How to Change your GPU's Thermal Paste (With Pictures)

[Ryan Leech]

I did unscrew all of the screws it was like the chip was cooked to the heatsink and when i tried removing the heatsink it just snapped like the little square.ermm gpus cpu? dunno how its called.

Twist the heatsink when you are pulling it off.

[viliuks]

Twist the heatsink when you are pulling it off.

Well its now broken so i need a new gpu :I

[acepro71]

Well its now broken so i need a new gpu :I

well it happens it happened with me one time my heat-sink was not coming off it was like it was glued to it then i ran gpu for a couple of hours it heated up and i was able to remove it easily ...

 

what's done is done now u can not fix it so there is no need to regret it sh!t happens buddy

[viliuks]

well it happens it happened with me one time my heat-sink was not coming off it was like it was glued to it then i ran gpu for a couple of hours it heated up and i was able to remove it easily ...

 

what's done is done now u can not fix it so there is no need to regret it sh!t happens buddy

Sh!t happens, like they say

[Wats]

Cessna 172B

I almost inherited one of those. I'm still in my little 150. I'll move up eventually.

 

Well its now broken so i need a new gpu :I

Broken card :L Sad to hear about but that is a curse and a blessing.

[Uhmkevinkev]

is it okay if i use Noctua NT-H1?

[acepro71]

is it okay if i use Noctua NT-H1?

if its non conductive then yes

[acepro71]

http://imgur.com/TWRol6e

 

sapphire says its ok for card to reach 80 C while gaming its pretty normal but if it reaches more than 90 its baD !

[Wats]

is it okay if i use Noctua NT-H1?

Yes! That is perfect for this application.

 

http://imgur.com/TWRol6e

 

sapphire says its ok for card to reach 80 C while gaming its pretty normal but if it reaches more than 90 its baD !

You're going to have to RMA it or re-do the paste.. 

 

Wait, before that. How are the thermals inside your case? With your particular video card you need great air flow through-out the case. I don't think I've asked you this.

[acepro71]

Yes! That is perfect for this application.

 

You're going to have to RMA it or re-do the paste.. 

 

Wait, before that. How are the thermals inside your case? With your particular video card you need great air flow through-out the case. I don't think I've asked you this.

well the temperature is about 45 C in my case im sure of it as about 30 c is my room temp

[Wats]

well the temperature is about 45 C in my case im sure of it as about 30 c is my room temp

That explains it... Get some case fans man! 45c is too hot. In the mean time you can just remove your side panels and place a box fan near by for some air flow.

 

30C room temp? 

 

 

@acepro71

[acepro71]

That explains it... Get some case fans man! 45c is too hot. In the mean time you can just remove your side panels and place a box fan near by for some air flow.

 

30C room temp? 

 

 

@acepro71

yep

and i have like 6 120 mm fans installed in my case T_T

 

yep its like 29 C now

[Giddyguy]

so i replaced the thermal compound on my gpu but nw when i plug it in the fan whirrs, stops, whirrs, stops, whirrs, stops (3 times total) and never displays an image to the monitor. what happened?! did i destroy the gpu or is this a common thing and is fixable? I have replaced the tim on many gpus before (and for this one before too) and have never had this problem.

[acepro71]

did u oc the card ? 

 

cause mine runs at 1000 mhz and 1200 mhz 

[Fenzee]

I would do this to my MSI Twin Frozer 3 7950 but there is a "Void if removed" sticker on the screw. 

[kizoku_95]

NICE GUIDE BRO !

[berderder]

Hiya,

 

I just used a high grade lithium TIM that is actually used commercially for water heaters.

 

For one, my PCU heat sink seems to be holding fine with it, and is running at low temps for all 4 cores (i5 3570k).

 

However, replacing the thermal paste on my GPU (GTX 660), I noticed about a 10 degree spike running the same settings for a high resource game,  On top of that, my fan speed was running at a higher rate to maintain the same temps.  

 

In other words, I had 65*Celsius GPU at 70 % fan rate before, and then like 80 * C with like 80 percent fan rate, or a little less.

 

Finally, I had 4 small screws left after putting the GPU back together, which makes me also think that the fit might not be tight enough for the TIM to be smooshed together between the components. Either that or I didn't place the TIM on evenly enough or just the thermal paste itself is no good since it is unconventional (although it appears to check out from what I have seen online).

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Wats]

Hiya,

 

I just used a high grade lithium TIM that is actually used commercially for water heaters.

 

For one, my PCU heat sink seems to be holding fine with it, and is running at low temps for all 4 cores (i5 3570k).

 

However, replacing the thermal paste on my GPU (GTX 660), I noticed about a 10 degree spike running the same settings for a high resource game,  On top of that, my fan speed was running at a higher rate to maintain the same temps.  

 

In other words, I had 65*Celsius GPU at 70 % fan rate before, and then like 80 * C with like 80 percent fan rate, or a little less.

