[SOLVED] Questions about replacing thermal paste on my GPU

[Deleted member 2720853]

Hello, I have a ZOTAC RTX 2070 Mini that I'm planning to replace the thermal compound on for better temps, and I have a few questions regarding this:

1. What is the best method to apply thermal paste to the GPU? Spread, dot, etc? I have Arctic MX-4 current edition.
2. My GPU comes with thermal pads, and the GPU itself is brand new and I got it in December of last year, should I worry about replacing them or can I reuse them?
3. How much paste should I apply on the die? For reference, this is how the ZOTAC 2070 Mini's PCB looks like:

(not my photo, taken from online)

Thanks in advance. Is there anything I should know before doing this? I never applied thermal paste on a GPU.

 

[siaan312]

Hello, I have a ZOTAC RTX 2070 Mini that I'm planning to replace the thermal compound on for better temps, and I have a few questions regarding this:

1. What is the best method to apply thermal paste to the GPU? Spread, dot, etc? I have Arctic MX-4 current edition.
2. My GPU comes with thermal pads, and the GPU itself is brand new and I got it in December of last year, should I worry about replacing them or can I reuse them?
3. How much paste should I apply on the die? For reference, this is how the ZOTAC 2070 Mini's PCB looks like:

(not my photo, taken from online)

Thanks in advance. Is there anything I should know before doing this? I never applied thermal paste on a GPU.

well, to be honest its not really worth it. but if you do want to switch the paste
first off, you can reuse the pads. they will be perfectly fine.
2nd, use a tiny line, because the die is rectangular, not square, but only a little amount.

 

[tennis2]

Dot method is best. Don't spread.

Don't replace the pads, they're reusable.

For a CPU, you use about the size of a grain of rice. For a GPU, half that much. You can screw the heatsink down to smush out the TIM, then remove it to check your sizing if you aren't sure.

 

[Deleted member 2720853]

well, to be honest its not really worth it. but if you do want to switch the paste
first off, you can reuse the pads. they will be perfectly fine.
2nd, use a tiny line, because the die is rectangular, not square, but only a little amount.

I realize it might not be worth it but I'd rather get the tiniest amount of decrease in temps out of this, I know Zotac doesn't exactly use the best thermal paste on their GPUs. Thanks for the answers

Dot method is best. Don't spread.

Don't replace the pads, they're reusable.

For a CPU, you use about the size of a grain of rice. For a GPU, half that much. You can screw the heatsink down to smush out the TIM, then remove it to check your sizing if you aren't sure.

Alright thanks.

 

[tennis2]

To clarify, if you do the smush test, you'll need to remove the TIM and re-apply. Each time you remove a heatsink, you should apply new thermal paste. Otherwise you risk getting "air bubbles" between the contact surfaces.

 

[Deleted member 2720853]

To clarify, if you do the smush test, you'll need to remove the TIM and re-apply. Each time you remove a heatsink, you should apply new thermal paste. Otherwise you risk getting "air bubbles" between the contact surfaces.

Got it.

 

[Deleted member 2720853]

To clarify, if you do the smush test, you'll need to remove the TIM and re-apply. Each time you remove a heatsink, you should apply new thermal paste. Otherwise you risk getting "air bubbles" between the contact surfaces.

One of the thermal pads fell on my desk (which I cleaned beforehand) and I had to try and pick it up with my nails and put it back. Is it bad now? Should I get a replacement?

 

[tennis2]

Nope, just put it back on in the proper location.

 

[Deleted member 2720853]

Nope, just put it back on in the proper location.

Alright that's what I did, just wanted to make sure