Thermal Paste Replacement

[hmetzger]

I am looking to buy a used GTX 770 off of eBay. I was wondering how likely it is that I would need to replace the thermal paste, and how I could tell if I needed to.Also is buying a card this old a bad idea? Anything else to know?

[CommanderAlex]

Its a good idea to change the thermal paste on a card this old and considering its on the older side, its good insurance to do so. Good ways to check is if the graphics card gets super hot in games/benchmarks etc. I bought a second hand RX 480 blower and the thermal paste was already dried out, changed it a couple days ago and runs great. 

[jackieAZ]

If you're getting a decent deal for it, it's probably fine. Replacing the thermal paste is probably always a good idea with older gpus as @CommanderAlex mentioned. The card may be older now, but it's still able to handle modern stuff, if at lower settings. For longevity, it's probably going to be fine, IF it wasn't used for cryptocurrency mining or flashed to run way above manufacturer limits. 

[KaitouX]

It probably would be good to do so, my GTX 960(in use since 2015) was reaching over 80C a few weeks ago even with light use and after changing the thermal paste the temperatures don't go over 65C even in heavier use, and that because the fan only turns on after 60C.

 

I would say that the age itself isn't really a problem, but Kepler didn't exactly age well, if possible look for a RX470 as it should have a similar price to the 770 while being newer and faster.