Palit RTX 3070 query about changing thermal paste and pads

Tom80765412 · May 18

Hey guys. I've been using a Palit RTX 3070 for almost 3 years now, and it has worked really well. However, over the past few days, I've noticed that the GPU temperature is a bit higher than usual when my PC is idle and the GPU fans are off. It's now sitting around 52–54°C, while it used to stay around 47–48°C when idle.

When I see the temperature go above 50°C while not gaming, I manually turn on the fans using MSI Afterburner for a few minutes. I also always turn the fans on before launching any game to keep the temperatures in check. While gaming, the GPU temperature stays under 68°C with the fans on.

It's summer now, so I expect higher temps, but 52°C while idle still seems a bit too warm. Do you think it's time to open up the card and replace the thermal paste and pads? I found this video that shows how to do it, and I think I can follow it. But this is my only GPU, so I'm a bit nervous about taking the risk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ujp-Yd87v8

manikyath · May 18

stop monitoring temperatures, and your problem goes away.

a few degrees higher on idle is really a complete nothingburger and could even be caused by some piece of software keeping it in a slightly higher power state after an update or something.

Tom80765412 · May 18

3 hours ago, manikyath said:

stop monitoring temperatures, and your problem goes away.

a few degrees higher on idle is really a complete nothingburger and could even be caused by some piece of software keeping it in a slightly higher power state after an update or something.

Alright but I am just worried that running the GPU at high temperatures for long gaming sessions might reduce its lifespan. Isnt that true? So I just focus on keeping the temps below 70s.

I have also noticed that in Dead Island 2 yesterday the temps were reaching upto 70C with fans on. Havent played much but this is the first time I have seen it reach this high. May be need to drop down some settings in that game.

manikyath · May 18

5 minutes ago, Tom80765412 said:

Alright but I am just worried that running the GPU at high temperatures for long gaming sessions might reduce its lifespan. Isnt that true?

none of what you said are particularly high temperatures, and neither is the supposed reduction in lifespan caused by heat anywhere near a worry for it actually dying anywhere within it's usable lifespan.