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XFX 390x DD Thermal Paste change

I went ahead and did it. The card is really easy to do, just removed 6 screws at the back and the cooler comes off easily. The backplate seems like it was stuck to the card or something anyway be careful it doesn't fall off when you remove the card from the cooler. On my version at least and probably others you can't rip the thermal pads because they are protected with like a metal cover. The fan lead is also very short so be careful with that. Also if anyone is trying this and they are cleaning the core be careful with those pins around the GPU, very very sensitive to any force at all.
 
Sorry for the late reply.

I used Arctic MX 4. The temperatures went down from in the low 90s to 85 with the case shut. With improved airflow (I now have 5 internal fans and also a new tower cooler) have reduced the temps to about 80 degrees. By running the card at 80% power for 90% performance the temperature is 74 degrees C.

I am thinking the thermal paste application wasn't the best. I applied the thermal paste, placed the cooler back on the chip, then i had to remove it again for some reason to get the cooler into position or something. Then I placed the cooler back on the chip and screwed it down. I am thinking that wasn't the best idea.

So might be an idea to try another application of thermal paste. My only concern is that I wont clean the dark green part of the chip because those pins are so sensitive, I just don't know how to clean them without breaking them off.
 
Instead of re-pasting you might consider just undervolting the card since it's built into wattman now. Lots of people use that feature for Vega and I think RX480 with good results.

I run my 290x undervolted with stock clocks and it takes the temperature down to 75c from 85c in high stress games.
 
Thanks, I will have a think about that. I under-volted a 270 before and that led to artifacts no matter what I did.

I really don't notice any different in performance at 80% power (even though there is a difference).

I will probably have a crack at repasting though.
 
I used wattman today and reduced the voltage on the last 4 states.

The top state's voltage was 1250mv and I actually reduced it down to 1125mv also with a slight underclock from 1050 to 1025 otherwise it would artifact. Temperatures today without underclock/undervolt were 81 degrees C, with underclock/undervolt approximately 75 degrees C.
 
Componentgirl90 said:
I used wattman today and reduced the voltage on the last 4 states.

The top state's voltage was 1250mv and I actually reduced it down to 1125mv also with a slight underclock from 1050 to 1025 otherwise it would artifact. Temperatures today without underclock/undervolt were 81 degrees C, with underclock/undervolt approximately 75 degrees C.
Click to expand...

-125mv is quite a heavy undervolt, that's likely why you're having to drop clocks. My 290x is stable at -75mv with stock clocks, I haven't tried lower mind as it got the temps and fan speed where I wanted them (50% fan speed with 75C core).

IMO undervolting is the way to go with these 290x/390x cards. My card is second hand and I found when I received it that the previous owner had re-pasted it. I thought 85c at stock was high so I re-pasted it myself with very little difference (I'm assuming the previous owner thought the same about the temps hence their re-paste). Re-paste again if you think you did a bad job or the card once ran cooler than it does now, but honestly I think this is just normal for these cards unless you have a 3 fan variant like a Tri-X, VapourX, PCS+, Lightning, etc.
 
The reason I was set on the 125mv is because bringing it down to by any less, didn't reduce the temperature more than a couple of degrees compared to no undervolt at all. The best this card will do with this case undervolting without any underclock is about 79 degrees C. It is just not worth it for that I think but I can see that others (including yourself) who have had better results would be happy with that.

i am not certain of the temperatures I had originally when I bought the card and if I am trying to get temperatures that I simply cannot get with this card.

I think the only reason I would not apply the paste is because I have no solution for cleaning the dark green part with pins on the GPU core. I think it is worth trying repasting if possible because Jayz2Cents mentioned in his video if you did what I did, then you will have to apply the paste again (but I didn't reapply the paste). Might not make a difference but possibly worth a try.
 
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