Is it worth swapping out the stock EK thermal pads for another brand thermal pad with higher thermal conductivity? I bought some Thermalright Odyssey Extreme II pads in anticipation of using them instead of EK's pads, but having done some more research it seems there is more to it than just swapping in different pads. The important factor seems to be the pad hardness or shore scale. The Odyssey Extreme II 1.0mm pads look thinner than EK's 1.0mm pad but feel firmer. Does anybody have experience with the Odyssey pads? I don't want to run into any trouble. Thanks.
Thermal pads for EK Vector2 + 4090?
Astral85
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Is it worth swapping out the stock EK thermal pads for another brand thermal pad with higher thermal conductivity? I bought some Thermalright Odyssey Extreme II pads in anticipation of using them instead of EK's pads, but having done some more research it seems there is more to it than just swapping in different pads. The important factor seems to be the pad hardness or shore scale. The Odyssey Extreme II 1.0mm pads look thinner than EK's 1.0mm pad but feel firmer. Does anybody have experience with the Odyssey pads? I don't want to run into any trouble. Thanks.
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So the VRAM on the 4090's seems to prefer to be a little warm to get the best clocks. I'd stick with stock pads.
Also, have you already bought the EK block? I got one initially for my 4090, but the performance was pretty poor. I ended up just springing for a Heatkiller block and GPU delta dropped a full 10C at 530w.
Also, have you already bought the EK block? I got one initially for my 4090, but the performance was pretty poor. I ended up just springing for a Heatkiller block and GPU delta dropped a full 10C at 530w.
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you will find using different pads can cause issues. The pads are essentially the spring that keeps the correct cooler contact pressure on the gpu die.
Pads that are firmer will make it difficult to impossible to put the two halves of the cooler together too.
Pads that are firmer will make it difficult to impossible to put the two halves of the cooler together too.
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Yeah a friend of a friend got the Heatkiller for a 4090 and had the same drop in temps. Unfortunately I already received my EK Vector2 and it was shipped from Europe.
Where was performance poor? Do lower temps actually get any noticeable performance gain out of a 4090?
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I am using ek waterblock in combination with asus tuf 4090 , with org. thermal pads , gpu temperatures and difference between gpu-a hot spot was high (16-17'C difference between gpu and hotspot at 470w) , I changed pads to thermal putty hy230 , both temperatures fell strongly : gpu itself and the difference gpu - hotspot.
Gpu - hotspot fell to 7-8'C at 470W power consumption of the card
paste will adjust itself to the desired thickness and improve the pressure of the cooling to the core
Gpu - hotspot fell to 7-8'C at 470W power consumption of the card
paste will adjust itself to the desired thickness and improve the pressure of the cooling to the core
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9,881 Posts
Use a decent thermal putty. Then enjoy forgetting about pad dimensions or trimming pads. Revel like a mad person at the convenience and simplicity of giving zero consideration to thermal pad density. And sleep well knowing you will have absolutely perfect contact between the GPU core/die and the heatsink mating surface.
You want to look for a thermal pad with low thermal resistance against compression. Thermal Conductivity is an awful proxy for its actual performance. Many companies out there talk about thermal conductivity , but its usually pretty arbitrary, so be careful just using the thermal conductivity #.
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1,229 Posts
I had the same issue high HOTSPOT core to hotspot was a whopping 23c on my MSI Gaming X trio RTX 4090.
Here is what i did
Bought a CERTIFIED NM screwdriver from 0.1 to 1.2nm was expensive tho 120 bucks but worth the investment. (can use it on all hardware that needs exact mounting pressure like cpu blocks, gpu blocks etc.). But if you have an expensive piece of equipment like a RTX 4090 and added cost for a GPU block then might as well toss that 120 bucks for a certified nm screwdriver and do it proper.
