Repasting raised temps significantly

Eigencentrality · August 25, 2020

I wanted to lower temps on a Sapphire RX 580 Nitro+ SE. I installed an Arctic Accelero Xtreme IV, and put some heatsinks on the VRAM. I used Arctic MX-4 thermal paste. The temps jumped from 40 to 80 immediately when the GPU gets going. It keeps going up and throttles. Putting the original heatsink and backplate back on didn't solve the problem. I tried again with Noctua NT-H1. It didn't solve the problem. I tried thick and thin heatpads on the VRAM with the original heatsink and backplate. This didn't change things.

This isn't the first time I've repasted the card. I've successfully installed the Accelero Xtreme IV on an R9 390. The only variable left that I can think of is to try yet another thickness of heatpads.

Does anyone know what's going on, or how to fix this?

flashiling · August 25, 2020

40° isn't a lot, don't know why you felt the need to lower temps and repaste the card.

have you removed the paste completely every time you've placed the new heatsink/backplate on.

Samfisher · August 25, 2020

Looks like proper contact isn't being made?

Mateyyy · August 25, 2020

80C at idle? The cooler's not making proper contact with the GPU core.

When you put the stock cooler back on, did you also put on the original thermal pads, and made sure that all the screws are tightly secured?

Eigencentrality · August 25, 2020

8 hours ago, Mateyyy said:

80C at idle? The cooler's not making proper contact with the GPU core.

When you put the stock cooler back on, did you also put on the original thermal pads, and made sure that all the screws are tightly secured?

It used to idle at ~25C. The moment I start playing a game it ramps up to ~80C then keeps getting hotter. After 10 seconds or so it throttles to nearly a halt.

This happens both with the stock cooler and with the Arctic Accellero. The heatsink makes proper contact.

It happens both with thermal pads on the VRAM and with copper heatsinks on the VRAM (plus the Accellero's massive backplate).

I lost the original thermal pads a while ago. I've had the card for a few years. This isn't the first time I repasted.

The only thing I can think of is that the temp sensors got messed up. But, I can't figure out how that might work or where those sensors are. I can't find any detailed PCB schematics.

Eigencentrality · August 26, 2020

21 hours ago, Mateyyy said:

80C at idle? The cooler's not making proper contact with the GPU core.

When you put the stock cooler back on, did you also put on the original thermal pads, and made sure that all the screws are tightly secured?

Conclusion:

I decided to clean the hell out of the card. I got out the WD-40, rubbing alcohol, and a box of generic cotton swabs; put the NT-H1 on; shaved some thermal pads to just slim enough. Putting it back together brought it back to the same, noisy but good performance.

The thermal issues I wanted to solve in the first place came from the VRAM. I undervolted and overclocked the VRAM. FPS shot up. Still, the card is noisy when hot.