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replacing thermal compound on 780

L

louietsang

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Feb 20, 2002
Messages
1,188
question...

i want to replace the thermal compound on my gtx 780... do i do the pea drop method, then just set the heatsink back on top and let the pressure do it's work... or the spread method?

almost hits 79/80c on load w/ stock everything, so im just trying new things to hopefully alleviate hopefully a few degrees.

i was also looking at the tuniq tx4 thermal compound... is that a good/ok choice for this? dont wanna mess w/ anything conduction like coollabs.

thanks!
 
By default the GTX 780s have a target temperature of 80C and so they will adjust the fan speed and/or clockspeeds up or down to achieve that when under load.
 
First what 780 do you have. Second, thermal compound will get you maybe 3deg so dont look there for your problems to be solved.
 
80 degrees is the target temperature as limited access said. I wouldn't worry about it unless you see temps regularly going above 80, at which point it could be a real issue with airflow, the fan, thermal pads/compound, or a numer of other things.

A better option would be to get a backplate from EVGA, which can reduce maximum temperature by up to 5C in addition to adding structural rigidity, and you don't have to disassemble the cooler. They cost $19.99 US directly from EVGA.
 
Armenius said:
80 degrees is the target temperature as limited access said. I wouldn't worry about it unless you see temps regularly going above 80, at which point it could be a real issue with airflow, the fan, thermal pads/compound, or a numer of other things.

A better option would be to get a backplate from EVGA, which can reduce maximum temperature by up to 5C in addition to adding structural rigidity, and you don't have to disassemble the cooler. They cost $19.99 US directly from EVGA.
Click to expand...

the evga card/standard cooler... i heard the back plate is of mixed reviews but aesthetically it looks awesome.... but if u guys say 80's avg ill leave it be.
 
I just clarify -

80C isn't the average it's the actual target temperature of GTX 780s by default. They will adjust clockspeed(and voltage) to a certain extent with thermal headroom permitted, and the fan will dynamically adjust it's speed lower or higher depending on the thermal conditions. So a temperature of 80C by itself does not indicate a problem with thermals.

Board partners can adjust this behavior as well as the end user via software (or bios adjustments).

What would be possible indicators of cooling issues?
- Is the card downclocking or unable to maintain base clockspeeds?
- Is the card not boosting due to thermal limits? (Software such as MSI afterburner will actually show what is limiting boost speeds)
- Is the fan speed running abnormally high to maintain 80C?
- If load temperatures end up normalizing significantly higher than 80C.
 
Def reading way too into my original post... I was just curious if changing thermal grease would drop temps by a degree or 2 and if it's worth it... I didn't have any issues just wanted to see if was worth doing.
 
Yah, taking the TITAN cooler off is a PITA, I wouldn't bother unless I was sure there was a problem. Sounds like your 780 is running normally so might not be worth the trouble but

to answer your questions:
1) the whole "method" thing about thermal paste is kinda a myth imo. As long as you don't put too little, it's kinda hard to put too much. I tend to use sort of an X to make sure the corners get hit.

2) I'm sure the Tuniq would be fine but I went looking for why one of my EVGA 780s was 7 degrees hotter than the other, and found no difference in temps switching the paste out with Noctua NT-H1. Interestingly, I did find that the brand new, shrinkwrapped B1 rev 780 that ran colder had come from the factory missing a thermal pad from a VRAM chip completely. Was pissed. Ordered some and put it on there but would have never known...

also, I don't like the stock BIOS running the card at 80C on purpose like that, I always used msi afterburner and a custom fan curve to try to keep load temps down to 70C if possible. Still seemed like in SLI they were determined to go to 80C and 100% fan to put out as many fps as possible... probably something to do with the crazy skyn3t BIOS I was running. Should check out the 780 GTX club at oc.net they have some neat overclocking utilities. The 780 is damn near indestructible--but not quite. :D
 
spread method all the way.....thin and as even as possible on both surfaces.....its meant to fill in microscopic cracks....not be a layer....that will give best results
 
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