[SOLVED] How should I clean out my graphics card?

[frogj]

I've been thinking about cleaning up my Palit GTX 760 as I bought it pre-owned and it's temperatures aren't the best. Could anybody explain or send me a tutorial about how to clean up the graphics card?

I thought maybe about switching out the thermal paste inside, as I have some lying around from when I installed my cpu cooler, and also cleaning out the dust inside. Just have never opened up a graphics card and I don't want to break anything as I'm pretty sure my warranty will be void if I open the thing up.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

thought maybe about switching out the thermal paste

many cards use thermal pads vs paste or possibly both.
paste will flatten out and expand where pads will hold in place so it's not a good idea to try switching between them.

that being such an old card i wouldn't be surprised if you could easily search and find some videos and/or articles of other users disassembling them.

most will just blow out their cards with some compressed air and wipe off fan blades etc with isopropyl alcohol + cotton balls or alcohol wipes without actually taking them apart.

but if you want to dig deep and entirely clean;
this card's really not worth much so i wouldn't worry too much about damaging by disassembling.
just be careful and gently remove all visible screws, keep each part separate with it's own screws nearby so as not to mix them up,
as you take more apart more parts & screws should be revealed, blow each piece off with the compressed air and wipe any larger non-textured surfaces with isopropyl alcohol.

just make sure you first determine if this model uses a certain type of thermal pads with a specific thickness or if it uses regular types of paste before starting.
and that you have those on hand.

 

[Lutfij]

Do you have a link to the GPU you have? You could use a soft fine bristle brush to dislodge dust bunnies and the larger, noticeably visible dirt off the fans and the GPU. You can then use an air blower in conjunction with the brush to dislodge said dirt if it's slightly caked on the GPU. Finally, if you want to disassemble the GPU, use a small phillips head screw driver, some good quality thermal paste and if you're able to some good quality thermal pads. You will need isopropyl alcohol to remove the thermal paste on the GPU and the cooler after you successfully disassemble the card's cooling solution.

Here's a playlist to get you warmed up;

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXFTbDJXXn0&list=PLyReHG5dDxXWcaU4QdZs4aADiyUmxKbC9


There are other channels out there that do it, but they are generally the same, be careful when disassembling it as well as reassembling in the reverse order.

 

[frogj]

Do you have a link to the GPU you have? You could use a soft fine bristle brush to dislodge dust bunnies and the larger, noticeably visible dirt off the fans and the GPU. You can then use an air blower in conjunction with the brush to dislodge said dirt if it's slightly caked on the GPU. Finally, if you want to disassemble the GPU, use a small phillips head screw driver, some good quality thermal paste and if you're able to some good quality thermal pads. You will need isopropyl alcohol to remove the thermal paste on the GPU and the cooler after you successfully disassemble the card's cooling solution.

Here's a playlist to get you warmed up;

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXFTbDJXXn0&list=PLyReHG5dDxXWcaU4QdZs4aADiyUmxKbC9


There are other channels out there that do it, but they are generally the same, be careful when disassembling it as well as reassembling in the reverse order.

https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/palit-gtx-760.b2152

If it helps at all, the reason I'm thinking about cleaning it out is because the dust in there is probably the reason for these higher than average temps, which is leading to the GPU throttling in GTA 5, and the fps dropping from 60 to like 20, with the gpu usage dropping.

 

[ko888]

@frogj you didn't specify the GPU temperatures that your card is reaching.

36°C at idle and 82°C on load is normal for the radial fan reference design NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 card. If your card is reaching higher temperatures than those then definitely check the GPU cooler for dirt that may be restricting air flow.

 

[Karadjgne]

You'll most likely need new thermal padding. As old as that card is, those pads on the VRM's will be crushed permanently and possibly brittle. Also what paste? Some pastes shouldn't be used on gpus because the processor is direct die contact, is a glassy silicon, not the metal IHS used by cpus. Some of the thinner pastes like the Noctua are great for cpus, but tend to basically run right off silicon like oil and water. You'll want a thicker, more viscous paste like Thermal Grizzly stuff or Arctic MX-4 for best results that'll last.

 

[frogj]

@frogj you didn't specify the GPU temperatures that your card is reaching.

36°C at idle and 82°C on load is normal for the radial fan reference design NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 card. If your card is reaching higher temperatures than those then definitely check the GPU cooler for dirt that may be restricting air flow.

Those are pretty accurate to what my GPU does when at idle and load. Around 35C idle and never above 83 on load. I'll check it one of these days when I next open up my computer

 

[frogj]

You'll most likely need new thermal padding. As old as that card is, those pads on the VRM's will be crushed permanently and possibly brittle. Also what paste? Some pastes shouldn't be used on gpus because the processor is direct die contact, is a glassy silicon, not the metal IHS used by cpus. Some of the thinner pastes like the Noctua are great for cpus, but tend to basically run right off silicon like oil and water. You'll want a thicker, more viscous paste like Thermal Grizzly stuff or Arctic MX-4 for best results that'll last.

I have some Cooler Master Mastergel Pro thermal compound left over from when I installed my cpu cooler, is that okay? I don't know at all if my gpu uses pads or paste.

 

[Karadjgne]

That'll work, the CM is pretty decent.

The processor itself will have paste on it, don't skimp there, but make sure every little bit of the silicon is covered, spread the paste don't use cpu pea method, or you'll burn out the silicon.

The VRM's and vram, inductors etc will generally have pads because of hight differences, they are soldered to the pcb and aren't alway perfectly flat, so a pad will absorb those minor differences whereas paste won't.

 

[frogj]

That'll work, the CM is pretty decent.

The processor itself will have paste on it, don't skimp there, but make sure every little bit of the silicon is covered, spread the paste don't use cpu pea method, or you'll burn out the silicon.

The VRM's and vram, inductors etc will generally have pads because of hight differences, they are soldered to the pcb and aren't alway perfectly flat, so a pad will absorb those minor differences whereas paste won't.

Okay yeah, that second paragraph is way out of my comfort zone. I'll either get a replacement from where I bought it or take it somewhere to get it cleaned.

 

[Karadjgne]

Use msi Afterburner and run the bench test with everything listed onscreen like temps, Hotspot and speeds etc. Save a copy of the results. Before you get it cleaned 😉

When you get it back, run the same test, look at the boost numbers compared to temps, voltages etc. Temps are iffy because of Gpu Boost, the card will boost higher if temps allow, so don't worry if temps remain the same at stress levels. It just means you'll get more fps for the same temp as before.

If your boosts are lower, for the same temp, or the Hotspot is way up high etc, chances are good the cleaning wasn't done right.