Question My GPU hotspot is really high all of a sudden

[GobbyHogHole]

Wondering if anybody might have some theories and potential solutions to why my GPU hotspot on an Gigabyte Aorus GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XTREME 12GB would suddenly start getting really hot and making my PC sound like an air raid siren is going off? I built my PC back in 2021 and everything was fine until around a year ago and I haven't changed anything about it in that period. All the temps are good in the PC beside the hotspot on the GPU which can easily get to 105c on intense games, the temps are fine when I run something like a 3dmark benchmark but not when I play a game like space marine 2 or any similarly intense game.

 

[Phaaze88]

It generally happens when thermal paste fails*, or gpu sag causes uneven mounting pressure.
Just like the cpu + cpu cooler, there is a temperature ceiling where fan curves will be disregarded and fans run full speed - it's one of the thermal protections.
The typical solution is a repaste.

[The stock paste really seemed to fall off come the 30 series; it doesn't seem to hold up as long. The manufacturers don't appear to have changed it, but thermal density of the more recent dies has continued to go up...]

 

[GobbyHogHole]

I have a bracket holding it up but I'll try applying new thermal paste, thanks for the help

 

[GobbyHogHole]

Any recommendations for a good thermal paste for the GPU or is it about the same as if it is good for a CPU it is good for a GPU?

 

[Phaaze88]

Any recommendations for a good thermal paste for the GPU or is it about the same as if it is good for a CPU it is good for a GPU?

It's not the same for gpus. The more watery types of paste tend to 'run off' with hot and cold thermal cycles. You can put just about anything on cpus though.
NT-H2, Arctic MX4 or 6, are a few good ones. Thermal Grizzly's Duronaut probably works too. I can personally vouch for NT-H2, as that's all I've been using the last several years.

 

[GobbyHogHole]

Thanks for all the help

 

[Chaikobar]

That’s definitely possible, but in most cases the temperature difference is usually around 10, maybe 15 degrees at most – typically closer to 10.
I’ve been monitoring GPU and CPU temperatures for years, and I’ve only noticed major differences in exceptional cases. Still, it never hurts to keep an eye on things. A sensor error could also be a possibility. What software are you using to monitor the temps? And in which game did you notice this?

 

[GobbyHogHole]

The problem has been solved now with repasting it, the temp difference between the gpu and hotspot was insane also, it was usually around 50-60 C and the hotspot was 105C and the PC would start making really loud noises, but after repasting it the difference is always within 10C now.

 

[GobbyHogHole]

Want to finish off this thread with extra info of that it didn't fix it in the end, I got about 2 months of it being at good temps then out of the blue it started getting insanely hot temps on the hotspot again and within a day of it doing that the GPU straight up died and wouldn't display anymore, replaced it with a 9070 XT and had no further issues now.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Want to finish off this thread with extra info of that it didn't fix it in the end, I got about 2 months of it being at good temps then out of the blue it started getting insanely hot temps on the hotspot again and within a day of it doing that the GPU straight up died and wouldn't display anymore, replaced it with a 9070 XT and had no further issues now.

Which paste did you use?

 

[GobbyHogHole]

I used Noctua NT-H1 for it

 

[Phaaze88]

I used Noctua NT-H1 for it

That one wasn't going to last; it's too watery, and known to pump out under thermal cycles with bare die applications. NT-H2 would've worked though.

 

[GobbyHogHole]

Damn idiot move on my part. I bought that one based on your recommendations and just got the wrong one it seems, it said for CPU and GPU so didn't think twice and just got it.