Is this too much thermal paste? On a GPU

[sjain]

Replaced thermal paste on my GPU today.

 

Graphics Card = Zotac NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980Ti AMP! Edition

 

Method of applying thermal paste = 2 small blobs, one on the GPU and one on the heatsink contact

 

Thermal Paste = Arctic MX4

 

Method of putting on GPU again = I screwed it in with the cross method.

 

I'm worried if this is too much thermal paste. Is it?

 

Also, are there air bubbles?

 

I didn't take it apart again for this picture on purpose, but misaligned it the first time then accidentally slid it a bit to correct it. I heard this is bad, so I had to check everything was OK.

 

I'm a beginner and a paranoid person. I've never even built a PC or taken apart any components. I've been heavily researching it since 2016 though, so I'm not completely dumb but please be realistic in your answers

 

See attached images.

 

Edit: guys I took it apart before taking that image and then once again after that. Total, put it on and took it off twice. Will there be lots of air? Not sure. I did not reapply either time!

[Tyler Moore]

No, manu's go gloopy on  GPUs; not sure why but that's normal! Factory Job.


You could have used less, a small pea size would squish perfectly. You can too remove it to see the spread and re-apply it, there's no rules there.

We typically avoid metal contact with conducting paste with silver/etc.

[Mira Yurizaki]

The first image looks like it's too much. The second one looks better, though you only need to apply it to either the heatsink or the GPU, not both.

[sjain]

1 minute ago, M.Yurizaki said:

The first image looks like it's too much. The second one looks better, though you only need to apply it to either the heatsink or the GPU, not both.

Oh, the second one is me before putting it on. Thanks for the info, yeah I saw a video of a guy putting it on both while I was doing this, bit stupid of me

 

Edit: can I just clean it off any try again? Anyone have specific zoomed in images of the perfect amount? Thx

[Br3tt96]

I need to repaste my 980ti badly

[MedievalMatt]

3 minutes ago, sjain said:

Replaced thermal paste on my GPU today.

 

Graphics Card = Zotac NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980Ti AMP! Edition

 

Method of applying thermal paste = 2 small blobs, one on the GPU and one on the heatsink contact

 

Thermal Paste = Arctic MX4

 

Method of putting on GPU again = I screwed it in with the cross method.

 

I'm worried if this is too much thermal paste. Is it?

 

Also, are there air bubbles?

 

I didn't take it apart again for this picture on purpose, but misaligned it the first time then accidentally slid it a bit to correct it. I heard this is bad, so I had to check everything was OK.

 

I'm a beginner and a paranoid person. I've never even built a PC or taken apart any components. I've been heavily researching it since 2016 though, so I'm not completely dumb but please be realistic in your answers

 

See attached images.

 

 

I go with uncooked rice for CPUs.  Cooked rice for GPUs.  Worked out well for me so far.

 

thats for size, i dont actually use rice.  because someone will give me shit about using Rice to cool my CPU/GPU....you know who you are.

[Bitz]

Only apply to the die. Other than that, as long as the die is completely covered, you're fine. 

 

Because it's a gpu, the spread might be a little weird, so make sure you get the corners too, because it looks like the corners of the die in the first pic wasn't covered completely. 

[chckovsky]

Within reasonable bounds, there is no such thing as too much paste. Mounting pressure SHOULD push the excess paste away. It may be messy, but as long as it's not an electrically conductive or corrosive paste, it shouldn't matter.

[Jurrunio]

Looks fine to me. Since MX-4 is non-conductive (really ill-advised to use conductive paste on GPUs), it's better to put a bit too much than a bit too little.

[ReHWolution]

Unless the Thermal Paste you're using is electrically conductive, there's no such a thing as too much thermal paste.

Linus (well, technically Luke, but you got the point) did a video about this, Jay did a video about this, Steve from GN did a video about this, and I'm pretty sure 90% of the major YT channel made videos about it.

[Mira Yurizaki]

2 minutes ago, sjain said:

Oh, the second one is me before putting it on. Thanks for the info, yeah I saw a video of a guy putting it on both while I was doing this, bit stupid of me

 

Edit: can I just clean it off any try again? Anyone have specific zoomed in images of the perfect amount? Thx

You can clean it off as many times as you need.

 

And you only need like a pea-sized blob at most. Though since this is a bare die, you should use something like a credit card to spread it around.

[ReHWolution]

1 minute ago, chckovsky said:

Within reasonable bounds, there is no such thing as too much paste. Mounting pressure SHOULD push the excess paste away. It may be messy, but as long as it's not an electrically conductive or corrosive paste, it shouldn't matter.

Oh man, you wrote that a few seconds before me! :angryreactionsonly:

[sjain]

1 minute ago, Bitz said:

Only apply to the die. Other than that, as long as the die is completely covered, you're fine. 

 

Because it's a gpu, the spread might be a little weird, so make sure you get the corners too, because it looks like the corners of the die in the first pic wasn't covered completely. 

