RTX 3080 FE - Backplate Thermal Pad Mod

fs123 · 12 Mar 2021 at 18:35

Does replacing the pads void the warranty? I wanna do the mod but not if warranty goes out of the window.

Joxeon · 12 Mar 2021 at 18:39

fs123 said:
Does replacing the pads void the warranty? I wanna do the mod but not if warranty goes out of the window.

Only if they find out.

varkanoid · 12 Mar 2021 at 19:27

JohnG7 said:
Gelid Solutions GP-Ultimate Thermal 15W/mK but only 0.5mm or 1mm (makes sense).

EDIT: you also can buy it in a long strip for VRam and its is available in 0.5mm, 1mm, 1.5mm & 2mm.

fromage said:
I have seen "Thermalright Thermal Pad 12.8 W/mK" but only comes in 1.5mm which can be used to replaced the rest on the back plate but would need some 3mm for the mod, I guess stacking 2 x 1.5mm is a no-no ?

Just stack them there is no reason you can not. I've done it before on other GPU's.

Dontrocktheboat said:
I take it this is on the front of the PCB by the core, 3080 has no memory at the rear? good job. This is mining workload temp i guess?

You can put them on the front and the back. Most people just do the back. You put them where the hotspots are not just on the hot components. There are pictures of where to put the pads on the back in another thread on here. eg near the V cut out too and also where the empty mem chip location is. So what you are basically doing is transferring heat from the front components to the back plate as well through the PCB.

fs123 said:
Does replacing the pads void the warranty? I wanna do the mod but not if warranty goes out of the window.

Yes it does void warranty. In the other thread Nvidia confirmed it (although said no at first) but there are several replies and Nvidia said it voids warranty. They can tell easily as you remove their crappy pads ! This is why I've not bothered doing it would rather have warranty than card go pete tong and they say you've voided warranty. Normal times maybe, now with no GPU stock massive risk!

Joxeon · 12 Mar 2021 at 19:53

varkanoid said:
Yes it does void warranty. In the other thread Nvidia confirmed it (although said no at first) but there are several replies and Nvidia said it voids warranty. They can tell easily as you remove their crappy pads ! This is why I've not bothered doing it would rather have warranty than card go pete tong and they say you've voided warranty. Normal times maybe, now with no GPU stock massive risk!

This is the risk but nvidia are pretty good with warranty also compared to some of their partners, this is why I shall go ahead with the mod on my ventus since even if the card broke I'd be looking at around 3 months for a replacement anyway since MSI RMA sucks.

Twinz · 13 Mar 2021 at 01:19

I want to replace the pads on my FE, but 3080's are too difficult to buy right now, so I value warranty repair/replacement more than I would if I could just go buy another 3080 at something that remotely resempled MSRP.

varkanoid · 13 Mar 2021 at 11:08

Joxeon said:
This is the risk but nvidia are pretty good with warranty also compared to some of their partners, this is why I shall go ahead with the mod on my ventus since even if the card broke I'd be looking at around 3 months for a replacement anyway since MSI RMA sucks.

Yeah but thats MSI we are talking Nvidia to replace FE pads.

From the 30xxFE owners thread -

Subject
3090 warranty

Response By Email (V****) (02/19/2021 07:12 AM)
Hello,
Thank you for contacting NVIDIA Customer Care.
This is V****, assisting you with the query.
I understand from your email that you would like to know if replacing thermal pads voids the warranty.
Our warranty covers the graphics card exactly as the card is shipped and sold to a customer, once GPU is opened its no longer covered under warranty.

Twinz said:
I want to replace the pads on my FE, but 3080's are too difficult to buy right now, so I value warranty repair/replacement more than I would if I could just go buy another 3080 at something that remotely resempled MSRP.

Down to personal opinion but I agree with you I`d like to replace the pads but I dont want to risk the warranty as I know if something did go wrong I would be gutted if they threw it back in my face.

