Stock Thermal Paste Dried Asf, Applied "New" And Hotter Than Before

[Deuxez]

So i just opened my "new" Gigabyte 3070 gaming OC as it was both loud and hot. The thermal paste was MORE than dry. It was like a hard cake that i had to scrape off the heatsink with my fingernail. I knew i had some thermal paste laying around that i could use, but i didnt find it. I however found a bit older thermal paste that i used. However upon booting up and trying Destiny 2, it immediatly went to 70c with the fans at 2000rpm (before, 60c at 1300rpm). Im guessing its caused by my "old-new" thermal paste i used. Can seriously not think of any other reason it would be doing this. While the "old-new" thermal paste wasnt really watery nor dry, im certain its age still somehow made it worse over time (ive had it in my drawer for a looong time).

 

Should i just order a new tube of like grizzly thermal paste or could the mounting be the issue? I made sure to screw it together with a cross pattern etc. Only thing stopping me from opening it up again rn is that it got 3 of those cables that are suuuuper annoying to unplug and also hella short. Those were the whole base could come off with the cable, and i rather not break the GPU after only having it for 5 days.

[Crunchy Dragon]

You're probably better off getting new thermal compound. It does have a shelf life and an "expiration date".

[CommanderAlex]

How old is the tube of thermal paste you used and brand? They do have a shelf life unopened and opened. 

 

I'd used MX-4 and call it a day. 

[KingTdiGGiTTy]

Did you actually spread it over the entire die? or did you just hope that it squished to cover everything?

[QuantumSingularity]

"Some" thermal paste isn't the best solution. Get a tube of MX-6 and while at it - new termo pads. If the paste had already solidified that much means it most likely didn't pass the thermal cycles it needs for reaching full potential and was probably working under constant heat (probably mining). Usually within the first 50-100 hot-cold cycles it should reach peak conductivity and should stay in semi-hard form for quite some time. I've seen good paste on 6 yo GPUs, so time isn't the only factor.

As to why you results are so bad, have you checked if the paste you put on actually has any actual paste in it or it was already separated into a thin watery-oil layer? Some low grade pastes basically turn into oil with some sediment residues after a while. Noctua NT-H2 or Arctic MX-6 is basically a must when you deal with high power components. Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut is also a great choice. And if you want the top stuff - Prolimatech PRO-PK2, but this one gets really pricey. 

Also the application on a GPU isn't exactly the same as on a CPU. You need to spread it evenly across the die. There is no IHS, so if there is no paste on the die, that almost certainly means no good contact with the cooler, leading to higher hotspots and die. Some people are afraid to get to the edges of the die, because they fear they might short something if the paste goes off. Unless you are using liquid metal, it's not electrically conductive and is safe to spill a bit from the side. Of course it's nice to clean it after as much as possible, but it's not dangerous for the components. 

[Deuxez]

On 2/14/2023 at 9:22 PM, CommanderAlex said:

How old is the tube of thermal paste you used and brand? They do have a shelf life unopened and opened. 

 

I'd used MX-4 and call it a day. 

okay well this probably will sound pretty ridiculous. But the tube was AT LEAST a year old and has been used before. I think it actually was some kind of mx4 thermal paste. But yk, OLD.

 

On 2/14/2023 at 9:34 PM, KingTdiGGiTTy said:

Did you actually spread it over the entire die? or did you just hope that it squished to cover everything?

oh yeah totally. not my first rodeo with reapplying thermal paste.

 

So yeh i got some kryonaut thermal paste for a few dollars. Just applied it and so far seems like its been fixed. Highest settings, 200% render resolution at 1080p in Destiny 2, max 70c at roughly 1300rpm. nice.