 

Finally, I had 4 small screws left after putting the GPU back together, which makes me also think that the fit might not be tight enough for the TIM to be smooshed together between the components. Either that or I didn't place the TIM on evenly enough or just the thermal paste itself is no good since it is unconventional (although it appears to check out from what I have seen online).

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

The guide lives!

 

Hey

 

Uh, ok. So first off, you should have no screws left after re-assembling your GPU. This is not Ikea furnature where having extra parts left over is all right. Do not use the card unless it is correctly assembled!! One lost screw means your warranty is gone for good. (I really hope you didn't mean you say you have left over screws)

 

65C is absolutly perfect. But you should have started with reducing the fan's speed with a GPU utility such as MSI Afterburner. Keep reducing fan speed and monitor temps while running a stress test until your core temp reaches 75-85c. Start a whole new thread in the GPU sub-thread for further info.

 

Do let me know what TIM you are using. Make and model. Arctic Cooling MX-4 is very safe and excellent quality. Anything other than diamond, silicon or galium based is what you want for GPUs.

 

I have heard of lithium grease. Not sure how well it works, nor do I know anything about it other than it's name... Honestly, your 3570K (at stock speeds) would run cool with tooth paste or even un-salted butter as the TIM.

 

Look into MX-4. Amazon would most likely be the cheapest, 5 to 8 USD. A small tube will last for almost ever. Too much is bad, if you think you don't have enough applied -perfect!

 

Please check back! I'm not always online but I'll never leave a man behind

 

 

---------------------------------

[felixthemaster1]

So you put a lot more TIM than you normally go on CPUs

[Wats]

So you put a lot more TIM than you normally go on CPUs

Sorry, what? You should always use less than you think you need, for everything.

 

What are you referring to?

[felixthemaster1]

Sorry, what? You should always use less than you think you need, for everything.

 

What are you referring to?

That picture, The chip is smothered in comparison to a small dab on a cpu which never reaches the sides when spread

[marioo1182]

/e spread methods. 

[berderder]

Thanks for the reply Wats!

 

Well, the lithium grease is actually made for water heaters - haha.  My dad works with that sort of thing and had some on hand.  It actually seemed to work very well for the CPU cores judging by monitoring the heat temps, but it didn't work well with the GPU.

 

I bought Antec Formula 7 Nano Diamond for the GPU unfortunately.  It was all they had at Best Buy and I felt pretty desperate.  I wasn't actually aware of diamond and GPU's.

 

Nonetheless, temps running normally - GPU temps at 65 degrees Celsius average with the new paste, although my fan speeds are kicking around between 50 to 70 percent.  I have been playing The Witcher 2 which apparently has some performance issues on Ultra settings despite my rig, and despite the game being 3 years old.

 

Edit:  Found where the screws were supposed to go! - haha.  They were for the plate that covers the fan.  That could have been part of it, although, it was running abnormally even after I fixed it.  Now with the new paste it's running just fine.    

 

i5 - 3570k

Geforce GTX 660

8GB RAM

Windows 8, SSD for c drive

 

Thanks again for your response!  Everything seems to be back to normal now!

[Wats]

Thanks for the reply Wats!

 

Well, the lithium grease is actually made for water heaters - haha.  My dad works with that sort of thing and had some on hand.  It actually seemed to work very well for the CPU cores judging by monitoring the heat temps, but it didn't work well with the GPU.

 

I bought Antec Formula 7 Nano Diamond for the GPU unfortunately.  It was all they had at Best Buy and I felt pretty desperate.  I wasn't actually aware of diamond and GPU's.

 

Nonetheless, temps running normally - GPU temps at 65 degrees Celsius average with the new paste, although my fan speeds are kicking around between 50 to 70 percent.  I have been playing The Witcher 2 which apparently has some performance issues on Ultra settings despite my rig, and despite the game being 3 years old.

 

Edit:  Found where the screws were supposed to go! - haha.  They were for the plate that covers the fan.  That could have been part of it, although, it was running abnormally even after I fixed it.  Now with the new paste it's running just fine.    

 

i5 - 3570k

Geforce GTX 660

8GB RAM

Windows 8, SSD for c drive

 

Thanks again for your response!  Everything seems to be back to normal now!

Good to hear, dude!

 

Start up a new thread in the GPU-sub thread and you'll get all the tips you need in order to slow those fans down.

[Wats]

That picture, The chip is smothered in comparison to a small dab on a cpu which never reaches the sides when spread

Quoting images should be punishable with warning points..But in this case, it would be acceptable.

 

On bare dies, you want to spread it out manually before re-installing the heatsink. Forget about the little air bubble theroy, just don't whip the TIM like eggs. GPUs are just not strong enough to spread it out themselfs like a CPU's IHS and bolt-on CPU coolers.

 

The whole die makes heat, it all needs to be covered in the thinnest layer possible. 'Tinting' your heatsink with excess paste from the die application before re-installation will improve temps too.