Maximising The Life of Your GPU/Pad + Paste Replacement

[Ivs]

Hi guys, I need some of your wisdom.

Im planning on buying a brand new 3070 once prices are reasonable and I want to maximise its lifespan. I know the cooler you can keep your system the longer the components tend to last. (In regards to the case, I have one with superb airflow [Phanteks P600S], so Im good there).

Ive looked at a lot of material online and it seems the ASUS TUF and Gigabyte Gaming OC seem to have the best temps.

I have a specific question: is there any benefit to changing the thermal pads and thermal paste of a GPU with high grade replacements once you buy it? Does it make a difference to temps? Are the ones that come with the card out of the factory the best you can get/good enough? Any of your wisdom on this would be great.

Also, any other tips/wisdom on keeping your GPU cool as possible would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Captain_Bosh]

I'd not bother replacing them on a new card unless I was fitting a water cooler. You are more likely to damage it and void your warranty.
Just ensure there is good airflow in your case and give it a good dusting every now and then (every 6 months or so)
I'd recommend one of the electric air dusters you can get they are better than canned air.

 

[CuriousTomCat]

Changing the pads matters to enthusiasts. I've not heard anyone change pads on a 3070 though because it's not really an enthusiast tier GPU. There's a lot of talk about changing pads on the 3090 though which apparently does make a difference.

 

[Benass]

I'd not bother replacing them on a new card unless I was fitting a water cooler. You are more likely to damage it and void your warranty.
Just ensure there is good airflow in your case and give it a good dusting every now and then (every 6 months or so)
I'd recommend one of the electric air dusters you can get they are better than canned air.

This is really bad advice .
Ofcoz u can change Thermal pads.
It's easy to do and u can improve Tems.
Or if it was done properly In a factory , u will end up with same tems ,but with piece of mind.

 

[sgoaty]

Depending on the GPU it's probably not worth the trouble.
Download HWInfo and monitor temps during a stress test to see if you have an issue before getting the screwdrivers out just my 2p

 

[Captain_Bosh]

This is really bad advice .
Ofcoz u can change Thermal pads.
It's easy to do and u can improve Tems.
Or if it was done properly In a factory , u will end up with same tems ,but with piece of mind.

What is bad advice? If you are not going to be specific why bother quoting me?
In the context of increasing the lifespan of a brand new GPU changing the pads is a pretty pointless exercise as its going to be covered under warranty for a few years anyway. Lots of easier ways to get temps down than risking voiding your warranty.

 

[ASMB]

You can lower the heat of the card by running games at lower frame rates, hopefully saving electricity and increasing the cards life at the same time

 

[Marak]

This is really bad advice .
Ofcoz u can change Thermal pads.
It's easy to do and u can improve Tems.
Or if it was done properly In a factory , u will end up with same tems ,but with piece of mind.

Apologies if you are not a native English speaker but this is very difficult to read, it is also wrong.

There is no need to change anything on most 3070 cards so long as the temperatures you are seeing are at reasonable levels. Download and run GPU-Z then give your PC a good gaming session then check the "Show highest reading" in the GPU temperature section. Anything below 80 and you don't need to worry about a thing.

Losing warranty because you changed thermal paste/pads when it's not needed is not worth it, and pads can be expensive especially if you mess up a couple of times (as I have found out myself with my 3090).

 

[Benass]

Apologies if you are not a native English speaker but this is very difficult to read, it is also wrong.

There is no need to change anything on most 3070 cards so long as the temperatures you are seeing are at reasonable levels. Download and run GPU-Z then give your PC a good gaming session then check the "Show highest reading" in the GPU temperature section. Anything below 80 and you don't need to worry about a thing.

Losing warranty because you changed thermal paste/pads when it's not needed is not worth it, and pads can be expensive especially if you mess up a couple of times (as I have found out myself with my 3090).

U right about The temperature. If its below 80 than there is no reason To do anything .

U wrong About Loosing Warranty by removing Few screws .

I can replace thermal paste and pads and u would tell the difference.

So there's That.

In the end of the day, I guess The one must know What hes doing .

 

[Danny75]

Undervolting is also a great way to prolong the life of a card. You can still usually OC the GPU a bit if it's decent silicon anyway. Undervolting can achieve the same/better results as replacing pads with better ones, till the card is out of warranty and you can replace them (if that's a concern).

 

[Marak]

Undervolting is also a great way to prolong the life of a card. You can still usually OC the GPU a bit if it's decent silicon anyway. Undervolting can achieve the same/better results as replacing pads with better ones, till the card is out of warranty and you can replace them (if that's a concern).

Yes I can't remember the last card I ran at stock settings. A little undervolting works wonders you can often drop temps 20% with only 2-3% drop in performance.

 

[Danny75]

Yes I can't remember the last card I ran at stock settings. A little undervolting works wonders you can often drop temps 20% with only 2-3% drop in performance.

Yes, and can help with noise. And fine tune it so the frequency doesn't scale up and down while you are playing as it hits temp or power limits.

 

[Zefan]

U wrong About Loosing Warranty by removing Few screws .

GPU manufacturers say otherwise I'm afraid.

 

[xPETEZx]

GPU manufacturers say otherwise I'm afraid.

...and consumer rights say otherwise again...

The usual nannies out in force about voiding warranties again I see.

You know that overclocking voids the warranty too right?

There isnt some alarm that triggers at the manufacture when you change the pads. ITs up to them to prove you damaged the card. Thats assuming you even end up needing the warranty.

Changing thermal pads ranks about the same in difficulty as installing a CPU and heatsink without bending the pins imo. Be careful and take your time and the risk should be minimal.

 

[tyler_jrb]

No and No.

Unless the components are getting to above design/spec then likely you wouldn’t do anything by reducing temps by several degrees at the most.

As others have said you would be far better off undervolting if life of the card is what you want to maximise but just like any electronics there isn’t really a given time frame anything will last. You could undervolt your card replace paste and pads and it die in 2 years or someone run it normally and it lasts 5. Just the way it is.

 

[anderton46]

...and consumer rights say otherwise again...

The usual nannies out in force about voiding warranties again I see.

You know that overclocking voids the warranty too right?

There isnt some alarm that triggers at the manufacture when you change the pads. ITs up to them to prove you damaged the card. Thats assuming you even end up needing the warranty.

Changing thermal pads ranks about the same in difficulty as installing a CPU and heatsink without bending the pins imo. Be careful and take your time and the risk should be minimal.

I would imagine it is pretty easy to tell if the thermal pads have been changed though? So when you send a broken card back they can just identify that and cancel the warranty.

 

[azazl187]

You can lower the heat of the card by running games at lower frame rates, hopefully saving electricity and increasing the cards life at the same time

What on earth!? Why would you even do this!? You buy a GPU at a specific level for a guaranteed level of performance. Who would then downgrade it to save electricity or increase the life of the card?

 

[Benass]

GPU manufacturers say otherwise I'm afraid.

how would they know?

 

[Benass]

I would imagine it is pretty easy to tell if the thermal pads have been changed though? So when you send a broken card back they can just identify that and cancel the warranty.

this is another problem. U imagine, yet your words tells me you do not understand. I respect your choise to live by the book, But let me tell you, i can make modifications on gpu and the manufacturer will not tell the difference.

 

[anderton46]

this is another problem. U imagine, yet your words tells me you do not understand. I respect your choise to live by the book, But let me tell you, i can make modifications on gpu and the manufacturer will not tell the difference.

yeah but you don't understand do you. You aren't going to be changing the thermal pads for him are you? So potentially.. a guy who's never opened up a card before isn't going to make it look perfect.