is thermal paste on the GPU VRAM an option?

[Baumy15]

my 780Ti has been running into issues lately, crashing on every game i play even something as basic as LoL, i re-applyed thermal paste and the thermal pads on the VRAM are covered in dust and are ripped and torn so i turned them over so there is better contact on the VRAM hoping it will help but can i put MX-4 on to fill the gap? the thermal pads are 1mm thick and i thought MX-4 might be a good option as it doesnt have to fill a gap and is most likely better at transferring heat than the thermal pads.

thanks

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

yes, if the thermal "pads" are bad they should be replaced with good paste. especially now since you have removed and reapplied them.

 

[ZachyBeat]

I wouldn't recommend mixing the two and would really not recommend putting paste on anything but your GPU and CPU chips. Pads and paste are designed differently and I would be worried that the paste would insulate rather than radiate the heat when its mixed with the pads. Order a new pad and cut it to size (getting the correct thickness, 1mm at you stated). I would recommend against using your card for the time being.

This is more of a cautious response but unless someone with first hand experience comments I wouldn't put paste on your vram or use the card (no idea how damaged the pads are).

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

"replace" was what i recommend. hopefully anyone getting this far into the process would know or would have researched to remove all old thermal product before adding new.
but you should be able to order 1mm pads especially designed for this purpose that would be better quality than the original manufacturer's.
the two products use the same types of material so as long as it was applied correctly there should be no danger. pads just have a bit more resin included than the actual paste to keep their shape.