Query about GPU cleaning and applying new thermal paste

[Tom80765412]

So I have come across some videos on youtube in which people clean their GPU by properly disassembling it and applying proper thermal paste as well and also using IPA etc like this one:

 

After watching these I started wondering about my GPU as well. I bought my Gigabyte 1060 6 GB windforce edition almost 4-5 years ago. I clean it and my whole cpu using a dust blower after every 1 or 2 months but I never thought about disassembling it and doing a proper clean.

The dust blower doesnt remove dust properly from in between the fans and other components as I can see those dust particles after using the blower.

 

I have been noticing very high temperatures in in-game and idle as well... Like it reaches upto 82 degrees in most games like rainbow six and dead by daylight even when the settings are not maxed out. By dropping some settings and resolution I see it between 68-78 degrees.

 

So I was wondering if I do a proper clean up like this with proper thermal paste applied, will it improve the temperatures?

Even if it doesnt improve temps, is it better for me to do it to improve the life of my GPU?

 

I am just scared to disassemble my gpu like this as i have never done it before and this is the only one I got and cant afford to get a new one or even used one atm with all the prices sky-rocketing..

Any suggestions guys? Should I try it?

[da na]

Yes, that will seriously improve your temps. 

[Tom80765412]

13 hours ago, Mel0nMan said:

Yes, that will seriously improve your temps. 

So should I try it myself? Disassembling the gpu?

[da na]

8 hours ago, Tom80765412 said:

So should I try it myself? Disassembling the gpu?

It's very easy. Easiest card I've disassembled was an XFX RX 570. Literally 5 screws - 4 on the back, 1 near the DVI port and it was apart. Nvidia FE/reference cards, like my GTX 980 SC, are a bit harder to take apart - many screws. I feel your GPU will lean more towards the RX 570. 

If your GPU has a metal backplate that the screws screw into, try to leave the screws in the backplate when you take it off so you don't lose track of where they go if that makes sense or draw a picture of the back of the GPU on a piece of paper and lay the screws where they go on that. 

[Mark Kaine]

honestly after 6-7 years you should replace the thermal paste, dust probably isn't that big of a problem since you cleaned it regularly anyway,  but thermal paste doesn't last forever (I've seen it literally disappear in older pcs...)

 

But yes, its a bit tricky,  depending on gpu model, check some guides for your model beforehand and good luck !

 

 

40 minutes ago, Mel0nMan said:

It's very easy

Tbh, I think that depends on the model, I only did it with my ATI X1950GT and that was simple enough,  however some newer cards (like my 3070 VISION) scare me lol...

[da na]

32 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

ATI X1950GT

I've got that card's more expensive medical imaging brother, the (r600 based) FireGL v8600. Bought it sealed new and it still needed new thermal paste. Only thing harder to disassemble than that card was the Radeon HD 4870 x2. 

It has a good 10 screws on the backplate, then the board had to be taken off of the heatsink with 10 more, then there were 8 screws (4 on each GPU) on those metal X brackets behind the dies... then the heatsink had to be disassembled because it's 3 heatsinks under the same shroud but they have to be cleaned seperately... 

But with a lower end/midrange card like the 1060 shouldn't be too hard

[Tom80765412]

Today I went to a local computer shop to ask if they perform this action and they said they do it but there is no guarantee if the gpu will work after the task is done. They said its because sometimes the old thermal paste is just stuck so hard between the chip and heatsink that disassembling damages the parts.

So now I am more scared

 

[Mark Kaine]

36 minutes ago, Tom80765412 said:

Today I went to a local computer shop to ask if they perform this action and they said they do it but there is no guarantee if the gpu will work after the task is done. They said its because sometimes the old thermal paste is just stuck so hard between the chip and heatsink that disassembling damages the parts.

So now I am more scared

 

In that case I would probably rather try it myself... just be careful and as I said check some tutorials for your card if possible.  And as for being stuck,  I think thats pretty unlikely,  but there's a simple trick for that just twist/wiggle the heatsink a bit (carefully) instead of just pulling up...

[Mark Kaine]

1 hour ago, Mel0nMan said:

It has a good 10 screws on the backplate, then the board had to be taken off of the heatsink with 10 more,

ah, i see, my X1950GT was really simple,  only a few screws as I recall... cleaning the blower fan was the hardest part... With bigger/ more fancy cards im more concerned with putting it together properly,  lots of people seem to have issues with that, hence yeah, it just depends on the model/design i guess...

 

Cue Jayztwocents going haywire with a dremel when he couldn't fit a cooler... "... the card is wrong ...!"  xD

 

 

[Tom80765412]

So I finally decided to do it myself and so far I am seeing great results. Played just one game (guardians of the galaxy) and saw 9-10 degrees less temps. Thanks for the advice everyone