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Reapplying thermal paste to a 2070 Super

Freakbro

Freakbro

Freakbro

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So my 2070 Super has developed this annoying trait of when playing a game the fans just randomly rev up to 4000 RPM for a few seconds before dropping back to normal, which is really loud and distracting. Weirdly this fan speed spike doesn't register on AB at all, temps are constant and the speed spike overrides the fan curve set on there, but it does show up on HWmonitor.

On googling this seems to be a common issue (especially connected with the specific 4k rev speed) and a solution that seems popular is it's down to old/badly applied thermal paste. From what I read AB seems to display the Avg temp of the multiple temp sensors on the chip, but it only takes 1 sensor to register a temperature spike and it sets off the bios of the card to overide the fan setting and rev it to the 4k.

So re-applying the thermal paste seems an easy enough fix to try, but I was just wondering about the Thermal Pads. I've never done thermal paste with a GFX card before, only a CPU, so don't know how likely the pads are to be damaged when taking the card apart. Should I get some in just in case? If so, are they generic or specific sized ones I need?
 
I had to reapply the thermal paste on my 2080Ti I left the pads as they were, once I put the card back together everything was fine. If you’re worried you could purchase some pads so you have them to hand if you need them, they’re cheap enough.
 
Freakbro said:
So my 2070 Super has developed this annoying trait of when playing a game the fans just randomly rev up to 4000 RPM for a few seconds before dropping back to normal, which is really loud and distracting. Weirdly this fan speed spike doesn't register on AB at all, temps are constant and the speed spike overrides the fan curve set on there, but it does show up on HWmonitor.

On googling this seems to be a common issue (especially connected with the specific 4k rev speed) and a solution that seems popular is it's down to old/badly applied thermal paste. From what I read AB seems to display the Avg temp of the multiple temp sensors on the chip, but it only takes 1 sensor to register a temperature spike and it sets off the bios of the card to overide the fan setting and rev it to the 4k.

So re-applying the thermal paste seems an easy enough fix to try, but I was just wondering about the Thermal Pads. I've never done thermal paste with a GFX card before, only a CPU, so don't know how likely the pads are to be damaged when taking the card apart. Should I get some in just in case? If so, are they generic or specific sized ones I need?
Click to expand...
I watched this the other day, for you it's worth watching.


He does damage the thermal pads when removing the cooler and it lead to problems when his puts it back together again as the heatsink isn't even but it was fixable without having to replace the pads.
 
Bumping this as I've only just got around to replacing the paste and wow, the GPU temp is now ~15-20ºc lower when testing it with Plague Tail Requiem, running in the mid 60's under load now and no random over-revving of the fans, so job done!

Didn't need to replace any thermal pads either as they all stayed intact, which was a bonus.
 
AFAIK, mx4 should be fine. I've used it on GPUs before (2x GTX670 and a 780ti) on watercooling, liquid metal type compounds may have a decent advantage but other than that probably not more than 1-2 degrees (happy to be corrected if something like hydronaut is significantly better!)

(also, mx4 is non-conductive - I'd always rather use something non conductive, especially on GPU!)
 
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I'm considering replacing the paste on my 2070s as it has become crashy in games (though heat doesn't appear to be too high in GPU-z oddly).

I am concerned about the the thermal pads becoming damaged during the process, so I guess these need to be replaced too.
Are all thermal pads much the same? The prices for some are astronomical.

Nate
 
Definitely worth repasting your GPU especially if it's an older model. I've repasted a number of my cards over the years, my MSI 980Ti most recently and noticed a decent drop in temps once it was done, around 10-12'c I seem to remember
 
Well I solved my GPU Driver Crashing issue, of course it had nothing to do with the GPU.... Turns out my MB was applying a 0.02v overvolt on my RAM when it shouldn't have been. Computer is rock steady now, even with a 116% power limit applied on the GPU. It is bumping off the thermal limit though, so will get around to repasting at some point.

Also I found this very excellent guide for the thermal pads required for my particular card, it may be of use to other 2070s owners.

www.ifixit.com

Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 Super Thermal Pads and Paste Replacement

Follow the steps below to thoroughly clean your 2070 Super video card and replace thermal paste and thermal pads.
www.ifixit.com www.ifixit.com

Nate
 
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DJ_Bucho said:
Definitely worth repasting your GPU especially if it's an older model. I've repasted a number of my cards over the years, my MSI 980Ti most recently and noticed a decent drop in temps once it was done, around 10-12'c I seem to remember
Click to expand...
I've repasted my CPU loads , but have always shyed away from touching the GPU , as I THINK I'm to scared of breaking it as they are so good dam expensive these days :)
 
Taking GPUs is pretty easy. Just watch a YouTube video first. Helps finding all the tiny screws.

Ive had a few GPUs where the pads are knackered when you remove the cooler. Usually MSI GPUs. They must put soft pads on, on purpose. They will know you have opened it and could void the warranty
 
Nate--IRL-- said:
Well I solved my GPU Driver Crashing issue, of course it had nothing to do with the GPU.... Turns out my MB was applying a 0.02v overvolt on my RAM when it shouldn't have been. Computer is rock steady now, even with a 116% power limit applied on the GPU. It is bumping off the thermal limit though, so will get around to repasting at some point.

Also I found this very excellent guide for the thermal pads required for my particular card, it may be of use to other 2070s owners.

www.ifixit.com

Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 Super Thermal Pads and Paste Replacement

Follow the steps below to thoroughly clean your 2070 Super video card and replace thermal paste and thermal pads.
www.ifixit.com www.ifixit.com

Nate
Click to expand...

That's really useful, especially for details on the size and thickness of the thermal pad replacements
 
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