow tinkering of any kind.

 

[tabascosauz]

EVGA allow it and it won't void the warranty. I did it to my now gone GTX 980 Ti's and 1080 Ti because the paste had solidified after prolonged use.
I see no harm in it if you know what you are doing. After all you'd do the same to your CPU if temps started rising.

It helps that EVGA designs have been great to work with in the last 5 generations. Adding backplates, cleaning coolers, repasting...all about as simple as simple gets. Sapphire's chunky coolers a little more time consuming, but nothing a little patience wouldn't solve. I repasted my first generation 280X Vapor-X (the weird looking dual fan cooler, a direct rebrand of their 7970 GHz Vapor-X) 4 times on account of switching back and forth between air and a Kraken G10 - still going strong today.

These two companies seem to be upholding that reputation, but if the RTX 20 FE cards are any indication that era may be coming to an end...all I know is that I'll have a newer card before I dare open up this 2060S FE after warranty is up.

 

[Hemmingstamp]

It helps that EVGA designs have been great to work with in the last 5 generations. Adding backplates, cleaning coolers, repasting...all about as simple as simple gets. Sapphire's chunky coolers a little more time consuming, but nothing a little patience wouldn't solve. I repasted my first generation 280X Vapor-X (the weird looking dual fan cooler, a direct rebrand of their 7970 GHz Vapor-X) 4 times on account of switching back and forth between air and a Kraken G10 - still going strong today.

These two companies seem to be upholding that reputation, but if the RTX 20 FE cards are any indication that era may be coming to an end...all I know is that I'll have a newer card before I dare open up this 2060S FE after warranty is up.

I usually buy EVGA hardware but had to pass on a recent RTX 2070 Super because EVGA's offerings had no backplates at all across the range.
Seeing my old EVGA 980 ti's sag under heat was disheartening that I vowed never to purchase a card without a backplate again, a dual fan one anyway.
I can't open this MSI card while under warranty which frustrates me a little. Will keep looking as prices drop since the next gen of cards are on the horizon.

 

[Deleted member 6693]

I have recently replaced the TIM on my spare GPU (ASUS STRIX GTX 970) due to it was dried out/the card got really hot
and the biggest downside was, that all the thermal pads for memory/VRM etc had diff. thickness, so I had to buy various thermal stripe pads, as the old one´s
where hampered, as I disconnected the cooler from the board - but now it is running smoothly......

 

[Deleted member 193596]

depends on the manufacturer..

ASUS uses crusty old toothpaste (that really should be replaced)
Zotac has crap paste
Gigabyte has decent paste
MSI has sometimes great paste on their high end skus but awful crap on everything below that.

my 1080 Ti Strix OC dropped almost 10°C after repasting.

 

[mobiuus]

a few weeks ago i realized that warranty on my msi gtx 1080ti gaming x trio is outdated so i replaced its thermal paste with thermal grizzly's kryonaut and behold
5-10c lower temps depending on tha game

 

[Sithaer]

Pretty much never, 2-3 years of warranty worths more than a maybe - few celsius if that.

After the warranty is over, maybe I would if the temps are really out of hand but so far I never had to do it. 'by the time I usually buy a new card anyway'

 

[xtreemchaos]

whenever i get a new 2h card or about once a year same with the cpu, i enjoy doing it, its good to strip down and get all the dust out.

 

[P4-630]

Haven't done it in years because of upgrading GPU in 2-3 years.

Last time was in 2010, when I replaced the stock cooler with a Thermalright HS of a HD 4870.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

I only do it when warranty runs out or if there is no warranty like if I pick up a pre-owned card.

Manufacturer's over here are really strict with stuff like that. I heard many positive stories about XFX being cool with stuff so long as you contacted them and told them what you were doing and I did the same but they still told me not to and to send my cards back to them instead...

so XFX wanted me to send two perfectly working 6970s with the blower style cooler which are known to run hot anyway back to them so they could take an entire month or two to replace the thermal paste before sending it back to me.

What i didnt know is the quality of the thermal paste they are using. If i would be receiving the exact same cards back, if XFX would be sending me refurbed cards back instead or . Most likely it would of been refurbed cards.

Nothing wrong with my 6970s. They just ran at 80-90'c when gaming which was well within their spec but i wasnt comfortable with.

They were really really keen on trying to get me to register my cards with them though but i said no then they were like "but why not??" -- "Because im sending them back to the shop for a refund so i can buy a card from a more enthusiast friendly GPU partner"

 

[xtreemchaos]

sapphire told me it was fine to repaste aslong as i didnt damage anything while doing it and if i did it wouldnt be covered this was a few years ago tho . if i did it now i would email them and save the emails as prooth but ive no gpus thats covered im as poor as a church mouse with a wooden leg .