Well, I know it isn't exactly a major deal, I'm not building a computer or anything (although it is something I want to do someday) but I am still sorta proud about it since it is the first major thing I have done on my computer in regards to it's hardware.
So like the title says, I got my materials in the mail today to do this. ArctiClean Thermal Material Remover, Thermal Surface Purifier, and Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound. Now my graphics card is a Nvidia 9800 GTX+. Certainly not the greatest graphics card nowadays but it still holds up pretty decently today.
I noticed it acting up for awhile though. It would get really loud when I would try to crank up all the graphics settings on SC2. Then it did it with Metro 2033, but I figured the game was just poorly optimized for the computer. Then I noticed the same thing happening with Deus Ex: HR on anything but the lowest possible settings. On the lowest graphic settings possible, it would still spike up to 80°C so I started looking up into possibly cleaning the damn thing. I bought the computer back in March of 2010. Everything was pretty good on it, Quad core i7, 4 gigs of ram (bought 4 gigs more along with it). The only thing really outdated was the graphics card, which was some older ATI Radeon one that I can't remember.
I am still pretty nervous messing with anything hardware wise, too paranoid I will fuck something up but I didn't have a choice here.
The video that I studied before doing this. Obviously was not my graphics card but its the same process to it pretty much.
Anyways, getting started. I didn't take any pics of me getting it out. I just unscrewed the bracket in the back of the case and helps to hold the card in place and then pulled it out. I used a regular philips head screwdriver for a few of the outer screws but used a PC screwdriver from a kit of them that was in my dads toolbox, something like this: http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/142755/StarTechcom-7-Pc-Screwdriver-Computer-Tool/
Oh, the screws have a spring underneath them too so it's important to unscrew them in a kind of criss-cross pattern as to relieve pressure off of the board evenly. I heard you can snap the board if you don't :S
The 9800 GTX+, same thing except mine has a different graphic on the cover.
After all the screws were out, I took off the top half to reveal the GPU underneath
Removed the covering off the top half to reveal a dusty as fuck fan, and heatsink. This is a good reason why you shouldn't wait 2 years to clean it.
The cleaning solutions. You could also use rubbing alcohol as well like in that video.
The GPU after cleaning off all the old thermal compound, Shiny! Did the same to the copper plate that goes over it.
Bunch of misc. items. The graphics card obviously, qtips that I used for cleaning out dust, the thermal compound tube, and a cut-out corner of a plastic bag that I used to spread the compound over the GPU with my finger.
The thermal compound that I used. Found it to be pretty highly rated so this is what I choose.
GPU after applying thermal paste. Even though it looks a bit thick, it really isn't. I put a small amount on the GPU and used a cutout corner of a plastic bag over my finger to spread it around. It was alot harder to spread then I thought it would be, this is some thick shit.
Then put everything back together and back into the computer it goes.
And the result? Idle temps in the 30s, browsing the internet/other general programs open is in the 40s. And for Deus ex, it has hit 60°C at worst as opposed to almost 80°C before. Maybe I can finally turn up the graphics on it. Overall, I would say it averages out to a drop of 10°C sometimes more, across the board.
Overall I am very satisfied with the results. It was also easier then I thought it would be. It just can be a bit time consuming due to all the screws to deal with and cleaning it, then applying the compound etc. This is probably the first (and last) time I will do it for this card though. I plan on upgrading my graphics card sometime this year.
Don't be afraid of doing some computer maintenance yourself! Read up on it, watch some youtube videos, and get your hands dirty. You will save some money while learning how to maintain your system.
yea i always wana do it but im too scared.. had bad experiences with it. i especially dont wana do it for laptops since..they are hard to put back together.. reminds me of when i cleaned my keybaord. used it for like 7 years never cleaned.. ew
I enjoyed the blog , i have yet to take apart my Gcard buts its on my to do list here in about 2 months for its 1 year of use. I am excited for it tho, i love doing things like this with my PC, its the best part.
Definitely build your next computer tho. It adds a nice feel once you start using it and well its fun to do ^__^. Me and 2 other friends built a pc within 1.5months of each other. Getting together, drinking and smoking while putting together a badass computer that we sunk our savings into... Only to realize you failed and your mobo needs 2 8pin's... this PSU only has 1. Good times.