If anyone wants to brave it this thread has loads of picture examples showing you the best place to place the pads front and back for 3080 and 3090 FE

https://www.overclock.net/threads/possibly-widespread-cooling-issues-on-rtx-3090-fe.1775245/page-2

Extreme cooling !

also from the FE owners thread on here
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/forums/posts/34559016 https://www.overclockers.co.uk/forums/posts/34559016

JohnG7 · 13 Mar 2021 at 14:16

fs123 · 13 Mar 2021 at 20:39

My 3080FE memory junction temp is around 85-95 depending on game. If a card runs at 96C constantly is that ok or should I put some pads in the backplate. I would hope Nvidia designed it to run at upto 100C without degradation.

varkanoid · 13 Mar 2021 at 20:45

fs123 said:
My 3080FE memory junction temp is around 85-95 depending on game. If a card runs at 96C constantly is that ok or should I put some pads in the backplate. I would hope Nvidia designed it to run at upto 100C without degradation.

its designed to run to 110c. Your temps are normal.

mikehhhhhhh · 15 Mar 2021 at 11:58

I just stuck an old CPU cooler on top, not even managed to find a thermal pad yet and it knocked 12c off my vram temps

chroniclard · 15 Mar 2021 at 12:08

mikehhhhhhh said:
I just stuck an old CPU cooler on top, not even managed to find a thermal pad yet and it knocked 12c off my vram temps

hah, heading to the loft see what old coolers I have.....may have an AMD wraith cooler in there or an old noctua(unlikely to fit).

I have redone the pads both front and back and its made a decent impact.

Is that connected in anyway or is it just resting on the back?

mikehhhhhhh · 15 Mar 2021 at 12:09

This cooler has a really tiny contact area, as its from an old i5 2400.

A decent cooler with a lot of surface area would be even better, I'd imagine!

chroniclard · 15 Mar 2021 at 12:32

mikehhhhhhh said:
This cooler has a really tiny contact area, as its from an old i5 2400.

A decent cooler with a lot of surface area would be even better, I'd imagine!

heh, Ryzen 2600 cooler I had not used, little too large as wont fit right in. Dont think its doing much as already done pad mods.

mikehhhhhhh · 15 Mar 2021 at 12:37

chroniclard said:
heh, Ryzen 2600 cooler I had not used, little too large as wont fit right in. Dont think its doing much as already done pad mods.

On my 3090 it's making a huge difference without thermal pads, I imagine the gains would only be bigger with them

I'm undecided whether to open it up or not, I wouldn't want to void the warranty doing so.

I have ordered a bigger cooler in the form of a Noctua NH-L9x65 to see if that's any better.

willhub · 15 Mar 2021 at 12:38

I'd just risk KO'ing the card to be fair, and hope that if I have to get a warranty replacement that Nvidia will activally have a 3080 to give me. I've been running solid a 3080FE for 2 months now mining and the memory has been sitting at 106 degrees average temperature and nothing has gone wrong, I'm playing games and all is fine, the overclock hasn't degraded either.

I'd expect new thermal pads may improve overclocks slightly but still, warranty void.

mikehhhhhhh · 15 Mar 2021 at 12:40

willhub said:
I'd just risk KO'ing the card to be fair, and hope that if I have to get a warranty replacement that Nvidia will activally have a 3080 to give me. I've been running solid a 3080FE for 2 months now mining and the memory has been sitting at 106 degrees average temperature and nothing has gone wrong, I'm playing games and all is fine, the overclock hasn't degraded either.

I'd expect new thermal pads may improve overclocks slightly but still, warranty void.

My last card lasted me 5 years, I'd like to make sure this 3090 does too

106 feels uncomfortable. I've gone from 94MH/s with minimum memory clock of 8500 and 102c to 110MH/s with mem @ 10k and vram at 98c with no warranty voiding modifications

willhub · 15 Mar 2021 at 12:41

mikehhhhhhh said:
My last card lasted me 5 years, I'd like to make sure this 3090 does too

106 feels uncomfortable. I've gone from 94MH/s with minimum memory clock of 8500 and 102c to 110MH/s with mem @ 10k and vram at 98c with no warranty voiding modifications

I think 106 degrees is comfortable compared to 98 degrees with no warranty, as nice as the extra hash rate is.

If you card broke you'd not get a replacement, I would and then my lower hash rate has earnt me more money.

chroniclard · 15 Mar 2021 at 12:42

With the pads changed I am doing 94mh @ 100 degrees, before that it was 106-108 degrees with less MH, I am sort of ok with the potential lack of warranty on a £650 card....doubt I would do it on a 3090 though.

willhub · 15 Mar 2021 at 12:43

My GF would kill me if I broke my 3080 and didn't have warranty and needed to buy a new one. She'd destroy me.

mikehhhhhhh · 15 Mar 2021 at 12:58

willhub said:
I think 106 degrees is comfortable compared to 98 degrees with no warranty, as nice as the extra hash rate is.

If you card broke you'd not get a replacement, I would and then my lower hash rate has earnt me more money.

I haven't voided my warranty, though.

I've not opened the card, just plonked a cooler on top of it.