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Question regarding vrm cooling

mrthuvi
By mrthuvi
in Graphics Cards
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I bought an Asus r9 290 DC2 and the vrm was getting to 100 degree Celsius. I opened it up thinking I could change the thermal paste for the vrm hsf (silly me). Turned out that the card use a thermal pad for the vrm.

However, I notice some sort of oil-ish liquid under the thermal pad, is it normal?

post-7332-0-53368800-1436269087.jpg

post-7332-0-53368800-1436269087.jpg

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Could be some sort of mineral oil used to stick the thermal pads to the VRM better. Is it yellow-ish and has a distinct mechanical smell? (and yes, that's how I describe the smell of mineral oil and/or mechanical oil-based lube)

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Could be some sort of mineral oil used to stick the thermal pads to the VRM better. Is it yellow-ish and has a distinct mechanical smell? (and yes, that's how I describe the smell of mineral oil and/or mechanical oil-based lube)

It is transparent though, I'm not sure about the smell. It sure isn't conductive as my gpu is still alive so it could well be mineral oil.

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I've never personally experienced this..but I'm sure it's fine. I know with the 290(x) those cards do get REALLY hot. 90 degrees isn't abnormal.

I'm not worried about the temp, after replacing the thermal paste for the core and under voltage by 50mV, my card is now 81-82 degrees C, and the VRM1 at 85 degrees. However, I'm a bit worried about the strange liquid under the VRM hsf.

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I'm not worried about the temp, after replacing the thermal paste for the core and under voltage by 50mV, my card is now 81-82 degrees C, and the VRM1 at 85 degrees. However, I'm a bit worried about the strange liquid under the VRM hsf.

Its probably thermal grease or a dielectric grease. If your card hasn't given up the ghost yet, I wouldn't worry about it. I found similar substances on my 5850s when I changed out their paste.

Maybe its GPU Ectoplasm... You fry any cards in your past before their time? :P

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