But yeah, i love hardware maintenance on my computer. :D Will be interesting to see the inside of my 590, ive never looked up/seen the board of a 2gpu card =o. I am pumped to clean this thing now lol.
On February 07 2012 14:41 actionbastrd wrote: I enjoyed the blog , i have yet to take apart my Gcard buts its on my to do list here in about 2 months for its 1 year of use. I am excited for it tho, i love doing things like this with my PC, its the best part.
Definitely build your next computer tho. It adds a nice feel once you start using it and well its fun to do ^__^. Me and 2 other friends built a pc within 1.5months of each other. Getting together, drinking and smoking while putting together a badass computer that we sunk our savings into... Only to realize you failed and your mobo needs 2 8pin's... this PSU only has 1. Good times.
But yeah, i love hardware maintenance on my computer. :D Will be interesting to see the inside of my 590, ive never looked up/seen the board of a 2gpu card =o. I am pumped to clean this thing now lol.
Ya the best part of getting a new computer is building it. For one it's a lot of fun especially all the research before hand and you feel awesome when you play your first game of sc2 on it ;P. Also I hate people who buy computers by the price tag and couldn't tell you a damn thing about it(know to many of these people).
On February 07 2012 14:32 Leeoku wrote: yea i always wana do it but im too scared.. had bad experiences with it. i especially dont wana do it for laptops since..they are hard to put back together.. reminds me of when i cleaned my keybaord. used it for like 7 years never cleaned.. ew
I don't use laptops at all so I don't have a clue how to take them apart, no real need to learn since I don't use them. For my keyboard, I just spray some compressed air to get out any gunk that fell down there. If I spill something on the keys though, I just pop the keys out and wash them in some soap and water, works like a charm.
On February 07 2012 14:36 Azzur wrote: Very nice! A handy guide!
A few years ago, I remember replacing the fan for my graphics card and was very happy with the results (it became much quieter).
I suppose it is a guide of sorts although this was my first time doing it lol. I just felt like sharing the experience and maybe some other TLers would want to do it.
And yeah, my graphics card is practically silent right now, its been running Deus Ex:HR great now!
On February 07 2012 14:41 actionbastrd wrote: I enjoyed the blog , i have yet to take apart my Gcard buts its on my to do list here in about 2 months for its 1 year of use. I am excited for it tho, i love doing things like this with my PC, its the best part.
Definitely build your next computer tho. It adds a nice feel once you start using it and well its fun to do ^__^. Me and 2 other friends built a pc within 1.5months of each other. Getting together, drinking and smoking while putting together a badass computer that we sunk our savings into... Only to realize you failed and your mobo needs 2 8pin's... this PSU only has 1. Good times.
But yeah, i love hardware maintenance on my computer. :D Will be interesting to see the inside of my 590, ive never looked up/seen the board of a 2gpu card =o. I am pumped to clean this thing now lol.
Yeah, I am starting to get really interested in building my own rig, the only thing holding me back right now is cash at the moment. Well that and there is alot of shit that can go wrong when you are doing everything yourself, I had a friend who used to build computers and he had all sorts of horror stories about it.
On February 07 2012 15:15 Vestrel wrote: It did not occur to me that I can take apart my graphics card to clean it...
..
I'm too lazy... I'll keep doing the canned air thing
I wish I could just use compressed air to clean it. Believe me I had been using it on it for months. It just can't blow out all the dust that gets caught up in the heatsink though, I think thats what does it
On February 07 2012 14:41 actionbastrd wrote: I enjoyed the blog , i have yet to take apart my Gcard buts its on my to do list here in about 2 months for its 1 year of use. I am excited for it tho, i love doing things like this with my PC, its the best part.
Definitely build your next computer tho. It adds a nice feel once you start using it and well its fun to do ^__^. Me and 2 other friends built a pc within 1.5months of each other. Getting together, drinking and smoking while putting together a badass computer that we sunk our savings into... Only to realize you failed and your mobo needs 2 8pin's... this PSU only has 1. Good times.
But yeah, i love hardware maintenance on my computer. :D Will be interesting to see the inside of my 590, ive never looked up/seen the board of a 2gpu card =o. I am pumped to clean this thing now lol.
Ya the best part of getting a new computer is building it. For one it's a lot of fun especially all the research before hand and you feel awesome when you play your first game of sc2 on it ;P. Also I hate people who buy computers by the price tag and couldn't tell you a damn thing about it(know to many of these people).
