Question Little Help with 6900xt

[RobDiz]

Few questions i’m hoping someone can answer and help me solve my current issues. Pics below.

First let me say this is because my thermals were way higher than normal for a new PC.

I was pushing 100+C playing games at 1080p on low and medium settings at stock. No OC on this PC has been done. Air movement is good and the CPU doesn’t even break a sweat.

I decided to check into thermal paste/pads and see if this corrected the problem. Reading some other posts and watching videos it seemed like it would be a probable solution.

Now comes the part where either I went full tard, or something is wrong here. I unmounted the GPU and disassemble.

First thing I notice is what looks and feels like plastic on the plate. I peel back just a tiny little section on a corner and sure enough it feels like plastic that’s been cooked brittle due to heat.

Also, its adhered to the metal plate which from my understanding thermal padding doesn’t have. There is glue residue on the entire plate. This looks like the plastic it would’ve been covered in when in stock to keep from scratching. Please advise if i’m wrong here.

Now the next issue. From all the videos and tutorials I read showing how and where to apply thermal paste or pads, none of the other 6900xt have looked like this. Any advice here would be welcomed!

https://share.icloud.com/photos/047nIbQf1ixLf52eHXu-kkmlA

 

[Gam3r01]

How old is the card? What specific model?
All youve done so far (in the pictures at least) is take off the backplate, which realistically has nothing to do with thermals.
You removed what appears to be an insulating layer to prevent any electrical components from shorting against the metal backplate.

Additionally, why are you playing games on low-med at 1080p, with a 6900XT?

 

[RobDiz]

How old is the card? What specific model?
All youve done so far (in the pictures at least) is take off the backplate, which realistically has nothing to do with thermals.
You removed what appears to be an insulating layer to prevent any electrical components from shorting against the metal backplate.

Additionally, why are you playing games on low-med at 1080p, with a 6900XT?

the card is less than 2 months old, and recently been playing cod vanguard. this is the rx 6900 xt that comes with dells alienware r13. if I were to run at 1440 or 4k and go beyond low/med settings im above 110C and AMD software errors then booted out of games and so on.

at first I thought it might be insulting as well. but it was cooked. it was bubbled up in quite a few places and just seems like it wasn’t meant to be there.

 

[Gam3r01]

Well, since the card was that new you should have just returned it (or the whole PC), but you almost certainly voided your warranty now.
It is very clear that card is not working properly, and honestly it might still be faulty even if you decide to repaste/pad the card.

I issue a word of caution, that disassembling the GPU and (more importantly) reassembling it correctly are not as easy as it may seem.
If you decide to continue, you need to remove the actual heatsink and fan setup, that will reveal the GPU die itself along with all the other heat generating components (the other side of the card from what youve gotten to thus far). That should look alot more like your tutorials.

 

[RobDiz]

Well, since the card was that new you should have just returned it (or the whole PC), but you almost certainly voided your warranty now.
It is very clear that card is not working properly, and honestly it might still be faulty even if you decide to repaste/pad the card.

I issue a word of caution, that disassembling the GPU and (more importantly) reassembling it correctly are not as easy as it may seem.
If you decide to continue, you need to remove the actual heatsink and fan setup, that will reveal the GPU die itself along with all the other heat generating components (the other side of the card from what youve gotten to thus far). That should look alot more like your tutorials.

Warranty wise, was my first response to dell, but trying to find someone that would actually not tell me those ranges were normal for the card or its something I’m doing became annoying.

figured I would try to resolve myself. After 30 days it seems dell isnt interested in you or your purchase any longer.

 

[Gam3r01]

Regardless of temperatures your system is causing games to crash under load, that should be reason enough for Dell to RMA.
I would keep trying to get a different rep who is agreeable, and probably dont mention the disassembly

 

[RobDiz]

Regardless of temperatures your system is causing games to crash under load, that should be reason enough for Dell to RMA.
I would keep trying to get a different rep who is agreeable, and probably dont mention the disassembly

thanks for the advise and info, appreciate it.

 

[Gam3r01]

If for some reason you cant get a dell RMA (keep trying though, I wouldnt accept that), come on back and im sure we can get people to help walk you through the rest.
The biggest thing is properly cleaning all the material off, getting the right thickness thermal pads, and even mounting pressure once the card is put back together.
I would also be concerned about the film that was removed, if you have to fix it yourself. But im sure theres info out there about that somewhere.

 

[RobDiz]

If for some reason you cant get a dell RMA (keep trying though, I wouldnt accept that), come on back and im sure we can get people to help walk you through the rest.
The biggest thing is properly cleaning all the material off, getting the right thickness thermal pads, and even mounting pressure once the card is put back together.
I would also be concerned about the film that was removed, if you have to fix it yourself. But im sure theres info out there about that somewhere.

I appreciate all the help! After looking at it, probably best to hold off and not make things worse. I put back together and just going to see if that plastic being removed did anything.

Will keep trying with dell as well. Hopefully I can get some help on their end.

 

[RobDiz]

I appreciate all the help! After looking at it, probably best to hold off and not make things worse. I put back together and just going to see if that plastic being removed did anything.

Will keep trying with dell as well. Hopefully I can get some help on their end.

Not sure what happened… if it was the plastic I took off or maybe it wasn’t originally seated properly, or hell even connections but when I reinstalled the issues are gone!

Currently playing vanguard at 1080p ultra settings and haven’t went above 70C yet.

I’m extremely confused by this now., but hey at least its working and no crash!

 

[Gam3r01]

Yeah thats extremely odd, as that should have had zero impact on cooling.
Maybe the backplate was installed incorrectly causing the card to warp and the cooler wasnt making proper contact, who knows.

But, your temps improved, thats what matters.