When should I reapply thermal paste for my GPU?

BruhLovin · Jun 27, 2016

I've had my Strix 970 for a few months now about 6 months now and was wondering when to apply new thermal paste? It gets dusty from where I live so I wiped off the dust 2 months ago as safely as I could. (Didn't disattach the GPU from the board.)

MrLehi99 · Jun 27, 2016

You really should only reapply thermal paste on a GPU if you have taken the cooler off of the GPU die, or if you're seeing astronomically bad temperatures. In the entire life of your GPU you shouldn't have to worry about thermal paste. I have a pair of GTX 600 series cards and they have the same temperatures as when I got them in 2013.

BruhLovin · Jun 27, 2016

MrLehi99 :

Hey man I appreciate the advice! So I just want to assure myself, no need to replace the paste inside up until the temps go crazy? Lastly what about the dust on it? I mean can only go so much as clean the inside but wondering about the heat sink and the grills on it.

BruhLovin · Jun 27, 2016

MrLehi99 :

Hey man I appreciate the advice! So I just want to assure myself, no need to replace the paste inside up until the temps go crazy? Lastly what about the dust on it? I mean can only go so much as clean the inside but wondering about the heat sink and the grills on it.

MrLehi99 · Jun 27, 2016

BruhLovin :

Cleaning the cooling fins is definitely difficult on a large GPU, and if I were you I would try a can of compressed air in short bursts from beneath the fins to blow the dust in the opposite direction of the airflow of the fans. If this doesn't get the fins as clean as you want them then it is pretty easy to remove the heatsink anyway. Just remove the four large screws around the GPU die and the entire cooler will separate, just be careful about the fan cable running between the cooler and PCB. Here's a quick video on your cards tear down process and what you may want to do is in the first 28 seconds of the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXUQtasR6_M Since you may have removed the cooler by this point you will need to clean the GPU die with at least 70% isopropyl alcohol and apply new thermal paste in an X pattern diagonally on the die. Don't worry about using too much paste as the entirety of the die needs to be covered to cool properly, but don't get ridiculous with it. I recommend IC Diamond as it's among the best thermal pastes on the market. By the way, this may void your warranty, so check to make sure you're not overstepping the boundaries of ASUS on this one. Here's a great video on thermal paste replacement from Linus Tech Tips. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDLQ7FjPMf8

BruhLovin · Jun 27, 2016

MrLehi99 :

BruhLovin :

Cleaning the cooling fins is definitely difficult on a large GPU, and if I were you I would try a can of compressed air in short bursts from beneath the fins to blow the dust in the opposite direction of the airflow of the fans. If this doesn't get the fins as clean as you want them then it is pretty easy to remove the heatsink anyway. Just remove the four large screws around the GPU die and the entire cooler will separate, just be careful about the fan cable running between the cooler and PCB. Here's a quick video on your cards tear down process and what you may want to do is in the first 28 seconds of the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXUQtasR6_M Since you may have removed the cooler by this point you will need to clean the GPU die with at least 70% isopropyl alcohol and apply new thermal paste in an X pattern diagonally on the die. Don't worry about using too much paste as the entirety of the die needs to be covered to cool properly, but don't get ridiculous with it. I recommend IC Diamond as it's among the best thermal pastes on the market. By the way, this may void your warranty, so check to make sure you're not overstepping the boundaries of ASUS on this one. Here's a great video on thermal paste replacement from Linus Tech Tips. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDLQ7FjPMf8

Thanks so much! You're the man dude, one last question. When would it be advisable/ practical to clean the Fins per se?

MrLehi99 · Jun 27, 2016

BruhLovin :

MrLehi99 :

BruhLovin :

Cleaning the cooling fins is definitely difficult on a large GPU, and if I were you I would try a can of compressed air in short bursts from beneath the fins to blow the dust in the opposite direction of the airflow of the fans. If this doesn't get the fins as clean as you want them then it is pretty easy to remove the heatsink anyway. Just remove the four large screws around the GPU die and the entire cooler will separate, just be careful about the fan cable running between the cooler and PCB. Here's a quick video on your cards tear down process and what you may want to do is in the first 28 seconds of the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXUQtasR6_M Since you may have removed the cooler by this point you will need to clean the GPU die with at least 70% isopropyl alcohol and apply new thermal paste in an X pattern diagonally on the die. Don't worry about using too much paste as the entirety of the die needs to be covered to cool properly, but don't get ridiculous with it. I recommend IC Diamond as it's among the best thermal pastes on the market. By the way, this may void your warranty, so check to make sure you're not overstepping the boundaries of ASUS on this one. Here's a great video on thermal paste replacement from Linus Tech Tips. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDLQ7FjPMf8

Thanks so much! You're the man dude, one last question. When would it be advisable/ practical to clean the Fins per se?

Seeing as how you live in a dusty environment I would suggest about 4-6 months for a non filtered case and annually for a filtered case.

Search

When should I reapply thermal paste for my GPU?

BruhLovin

Commendable

MrLehi99

MrLehi99

Honorable

BruhLovin

Commendable

BruhLovin

Commendable

MrLehi99

Honorable

BruhLovin

Commendable

MrLehi99

Honorable

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page