Opinions wanted - Replacing Thermal Pads on HD5870M GPU or pasting memory?

Hi All,

I've been struggling with this for some time now and being a long-time lurker on the forum (and a very proud G73-JH owner for just over 2 years now!) I wanted to cast this one out there for your consideration.

I am about to undertake the 2nd re-pasting of my GPU.

I carried one out not too long after I bought the machine (probably about 9 months or so.) due to sub-par factory pasting. The information I got from the community here was invaluable in achieving that without serious mishap. It is worth noting that I only re-pasted the GPU, and didn't remove the thermal pads on the memory.

Slowly, my temperatures have been increasing to the point where my GPU2 temp in GPU-Z is registering 98-99oC under a gaming load (Sleeping Dogs / BF3). An aside to this is that my GPU1 and 3 temperatures are consistently 10-12oc cooler than this. If I run a FurMark benchmark, I can see temperatures climb consistently into the 105oC + range.

So, I'm now looking at diving back into the guts of my 5870 and carrying out a full replacement of all thermal materials.

My primary question is this: Is it better to replace the thermal pads with more thermal pads (Fujipoly 1mm thick, 11.0 W/mK), or to use thermal paste (IC Diamond) as an alternative to this?

Any other information / opinion / results from your own experiences would be very much appreciated!

Thank you all for taking the time to read!

 

Pads for the JH the gap is too big on this heatsink compound will not do the job and you will waste a lot of compound trying trust me I experimented with a big free tube of ICD I got and it does not work. Contact from even the poorest thermal pad will work for the Vram the heat is not anywhere near a problem nor will it benefit the performance. The pads you mention are fine but don't spend out on them spend your money on a good compound.

The important part is the DIE or the chip of the GPU and to apply compound correctly to allow full contact to the heatsink which is why for the JH a single pea sized blob of ICD works best because it is thick and fills the gap from the poor heatsink.

When you go inside make sure the radiator are completely dust free.

See my sig for my guide.

 

You can't use paste on the VRAM, the gap is too wide. Also, the MemIO temp is the temperature of the memory controller on the GPU die, not the memory itself.

 

Thank you for clarifying that - I was never sure that it was the case.

So, if that's running higher than the other temps, then it's an indication of a sub-par re-pasting by me? (it is entirely possible, as this was my first attempt at a re-paste!) If so, I'll be sure to take plenty of care with my second crack at it!

I heard that ICD could be pretty hard to work with due to its consistency - are there any additional precautions I should take with regards to that?

Thanks for your input so far - it's all very much appreciated!

 

I've always had the memIO running hotter than the rest. On stock paste it was ~10c higher after repaste it's ~2C higher.

 

could be a number of things, dried up paste, dirty air vents.

it can also be problems with your cooling fan dying (check the fan speed if it's below normal)

but try a general cleaning and repasting first

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

 

The MEM(IO) or controllers are located at the top side of the DIE if you are looking at it with the fans at the top. The problem is common though the MEM(IO) always runs hotter than the rest of the chip it is the same with my 6990M a good 5-10oC hotter when max.

It is going to be the heatsink though if you attach it and take a look side on the thing is a monstrosity it does not sit flat and kind of bends and when that happens you have no flush contact with the heatsink and it is most likely raised at the very section where the controllers are located. ICD does its best to fill the gap and resolve this problem 1mm are required but compress them when putting the heatsink back on as the ideal thickness would be about .7 or .8mm.

 

Oh.. The godly Fujipoly.. And yes for your case you should use ICD7, it seems like the contact between the Die and the heatsink isn't that great on yours.

 

In regards to the GPU die not fitting the heatsink very well (or vice-versa!) - I saw something online about one user who trimmed the springs on the heatsink screws to enable a better fit - is this a worthwhile mod to make to the heatsink in my case? Are there any additional risks (ie. would trimming the springs too much damage the card/heatsink?)

Cheers

 

That was me in my guide and no I would not recommend it the risks outway the benefit, good application of ICD is the best way forward.

 

Even better - thanks again I must admit that I was a little reluctant to go that far, but I don't want to have to go through this again, so if it would have enabled me to avoid another re-paste down the line I'd have gone for it! As long as a solid ICD application will cover it, I'll go with that!

 

Sometimes a repaste just does not work correctly it may not be something you have done it is just that the application was not successful, to try and keep the heatsink as even as possible and get an even contact when it is being reseated is a task.

You can apply the same compound the same way three times and see totally different results each time the best thing to do is go back in and do it again.

 

Thought i'd add this

How to apply ICD

 

That is how but not how much as that is for a desktop and this is a mobile CPU you need less than half that amount the size of a small pea that is all.

 

Usually 3.5-5mm blob would do for square shaped(5870M/460M/560M/660M/680M) die on laptop GPU. But if it's a rectangle shaped die (670M/675M) you'll need to do line method.

 

Hi Again everyone,

Just wanted to post a little epilogue to this repair / update of my G73!

All the parts that I ordered arrived on time, and I took the opportunity to put in a SSD as well (Intel 330 series 180GB), sacrificing 500GB of storage, but gaining so very much in performance!

The re-pasting and pad replacement operation went smoothly, and thanks to your advice, I am now able to run my Radeon Mobility 5870 at around 83oC with an overclock on the GPU - to say I'm happy about it is an understatement!

I've been putting it through its paces on some of the games that were previously getting it to 100oC+ (Sleeping Dogs was particularly good at this!) and they're all very comfortable, low 80's range now. I did notice that the first paste job hadn't 'settled' particularly well on the GPU die, which I believe was more to blame than the fan, which only had a very mild dust accumulation. Still, all cleaned and re-pasted now, and with the SSD and overclock, I suspect I can get another 2 years out of this machine!

Thanks all for your input, it made all the difference.