Are there no options left for people in the US to get a quality thermal pad for their GPU?

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Jan 3, 2009
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This has been a wild ride, and I am utterly confused. My GPU is overheating in some of my systems and I am going to re-pad and re-paste it, I am not expecting miracles but every little bit can help and I wanted to get good pads to replace the stock ones on this cheap OEM card. It only has two 30x15mm and one 60x15mm pad, so it's not a lot, but they are both 2.0mm which is not as common.

Anyway, after doing some research I ran into this video comparing several pads:

It didn't have some of the newer pads like the Arctic TP-3 or the Kritical pads, but it listed most other major ones and a few random cheap ones.

Based on that video the top performers were also one of the more affordable ones (not considering the random Aliexpress ones that performed horribly), Gelid and Nab Cooling. But where it really became a mess is when I tried to actually get some.

One sketchy thing about Gelid though, at least when trying to purchase from Amazon. This is their storefront on Amazon, this is the link their own website's Amazon link takes me to: https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/5BC8F158-6E57-47A8-9313-A63F1738951C

Just about any of their listings for their pads from that very storefront takes me to a listing that says it's being sold by a place called "Retail storee". Selecting the 120x30mm pads links me to the 3mm one that is sold by "Gelid Solutions US", but that is not the thickness I need. If I choose any other thickness the listing changes to "Retail storee" with no option to buy from "Gelid Solutions US": https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0922H1V6V

If I select the listings from Gelid's official marketplace: https://www.amazon.com/s?me=A3F30TC3QB0QFZ&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER

The only ones even listed are the 120x30x3mm and dual 120x30x0.5mm ones, none of the other sizes or thicknesses.

This feels very sketchy to me. On top of the fact that naming your store "Retail Store" feels like an obvious attempt to look like some official store when you are not, it's even misspelled with two es... But out of options and beyond my better judgement I tried to order them anyway thinking that if their own official storefront links to that, it might be authorized.... my order after a few days was marked as "undeliverable" and refunded.

Are the "Retail storee" listings a scam that somehow are managing to get into the same set of listings as the manufacturer's official ones? Anyone have any familiarity with this seller?

I tried to go to Gelid's own website and just order directly from there: https://gelidsolutions.com/product/gp-ultimate-xl-thermal-pad/

I noticed that when I went to calculate shipping, it defaulted to Canada. I changed it to US and entered my information.... get an error that "No shipping options were found for (my location)". Seems like they might not ship outside of Canada.

Fine, those Nab ones apparently looked the same and performed the same for slightly lower price, likely they were from the same supplier. I clicked the Amazon link from that video to the Nab thermal pads.... "Seller: Retail storee"

Resisting the urge to punch a hole in my wall, I tried looking for their official website: https://nabcooling.com/product/nab-cooling-thermal-pad-90x50/

They are all listed there, but there does not appear to be any "purchase" or "add to cart" or any such option, despite advertising limited time free shipping to the US. I tried to use their contact form to e-mail them if they are sold out or something and it just returned an error.

I try to check local stores, the only one I know of that might carry something like this is Micro Center... and they only have a few random no-name brands or Thermal Grizzly, which to my surprise actually performed quite poorly in that video.... and they didn't have them in 2.0mm anyway.

Arctic seems to be another good brand that is making a name for themselves lately for good budget cooling products (namely their fans) and their latest TP-3 pads appear to be good... although I could not find comparisons of how well they perform. They are even being sold directly officially by them on Amazon.... issue is, they don't make them any thicker than 1.5mm.

Kritical is another I was recommended, again, also official on Amazon.... but they cost THREE TIMES what the Gelid and Nab cost... and again, I can't find comparisons (also a little suspicious of their claims that their pads supposedly have a much higher W/mK than everyone else).

I have no idea what to do at this point. I would have loved to get my hands on those Gelid or Nab ones.... real ones and not bootlegs... but it seems like either they have stopped being made or they don't sell them in the US. And the other US options either don't have the proper thickness (Arctic), under-perform (Thermal Grizzly) or cost an arm and a leg (Kritical).

Anyone have any idea how I can get decent thermal pads in the US for my GPU?
 
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I've been using Thermalright thermal pads forever. I actually just redid my 2070 with them due to the bubble gum originals falling apart. They work great but like all thermal pads they are expensive. I believe I ordered them from Amazon this time.
 
I've been using Thermalright thermal pads forever. I actually just redid my 2070 with them due to the bubble gum originals falling apart. They work great but like all thermal pads they are expensive. I believe I ordered them from Amazon this time.

These?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09WKRT7WP

I know that's a small pad, but it's pretty cheap IMO. The Gelid one I was trying to get cost twice as much as that for an even smaller overall area (85x45 vs 120x20).

Unless I once again fell for a 3rd party bootleg reseller. And despite their claim of having basically a similar thermal conductivity as the Gelid ones they performed significantly worse in that video.
 
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There's those, the Extreme Odyssey II(grey)and also Valor Odin (pink)that are rated higher but they're alot more expensive. I used the Odyssey IIs on my 2070. Wow, I paid $15ea for one each of 85x45mm 1.5 and 2.0 in September of 22. They are friggin filthy right now! I'm going to stock up.
I've used the Gelid thermal pads as well (in a pinch). They are solid but I don't know where I picked them up at...maybe newegg? Idk. Anyhow, I've never had a bad experience with any of the three, they have all resulted in really solid temps. I generally only use them when remounting the stock heatsink on cards after wcing them.
 
I tried to go to Gelid's own website and just order directly from there: https://gelidsolutions.com/product/gp-ultimate-xl-thermal-pad/

I noticed that when I went to calculate shipping, it defaulted to Canada. I changed it to US and entered my information.... get an error that "No shipping options were found for (my location)". Seems like they might not ship outside of Canada.

May have been a glitch, I'm seeing it default to USA and show multiple shipping options. I haven't tried going farther in the checkout process.

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