GPU thermal paste replacement?

[_Grid21]

I realize this has been talked about all over the internet, but I like doing my own research and talking with others SO, here's my question. I have an EVGA 980 Ti FTW that under NORMAL room conditions runs about 63 *C. However my office room got to around 90 *F plus, 32 *C, and my GPU got up to 73 *C. I have some Thermaltake TG-7 paste and I was wondering to myself, should I replace the stock thermal compound with the TG-7 paste in hopes of not only having a newer paste but also possibly lower temps? Also, should I do the same for my CPU which was running about 60 *C yesterday? I live in a rather stupidly humid area and I was wondering if my PC parts could benefit with a Paste change?

[yaya1]

For how long have you had that card? Also, I don't think 60°C is that bad, although it might be higher if yesterday wasn't too hot considering "your usual conditions"...(I hope you get what I mean, I expressed in a - kind of - unnecessarily complicated way, I think  )

[.Apex.]

9 minutes ago, Josh_Grid21 said:

I realize this has been talked about all over the internet, but I like doing my own research and talking with others SO, here's my question. I have an EVGA 980 Ti FTW that under NORMAL room conditions runs about 63 *C. However my office room got to around 90 *F plus, 32 *C, and my GPU got up to 73 *C. I have some Thermaltake TG-7 paste and I was wondering to myself, should I replace the stock thermal compound with the TG-7 paste in hopes of not only having a newer paste but also possibly lower temps? Also, should I do the same for my CPU which was running about 60 *C yesterday? I live in a rather stupidly humid area and I was wondering if my PC parts could benefit with a Paste change?

63 C is pretty damn good under normal conditions, and even 73C is pretty damn good.

i wouldn't worry about it at all, not one bit.

same thing about the CPU.

[GrockleTD]

2 hours ago, Josh_Grid21 said:

I realize this has been talked about all over the internet, but I like doing my own research and talking with others SO, here's my question. I have an EVGA 980 Ti FTW that under NORMAL room conditions runs about 63 *C. However my office room got to around 90 *F plus, 32 *C, and my GPU got up to 73 *C. I have some Thermaltake TG-7 paste and I was wondering to myself, should I replace the stock thermal compound with the TG-7 paste in hopes of not only having a newer paste but also possibly lower temps? Also, should I do the same for my CPU which was running about 60 *C yesterday? I live in a rather stupidly humid area and I was wondering if my PC parts could benefit with a Paste change?

 

2 hours ago, Jonas_2909 said:

For how long have you had that card? Also, I don't think 60°C is that bad, although it might be higher if yesterday wasn't too hot considering "your usual conditions"...(I hope you get what I mean, I expressed in a - kind of - unnecessarily complicated way, I think  )

i am also curious about this, i am getting an even older radeon hd 7770 so what paste would be reccomended?

[yaya1]

1 minute ago, Grockle88 said:

i am also curious about this, i am getting an even older radeon hd 7770 so what paste would be reccomended?

I'd first test it, but frankly, the HD7770 isn't that new of a card, so it'll somewhat likely to benefit from replacing the thermal paste...

[tikker]

16 minutes ago, Josh_Grid21 said:

Thermaltake TG-7 paste and I was wondering to myself, should I replace the stock thermal compound with the TG-7 paste in hopes of not only having a newer paste but also possibly lower temps?

Stock thermal compound isn't that bad. As for pastes: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-paste-comparison,5108.html

There's about a 5C spread in pastes, so you could gain a little (I don't know TT's stuff), but unless you're going for maximum overclock you won't notice a performance difference. 60C and 73C  are perfectly fine temperatures for those components to run at under load, and if your ambient temperature rises, so will the temperature of your components. The hotter your surroundings, the more difficult it is to dissipate heat into it. Changing pastes won't change physics.

You may see benefit if the paste has started to dry up over the years, so there's definitely no harm in repasting. Just don't expect massive differences.

[_Grid21]

15 minutes ago, Jonas_2909 said:

For how long have you had that card? Also, I don't think 60°C is that bad, although it might be higher if yesterday wasn't too hot considering "your usual conditions"...(I hope you get what I mean, I expressed in a - kind of - unnecessarily complicated way, I think  )

For probably about 2 or more years.

10 minutes ago, syn2112 said:

63 C is pretty damn good under normal conditions, and even 73C is pretty damn good.

i wouldn't worry about it at all, not one bit.

same thing about the CPU.

Well I got smart about my fan set up. I have a 3 in 3 out config and also got Corsair's 120ML 2,000RPM fan, put it in the bottom of the case I have and synced it to the GPU temp using Speed fan so as the GPU temp rises the ML120 speeds up sucking more cold air from the bottom floor area. I just wish the Corsair Graphite T760 case had a dust filter at the bottom where the ML fan is but I am unsure what to use to act in that respect of a dust filter.

[AdamTheSlave]

Yeah, those are way better than founder's edition thermals. If it isn't broke, don't fix it. Now if you go water cooling route... you can knock it down to like 40-50c at least depending on your overclock. I max out my 1080ti on ek all aluminum block, and it goes max 50c at 2060mhz.

[yaya1]

2 minutes ago, Josh_Grid21 said:

For probably about 2 or more years.

I'd say it's worth a shot then, although - to be honest - I don't really know anything about the paste you want to use. But if your card's dirty, I'd first try cleaning it and see if there's an improvement...

