help taking my gpu apart

rawrturkey · July 30, 2020

So this is a general question i was wondering how long after turning my pc off should i wait before taking my gpu apart to change the thermal paste its been a while since i took them apart and cleaned them but my pc has been on for an hour or so now, so how long should i wait before doing it?

5x5 · July 30, 2020

Unless the card is four years old, don't waste your time and void your warranty. Blow out the dust and keep using it.

DJ46 · July 30, 2020

5 minutes ago, rawrturkey said:

So this is a general question i was wondering how long after turning my pc off should i wait before taking my gpu apart to change the thermal paste its been a while since i took them apart and cleaned them but my pc has been on for an hour or so now, so how long should i wait before doing it?

Generally, I take my GPU out and take it apart when it is at idle temperatures (30-35°C).

If it was under load recently, I let it cool down.

When it reaches those idle temps, I take it out and take it apart pretty much immediately. Never had any issues with that.

rawrturkey · July 30, 2020

19 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

Unless the card is four years old, don't waste your time and void your warranty. Blow out the dust and keep using it.

The cards are 2x 970 slightly oc and recently they've been reaching 80-90 under load and sometimes when not under load the fans randomly spin up to 100%

rawrturkey · July 30, 2020

15 minutes ago, DJ46 said:

Generally, I take my GPU out and take it apart when it is at idle temperatures (30-35°C).

If it was under load recently, I let it cool down.

When it reaches those idle temps, I take it out and take it apart pretty much immediately. Never had any issues with that.

I didnt think immediately was safe I thought there was a cd period

DJ46 · July 30, 2020

43 minutes ago, rawrturkey said:

I didnt think immediately was safe I thought there was a cd period

Personally, I consider the idle temperatures as "cooled down enough".

If I were to use the Zero RPM mode on the cooler and the GPU ran at 50-55°C at idle I'd probably set the fans to run at a higher speed until it was near ambient.

I find the idle temperature of ~5°C over ambient low enough to start taking it apart. If it wasn't, someone in a hotter climate would have to take their GPU apart in a fridge.