9800GX2 Thermal Compound

[Synomenon]

I got in on that great 9800GX2 deal at Newegg. It's a vanilla EVGA 9800GX2. Does EVGA use those crappy thermal pads on its cooler for the memory on the card or are they actually using thermal compound now?

If they are using thermal compound, would I notice any difference if I replaced their thermal compound on the GPU core and memory with Arctic Cooling MX2?

 

[MichaelD]

There is much more space b/t the RAM and the surface of the cooler than there is b/t the GPU and the surface of the cooler.

That's why thermal PADS are used on the RAM instead of thermal paste. It's the equivalent of stuffing a folded napkin under one table leg to make it the same height as the other legs.

That said: If you've already used your card, the thermal tape has "melted" and if you remove the heatsink you will have to replace the thermal tape. If you have NOT used the card already, there's a good chance you can remove the heatsink, replace the thermal paste on the GPU with something better (like Arctic Silver 5) and replace the heatsink w/no harm done. I have personally used the last method (didn't use the card, replaced the paste right out of the box) with one card I've had. Worked great.

You will see a diff b/t the stock white crappy TIM and a quality TIM such as AS5.

 

[Hauk]

They use a thermal compound based patch that keeps it's shape thanks to two embedded layers of a gauze-like fiber. Consider them to be thermal paste patches and not the rubbery thermal pads you may be thinking of. In every instance where I've pulled one apart for inspection, they've been consistent in application and performance.

I'd not bother with it at all, especially with the complexity of the cooler. Nice purchase BTW, I'd have bought that in a heartbeat if I hadn't just made a purchase..