Can thermal paste stop a gpu working?

[TaliesinJohn]

Hi guys, I was just taking apart a gpu I've been given to see the condition of it. It doesn't post, and was wondering if thermal paste can be an issue? I've attached photos of the current thermal paste and was wondering if due to it being on some metal in the chip whether this can stop the graphics card working?

Please help, I want to try and fix this graphics card asap.

 

Thanks

 

[MoJoMax]

 

[For Science!]

5 minutes ago, TaliesinJohn said:

Hi guys, I was just taking apart a gpu I've been given to see the condition of it. It doesn't post, and was wondering if thermal paste can be an issue? I've attached photos of the current thermal paste and was wondering if due to it being on some metal in the chip whether this can stop the graphics card working?

Please help, I want to try and fix this graphics card asap.

 

Thanks

 

This is normal for GPUs, the thermal paste is non-conductive and it being sprayed out everywhere is indicative of a good mounting pressure. This is important for direct-die coolers as a dry spot may be fatal for the GPU.

[TaliesinJohn]

4 minutes ago, For Science! said:

This is normal for GPUs, the thermal paste is non-conductive and it being sprayed out everywhere is indicative of a good mounting pressure. This is important for direct-die coolers as a dry spot may be fatal for the GPU.

So that's all okay? Is it worth cleaning and reapplying or not?

Also, not sure what the issue as to why there's no display from the GPU when it's installed.

[For Science!]

2 minutes ago, TaliesinJohn said:

So that's all okay? Is it worth cleaning and reapplying or not?

Also, not sure what the issue as to why there's no display from the GPU when it's installed.

I mean, sure you can clean and reapply it, but it could really be anything on the GPU that would result in no display. Thermal paste is not going to be the reason for a dead card, at worst it'll result in slightly worse temperatures, not death.

[Berk70]

You need to clean and apply a non conductive thermal paste again as long as non conductive it doesnt matter it is too much

[Mark Kaine]

3 hours ago, For Science! said:

This is important for direct-die coolers as a dry spot may be fatal for the GPU

In that case it's maybe already dead because there's like a huge spot where basically is only a rudimentary amount of thermal paste and it does seem extremely unevenly applied, the tech term for that is 'air bubbles'  i suppose...

 

But i agree cleaning it off and applying fresh paste is worth a try for sure. 

 

 

[For Science!]

Just now, Mark Kaine said:

In that case it's maybe already dead because there's like a huge spot where basically is only a rudimentary amount of thermal paste and it does seem extremely unevenly applied, the tech term for that is 'air bubbles'  i suppose...

 

But i agree cleaning it off and applying fresh paste is worth a try for sure. 

 

 

No, this is because the mounting pressure has squeezed out the thermal paste and metal-to-die contact has occured. Air bubbles are a myth for coolers mounted with force.

[Mark Kaine]

45 minutes ago, For Science! said:

this is because the mounting pressure has squeezed out the thermal paste and metal-to-die contact

And can this fry a chip ? I would guess yes...

 

46 minutes ago, For Science! said:

Air bubbles are a myth for coolers mounted with force

Well, Noctua seems to believe otherwise since they specifically warn about that regarding thermal paste application (for cpus) 

[For Science!]

1 minute ago, Mark Kaine said:

And can this fry a chip ? I would guess yes...

No, this is what you want. The paste only fills microgaps where it doesn't occur.

[Mark Kaine]

1 minute ago, For Science! said:

No, this is what you want. The paste only fills microgaps where it doesn't occur.

Ah, ok, I see...

 

To be honest OP should just try with fresh paste either way. 

 

Tho I'm confused about several things here,  why is the paste on the cooler dark - grey, and on the GPU white-ish.. it also looks kinda burned,  though that might not mean much,  just something visually apparent.

[TaliesinJohn]

1 hour ago, Mark Kaine said:

Ah, ok, I see...

 

To be honest OP should just try with fresh paste either way. 

 

Tho I'm confused about several things here,  why is the paste on the cooler dark - grey, and on the GPU white-ish.. it also looks kinda burned,  though that might not mean much,  just something visually apparent.

That was just poor lighting, the colour of the paste is actually the same on both parts. I've reapplied the thermal paste, all looks fine. 

My issue is I get a black screen when the gpu is installed. If it's not installed, I can boot just fine. However, once I put the card in it's a black screen whether I'm plugged into the motherboard or graphics card. Any ideas?