Question What could have caused an increase in load temps for my GPU?

[marshen]

I currently own a ASUS GTX 1060 6GB Strix GPU which is over 3 years old and for the last couple days, my in-game temps have suddenly increased by 10c despite not changing anything. The in-game temps (no changes in settings) now stay around 70-75c at 100% fan speed whereas previously they'd stay below 62c.

The idle temps haven't changed however and it sits around 38c at 40% fan speed. There has been a noticeable increase in the ambient temperature over the last few days but this GPU has never touched 70c before, even during summer.

I believe 75c isn't too bad but I'm concerned about this sudden increase and I'm worried there's something wrong with the GPU and it might get worse. What are some of the reasons that could have caused this? Is there anything I can do to try and fix it? The GPU went out of warranty last September.

 

[PrinceTexasLoaf]

Try cleaning your computer

 

[marshen]

Try cleaning your computer

Hi, so I unscrewed the casing and opened up my fans and cleaned it all up. There was quite a bit of dust buildup. After cleaning, the temps have gone down to 63-67c when capping frames (60-80% usage) whereas leaving the frames uncapped, the gpu touches the 70c mark. That's a solid 7-8c difference however it's still not as good as it once was (59-60c capped / 65c uncapped).

Do you think replacing the thermal paste could help? I've never replaced the thermal paste of this GPU but I do have one lying around, the one that came with my Noctua cpu cooler.

Also, if I do decide to open the heatsink, will I have to replace the thermal pads as well? I don't have any new thermal pads and I don't know which sizes are required, so I'd rather only open the heatsink if those pads were reusable.