[SOLVED] Should I change my GPU's Thermal Paste? (ASUS ROG Strix RX 580)

[Ambi_01]

It's been two years since I've bought this card (ASUS ROG Strix RX 580) from a local PC store. Never took it apart, never done much physical work to it other than maybe blowing compressed air between the fins on annual cleaning.

Nowadays, when I'm running the card at stock (1360mhz @ 1150mv) in games like Red Dead Redemption 2 or Horizon Zero Dawn at close to Max Quality, it would run to about 86c until it throttles the clock speeds to about 1200mhz - 1300mhz more or less.

To mitigate this, I undervolted my GPU - now running at 1360mhz @ 1050mv and invested in some Noctua fans thinking it was an airflow problem at first - 2x NF-A12x25s, one directly blowing air on the GPU (which did help bring down the temps a bit but it would still throttle but only slower and less at stock settings). Now with both solutions, it would still fall right around the high 70s to sometimes low 80s.

What the setup looks like:

I recently watched and read reviews about the same card and theirs would apparently max out at 62c and at most I've read it going up to 68c but THAT is still miles from what I get in terms of thermals. So my questions are:

1. If you have the same card or similar card in terms of design and cooling, what is your experience in terms of thermals?
2. Given the context, with a card with such a beefy cooler, are my thermals normal or kind of whack?
3. Should I change out my thermal paste? If so, any suggestions on what thermal paste I should get? Something that would last long but not too heavy on the pockets (but you could still suggest the best regardless of price).

I checked, the warranty has already expired but I am still a bit scared about doing it though, and if it will be worth it. I hope it is tho!

 

[Quanticriver]

It's been two years since I've bought this card (ASUS ROG Strix RX 580) from a local PC store. Never took it apart, never done much physical work to it other than maybe blowing compressed air between the fins on annual cleaning.

Nowadays, when I'm running the card at stock (1360mhz @ 1150mv) in games like Red Dead Redemption 2 or Horizon Zero Dawn at close to Max Quality, it would run to about 86c until it throttles the clock speeds to about 1200mhz - 1300mhz more or less.

To mitigate this, I undervolted my GPU - now running at 1360mhz @ 1050mv and invested in some Noctua fans thinking it was an airflow problem at first - 2x NF-A12x25s, one directly blowing air on the GPU (which did help bring down the temps a bit but it would still throttle but only slower and less at stock settings). Now with both solutions, it would still fall right around the high 70s to sometimes low 80s.

What the setup looks like:

I recently watched and read reviews about the same card and theirs would apparently max out at 62c and at most I've read it going up to 68c but THAT is still miles from what I get in terms of thermals. So my questions are:

1. If you have the same card or similar card in terms of design and cooling, what is your experience in terms of thermals?
2. Given the context, with a card with such a beefy cooler, are my thermals normal or kind of whack?
3. Should I change out my thermal paste? If so, any suggestions on what thermal paste I should get? Something that would last long but not too heavy on the pockets (but you could still suggest the best regardless of price).

I checked, the warranty has already expired but I am still a bit scared about doing it though, and if it will be worth it. I hope it is tho!

I would do it, the process is not that hard, just try not to damage the thermal pads
and take care when you "seperate" the cooler from the pcb, they are still attached by a fan cable

It will probably help with said temps

GL

 

[Ambi_01]

I would do it, the process is not that hard, just try not to damage the thermal pads
and take care when you "seperate" the cooler from the pcb, they are still attached by a fan cable

It will probably help with said temps

GL

Thanks, I'll give it try. Any suggestions though on what thermal paste to use?

 

[Koekieezz]

Thanks, I'll give it try. Any suggestions though on what thermal paste to use?

Kingpin KPX or Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut for a better performance, Arctic MX4 and MX5 or Gelid GC Extreme for performance per buck (also better longetivity)

 

[Ambi_01]

Kingpin KPX or Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut for a better performance, Arctic MX4 and MX5 or Gelid GC Extreme for performance per buck (also better longetivity)

Thanks for the advice man! Repasted it with some GELID GC Extreme and it maxed out at 65c with at prolly 55-60% (2000 more or less) RPM compared to what it was before at 80c+ and at almost max RPMs. Seems like it really was some bad contact out of the box, even the heatsink had minimal paste on it. It's definitely a cool and quiet now. ^^

 

[Koekieezz]

Thanks for the advice man! Repasted it with some GELID GC Extreme and it maxed out at 65c with at prolly 55-60% (2000 more or less) RPM compared to what it was before at 80c+ and at almost max RPMs. Seems like it really was some bad contact out of the box, even the heatsink had minimal paste on it. It's definitely a cool and quiet now. ^^

yup, i moved to Gelid GC Extreme from mx4 and kryonaut, and i find out that this paste have rougly the almost same performance as kryonaut but better longetivity like mx4, also the 3.5g tube made it more worth it, perfect balance between good spread (without spreading it), and good thermal performance (like kingpin kpx or kryonaut), and better longetivity (like mx4).

Here's my result on aida64 stress FPU (CPU Is E3 1240 V2, using Gammaxx 400S cooler) and Furmark GPU (GTX 1050 single fan):

GC Extreme:

On MX4 i reached 72c with ease on cpu and 66c on gpu on air conditioned room, while wih GC Extreme it's a bit better on the same testing method and room ambient (62-64 on gpu). Sorry i couldn't find my results i screenshoted using mx4.

Just remember, Better heatsink airflow (good fans and clean heatfins) and better paste like the one you use, results in a good thermal dissipation