Nvidia’s third-party RTX 40-series GPUs are losing performance over time thanks to rubbish factory-installed thermal paste

24 Comments

  1. TehWildMan_

    Of all the places to cut material costs… Thermal interface material?

  2. alcocolino

    What’s the point of this article if they don’t even mention which manufacturers gpu’s are affected?
    I doubt all brands are using the same thermal paste

  3. ascufgewogf

    I wonder if this is the same case for AMDs cards? My Gigabyte Gaming OC 7900xt developed a 100c+ hotspot temperature but only after around a year of use, had to RMA it.

  4. outtokill7

    I got a Gigabyte Gaming OC 4080 at the end of February 2023. I may pull it apart and replace the thermal paste for funsies just to see if it makes a difference not that I’m really having problems now.

  5. Well hey, at least they were budget priced products, right?

  6. virtikle_two

    Fully replaced mine, gained massive performance/ OC headroom. Over on the overclockers sub we’ve been discussing it for months.

  7. thighmaster69

    Does this mean FE cards aren’t affected or just it hasn’t been found yet on FE cards?

  8. angrycoffeeuser

    Why is the latest and greatest hardware so shit man? Instead of things getting better with time, there are now more problems then ever

  9. Dunno about that. My 4090 runs super cool stock. Idle / Browsing online, YT video playing on other display is 34C. Temps under full load playing CP2077 or AW2 full PT never go above 65C.

  10. Tiflotin

    Nvidia needs to step up and take charge on addressing poor thermal paste usages and freaking COIL WHINE. I’ve got a 4090 right now and I will never buy another graphics card from either Amd or Nvidia until they officially say they have addressed coil whine. Nvidia can absolutely strong arm their partners to stop cutting costs like this.

  11. RayHorizon

    Nvidia loves to sell you shit for premium price nowadays. I dont even know which next gpu to buy because they all just seem like a scam in either price or/and quality but im inclining more on amd cards.

  12. Pimpwerx

    What will be the warning signs in a situation like this? Am I looking at an increase in idle temps? Is it peak temps? I’m curious, because I don’t mind repasting in the future, but want to know what to look for.

  13. KaiEkkrin

    I have a Palit 4080 (a bit more than a year old) and it’s currently fine with a hotspot temperature about 10C higher than the board temperature. Definitely going to keep an eye on this, though.

    Any recommended guides for how to correctly detach and re-attach the coolers for these GPUs? I would be worried about yolo-ing it because it’s an expensive part and it might be one of those coolers that needs exactly the right amount of pressure to work correctly…

  14. ztexxmee

    welp i just bought an asus tuf 4080 super so i guess ill have to either rma or repaste when that happens

  15. ItzCobaltboy

    I mean thermal compound is degradable by nature right?

  16. BinaryJay

    My FE hotspot is still in the 60s going all out without making much noise at all after almost 2 years, so I guess Nvidia themselves used the good stuff.

  17. I changed the thermal paste in my GIGABYTE 2070s and saw a difference of 3-4c. Very pleased.

  18. CarlWellsGrave

    Well my 3080 FE has dog shit thermal pads so everyone is guilty.

  19. HankThrill69420

    Meh. I watch my thermals anyway. When my hotspot starts to hit 90c and my effective clock starts getting dragged down, i will tear down and use PTM 7950 and use some nice replacement pads. That said, I do notice the TIM rot and it’s happening a bit quickly for my taste.

  20. MrOphicer

    As hardware gets more and more complex, it will be more fault-prone. I think that will be the trend for the future, unfortunately. Making something increasingly complex, affordable, and reliable is nearly impossible. But hopefully its decades away to be a huge issue.

  21. FlangerOfTowels

    I wouldn’t know because I never use the cheap stock thermal paste.

    I always use something that’s proven & tested to actually be good and last a long time

  22. Suns_In_420

    So all of them? I would assume most are third party made.

  23. cagedpegasus

    Question for people who have been victims of this before: If my MSI 4080s was to have an issue (thankfully it doesn’t yet) and it’s from an obviously bad paste setup, does MSI (or whatever brand) cover that for any type of warranty? Or is it like a, “replace it yourself” type situation?

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