PCB and thermal pads on used 1080

[TheRandomGuy7]

Just bought a used 1080 for a decent price. I suspect it's probably been used for mining, but the manufacturer stickers are dated April 2018 so it can't have been mined with for several years. Everything works great so far, but idle temps are a slight issue plus I want thermals as perfect as possible to maximise lifespan.

Load performance is absolutely fine but idle it sits between 45-55 and often needs fans even with less than 10% load.

This is the PCB of the card
What's going on with the black discolouration in the centre? Is this serious heat damage or fairly normal signs of (maybe quite heavy) use?

This is the thermal strip on the cooler
I'm completely new to these things but this looks in pretty bad shape to me. Plus the ones on the PCB look awful and cracked and definitely need replacing. I measured the strip on the cooler as 1mm so I've already got Grizzly 1mm thermal pads on the way. Do I need to replace every single pad on this card with the new 1mm's?

I cleaned a bit and replaced thermal paste but left everything else as is.

From the repasting, load temps and performance has improved significantly and now matches reviewers benchmarks. I feel like the fans are working slightly harder than they should need to under load. Idle temps are still an issue and I feel like both this and load performance could improve drastically with new thermal pads?

Any insight/advice much appreciated

 

[tyler_jrb]

If you want to maximise the lifespan of the card then it would be best to replace them all if they are old and cracked. You can get EKWB pads for cheap. Thermal grizzly ones are good but expensive for what they are. Just ensure they are correct and test fit them prior to adding thermal paste to ensure it is correct (should be able to see indentations on the thermal pads for vrm components).

You wont see much of an improvement to core temps by adding new thermal pads but it will keep vrm temps down and maximise the cards lifespan. If a mosfet for example overheats and shorts then the card is as good as dead.

Just make sure you degrease and remove all the oil residue from old pads before fitting new ones so they adhere properly.

I would check memory pads also which will be under the plate where your thumb is on 1st pic, they will likely need replacing also.

 

[muon]

Looks pretty normal to me for a used card.

The gains you will see from replacing the thermal pads will be minimal. When I was looking at this it is actually quite hard to source good quality thermal pads for a decent price. Lots of OEMs for example use Fujipoly pads with very good performance and they aren't cheap to source.

 

[TheRandomGuy7]

If you want to maximise the lifespan of the card then it would be best to replace them all if they are old and cracked. You can get EKWB pads for cheap. Thermal grizzly ones are good but expensive for what they are. Just ensure they are correct and test fit them prior to adding thermal paste to ensure it is correct (should be able to see indentations on the thermal pads for vrm components).

You wont see much of an improvement to core temps by adding new thermal pads but it will keep vrm temps down and maximise the cards lifespan. If a mosfet for example overheats and shorts then the card is as good as dead.

Just make sure you degrease and remove all the oil residue from old pads before fitting new ones so they adhere properly.

I would check memory pads also which will be under the plate where your thumb is on 1st pic, they will likely need replacing also.

Thanks. Will definitely be replacing memory pads too, just didn't want to needlessly take the bracket off without replacement pads handy. Should 1mm be okay to use on everything here or do I need to be very careful with variating thicknesses?

Also am I right in thinking the long strips on the cooler (second pic) need replacing AS WELL AS the smaller corresponding squares on the PCB components? Do they sort of sandwich together

Looks pretty normal to me for a used card.

The gains you will see from replacing the thermal pads will be minimal. When I was looking at this it is actually quite hard to source good quality thermal pads for a decent price. Lots of OEMs for example use Fujipoly pads with very good performance and they aren't cheap to source.

Surely the gains will be quite significant when the current pads are cracked and greasy? If not to sensor-recorded temps but to the long-term health of the VRMs etc

Also the small rectangular black chips to the left of the things labelled R22 (mosfets? inductors?) don't seem to have ANY pads left towards the bottom

Promising that it looks normal to you. Any comment on the black discolouring?

 

[muon]

Thermal pads have silicone oil in them. They are all greasy. The discolouring is most likely those oils that have are on the surface of the board. You should be able to clean it with IPA if it really bothers you.

Up to you but it seems silly to be throwing another £20 of pads at these for no reason. Assuming you go for something decent like this https://www.overclockers.co.uk/thermal-grizzly-minus-pad-8-100x-100x-0-5-mm-th-006-tg.html. In fact you might even need thicker pads which are more expensive still.

 

[tyler_jrb]

Thanks. Will definitely be replacing memory pads too, just didn't want to needlessly take the bracket off without replacement pads handy. Should 1mm be okay to use on everything here or do I need to be very careful with variating thicknesses?

Also am I right in thinking the long strips on the cooler (second pic) need replacing AS WELL AS the smaller corresponding squares on the PCB components? Do they sort of sandwich together

The thickness does matter yes as they can be 0.5/1/1.5mm etc. Too thin and they won’t make proper contact. Too thick and other components may not make proper contact or transfer heat optimally so they need to be measured and the correct thickness used.

