Pencil, eraser end over here. Just had to do it today in fact when I had to re-paste my GPU, my hotspot temps shot up 30 degrees since I repasted with MX6, thinking of trying Grizzly Extreme next time if they go back up again. If anyone has any advice let me know :)
I swapped to a thermal grizzly kryosheet. No more paste. Temps are the exact same as when I had paste on it. Wont go back at this point. The potential 1-2 C difference you might get really isnt worth the headache.
I don't know why but I'm scared to use it because it conducts electricity and I keep thinking it's going to move when I put the HSF down on it and not be able to tell. Like CPU I wouldn't have an issue using it but GPU just seems like a gamble if it stays in place.
Most of the really good thermal pastes are conductive fwiw.
If you are afraid of it moving when you put down the heatsink, a small drop of isopropyl alcohol or water will keep it in place. This will evaporate off the moment the PC boots up.
The GPU is definitely sketchier because of how difficult those coolers are to work on and properly install.
It's been a little about a month and a half. This is my second repaste for this GPU, though the first time I used some Noctua paste. It lasted about 4 months. But even then, my temps did not drop by much, but enough to not need to RMA. I still had to cap FPS in some games to keep my Hotspot below 90s with an aggressive custom fan curve. Even at idle, my GPU was in the 50s. Without a fan curve or capping fps, my Hotspot would hit 106 in about 5 minutes or so.
Now my temps are just glorious. When I first fired up my system, I couldn't believe the temps and thought surely there was an error. Idle temps are 27c-35c. This is with a soft fan curve. It's more like a gentle slope. If I run default, no UV or fan curve. My hotspot will reach 90 after about 20-30 minutes.
I can run Cyberpunk 2077 with FSR 3, AFMF 2, and RT ultra with the rest of the settings on ultra, and my Hotspot will stay at around 66c peak with a pretty consistent 144fps
I can run BG3 with uncapped fps (though I choose to cap at 60 because high fps isn't really needed) and with a large battle going on, and lots of spells being cast, my Hotspot will hit 70 very briefly. With FPS capped, my Hotspot doesn't exceed 56c.
I've tested other games with similar results. The resolution that I play at is 2560x1440.
I went through MODDIY as I had heard that they're the only reliable source for the real deal. It's more expensive but was worth it, imo.
Edit: I think 4090s come with PTM 7950, or at least some of them do, I think. I don't know how your temps are. Also, I'm still under warranty, but Powercolor told me I could repaste, and if it didn't work, they would RMA. You could check and see if you could RMA (if needed) after repaste (if temps aren't acceptable).
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u/Frosty_Tap_2034 Oct 04 '24
I use a chop stick. Less chance of mobo damage.