Thank you, and everyone else for the quick replies. Is it worth it to take the GPU apart again? Ive put it all together now and idk if it will be worth the temps to get the corners . I am very "OCD" (sry for bad use, couldn't think of a better work) about this, but it was stressful

[sjain]

1 minute ago, ReHWolution said:

Unless the Thermal Paste you're using is electrically conductive, there's no such a thing as too much thermal paste.

Linus (well, technically Luke, but you got the point) did a video about this, Jay did a video about this, Steve from GN did a video about this, and I'm pretty sure 90% of the major YT channel made videos about it.

I've watched all of them, but if the problem is me, I guess you can't do much

[Bitz]

Just now, sjain said:

Thank you, and everyone else for the quick replies. Is it worth it to take the GPU apart again? Ive put it all together now and idk if it will be worth the temps to get the corners . I am very "OCD" (sry for bad use, couldn't think of a better work) about this, but it was stressful

Did you just put the two pieces back together after after taking the first screenshot?

If so, yes, you have to trust the pea/rice spread at some point- because reopening to inspect the spread will introduce air between the paste. 

 

If no, you are fine as is. 

[ReHWolution]

2 minutes ago, sjain said:

Thank you, and everyone else for the quick replies. Is it worth it to take the GPU apart again? Ive put it all together now and idk if it will be worth the temps to get the corners . I am very "OCD" (sry for bad use, couldn't think of a better work) about this, but it was stressful

It's okay man, we're all OCD about something. You can spread it using a glove and your finger, if you're afraid of leaving an uncovered spot on the GPU. It's not necessari to apply it to your heatsink, as it's only recommended with liquid metal.

1 minute ago, sjain said:

I've watched all of them, but if the problem is me, I guess you can't do much

You're not the problem, dw

[sjain]

Just now, Bitz said:

Did you just put the two pieces back together after after taking the first screenshot?

If so, yes, you have to trust the pea/rice spread at some point- because reopening to inspect the spread will introduce air between the paste. 

 

If no, you are fine as is. 

No, I took it off before that and put it on once again . Ugh!!! I don't even have a monitor rn. I will test temps with chrome remote desktop

 

I knew i would fuck it up, damn, I'm so pissed. Thanks for your reply!

[Mira Yurizaki]

I can provide a case where there is such a thing as too much thermal paste: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/powercolor-red-devil-rx-vega-64-8gb,5517.html

 

Basically this is what Tom's Hardware was given:

Spoiler

They cleaned it up, applied a more conservative amount, then reported it dropped the GPU's temperature dropped 4-5C and VRM readers were "significantly" cooler.

[ReHWolution]

2 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

I can provide a case where there is such a thing as too much thermal paste: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/powercolor-red-devil-rx-vega-64-8gb,5517.html

 

Basically this is what Tom's Hardware was given:

  Reveal hidden contents

They cleaned it up, applied a more conservative amount, then reported it dropped the GPU's temperature dropped 4-5C and VRM readers were "significantly" cooler.

If you read a bit better, here's what they say:

Quote

We realigned the heat pads, and even repaired the partially destroyed ones with similar replacements. In turn, we were rewarded with a four to five degree lower GPU temperature and significantly cooler VRM readings. Hopefully, that gets us close to PowerColor's stock performance, fresh from the factory.

So, they were talking about pads and VRMs. Not GPU. Again, there's no such a thing as too much when it comes to non-conductive thermal paste  (in the sense that thermal pads weren't installed properly and that caused issues with the GPU).

[Mira Yurizaki]

1 minute ago, ReHWolution said:

So, they were talking about pads and VRMs. Not GPU. Again, there's no such a thing as too much when it comes to non-conductive thermal paste

Well okay, the VRM part wasn't related to the thermal paste. But thermal pads aren't related to the GPU either unless you cool your GPU with thermal pads.

[ReHWolution]

1 minute ago, M.Yurizaki said:

Well okay, the VRM part wasn't related to the thermal paste. But thermal pads aren't related to the GPU either unless you cool your GPU with thermal pads.

If they're not mounted properly, the can increase the distance between the die and the coldplate, or misalign it on the z-axys, causing a colder area and a hotter area.

[stefanDB]

as long as you don't use a conductive paste you can safely use too much. Make sure all the corners of the die are covered because there is no IHS on a GPU

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

1 minute ago, ReHWolution said:

If they're not mounted properly, the can increase the distance between the die and the coldplate, or misalign it on the z-axys, causing a colder area and a hotter area.

You could cool your GPU with thermal pads...you could do that.... But why? Why would you do that?

[ReHWolution]

Just now, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

You could cool your GPU with thermal pads...you could do that.... But why? Why would you do that?

What?

Wait, what?

 

It doesn't matter, I'm talking about the graphics card. If AROUND THE GPU the thermal pads aren't installed correctly, they'll mess up the optimal distance between the GPU die and the heatsink coldplate, increasing the thermal resistance and, therefore, temperatures.

[sjain]

Guys, I've killed it. They're both fucking dead. Device manager says this. I'm on remote desktop as I don't have a monitor.

 

I never even touched the second card. Only difference since last boot  was that I  take out the sli bridge

 

I wanna fucking die.