[SOLVED] TIM Replacement for 9800 GX2?

[Patrick Wolf]

I want to replace those white squareish things on my 9800 GX2's heatsink. I believe it's thermal tape.

That's not my 9800 GX2. Mine's not so "pretty".

Would arctic silver ceramique work, or do I really need tape to fill the gap? Like this stuff: http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m570&_nkw=Sekisui+thermal+tape

UPDATE: The 0.5mm EK Thermal Pads worked, but I can still see some tiny gappage between a couple of the pads & VRAM. It's working fine, but I'm going to order these 1mm & 0.5mm pads and use the 1mm.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=25822

Other than that, temps are much better and it no longer crashes from overheating! EVGA Precision shows a 5 degree difference between GPU's, so maybe I didn't use enough (or too much) MX-2. Although GPU-Z shows them as being relatively the same.

UPDATE 2: Well damn. That didn't work. The 1mm pads were too thick! The core couldn't make good contact with the heatsink. So I replaced them with the 0.5mm Koolance pads and all was good again. I put a little pad on the SLI bridge controller as well since the paste wasn't making full contact.

FYI: The 0.5mm EK and Koolance pad looked the same except the Koolance was more tacky and seemed more fragile making it more difficult to work with. The 1mm pad was nice though. Tacky, but only had one protective film to remove.

 

[dfuze]

I replaced the stock fan on my 6600GT (now in kids computer) over a year ago and only used my Arctic Silver on it, it worked fine.

 

[MJinZ]

Those are thermal pads, not thermal tape.

You need thermal pads.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

This is a thermal pad? They're pretty easy to remove and put back on, well the one's that are intact anyways.

 

[mbevolution]

that's crazy, first time i've seen something like that, looks like a piece of soft rubber that they stick on there.

i think you are ok using any type of good non conductive thermal paste on that thing, basically you are just trying to ensure maximum heat transfer.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

Yes, it is very soft and flexible; somewhat fragile, doesn't take much effort to rip it. I'm just worried paste won't be thick enough. I could apply some AS5 and put the heatsink on to see if makes contact though.

Thinking this would be safer; might order it anyway just to check it out: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260597953665&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

[MJinZ]

If you touched it with your oily hands, you just wasted them.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

If you touched it with your oily hands, you just wasted them.

I thought of that as well, my hands were pretty dry when handling it. I doubt it'd be much of a problem if I kept using it. It's old anyway; better to use something new.

So Mr. Smartypants, are they thermal pads?

 

[MJinZ]

I thought of that as well, my hands were pretty dry when handling it. I doubt it'd be much of a problem if I kept using it. It's old anyway; better to use something new.

So Mr. Smartypants, are they thermal pads?

Of course, but Google would have answered that.. ()

 

[mbevolution]

regarding the ebay link you posted, i've never heard of that company and they didn't provide any thermal data (conductivity etc.) i searched around and apparently no one has that data so i wouldn't put too much trust into that stuff, if you are not worrying about the warranty and like better heat transfer I would stick with paste.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

Of course, but Google would have answered that.. ()

You're right. I looked, but not hard enough: http://www.overclock.net/nvidia/673880-9800gx2-thermal-pads.html

 

[Patrick Wolf]

regarding the ebay link you posted, i've never heard of that company and they didn't provide any thermal data (conductivity etc.) i searched around and apparently no one has that data so i wouldn't put too much trust into that stuff, if you are not worrying about the warranty and like better heat transfer I would stick with paste.

I've read this stuff is supposed to be good, course it's never in stock: http://www.petrastechshop.com/dadenthpafor.html

My card has no warranty, but I wanna sell it. I'll put on some AS5 and see if it's thick enough to make contact. I found other forums via google that recommended the Sekisui stuff.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=29891289&postcount=11

Zap described Laird thermal pads as white pads with fibers in them. Exactly what these pads are like. Though you probably can't get them. I did order the ebay stuff as the AS5 wasn't thick enough. Maybe those pads will work. I also ordered some MX-2 to use instead of AS5 on the core.

 

[Rackmountsales]

There are however a few drawbacks to thermal tapes systems. You should use thermal pads for it.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

True. Not sure what the stuff I ordered is like, but if it doesn't work out I found this stuff:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Thermal-Conduct...tem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a06a0cf25

Kinda spendy for how much I'll need, but I think I need pads ~1mm thick.

 

[zagood]

I started looking at these too, then forgot about it...here's a great search term that'll give you 900 different types, but no help to buy just enough for one video card...

Thermal Interface Gap Filler

 

[Modelworks]

Buying the pads is kind of hard for a hobbyist because the pads are not sold as pads but usually as sheets that are then cut to the desired size. Usually these are sold in lots so it makes it hard to just buy enough for one video card.

You can make your own though. In the repair industry sometimes you can't get things like this when a part is replaced and this works fine. You need some gauze bandages , the white kind with large mesh not the fine mesh and some silicone thermal compound , basically that is all the pads are. Lay down a layer of the gauze on a surface , cover with a thin layer of the paste and then cover with another layer of the gauze , press down on it slightly but not enough to cause the paste to squeeze out. You should still be able to see the gauze on both sides. Place it on the part and when you assemble it the pressure will cause the paste to squeeze through the gauze and make contact on both sides. The gauze is there to make sure the compound stays put.

I always used white silicon compound but I suppose you could use something else if you have it.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

Interesting, Modelworks. Thanks for the tip.

Well the thermal tape/pad (erm, not pad; it is double-sided tape, sticks well too) that I ordered from ebay didn't really work. It's 0.14mm thick so I could use layers of it, but it's sticky which makes it hard to adjust/remove the pcb from the heatsink. Seems like good stuff, just not good for this app.

It's very hard to tell just how thick these gaps are. Can't get in there with the tape measure. Really doesn't look like it's >1mm though. So I just ordered this pad. If I need 1mm I'll just use a double layer.

Curse this card, and me for being a noob!

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/ekwathpadbig.html

FrozenCPU has a nice selection as well.
http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l3/g8/c...ads-Page1.html

 

[Patrick Wolf]

This was my first time taking apart a video card. Hell of a card to be one's first!

The 0.5mm EK Thermal Pads worked, but I can still see some tiny gappage between a couple of the pads & VRAM. It's working fine, but I'm going to order these 1mm & 0.5mm pads and use the 1mm.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=25822

Other than that, temps are much better and it no longer crashes from overheating! EVGA Precision shows a 5 degree difference between GPU's, so maybe I didn't use enough (or too much) MX-2. Although GPU-Z shows them as being relatively the same...

Thanks for the replies everyone!

UPDATE: Well damn. That didn't work. The 1mm pads were too thick! The core couldn't make good contact with the heatsink. So I replaced them with the 0.5mm Koolance pads and all was good again. I put a little pad on the SLI bridge controller as well since the paste wasn't making full contact.

FYI: The 0.5mm EK and Koolance pad looked the same except the Koolance was more tacky and seemed more fragile making it more difficult to work with. The 1mm pad was nice though. Tacky, but only had one protective film to remove.