GPU TIM change

[arnzzz]

Ive had a bit of an obsession for thermal paste for a few weeks now

it all started when i got my Noctua NHD14.

Originally when i got the noctua i had a cheap HD6670 gpu installed, but seeing as the noctua had some TIM which

came with it i thought "its gotta be better than the stock TIM on the 6670" and i had heard good things about the noctua

stuff, so i went ahead and changed it. All was fine until i went to put the heatsink back on and just the design of the heat

sink and the way you have to place it on the board while holding it still and doing up the screw's at the same time made

the whole thing a little awkward. I say that as i always felt after fitting the heatsink that the whole thing had moved, swivelled

and shifted from side to side way to much for my liking that the TIM must have gone everywhere but where i wanted it. I

ended up redoing it about 3 times before i just made do. As im writing this im thinking maybe i should do it again, but as

im not using the 6670 now i wont bother

So today i decided to do the HD6950 i am using now, yes there was no need to do it, but i wanted to do it

The whole thing was so much easier with this card just because of the way the heatsink was designed, on the picture

below you can see the 4 little bar's (don't know what the official term is

) on the heatsink that poke through the PCB

ready for the screws to hold the card together, Those are like a perfect guide holding everything just where they

need to be

The one thing i did notice which you cant really see from the picture is the copper surface of the Heatsink was a

really bad finish compared to that of the noctua, you really could feel where it had been machined, i honestly feel

like i could do a better job with some fine wet n dry paper. I won't though....Honest

So all round very happy wth my TIM change.

knocked off 3 degrees too

 

[FTR.4500MHz]

Maybe you can call them " guiding standoff's" or so

 

[Pr3d4t0r]

your worrying too much lol, its actually better to move the heatsink before you fully clamp it down with screws so the paste can evenly spread

about 6950, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT SAND IT DOWN WITH SAND PAPER, once the heat sink plate is worn out(seems like your case) then it is actually to leave it as it is or buy a new one but sanding it wont help it at all it could actually get worse

 

[Jamsand]

Look up a guide on lapping before considering it

 

[The Scientific Moustache]

suddenly got me thinking, would my EVGA GTX680 benefit temp wise if i replaced the stock TIM?

 

[Master&Puppet]

suddenly got me thinking, would my EVGA GTX680 benefit temp wise if i replaced the stock TIM?

Yea probably, it won't come with 'the best' TIM out of the box. How much improvement you'll see is a different matter, a few degrees I expect, but it's probably not worth the effort really.

 

[ZZAC]

your all lucky. i have a desing flawed dc2 7950 as the stand offs arnt big enough the direct copper heatpipes dont contact half the gpu cuasing it to be nearly unstable at stock speeds... and a.tim change wont help either.... i contacted asus and did not recieve a reply.

 

[Josh Weston]

your all lucky. i have a desing flawed dc2 7950 as the stand offs arnt big enough the direct copper heatpipes dont contact half the gpu cuasing it to be nearly unstable at stock speeds... and a.tim change wont help either.... i contacted asus and did not recieve a reply.

Don't stop until they do reply, dude.

 

[jamesriley94]

Dont really think it's worth voiding a warranty for the sake of 2 degrees.

 

[ZZAC]

Don't stop until they do reply, dude.

I wont give up until they accept the rma

 

[arnzzz]

Maybe you can call them " guiding standoff's" or so

That is what ill call them from now on

As for the changing the TIM on a gpu, i think i will change the TIM on any products, gpu, heatsinks etc that i buy from now on that has it already applied as i'm sure they use cheap stuff during manufacture and i saw a temp drop of roughly 3 degrees under load. That may not seem like much but it made the exercise feel worthwhile And i have a large syringe of MX-4 lying around and i really like using it strange but true lol

 

[KING_OF_SAND]

Dont really think it's worth voiding a warranty for the sake of 2 degrees.

For starters good thermal paste will drop more than 2 degrees, second it does not void warranty under (ASUS, MSI, EVGA, XFX, and Diamond).

 

[jamesriley94]

For starters good thermal paste will drop more than 2 degrees, second it does not void warranty under (ASUS, MSI, EVGA, XFX, and Diamond).

TIM change will not definitely drop temps by X number of degrees, cant really put a measure on it. Also, yes it does void the warranty. He says he has an AMD card - only nvidia cards allow the cooler to be taken off while keeping the warranty intact.

 

[KING_OF_SAND]

TIM change will not definitely drop temps by X number of degrees, cant really put a measure on it. Also, yes it does void the warranty. He says he has an AMD card - only nvidia cards allow the cooler to be taken off while keeping the warranty intact.

Well I have contacted ASUS, Diamond, and MSI and all three said it would not void warranty, and Diamond ONLY makes AMD cards. I asked MSI back when I had my 5870 lightning also AMD/ATi.

 

[jamesriley94]

Alright, I'm not too sure if things are different in the US, but I'm very sure that in the UK this is not the case. XFX even put a warranty void if removed stick on, and when I bought my MSI 7950 I was assured by people on here that I'd lose any warranty by taking the cooler off, and because of that, as I was planning to watercool it, I was even persuaded to buy the card a couple of months early to test for any potential issues before taking the cooler off. Also, as his card is HIS, this is from their website:

''Cooler / Fan Replacement

We regret to inform you that we do not suggest users to replace or install the cooler/fan themselves, as it would damage the ASIC / graphic card and void the warranty. We could not supply the individual cooler/fan. ''

 

[KING_OF_SAND]

Wow yea that is different. When I called XFX before sticking a Arctic Cooler on my 6850 they assured me over the phone that it would not void warranty. And ASUS was the same back when I got my 5870 and MSI when I got my 5870 lightning. In fact on my first 5870 lightning I DID in fact change the thermal paste because of high temps and then RMAd it and never had a problem, I got a new lightning a week later.

 

[CPMFW]

I wont give up until they accept the rma

you do that mate