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RTX 3090 FE HELP! GPU overheating.

Did all the thermal pads look squashed down enough when you removed the cooler? I can't remember where I saw it or what gpu it was for but I saw somebody mention thry needed to add them springs you sometimes get on gpu screws to add/increase tension.
 
D1craig said:
Did all the thermal pads look squashed down enough when you removed the cooler? I can't remember where I saw it or what gpu it was for but I saw somebody mention thry needed to add them springs you sometimes get on gpu screws to add/increase tension.
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They were squashed down to comperable levels. And the memory is running around 20°C cooler compared to a stock 3090 FE so I'm certain the pads are doing their job.
 
heatonpkmassive said:
The pads cooling well isn't so relevant as if they're slightly too big, they'll still cool the memory very well but they could still keep the heatsink a little too high above the core to be able to cool that sufficiently.
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Yes that's been mentioned a couple of times. The mounting screws are bottomed out, they can't be mounted any tighter. I do not think the pads are inhibiting proper contact between the heat sink and the GPU die. The GPU die still has sufficient pressure to pump out the paste.

EDIT: Also it doesn't answer the question why the overheating became an issue overnight.
 
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Devprotim Das said:
Yes that's been mentioned a couple of times. The mounting screws are bottomed out, they can't be mounted any tighter. I do not think the pads are inhibiting proper contact between the heat sink and the GPU die. The GPU die still has sufficient pressure to pump out the paste.

EDIT: Also it doesn't answer the question why the overheating became an issue overnight.
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Not sure on why it just became an issue overnight, but the paste squeezing out also can't be taken as a sign that there's good contact. Only the correct thickness pads will guarantee that.
 
heatonpkmassive said:
Not sure on why it just became an issue overnight, but the paste squeezing out also can't be taken as a sign that there's good contact. Only the correct thickness pads will guarantee that.
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My bad I didn't clarify that I meant due to thermal pump out. You're are right that the paste squeezing out is not enough evidence to suggest a good mounting pressure. But barring torque settings for all the screws on the PCB alongside the exact batch of stock pads used by Nvidia (and probably a step by step guide on dissassembly and reassembly) I'm not sure there's anyway to guarantee that I've done everything correctly (and even that might not be enough because following instruction also requires some skill)

This entire thread started because I suddenly got temperature spikes and after I repasted and repadded nothing changed. By my measurements the stock pads were approximately 1mm. Given their plasticity I assumed they were thicker 'out of the package'. General internet search suggested that stock thickness of 1.5mm is what was used by nvidia and was recommended as replacements pads for the FE (thermalpad.eu, nicehash, general interent teardowns, several modders, including Jayztwocents if that holds any water with anyone). So that's what I used albeit it was Arctic TP-3 instead.

That self attempted maintenance did not lower or raise the temps on GPU hotspots. So my query was more to get help to try and diagnose the issue, or apply a suggested solution that lowered the temps without addressing root cause.

The new pads have squashed themselves down to the same level as the stock pads.
And the GPU has been repasted a couple of times. It is possible I messed up the installation and not put on enough pressure the first time and then on second&third attempt I tightened it too much.

Due to seeing no improvements or deterioration of the temps on CPUID and on thermal camera I'm not entirely sure that lack of mounting pressure is the cause for initial spike or the continuing of the high temps that is plaguing the GPU. Whether that's because I'm being too ginger or of the pads are too thick (even though general information seems to suggest that it is not).

I've applied ptm7950 on wednesday (it was an ebay purchase so could be a poor clone for all I know). I'm going to give it a week to cycle through. So far it has lowered the temps by 2°C. Which is still approximately 15°C higher than what the card used to run typically.
 
@Devprotim Das How big a piece of 7950 did you need to cover the die of the 3090?

I've been told that Thermalright Heilos is actually PTM7950, as the spec sheets are identical. There's a lot of fake 7950 about..
 
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@TaKeN My calipers measured the die at 22x26mm but I ended up eyeballing the cut. Held the piece upto the die snipped a small cut with mini scissors before taking a big scissors to finish the job.

Ah interesting! Wish I knew that before ordering :cry:
 
Silicon that the die is made of can just deteriorate and start to get hotter gradually. This would mostly be caused by use. Mining is suggested as the biggest cause because it's 100% use all the time. Gaming is harder on the gpu than mining though. It could even be a driver update has made it so part of the gpu is getting used a little more. If it was overnight that the change occurred I'd be more heading towards a driver update. It wasn't too long ago that nvidia drivers had caused some gpus to burn or go on fire.
 
D1craig said:
Silicon that the die is made of can just deteriorate and start to get hotter gradually. This would mostly be caused by use. Mining is suggested as the biggest cause because it's 100% use all the time. Gaming is harder on the gpu than mining though. It could even be a driver update has made it so part of the gpu is getting used a little more. If it was overnight that the change occurred I'd be more heading towards a driver update. It wasn't too long ago that nvidia drivers had caused some gpus to burn or go on fire.
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I rolled back the driver update to see if that was the cause. The version I had (which was the latest at the time) when the spike occurred was installed for about a week or so. And I was still gaming on it during that timeframe. So I guess it could be that there was a gradual deterioration just suddenly crossed some threshold?
 
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Devprotim Das said:
I rolled back the driver update to see if that was the cause. The version I had (which was the latest at the time) when the spike occurred was installed for about a week or so. And I was still gaming on it during that timeframe. So I guess it could be that there was a gradual deterioration just suddenly crossed some threshold?
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Deterioration is not normally a jump like you have noticed though.

When doing the work you have done on the gpu have you removed and replace the backplate each time aswell? If so I take it everything was fine back there.
 
Final update for anyone still interested/following this thread.

The ptm7950 did improve the temps albeit only by 3°C in the end. Fan's were still going crazy. So I ended up a getting a 3080 to replace the 3090. I'm going to sell the 3090 to recuperate some of the cost of the replacement GPU.

Thank you to everyone who commented to try and help me diagnose the problem. I really appreciate all the inputs!
 
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