290/x owners and TIM replacement effects (have you done it?)

[wand3r3r]

Have you replaced the thermal paste (TIM), and what were the before/after effects?

I've been curious about the 290/x and waiting to see the aftermarket cards but am debating if the immense heat is best placed outside the card. Often people have some improvement replacing the TIM so I'm curious about the effect on your card(s).

 

[chimaxi83]

I have, but I did it as part of water cooling, so my results won't be helpful. Toms did this for air cooling however, and seems like they had decent results.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-r9-290x-thermal-paste-efficiency,3678.html

 

[wand3r3r]

It looks like performance goes up, power usage goes down, and presumably the fan noise would remain the same? It's most likely still capped at the 94C but simply staying at higher clocks. Interesting that TIM has an effect anyway.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

The factory almost always has poorly applied, mediocre quality, and usually too much. It really isn't a surprise that new tim helps.

 

[Silverforce11]

I replaced the TIM on my sapphire R290, the stock application was horrendous, way too much. I noticed higher clocks on stock 47% fan while mining, prior, it throttled all the way down to 662mhz. With the new TIM it was staying above 750mhz. Now I run them with 85 fan cap and 87 degrees target, they get up to 65-70% fanspeed but no throttling.

 

[f1sherman]

Call me crazy, but I have no desire whatsoever to void warranty hunting 2%

 

[thilanliyan]

Call me crazy, but I have no desire whatsoever to void warranty hunting 2%

Not all companies void warranty for replacing TIM and or using a 3rd party cooler. XFX for example, and MSI too I think.

 

[Silverforce11]

Sapphire and Gigabyte dont either, but Asus does, they have void warranty stickers on the screws of R290s hehe.

 

[blastingcap]

Sapphire and Gigabyte dont either, but Asus does, they have void warranty stickers on the screws of R290s hehe.

What?? There is a recent (as in 2 weeks ago) OCN thread about how people are pissed off that Sapphire doesn't allow any changes of cooler OR TIM without voiding warranty.

Edited to add link; see the first three posts of this thread:

http://www.overclock.net/t/1444881/sapphire-after-market-coolers-and-warranty

 

[Zanovar]

Call me crazy, but I have no desire whatsoever to void warranty hunting 2%

Haha

 

[lehtv]

It looks like performance goes up, power usage goes down, and presumably the fan noise would remain the same?

If performance goes up, power usage goes up as well. The better heat dissipation would allow the GPU to consume more power in order to perform better

 

[blastingcap]

Call me crazy, but I have no desire whatsoever to void warranty hunting 2%

I agree.

 

[Silverforce11]

What?? There is a recent (as in 2 weeks ago) OCN thread about how people are pissed off that Sapphire doesn't allow any changes of cooler OR TIM without voiding warranty.

Edited to add link; see the first three posts of this thread:

http://www.overclock.net/t/1444881/sapphire-after-market-coolers-and-warranty

I was at a big retailer here, the sapphire and gigabyte models do NOT have void if removed stickers and I asked them about changing HSF and they said go ahead if they dont have stickers blocking screws. I also now have an Asus R290, which DO have the sticker blocking the rear mount.

Also, as per your thread, a more recent update, Gibbo had said he verified with Sapphire, and Ocnet customers can replace HSF without voiding warranty

 

[blastingcap]

I was at a big retailer here, the sapphire and gigabyte models do NOT have void if removed stickers and I asked them about changing HSF and they said go ahead if they dont have stickers blocking screws. I also now have an Asus R290, which DO have the sticker blocking the rear mount.

Well, you are in Australia, though. Does it apply to USA or worldwide? Because that Sapphire rep was speaking to an USA audience and apparently so many people were asking that he consulted his superiors before making that post.

 

[wand3r3r]

Call me crazy, but I have no desire whatsoever to void warranty hunting 2%

Yeah, you have to check the manufacturers that allow it before buying. (a few officially allow it)

It's like the BIOS mods to overvolt NV's neutered cards which is promoted. Granted you may gain more than 2% but from a couple lightnings that I had it wasn't always very beneficial.

 

[holden j caufield]

so which ones allow it and don't? I like sapphire but if they void the warranty with TIM or heatsink replacement I'll buy a different brand.

 

[Rvenger]

so which ones allow it and don't? I like sapphire but if they void the warranty with TIM or heatsink replacement I'll buy a different brand.

