[SOLVED] Should I replace a 5 year old GTX 1070's thermal paste?

[Ahazuerus]

As the title suggests, should I ?

I bought this second hand back in August 2019 and the first owner says that this GPU was way back in 2016.

It's working really fine, and I'm not having any sorts of issues, but I want to prolong its life as much as possible. I have zero experience in opening and replacing thermal paste in GPUs though but if it's easy enough, I'll look for some tutorials.

Usual temps are around 81C when gaming and
Around 50C when Idle.

System specs:
Palit GTX 1070
Ryzen 5 1600
Hyper X 16 Gb 3200mhz
B350 Gaming pro
Corsair CV 550W Bronze 80+
480G Kingston SSD

 

[Ahazuerus]

As the title suggests, should I ?

I bought this second hand back in August 2019 and the first owner says that this GPU was way back in 2016.

It's working really fine, and I'm not having any sorts of issues, but I want to prolong its life as much as possible. I have zero experience in opening and replacing thermal paste in GPUs though but if it's easy enough, I'll look for some tutorials.

Usual temps are around 81C when gaming and
Around 50C when Idle.

System specs:
Palit GTX 1070
Ryzen 5 1600
Hyper X 16 Gb 3200mhz
B350 Gaming pro
Corsair CV 550W Bronze 80+
480G Kingston SSD

 

[lvt]

5-year is a long period for any thermal pad/paste, you can replace it.

But don't be in a hurry, only do it when you are 100% ready.

Prepare your tools (screwdriver, thermal pad/paste, antistatic gloves...).

Take your time to watches some videos on Youtube to see how folks do it.

(Image: guru3D)

This is the GPU similar to yours, it seems that you will need both thermal paste and thermal pad for different parts.

 

[David0ne86]

If the temps are fine don't. Repasting should be done only once you see too high temps that make the card termally throttle causing stuttering or even worse system crashes.

 

[Bassman999]

I replaced thermal paste and pads on a month old Gigabyte 3080 and dropped core 4*c from 58 to 54c gaming and memory temps from 110c to 78c while mining.
If you are comfortable doing it, its a cheap way to revamp your card. That lower temp can get you higher frequency and maybe a few more fps.

 

[iPeekYou]

As the title suggests, should I ?

I bought this second hand back in August 2019 and the first owner says that this GPU was way back in 2016.

It's working really fine, and I'm not having any sorts of issues, but I want to prolong its life as much as possible. I have zero experience in opening and replacing thermal paste in GPUs though but if it's easy enough, I'll look for some tutorials.

Usual temps are around 81C when gaming and
Around 50C when Idle.

System specs:
Palit GTX 1070
Ryzen 5 1600
Hyper X 16 Gb 3200mhz
B350 Gaming pro
Corsair CV 550W Bronze 80+
480G Kingston SSD

A tad too hot for my tastes, but nothing worth being alarmed about. That said, replacing thermal paste is quite easy on GPUs --just make sure to get an even coating of the stuff when applying by spreading the paste manually.

It's easy enough, certainly easier than properly pulling off cooler from AMD chips or routing RGB cables. Most often you just need a screwdriver and some elbow grease.

 

[Bassman999]

A tad too hot for my tastes, but nothing worth being alarmed about. That said, replacing thermal paste is quite easy on GPUs --just make sure to get an even coating of the stuff when applying by spreading the paste manually.

It's easy enough, certainly easier than properly pulling off cooler from AMD chips or routing RGB cables. Most often you just need a screwdriver and some elbow grease.

I was so apprehensive about it, but it wasnt as bad as I thought it would be.

 

[David0ne86]

I would honestly don't considering 1) the current market 2) the inexperience of the user 3) the card altho could run SLIGHTLY cooler, it runs completely fine.

 

[Ahazuerus]

Thank you guys, your replies really made me decide. I opened and replaced my GTX 1070's Thermal paste after watching several youtube tutorials and it was easy enough even with zero experience. It's easy, really, and to my surprise, the temps dropped from 81C to 76C, a 5C drop, and I'm not even mad about it. I think it could be better but hey, it's a cheap fix. Thanks, guys, Godspeed!

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Also make sure you have plenty of airflow around and under the card. That should help temps stay cool also.

 

[lvt]

5°C lower is not nothing, it's definitely worth the attempt.