Don’t be smarter than manual :)

[MorgothPl]

I was switching from Alu loop and Thermaltake case to Phanteks P600s and copper stuff...

Aquacomouter gpu block manual said, that I should use paste in memory and pad on vrms. But I wanted to do better - so I did put thermal pads - and top notch ones from Thermal Grizzly- on memory and VRMs

The result ? Temps reaching 90c in anything but desktop, as the pada were too big and didn’t allow proper touch between gpu die and block

Normal folks would just drain the loop, unscrew the block and follow the manual. Buuut... if you use riser cable, it’s very easy to unscrew the block without removing it from loop and then put it back

Added paste where it should be, now enjoying 42c in heaven and will start overclocking.

But yeah... RTFM and then follow it

 

[Smoked Brisket]

Good cautionary tale. Glad it worked out.

 

[Tsumi]

Paste is always better than pads... And the pads were definitely lifting your block away from the card.

 

[MorgothPl]

Exactly that. Now, with proper contact with block it’s 52C with 2060 MHz on core - unluckily can’t go faster, as artefacts start to show up.

 

[FrgMstr]

Paste is always better than pads... And the pads were definitely lifting your block away from the card.

That is why you always do a test fit and check all contact points for footprint.