Should I replace thermal paste?

tay102

Commendable
Mar 23, 2016
8
0
1,520
My computer was getting really dusty so I decided to clean it. Ever since, one of my GPUs overheats whenever I start up a game. Sits on 30-40°C idle but jumps up to 80°C when gaming. I didn't remove anything while cleaning so I thought I don't need to replace the thermal paste. All of my fans are working just fine too.

Specs:
GeForce GTX 970 x2
ASUS Z97-DELUXE Mobo
 


Hi,

I've had them for about 3 to 4 years I think. And as I said, I've not removed anything during cleaning and that includes the GPUs.
 
I replaced the thermal paste on my gtx 780 ti last year and it did lower the temps by several degrees Fahrenheit at idle and when gaming plus the fan stopped spinning at top speed like it did before. I used AS5 which is conductive so its important to not get any on the pcb around the gpu and if you do clean it up quickly before it sets so nothing gets shorted out.
 


Guess it doesn't hurt to try it anyway. Was just wondering if something else might be causing the problem.