Question GPU not detected after replacing thermal paste!

Tarun2687

Honorable
Sep 1, 2015
14
0
10,510
Hi, I have MSI GTX1660Ti ventus edition. from past couple of months it was running hot on full load. Temps usually reached around 86c - 87c while playing heavy games like ACC, Snowrunner, or NFS heat.
I tried to run my pc while keeping the side panel open still temps were same.
Below is my full config:
Ryzen 3600
MSI B450 M pro
MSI GTX1660Ti
corsair 16gb dual channel
corsair TX650
Corsair spec 01 case
total four fans ( 2 in front, 1 back, 1 top)
  1. Then today i decided to replace the thermal paste. after opening i found that the stock paste has dried. below is the image of the stock paste.
  2. Then i cleaned it with cotton swab and ethanol 99.999%.
  3. Then i re-applied cooler master V1 IC value which is non-conductive electrically. I forgot to take the image of the application. but when i re-installed my GPU, motherboard was giving EZ DEBUG LED for VGA. and display was blank.
  4. Then i again opened the GPU and found that the thermal paste has spread to the small SMDs while fixing the cooler. i cleaned the die once again.
  5. Then i cleaned it thoroughly with ethanol and old toothbrush.
  6. Then reapplied thermal paste.
    WMcMoT3.jpg
  7. Wb5zMRv.jpg
  8. but still GPU is not getting detected.
  9. I dont have any other PC right now but i have my old GTX960 and it is working if i install it. It means there is something wrong with the GPU itself.
  10. Did i damaged my GPU permanently?
If you need any other info kindly let me know.

Please help!
 
It's hard to say for sure what caused the card not to work, with taking off the heatsink and doing all the cleaning, re-applying heatsink, etc... something else could have gotten damaged in the process. From the pictures you did use too much thermal paste, the cleaning should not have done anything to the chips but since we can't see exactly what you did there is no way to be sure. You may want to check with support for the card vendor if removing the heatsink to apply thermal paste voids the warranty or not. You may be able to exchange it.
 

Tarun2687

Honorable
Sep 1, 2015
14
0
10,510
It's hard to say for sure what caused the card not to work, with taking off the heatsink and doing all the cleaning, re-applying heatsink, etc... something else could have gotten damaged in the process. From the pictures you did use too much thermal paste, the cleaning should not have done anything to the chips but since we can't see exactly what you did there is no way to be sure. You may want to check with support for the card vendor if removing the heatsink to apply thermal paste voids the warranty or not. You may be able to exchange it.

hi,

thanks for the reply. I did checked with MSI, but they denied warranty. I have asked them to let me know the charges in other case. right now due to covid, i am avoiding visiting service center as the location is very crowded. will update this thread once i get any info from them.