Replacing thermal paste on an old 980 Ti

[GloriousMess]

Hi you lot. Since I'm waiting out the graphics card price surge I figured I'd make sure my old 980 Ti is in top condition. It's about 5 years old now and hasn't had a thermal paste replacement yet, and while I'm very comfortable with this sort of process, I have never gone through it with a GPU.

My fundamental question is, is it worth it? The card seems fine, no problems at all in its entire history in my various systems. I'm sure temperatures have risen over the years hence why I'm considering this, but I don't want to do it if there's no evidence it's necessary, or if there's a good chance of breaking something on a card this old. Vague memories of cards being damaged by stubborn heatsinks or crusty paste come to mind.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Alt0153]

i repasted my 970 a few days ago, before that i was sitting at low 60s with fans at 55% and now on same fan speed only getting to around 50c.

fans could prob spin slower but over the years i have broken 2 fan blades so they make noise if they dont spin fast enough

 

[koeiwong]

Which 980ti have you got? I replaced thermal paste on my zotac 1080ti mini, temperature lower by 10c from 80+ to 70+.

 

[Aretak]

Repasting a card is generally very easy and can make a decent impact. You're very unlikely to break anything, though make sure you use the right size screwdriver(s) to avoid stripping any screws. Also have some isopropyl alcohol on hand to clean off the old stuff, as it's quite difficult to remove it without that or something similar. You can just wet a cloth with it and it'll carve right through it. Also make sure to cover the entire GPU die when you're applying the new stuff, and avoid any conductive pastes like Arctic Silver.

 

[GloriousMess]

Which 980ti have you got? I replaced thermal paste on my zotac 1080ti mini, temperature lower by 10c from 80+ to 70+.

I have this exact model: https://www.msi.com/Graphics-Card/GTX-980-Ti-6GD5T-OC.html

Repasting a card is generally very easy and can make a decent impact. You're very unlikely to break anything, though make sure you use the right size screwdriver(s) to avoid stripping any screws.

Good shout, I should find that precision driver kit I bought a while back.

 

[mickyflinn]

What temps are you getting ?

If its mid 70s i wouldn't bother.