[Santo22]

You can pick up a dust filter on Amazon. They have pre-cut 120mm filters that can screw on under the fan. As stated here already, your temps are well within reason though. I have an MSI GTX 1060 Gaming X and up until 2-3 days ago never got over 69c. Summer has finally decided to hit and now it's sitting around 73c when gaming and even hit 80c for a second yesterday. Replacing thermal paste is never really a bad idea, but I would bet money that you won't notice a temp difference of more then 1-2c

[_Grid21]

4 minutes ago, Jonas_2909 said:

I'd say it's worth a shot then, although - to be honest - I don't really know anything about the paste you want to use. But if your card's dirty, I'd first try cleaning it and see if there's an improvement...

 

5 minutes ago, AdamTheSlave said:

Yeah, those are way better than founder's edition thermals. If it isn't broke, don't fix it. Now if you go water cooling route... you can knock it down to like 40-50c at least depending on your overclock. I max out my 1080ti on ek all aluminum block, and it goes max 50c at 2060mhz.

Well today I just ran a benchmark with Unigine Superposition. The card started at 1.480Mhz then dropped to 1.455 at 77 *C. My overclock is like +25 on the core and 0Mhz on the Mem. Core Voltage is +97mV, Power is set to 120%. Figured I'd let my GPU have whatever power it wanted. My office is 33 *C. Now yes I completely understand room temp affects component temp, with it going into the high 70s, is that alarming enough to change paste? 

[AdamTheSlave]

Not at all. Normal operating temps for boards on air during intense stressful things is around 80c. You are fine.

[_Grid21]

Just now, AdamTheSlave said:

Not at all. Normal operating temps for boards on air during intense stressful things is around 80c. You are fine.

Ok. Also, is there a particular type of paste one would use should I want to replace the paste at some point? And why the drop off in clock speed? Is the card suddenly thinking "oh no, I'm too hot, I can't keep the 1480Mhz speed!"? 

[AdamTheSlave]

Clock speed dropoff starts at 45c to keep the temps under control. Another thing you can do is adjust the fan curve to be more aggressive. 

[_Grid21]

6 minutes ago, AdamTheSlave said:

Clock speed dropoff starts at 45c to keep the temps under control. Another thing you can do is adjust the fan curve to be more aggressive. 

Also, once in awhile, especially in the summer, I actually hear a metal rattling sound coming from the GPU heatsink when the fan speed rises, I am assuming this is because of the laws of how metal expands and contracts based on the heat or cold? Is that normal as well? 

[GrockleTD]

2 hours ago, AdamTheSlave said:

Clock speed dropoff starts at 45c to keep the temps under control. Another thing you can do is adjust the fan curve to be more aggressive. 

i honestly don't get peoples complaints about fan noise when gaming. how often do you actually game without any sound?

[AdamTheSlave]

check that it's screwed down tight to the case, could be the plate rattling if it's loose from the fan vibration...

[AdamTheSlave]

3 minutes ago, Grockle88 said:

i honestly don't get peoples complaints about fan noise when gaming. how often do you actually game without any sound?

Some people game at night and don't want to wake up their loved ones with a noisy blower I would guess. Founder's edition blowers are loud. But I dealt with it by putting the computer in the living room  Later though I went liquid cooling, and it was nice to max out a system and it's still silent. But yeah, to each their own.

[_Grid21]

2 minutes ago, Grockle88 said:

i honestly don't get peoples complaints about fan noise when gaming. how often do you actually game without any sound?

Yeah same, I honestly kinda like the sound of computer fans as it makes a nice ambient sound. Heck, I can actually sleep to the sound of my server which is a LOT hotter than my gaming rig and those fan sounds don't bug me much. 

1 minute ago, AdamTheSlave said:

check that it's screwed down tight to the case, could be the plate rattling if it's loose from the fan vibration...

Ok next time I work on my system I will, I can also make sure all the mount screws for the heatsink are tight as well.

[GrockleTD]

2 hours ago, AdamTheSlave said:

Some people game at night and don't want to wake up their loved ones with a noisy blower I would guess. Founder's edition blowers are loud. But I dealt with it by putting the computer in the living room  Later though I went liquid cooling, and it was nice to make out a system and it's still silent. But yeah, to each their own.

i guess... but assuming that isn't the case, you could just wear headphones.

[GrockleTD]

so can anyone recommend a good thermal paste for around 5 USD?

[_Grid21]

1 minute ago, Grockle88 said:

i guess... but assuming that isn't the case, you could just wear headphones.

Yeah I mean, when I am streaming, I am more focused on the game, talking to my chat, listening to music and I seriously don't even realize my fans are going that fast. What I do notice is the insane amount of heat I am in when I sit with a machine that's hot and an even hotter room. My house doesn't breath well in the summer so that why I was asking about paste and figuring out whether paste replacement was worth it.

[GrockleTD]

2 hours ago, Grockle88 said:

so can anyone recommend a good thermal paste for around 5 USD?

preferably less...

[Razor Blade]

2 minutes ago, Grockle88 said:

so can anyone recommend a good thermal paste for around 5 USD?

Noctua NT-H1 (1.4ml) or ARCTIC MX-4 (4 gram)

[GrockleTD]

2 hours ago, Razor Blade said:

Noctua NT-H1 (1.4ml) or ARCTIC MX-4 (4 gram)

if i think i will try and goo for perhaps the ARCTIC but can you think of a good one for cheaper?