which new gpus easy to dis- and reassemble?

[45HardBall]

Hey community!

I just had a question, do you guys know which gpu manufacturers create gpu coolers that are easy to remove and install again? I have had the problem with two gpus already where after 3 or more years of use the thermal paste (that often isnt great to begin with) really starts being a bottleneck even without heave overclocks. On My current gpu (Aorus 1080 ti) I ouldnt even remove and install the cooler again properly because there are several tiny cables that are too short that you cant manually plug them in unless you have small fingers and special skills, so i kinda had to leave with it. Even without overclocks on a longer gaming session in a 25°C room with the fans at max speed and the gpu clocking to around 1900mhz the temperature of the card is 85°C, when it was new it was around 78°C. I know that temperatures dont matter for durability, but i cant even get a proper overclock done at these temps.

I know the explanation isnt necessary but i wanted to state it nonetheless. 

So from your experience which gpu coolers are easy to remove and install again in your experience? Are AIO watercooled gpus and the reference cooled gpus easier to install?

 

thanks for the help and yours sincerely,

45HardBall

[VeganJoy]

my 980ti xtreme was pretty basic to disassemble for deshrouding and repasting. aside from turing founders cards being notably shit to work with, aib cards are generally easy to take apart. take out all the screws on the backplate, disconnect the led and fan headers, pop the cooler off, bam. founders cards are usually a little more convoluted but nothing crazy. just dont get a turing one lmao

 

as for aio cooling, i stuck a kraken g12 with a standard asetek unit onto the 980ti to see how it fitted, thats pretty easy to install too. no rocket surgery here, these cards are designed to be serviced by semi-competent individuals

[45HardBall]

6 minutes ago, VeganJoy said:

my 980ti xtreme was pretty basic to disassemble for deshrouding and repasting. aside from turing founders cards being notably shit to work with, aib cards are generally easy to take apart. take out all the screws on the backplate, disconnect the led and fan headers, pop the cooler off, bam. founders cards are usually a little more convoluted but nothing crazy. just dont get a turing one lmao

 

as for aio cooling, i stuck a kraken g12 with a standard asetek unit onto the 980ti to see how it fitted, thats pretty easy to install too. no rocket surgery here, these cards are designed to be serviced by semi-competent individuals

the problem is connecting the cables again when yo ureassemble, so you kindan eed to half install the cooler, plug in all cables and then make sure to not mess up the new thermal paste and get it everywhere else. Also what is considered to be the best thermal paste? Back in the day I always ordered a tube of Arctic MX4 when i installed a cpu cooler or reinstalled it

[VeganJoy]

1 hour ago, 45HardBall said:

the problem is connecting the cables again when yo ureassemble, so you kindan eed to half install the cooler, plug in all cables and then make sure to not mess up the new thermal paste and get it everywhere else. Also what is considered to be the best thermal paste? Back in the day I always ordered a tube of Arctic MX4 when i installed a cpu cooler or reinstalled it

i just set the cooler and pcb on their sides and connect the cables, then sandwich. not too hard for me but maybe some aib cards are weird.

 

for paste, mx4 is fine but i prefer thermal grizzly kryonaut. its the best nonconductive TIM and the best paste according to benchmarks, and its a relatively thin consistency so it spreads well. for cpus the difference between pastes is less due to the IHS but for a gpu being direct die contact to the cooler a good paste is worth a few bucks. with it i can pull 360+ watts on my 980ti and keep temps under 78C with the stock heatsink. mx4 is a good paste and probably more than adequate but i like using the best stuff within reason, and the temp delta between the two would be a noticeable gap but not necessarily meaningful.

[45HardBall]

1 minute ago, VeganJoy said:

i just set the cooler and pcb on their sides and connect the cables, then sandwich. not too hard for me but maybe some aib cards are weird.

 

for paste, mx4 is fine but i prefer thermal grizzly kryonaut. its the best nonconductive TIM and the best paste according to benchmarks, and its a relatively thin consistency so it spreads well. for cpus the difference between pastes is less due to the IHS but for a gpu being direct die contact to the cooler a good paste is worth a few bucks. with it i can pull 360+ watts on my 980ti and keep temps under 78C with the stock heatsink. mx4 is a good paste and probably more than adequate but i like using the best stuff within reason, and the temp delta between the two would be a noticeable gap but not necessarily meaningful.

kryonaut is an actual paste and not Liquid metal, correct?