Old 8800GTX reference cooler maintenance

[Mugen-G]

Hello!

Just got a used 8800gtx from fleabay, its one of those EVGA gateway edition ones, with the funky looking reference cooler.

anyway while inspecting the card i noticed the heat sink plate has separated from the VRAM so it's not touching all the chips, It has spring loaded bolts thought.

I can clearly see a space between the chips and the heat sink, is this normal and expands with heat?

Or do i need to remove the whole thing and re-seat it and add compound or tape?

cause the latter would suck...

 

[englandr753]

If it was me I would do the latter. I don't know much about the reference cooler you speak of as I have the 8800GTX ACS3 version with the special cooler setup. Whoever had it before you probably took it off to mod it with another heatsink.

Wait and see if someone else posts that knows of this specific unit just to be sure...

 

[Mugen-G]

Hmm... i doubt the previous owner removed the original cooler since the warranty sticker is intact and fully covers one of the bolts, provably caused by the ludicrous temps the 8800GTX's normally run at.

The cooler looks similar to the BFG,ASUS,XFX one for the 8800gtx but it has a slightly narrower exhaust shroud.

can compound be substituted for the normal thermal tape that goes over ram or should i stick to tape?

 

[englandr753]

Compound should be fine just be sure to use a high quality compound and evenly apply to ensure proper coverage.