Question Just found out my EVGA GTX 1070 has a flaw that could kill it. Questions about my options.

[Cyber_Akuma]

So I just now found out that my GTX 1070 had a flaw discovered in 2016 (A card which I didn't even get until 2019):

EVGA - EVGA Thermal Pad Mod Request

EVGA Thermal Pad Mod Request

www.evga.com

It's a EVGA GTX 1070 FTW ACX 3.0, model number 08G-P4-6276-KR. I tried typing in my serial number and it mentioned that my card did not come with the thermal pad kit to fix the issue, and my BIOS is the older BIOS. I updated the BIOS but I am very nervous about performing that thermal pad mod, since it involves basically completely disassembling the card and re-applying paste all across it, including the GPU.

Sure, I have built several systems and done many CPU installs/upgrades or CPU cooler replacements before, but never on a GPU. It worries me that unlike a CPU, a GPU has no IHS and the bare chip die is exposed. One small scratch or over-tightening and it's destroyed... and that's a VERY expensive mistake in the current market that I cannot afford to do.

I am guessing that EVGA doesn't still have that cross-ship warranty replacement option anymore in 2022? Are there any respectable computer shops that can do this for a reasonable price or something? If this wasn't literally the only GPU I have in the entire house that isn't about 15 years old or the current GPU marker wasn't such a mess I wouldn't be as worried about attempting it myself.

If doing it myself is my only option, is GPU thermal paste any different from CPU thermal paste? Can I use a CPU paste instead of the included one? I have some fresh new Noctua HT-N2 that I have lying around from a CPU upgrade in December. Would it make any difference if I used that over the thermal paste the pad kit includes? Is there such a thing as GPU and CPU thermal paste or can CPU paste be used for GPU? (I recall seeing some pastes specifically made for GPUs and it was generally a LOT thicker and more goopy/less likely to smear around, apparently designed for the type of coolers and being spread all over the different components of a GPU rather than the thin paper-layer paste one normally puts on a CPU's IHS).

 

[poorbugger]

Yeah you can use cpu thermal paste for gpu since it's thermal paste anyway. It's not that hard to take apart the gpu and repaste it. But the thermal pads are a bit trickier since you cant use pads that are too thick or the heat sink wont make proper contacts. Repasting gpu is almost the same as cpu. Take apart heatsink, apply paste, install back the heatsink.

 

[dotas1]

Most CPU thermal paste are not fit for GPUs. GPU die are slicker and the thermal paste that is good for CPU do not help as much with the GPUs.
If I remember correctly, @Phaaze88 had very good recommendations and an explanation about it.
Let me dig it up and quote him in a bit.

Thermal Grizzly's Kryonaut is hyped as one of the best pastes, but you know, it's not very good for gpu applications. It either gets pushed off the die, or degrades quickly to high temperature cycles.

Bare silicon dies have a slicker and slippery surface compared to the rough and grainy IHS of a cpu. These 3 pastes could be great on cpus, but terrible on gpus, because the paste either 'slips' off, or gets pumped out by mounting pressure and high thermal cycles.
Ideal pastes for gpu applications are ones with high(er) viscosity; thick and sticky.

Prolimatech PK-3
Noctua NT-H2
Gelid GC Extreme
Cooler Master Mastergel Maker Nano

 

[Cyber_Akuma]

I see, so I guess I should just use the paste that will come with the kit.

 

[Third-Eye]

I see, so I guess I should just use the paste that will come with the kit.

I've personally had good results with Noctua NT-H1 when repasting a GPU, because it's thicker than something like Arctic MX-4. I used to just use Arctic Silver 5 for GPU repastes, because it supposedly lasts for 8+ years when applied, but I never bought more when I used up my last syringe. AC5 is also really annoying to clean up if you mess up an application. Noctua HT-H1 or H2 will probably last just as long on a GPU when applied.

 

[geofelt]

Do you actually have a problem that needs fixing?
Yes, your card may run a bit hotter, or the fan may spin up more, but does this cause any failure?
Are you having any performance issues?

If you have been running well, I think I would leave it be.
At least until replacement graphics cards become available reasonably.

 

[Cyber_Akuma]

Do you actually have a problem that needs fixing?

According to EVGA themselves, yes. There is apparently a flaw in the VRM cooling that can cause the card to fry, that's what that link I posted was, a page EVGA dedicated to that problem they acknowledged the cards have. And there were about 4-5 reports on the PC reddits I am on of cards from that set dying this week.

 

[geofelt]

Contact EVGA support.
They may be able to work something out.

If you need to do it yourself, EVGA is where the best advice will come from.
In the past, EVGA support has been good for me.