MSI and XFX for sure. Gigabyte is questionable. The warranty stickers for both companies do not apply to the US so removing them does not void the warranty. XFX you will need to contact them first before heatsink removal.

 

[Face2Face]

MSI and XFX for sure. Gigabyte is questionable. The warranty stickers for both companies do not apply to the US so removing them does not void the warranty. XFX you will need to contact them first before heatsink removal.

Really? So I can remove the screw sticker from my Lightning and it will not void the warranty? Do they have a write up on this or something in print?

 

[Rvenger]

Here is a response from MSI on Newegg. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=14-127-732&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=%28keywords%29&Page=3


This model had the warranty stickers on it too.

Manufacturer Response:
Dear Valued Customer,

We apologize for the issues that you are having with this product.
1. Heatsink is removable, but will void your warranty if the PCB is damaged, you will also need to restore the card to stock condition when returning for RMA.
2. Please clarify if the product is artifacting from your overclocking.
3. Please clarify if the product is properly connected with its 6-pin PCIE connector.
4. This product is already overclocked to the max from the factory based on the air cooling design, what more can you ask for?

If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with our tech support team directly at 626.271.1004 for assistance during regular business hours from M to F, 9am to 6pm Pacific Time.
Or you can email us at usreview@msi.com, thank you.

Best Regards,
MSI Review Team | usreview@msi.com

Let me see if I can find some info on MSI's website.


http://us.msi.com/service/warranty/#

The MSI product MUST be free of any physical damage due to improper installation or modification of ANY kind (this includes installing aftermarket parts) or the warranty WILL be VOID.

The product MUST be returned to MSI in the original factory configuration and condition. All aftermarket modifications must be reversed prior to sending in the product for repair or replacement.

Have fun F2F!

 

[BallaTheFeared]

I'd contact via e-mail and if they say it's ok save said e-mail just in case you need it in the future.

Regardless of what my 780 GHz Edition says the cooler is coming off after I verify it works and CLU will go on it.

 

[wand3r3r]

MSI, and XFX allow it. I believe XFX wanted an email beforehand as Rvenger mentioned.

Gigabyte seems to be ok, but I don't know if I've seen confirmation.

I believe EVGA officially allows it but I'd have to google it again.

Sapphire seems to officially not allow it.

The others I don't recall offhand, but I'm pretty sure they don't allow or condone it.

Allow:
MSI
XFX (email first)
EVGA

Maybe:
Gigabyte

DON'T ALLOW
Sapphire

Let me know if you get any more official information so I can update the list.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ArCtGVODPUTtdEdEUjRiSFdyckZ1Q1dGNUI3bkd5R+1E#gid=0

 

[BallaTheFeared]

All three of my MSI 7950s had void if removed stickers on the screws, just putting that out there... Though I think they just do that to scare noobs off, because everything I've seen says as long as you don't physically damage the card doing it they'll honor the warranty.

 

[Face2Face]

Thanks Rvenger for your response, I may send an email to MSI and ask them just in case.
Balla, it's funny you bring up CLU. I have some still sitting in the package in my closet - how much of a temp reduction did you see with your 7950? I would hate to short out the card by applying too much.

 

[BallaTheFeared]

I saw around 9C drop in temps with my 7950s replacing the stock TIM with IC Diamond, and that was with less fan speed.

My reference on air 470s saw an even greater improvement replacing the stock TIM, I pretty much swear by it now.. And it's even more important now that both companies are using temps to throttle.

From the IC Diamond, which I personally wouldn't recommend for these bare die's we're seeing now (due to scratching)... To the CLU I saw another 3-4C drop at the same fan speed.

I never cared for my TF3's fan noise over 55%, so it was vital for me personally to get them to transfer heat as well as I could because I normally ran them around 60C with 47% fan @ 1100 core.

 

[blackened23]

Allow:
MSI
XFX (email first)

Maybe:
Gigabyte
EVGA

DON'T ALLOW
Sapphire

EVGA definitely allows it. I've talked to their phone CS (their phone CS is great , BTW) and they basically have a similar policy to MSI in this respect - you can remove the shroud but the PCB cannot be damaged. You are also required to restore the condition with the original shroud if you need to RMA.

So you can essentially remove the cooler no problems with an EVGA card. I don't know if anyone has mentioned it in this thread, but with all of these cards and brands...be careful with the screws on the shroud. They're super small and easy to strip, be gentle and use a proper (small) screwdriver for the job. If you strip one before removing it, you'll have to drill it out - and it will be a complete pain in the neck.