thinking of changing gpu r9 290 tim

bcham · 30 Jun 2014 at 22:16

i have a msi 290 gaming card.http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-239-MS
but while playing sniper elite 3 i get temps up to 90c with fan at 85 ,in bf4 i get 85c should i change the tim or wont it make any difference. will it be easy to remove the cooler.

andyrp2001 · 30 Jun 2014 at 23:10

Cooler is really easy to remove, only 6 screws and then it lifts straight off. I changed my TIM the other day for Artic Silver 5 (AS5) and it made very little difference. You have to be careful though as AS5 is conductive so I would recommend using something that isn't silver based. I'll probably change it again when I can be bothered but think there is more risk now with removing the AS5!

Andy

Finners · 30 Jun 2014 at 23:16

That seems crazy high! What case do you have? what are idle temps like?

Simple test to see if you have enough airflow is to remove the side panel and test temperatures then.

Something seems off to me there though

Wilko_Dog · 30 Jun 2014 at 23:42

have you checked that both fans are actually spinning on the cooler, i have 2 msi 270x and had to rma 1 as the fan stopped working

bcham · 1 Jul 2014 at 06:28

yes i have good air flow both fans are spinning ,if i use the 4.6 driver i get 100% fan speed and 95c temps on bf4. 4.4 drops temps by around 5% think ill have a go at changing the tim i have a new tube of mx2 will that be ok to use.

bcham · 1 Jul 2014 at 08:40

just changed the tim for mx2 .only took me 10 mins. and the temps have dropped from 85c to 73c in bf4. so glad i did it. only thing is i have voided my warranty as i had to remove the sticker on one of the screws.

snips86x · 1 Jul 2014 at 08:41

You should also make sure you've got decent airflow in your case. What case do you have & what fans are you using?

Makes a massive difference when I changed mine.

bcham · 1 Jul 2014 at 09:45

snips86x said:
You should also make sure you've got decent airflow in your case. What case do you have & what fans are you using?

Makes a massive difference when I changed mine.

i have a COOLER MASTER CM 690 II with 5 fans 3 intake and 2 exhaust.stock 120 fans

Dom86 · 1 Jul 2014 at 10:20

bcham said:
just changed the tim for mx2 .only took me 10 mins. and the temps have dropped from 85c to 73c in bf4. so glad i did it. only thing is i have voided my warranty as i had to remove the sticker on one of the screws.

If my memory serves me right Overclockers and msi have a deal about removing coolers and as long as you put it back on properly you still have warranty.

Silent_Scone · 1 Jul 2014 at 11:04

andyrp2001 said:
Cooler is really easy to remove, only 6 screws and then it lifts straight off. I changed my TIM the other day for Artic Silver 5 (AS5) and it made very little difference. You have to be careful though as AS5 is conductive so I would recommend using something that isn't silver based. I'll probably change it again when I can be bothered but think there is more risk now with removing the AS5!

Andy

Arctic Silver 5 is NOT CONDUCTIVE!

snips86x · 1 Jul 2014 at 11:14

MjFrosty said:
Arctic Silver 5 is NOT CONDUCTIVE!

Pretty sure the description on the website says slightly!!

Silent_Scone · 1 Jul 2014 at 11:22

Arctic Silver 5 was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity.

(While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 5 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths.)

In translation, you'd have to slap it on the PCB as well like Marmite to do any long term damage

Disco_P · 1 Jul 2014 at 11:37

Even though you have damaged the "warranty void if removed" sticker, MSI are very lenient with warranties as long as there is no physical damage and you send back the card with the original cooler.

In future though I would recommend using a pair of pliers and gripping the edge of the screw head and unscrewing it that way. Did this on a 780 lightning and was able to refund the card as there was no evidence that it has been opened.

bcham · 1 Jul 2014 at 11:48

could not possibly do it with pliers as they screws are recessed. hoping i wont have to rma it as when i try to register the card i need to upload the retail receipt which i dont have ,as i purchased the card used , would it be possible to rma the card without registering it,

old gamer · 1 Jul 2014 at 11:57

bcham said:
just changed the tim for mx2 .only took me 10 mins. and the temps have dropped from 85c to 73c in bf4. so glad i did it. only thing is i have voided my warranty as i had to remove the sticker on one of the screws.

looks to have sorted it, the temps now look bang on, im not sure the tim is applied very well at the factory from what i can gather

Disco_P · 1 Jul 2014 at 12:31

bcham said:
could not possibly do it with pliers as they screws are recessed. hoping i wont have to rma it as when i try to register the card i need to upload the retail receipt which i dont have ,as i purchased the card used , would it be possible to rma the card without registering it,

I had a pair of needle nosed pliers when I did it for my cards (both of which had a backplate) so it wasn't to hard and from what I remember about the 290 gaming it should still be possible.

As for an RMA on a 2nd hand MSI card, I don't think MSI offer warranty that covers resold cards. Could be wrong though.

~Mike~ · 1 Jul 2014 at 13:23

Disco_P said:
I had a pair of needle nosed pliers when I did it for my cards (both of which had a backplate) so it wasn't to hard and from what I remember about the 290 gaming it should still be possible.

As for an RMA on a 2nd hand MSI card, I don't think MSI offer warranty that covers resold cards. Could be wrong though.

That must have been tricky to do.

Disco_P · 1 Jul 2014 at 16:44

~Mike~ said:
That must have been tricky to do.

No more difficult that changing a lightbulb with a pair of garden sheers without breaking the glass.
And listening to this helps https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=RATEoDH9WiY#t=36

johnny_702 · 1 Jul 2014 at 21:34

Might give this a go too, just finished some bf4 sp and my msi r9 290g hit 83 with the stock fan profile, side panel open on the case too and volts at +0 in afterburner.

It is pretty warm today and I was running it on ultra with 150% res scale to really stress it (no msaa) so Im not too sure if I should or not.

Edit: Fan hit 64% max so maybe its ok?

Disco_P · 1 Jul 2014 at 22:08

Whether you are happy with temps and fan noise is up to you. If you do open it up, I'm interested in how the stock paste is. One of my cards had almost none applied and temps dropped by 20C and another had a bit too much iirc.