4870X2 heatsink issues

[uclaLabrat]

4870X2 was running about 80 deg at load on 1 gpu, but the second was hitting 107 during gaming, causing the card to throttle and thus giving me massive stuttering. I took the heatsink off to reapply the thermal compound, now the computer won't post :twisted:. Took it apart again, and the heatsink is making contact with both gpus and the new thermal compound, but it looks like the RAM modules aren't getting any contact. ANy easy fixes here, do I need to order a new cooler, or is the card shot and I need a new one? Suggestions?

 

[CurseTheSky]

A few dumb questions first:
- Did you reconnect the PCI-E power connectors to the card?
- Have you tried taking the card out and reseating it in the PCI-E slot?

If yes to both of those, you may need to buy some thermal tape or pads for the RAM modules. Generally, they're stick pads that have a lot more bulk than just thermal paste or whatnot. It helps them to make contact with the heatsink itself, if the heatsink was designed that way. If each RAM module had thermal tape on it and you took it off, that's probably the problem.

 

[uclaLabrat]

Yeah, I did take the thermal tape off...I was hoping that wouldn't be the problem, but you're probably right. Boo.

 

[dguy6789]

Yeah that's definitely the problem. The memory modules required that cooling and now they are effectively not being cooled at all. A new heatsink designed for the 4870x2 should work assuming the memory modules have not been damaged yet.

 

[uclaLabrat]

ok, replaced the thermal tape. Runs ok now, temps came down about 10 deg so far, doesn't seem to throttle...but it may take a bit longer to hit full temps. Thanks for the help.