Question Gigabyte RX 5500XT overheating

Feb 4, 2025
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Hello dear tom'sHARDWARE community!

Long time reader, first time poster. Recently I decided to buy a used RX 5500 XT 8 GB from Gigabyte to upgrade my father's aging GTX 750 Ti. The description said that it is "used, working but without any warranty from the buyer".

After it arrived, I tested it and was worried about quite high temperatures (GPUZ showed me GPU temp of 68 C and HotSpot of 105 C) and noise made by the fans. So I decided to disassemble the card and repaste it. At the same time I removed all the dust from it and tightened the screws holding the fans, which got rid of the weird "clicking" noise. However, the temperatures did not get much better - GPU temp of 67 C, Hotspot 103 C. Obviously, the GPU started throttling within few seconds as well. I disassembled the GPU again and this time I replaced all the thermal pads as well (same spots and thickness as they were when I first opened it) and repasted it again (even bought a new paste since the first one I used was quite old already). Temps got to 66 C and HotSpot still above 100 C. Undervolting and lowering the GPU power draw limit did not help at all. Now I am clueless what to do.

Side note. Drivers are up to date. Twice reinstalled. BIOS version seems to be standard. Idle temps are nice and cool at 35 C, including the hotspot. Browsing and general usage without problems. The temps shoot up within first minute of Furmark.

Any idea what could be wrong with the GPU?

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Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

You mention replacing the thermal paste, what did you use for your repasting job? Did you also prep the GPU die's surface as well as the cooler's surface with isopropyl alcohol?

You've also stated buying the GPU to replace the GTX750Ti, did you run DDU to remove all GPU drivers(intel, AMD and Nvidia) in Safe Mode, to later install the latest GPU driver sourced from AMD's support site, in an elevated command(assuming you're on Windows OS)?

How are you monitoring temps? On second thought's please include the specs to your father's build like so:
CPU:
CPU cooler:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:
Monitor:
include the age of the PSU apart from it's make and model. BIOS version for your motherboard at this moment of time.
 
Thank you so much for your welcome and reply.

I only used cotton swabs, no isopropyl alcohol. Could that make such a huge difference? I was rather thorough I think. The first paste was Arctic MX-4 (like 5 year old but used before without any issues). Second repasting was done with a brand new Arctic MX-4.

For monitoring, I use the latest GPU-Z. The temps are also shown by Furmark that I ran the test in. I also checked the temps in the AMD Software.

I am testing the GPU in my own PC first and yes, I used DDU to remove all GPU drivers in Safe Mode.

CPU: Intel i7-8700K (stock, no OC or UV)
CPU cooler: Gelid Tranquillo rev 2
Motherboard: Asus ROG Maximus X Hero
RAM: 32 GB 3200 MHz
SSD/HDD: XPG Gammix S11 Pro (Windows), Samsung 870 QVO 1TB, 2 older HDDs for data
GPU: Sapphire Radeon RX 6700XT Nitro+ 12GB
PSU: Seasonic 750 Watt
OS: Windows 11
Monitor: AOC Q27V4EA (QHD, 75 Hz)
 
Thank you so much for your welcome and reply.

I only used cotton swabs, no isopropyl alcohol. Could that make such a huge difference? I was rather thorough I think. The first paste was Arctic MX-4 (like 5 year old but used before without any issues). Second repasting was done with a brand new Arctic MX-4.

For monitoring, I use the latest GPU-Z. The temps are also shown by Furmark that I ran the test in. I also checked the temps in the AMD Software.

I am testing the GPU in my own PC first and yes, I used DDU to remove all GPU drivers in Safe Mode.

CPU: Intel i7-8700K (stock, no OC or UV)
CPU cooler: Gelid Tranquillo rev 2
Motherboard: Asus ROG Maximus X Hero
RAM: 32 GB 3200 MHz
SSD/HDD: XPG Gammix S11 Pro (Windows), Samsung 870 QVO 1TB, 2 older HDDs for data
GPU: Sapphire Radeon RX 6700XT Nitro+ 12GB
PSU: Seasonic 750 Watt
OS: Windows 11
Monitor: AOC Q27V4EA (QHD, 75 Hz)
It could, as you didn't really clean all the leftovers from the previous thermal paste.

We could point out a few things to do, but first try using the ispropyl alcohol on both surfaces: gpu die and heat sink