Repasting GPU

dakata98 · August 25, 2023

Hi, recently I've noticed that my gpu hotspot temp was significantly higher than the core temp (>25-30C). To my horror, when i opened the card, the thermal paste was pushed from the center to the edges of the die. Thus, the solution was naturally to repaste it. However, during the maintenance procedure, some of the thermal pads were somewhat destroyed (very dry and not flexible at all). Can you look at my thermal application after the card was opened once again to verify that the paste was spread evenly (I've used the buttered toast method of applying the paste) and the mounting pressure was as even as possible? In order to avoid the problem with thermal pads' thickness, I've used Gelid Extreme whose thickness very closely approximates the thickness of the original pads (<0.05mm diff). The GPU is Asus Tuf 3090, whose heatsink, according to other users, can apply different amounts of pressure on the die.

mMontana · August 25, 2023

IMVHO that's not perfect, but far from problematic.

I'd be glad to hear if temperatures will change after the repast.

dakata98 · August 29, 2023

@mMontana After repasting (with PTM7950), the delta between the core and hot spot dropped to avg of 10C, which is great. Unfortunately, the thermal putty for the VRAM didn't make any difference (probably because of the hot vrams on the back of the PCB + the underperformance of the backplate). Probably the best solution in terms of wasted time/effort will be just reducing the power limit to 80%. That way I can be certain of the longevity of the VRAMs.

mMontana · August 29, 2023

Or maybe you can find some good known set of new thermal pads for vRAM.

Thanks for sharing the outcome of your test, the drop of the difference of temperature is indeed huge.

dakata98 · August 29, 2023

In my opinion, the thermal putty (Upsiren Ultra) is better than most thermal pads (due to their very specific thickness). The backplate of the GPU is very hot to the touch, but there isn't much area to be cooled. Unfortunately because of my CPU cooler, I cannot place a fan directly over the backplate.