Nice drop in temps !

[onis_uk]

As we all know GPU temperature is a killer... I have just bought two Sapphire HD6950's and the cooler is great.

Overclocked to 940mhz and at full tilt (well 99%) the cards hit about 71-76, dependant on ambient.

Out of curiosity, I took the cooler off the card and just as I suspected there was a mass of thick, sticky thermal paste
all over the GPU !!!!!!!

so I cleaned it off put on a small bead of Arctic silver and now the card is a rock steady 66c !!!!

The card with the cooler off


I cleaned the thermal paste off with a cotton bud (or q-tip as you guys like to say lol) and some alcohol, you can use
nail varnish remover too, just make sure its not soaking wet !!!


The clean the cooler in the same way


now apply a *small* bead of Arctic silver (or whatever brand you use)


Now push the board back into place on the cooler, then remove it again to check the spread of thermal paste


Now, I like to smear the paste to cover the GPU, gently tap it all over with your finger !
(put your finger inside a sandwich bag to avoid mess ! )


Now you can refit the cooler and enjoy a slightly cooler GFX card ! 

[mastergamer]

great info, sure its true, but every1 knows about it and you are goind to lose your warranty, thats the point why i didng have done it.
One othe rpoint is, nois isnt an argument while mining (at least in my eyes), the fan will slow down after this mod, that result in higher vram temps.
The gpu temp wont kill the card, the too hot vrams (my one go at about 100°C with pber 80°C fan speed!, dont want to know what happens on 50°C speed) will kill the card.

So take care of what you are doing.

Again, a core temp of around 80°C wont kill the card!

[onis_uk]

No, but the lower the core temp the better, the GPU will later longer as a result.
my fan is set to 46% ...i cannot even hear it ! i'd much rather that
than the cards blazing out at 80% !!!!!!

my Memory has been underclocked to 340mhz anyway so temps will be as low as they can be.


doing this has not voided my warranty.my old XFX hd6950's had a warranty sticker over the cooler screws,
these new sapphire ones did not. so it was easy to just pop it off !  

[mastergamer]

dude... as i said, u cant check u crams temp, but look at the other temps showed of on gpuz, the core temp isnt worth to be recognized, your other temperatures will now be HIGHER, just because the fan will only control itself proportional to the gpu temp.
lower gpu temp = lower fan speed = higher voltage regulatur temps!

so when fan is on auto, the card will die sooner then let the card as it is(even with higher gpu temp)

[Jack of Diamonds]

No, but the lower the core temp the better, the GPU will later longer as a result.
my fan is set to auto and is at 46% ...i cannot even hear it ! i'd much rather that
than the cards blazing out at 80% !!!!!!

I don't think you read mastergamer's post.
The voltage regulators are cooled with the air stream the fans take in. The slower you run the fan the hotter they get.

If you are overclocking a card, your VRM is overheating in an exponential scale the more voltage you add.

A graphics card will probably never die in normal use from a toast GPU just as a CPU chip wont.
It might weaken from overclocking due to electromigration but it will never die.

It's the capacitors, VRM, chokes and other components that are the most likely to break.

[onis_uk]

you are incorrect! i checked all 3 temps before and after in gupz and they are all lower......... 

[onis_uk]

No, but the lower the core temp the better, the GPU will later longer as a result.
my fan is set to auto and is at 46% ...i cannot even hear it ! i'd much rather that
than the cards blazing out at 80% !!!!!!

I don't think you read mastergamer's post.
The voltage regulators are cooled with the air stream the fans take in. The slower you run the fan the hotter they get.

If you are overclocking a card, your VRM is overheating in an exponential scale the more voltage you add.

A graphics card will probably never die in normal use from a toast GPU just as a CPU chip wont.
It might weaken from overclocking due to electromigration but it will never die.

It's the capacitors, VRM, chokes and other components that are the most likely to break.

please note that the card is factory modded to have a heat sink on the vrm's !!!!!! the fan speed is the same as before!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the air flow is no more or less, the cards have two 120mm fans directly able them too, the only thing that has changed is the gpu temperature !


geeeeeeeeeeeeez you guys ....

[mastergamer]

i just thought that the fan is on auto mod in both cases, as i wrote, the card would die sonner only in auto mode, just because the facts which diamond and me list up.
If you use the same fanspeed on both cases, then the wlp mod is better for sure.
But not when u have automode.

[teflone]

omg..

you people are impossible, Im sure it works better too.

Why wouldnt it ?


Arguing just to see your text on the screen...

[onis_uk]

omg..

you people are impossible, Im sure it works better too.

Why wouldnt it ?


Arguing just to see your text on the screen...

couldnt agree more !

[phelix]

great info, sure its true, but every1 knows about it and you are goind to lose your warranty, thats the point why i didng have done it.
One othe rpoint is, nois isnt an argument while mining (at least in my eyes), the fan will slow down after this mod, that result in higher vram temps.
The gpu temp wont kill the card, the too hot vrams (my one go at about 100°C with pber 80°C fan speed!, dont want to know what happens on 50°C speed) will kill the card.

So take care of what you are doing.

Again, a core temp of around 80°C wont kill the card!

+1: I think it is important to keep an eye onthe vram temps when doing a mod like this

I am not sure the vram temps really will increase, though. A cooler gpu draws less power and the air flowing to the vrams will be cooler, too.

[MrWizard]

How do remove the cooler without damaging the card.  The sticky they use is VERY sticky. 

[phelix]

replaced a cooler on one of my 5850 xtremes and also put new mx-4 on another just to give it a try.

the sticky on my cards was not very sticky so the cooler did not stick too bad. if it would I would try to rotate.

result: (gpu-z gpu temp #1, #2, #3)

before: 83.5, 88, 86   (fan in automatic mode at 85% rpm)

after:
(room probably 1.5° cooler)

80, 85, 84.5   (fan manually set to 85% rpm)

81.5, 86.5, 85.5   (fan in automatic mode: 82% rpm)

[TYDIRocks]

How much do you think replacing the paste will help me?
I'm running 1 XFX 6950 with core clock @ 850, memory clock @ 1300 and GPU Voltage @ 1118. I get around 81 degrees when mining (and my fan is at 95-100%)
Also do you know anything about how much I should underclock the memory?

[fpgaminer]

Now, I like to smear the paste to cover the GPU, gently tap it all over with your finger !

I know you noted a plastic bag under this, but to be clear to everyone: Please do NOT touch thermal paste with your fingers. Read the MSDS for your particular brand of thermal paste/grease and be safe!