If they are cracked and dry then it’s time to replace them.

They very tiny squares of pad likely will be fine as on waterblocks etc they aren’t even actively cooled. But if you have any pad of the correct size left over it can’t hurt to replace them.

 

[varkanoid]

Stick a NZXT G12 on with a cheap AIO cooler and watch your temps drop by at least 10c idle and load. No need for pads then just heatsink the RAM and VRM. If you want to spend the money.

 

[sgoaty]

Stick a NZXT G12 on with a cheap AIO cooler and watch your temps drop by at least 10c idle and load. No need for pads then just heatsink the RAM and VRM. If you want to spend the money.

Excellent advice my 1080 doesn't go over 60c even when overclocked and is very quiet. Thats with the Kraken G12 mont and corsair H55 120mm Rad/fan.

 

[TheRandomGuy7]

Thermal pads have silicone oil in them. They are all greasy. The discolouring is most likely those oils that have are on the surface of the board. You should be able to clean it with IPA if it really bothers you.

Up to you but it seems silly to be throwing another £20 of pads at these for no reason. Assuming you go for something decent like this https://www.overclockers.co.uk/thermal-grizzly-minus-pad-8-100x-100x-0-5-mm-th-006-tg.html. In fact you might even need thicker pads which are more expensive still.

Makes sense that it's the grease. It doesn't bother me but to a layman's eyes it looks like it could've easily been heat damage or something else more sinister. I did actually use IPA but it certainly isn't coming off easily. Might just leave it be.

Have got those Grizzly pads coming but 1mm thickness. Thought it worth the money as I hope to keep this card going for several years -- it'll see long periods of disuse after lockdown/when uni restarts.

The thickness does matter yes as they can be 0.5/1/1.5mm etc. Too thin and they won’t make proper contact. Too thick and other components may not make proper contact or transfer heat optimally so they need to be measured and the correct thickness used.

If they are cracked and dry then it’s time to replace them.

They very tiny squares of pad likely will be fine as on waterblocks etc they aren’t even actively cooled. But if you have any pad of the correct size left over it can’t hurt to replace them.

Thanks. Will be replacing every pad. I only measured the long strips so I'm hoping they will all be around 1mm, if there's any big thickness discrepancies I'll have to order more pads I suppose.

Stick a NZXT G12 on with a cheap AIO cooler and watch your temps drop by at least 10c idle and load. No need for pads then just heatsink the RAM and VRM. If you want to spend the money.

Thanks for the suggestion. Though it looks like that would set me back at least £60 or so, not quite willing to throw that much into this. Especially since the cooler on this is BEEFY and if all working properly should give me temps close to 60 under load anyway

 

[varkanoid]

Thanks for the suggestion. Though it looks like that would set me back at least £60 or so, not quite willing to throw that much into this. Especially since the cooler on this is BEEFY and if all working properly should give me temps close to 60 under load anyway

If you get a cheap AIO it can cost less. Luckily last time I had a Corsair H55 spare so I just bought myself a new G12 cheap off the bay.

 

[TheRandomGuy7]

If you get a cheap AIO it can cost less. Luckily last time I had a Corsair H55 spare so I just bought myself a new G12 cheap off the bay.

Alright this will probably be my go-to should the fans fail at all. Looks extremely difficult to get replacement parts for inno3d coolers in Europe too.

I have been thinking about this, and before I was thinking to get something like the Arctic Accelero Xtreme IV if they fail. Would you fully recommend an AIO over something like this?

 

[sgoaty]

Is your card a reference design?

I was shocked how well it works on mine. Really great set up. I did it mostly for noise but the temperature improvement was huge.

 

[TheRandomGuy7]

Is your card a reference design?

I was shocked how well it works on mine. Really great set up. I did it mostly for noise but the temperature improvement was huge.

No, it's inno3d's X3 cooler

As you can see it's bloody huge, biggest GPU I've ever laid hands on, and the cooler seems to be as effective as it looks. That's why I want to sort out the paste and pads etc because it should give excellent performance

 

[varkanoid]

Alright this will probably be my go-to should the fans fail at all. Looks extremely difficult to get replacement parts for inno3d coolers in Europe too.

I have been thinking about this, and before I was thinking to get something like the Arctic Accelero Xtreme IV if they fail. Would you fully recommend an AIO over something like this?

If you've got the space and can fit it in the case (I always go for it at the front to maximise cooling) then G12 and AIO gives very good results. If you cant fit then the Xtreme IV is a very capable cooler and very quiet and will easily knock 10c off.

 

[sgoaty]

No, it's inno3d's X3 cooler

As you can see it's bloody huge, biggest GPU I've ever laid hands on, and the cooler seems to be as effective as it looks. That's why I want to sort out the paste and pads etc because it should give excellent performance

Oh yes in that case I agree you should be able to sort it out.