Yeah for sure. Reminds me of an old friend of my parents. They spent like $5k or something on a custom made computer and it didn't even run well back then and sure as hell doesn't nowadays. You can throw away alot of money of those custom made PCs, holy shit.
I wouldn't be surprised if the dust was actually the biggest factor influencing the heat problem. Dust can really mess up your hardware if it goes unchecked for too long.
But ya, it's nice to clean up the GPU and CPU fans, apply new thermal paste (Arctic Silver is pretty decent) and watch the temps drop. Good on u
I usually stop short of removing the heatsink when it comes to graphics card maintenance because I'm unsure as to how I should deal with the pads on the VRAM. Did you just replace the thermal compound on the GPU? I'm not sure how removal/reapplication of the pads affects their performance.
On February 08 2012 06:43 Loser777 wrote: I usually stop short of removing the heatsink when it comes to graphics card maintenance because I'm unsure as to how I should deal with the pads on the VRAM. Did you just replace the thermal compound on the GPU? I'm not sure how removal/reapplication of the pads affects their performance.
Besides cleaning out the dust, yes. I just removed all the old thermal compound from the GPU and copper plate that goes above it.
I don't think there is any reason to remove those pads, but if you do you would have to be very careful since you have to get the thickness of it pretty close to perfect since I hear that there has to be a certain amount of space left or something. I'm guessing without them though, it wouldn't be good for the GPU since they aid in cooling it. I dunno when/how often you are supposed to replace those pads though, if ever. Maybe someone more computer savvy can come and answer this :p
Oh my god your arctic silver was spread with a plastic bag? Aren't you supposed to place a drop and the solution mold itself between the two surfaces to prevent bubble pockets from forming? A plastic bag to that stuff sound like a nightmare. Just wondering if it's like installing a CPU because if it is...
On February 08 2012 09:12 CecilSunkure wrote: Oh my god your arctic silver was spread with a plastic bag? Aren't you supposed to place a drop and the solution mold itself between the two surfaces to prevent bubble pockets from forming? A plastic bag to that stuff sound like a nightmare. Just wondering if it's like installing a CPU because if it is...
I read up on it and people were saying its pretty bad to just put a drop on there and just put it back on, thats how you get the air bubbles so I hear. It wasn't too bad to put on, was just very thick so you have to apply some pressure to it. I heard of people also using something like an old credit card or something to spread it on the GPU.
If how I applied it did end up giving the thermal compound air bubbles then my temp would be as high or even higher then it was before. So I think it was a success.
Also, Don't know about doing this for the CPU....maybe I should do that next, hmmm.
You're such a pussy. The 9800gtx can and will go up to around 80c during a long duration heavy load (especially with stock cooler). In fact, you're fine all the way up to 105c. My heavily overclocked 9800gtx always ran hotter than 80c in games and it still works.
Not to say cleaning out dust is bad though...
*edit* also, what bubbles? haha, you don't need to spread thermal paste out, in fact it's usually better not to if you know about how much to put.
On February 08 2012 09:12 CecilSunkure wrote: Oh my god your arctic silver was spread with a plastic bag? Aren't you supposed to place a drop and the solution mold itself between the two surfaces to prevent bubble pockets from forming? A plastic bag to that stuff sound like a nightmare. Just wondering if it's like installing a CPU because if it is...
I read up on it and people were saying its pretty bad to just put a drop on there and just put it back on, thats how you get the air bubbles so I hear. It wasn't too bad to put on, was just very thick so you have to apply some pressure to it. I heard of people also using something like an old credit card or something to spread it on the GPU.
If how I applied it did end up giving the thermal compound air bubbles then my temp would be as high or even higher then it was before. So I think it was a success.
Also, Don't know about doing this for the CPU....maybe I should do that next, hmmm.
Na there are no air bubbles (or there are and they don't matter). You put the right amount of thermal compound, you could have put the heatsink back on it and should've gotten similar temps.
EPT![[image loading]](http://images.nvidia.com/products/geforce_9800_gtx/GeForce_9800_GTX_3qtr_low.png)
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, i have yet to take apart my Gcard buts its on my to do list here in about 2 months for its 1 year of use. I am excited for it tho, i love doing things like this with my PC, its the best part.