I remounted the EKWB gpu block this time i used on ALL screws the same amount of torque ie 0.4nm even tho EKWB said its fine to use 0.6nm on the GPU block. So you wil achieve EQUAL pressure on all screws instead of "guessing". I DEF used LESS then 0.4nm on my first try. Also the backplate i used 0.4nm (started at 0.2nm waited 5 min then went to 0.4nm.
I used stock EKWB thermal pads that came with the block. However i changed paste from Arctic MX-6 to Gelid Extreme GC. I also contemplated Gryzzly Kryosheet and PTM7950 and Putty i may use them if my paste suffers from "pump out" and i think its already starting core to HOTSPOT is now around 10c - 11c it used to be 6c - 8c.
After remount very good temps on all the gpu: core - mem - hotspot. So hope this helps it might have to do with pressure one screw = say 0.3 the other 0.5 this is not equal.
If you are using different thermal pads make SURE its up to the task ive seen horror stories destroying GPU ram due to the hardness of the thermal pad ie "Shore rating". Do your research before attempting anything on your expensive card.
Here is what i did
Bought a CERTIFIED NM screwdriver from 0.1 to 1.2nm was expensive tho 120 bucks but worth the investment. (can use it on all hardware that needs exact mounting pressure like cpu blocks, gpu blocks etc.). But if you have an expensive piece of equipment like a RTX 4090 and added cost for a GPU block then might as well toss that 120 bucks for a certified nm screwdriver and do it proper.
I remounted the EKWB gpu block this time i used on ALL screws the same amount of torque ie 0.4nm even tho EKWB said its fine to use 0.6nm on the GPU block. So you wil achieve EQUAL pressure on all screws instead of "guessing". I DEF used LESS then 0.4nm on my first try. Also the backplate i used 0.4nm (started at 0.2nm waited 5 min then went to 0.4nm.
I used stock EKWB thermal pads that came with the block. However i changed paste from Arctic MX-6 to Gelid Extreme GC. I also contemplated Gryzzly Kryosheet and PTM7950 and Putty i may use them if my paste suffers from "pump out" and i think its already starting core to HOTSPOT is now around 10c - 11c it used to be 6c - 8c.
After remount very good temps on all the gpu: core - mem - hotspot. So hope this helps it might have to do with pressure one screw = say 0.3 the other 0.5 this is not equal.
If you are using different thermal pads make SURE its up to the task ive seen horror stories destroying GPU ram due to the hardness of the thermal pad ie "Shore rating". Do your research before attempting anything on your expensive card.
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1,138 Posts
I'm using TFX paste with my 4090 TUF non-OC with gelid extreme thermal pads. My ambients in this part of the world is much higher and my VRAM runs up to +1500mhz stable for the last 3 months. Hotspot delta has remained consistent between 10.5 to 15 degrees max depending on load wattage. I would strongly recommend TFX or PTM7950 if you want to avoid any issues of hotspot degradation. They are extremely durable and consistent pastes from my usage over the last few years.
I could possibly try reducing the size of my thermal pads for VRAM or use a worse off pad but I'm too lazy to tear it down for just a few 100mhz more for VRAM. +1600Mhz will almost certainly start artifacting on desktop so +1500Mhz is the absolute max stable for now and been very stable for the last 3 months.
I could possibly try reducing the size of my thermal pads for VRAM or use a worse off pad but I'm too lazy to tear it down for just a few 100mhz more for VRAM. +1600Mhz will almost certainly start artifacting on desktop so +1500Mhz is the absolute max stable for now and been very stable for the last 3 months.
I hate pastes lol, they are so messy . But I've also read on other blogs people love that PTM7950 stuff. I'd be interested to see how this stuff works in your computer
Gap Pad 5000S35 | High Thermal Conductivity Gap Pad | Custom Shapes
I'm genuinely curious if this wicked high performance stuff is better than thermal paste.
Gap Pad 5000S35 | High Thermal Conductivity Gap Pad | Custom Shapes
I'm genuinely curious if this wicked high performance stuff is better than thermal paste.
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