Defeating thermal paste pump-out in high power GPUs

[yoadknux]

Good news, PTM7950 arrived today. I thought it would take longer due to the Iranian attack last week, glad to hear I was wrong.

So, first and foremost. When opening the card I see the exact same pattern in the center as before:



Anyway, I cleaned up the paste and put the PTM7950 on it.



The application was kinda annoying. You need to peel off two sides. The bottom left and right broke a bit, but it's no big deal I think.

As for temperatures, I read that it needs time to "cook". So I'll run a light load on it for a while and then run the stress test and update with the results.

EDIT
After letting it "cook", meaning doing several hours of gaming with load-on / load-off regularly, here's what I'm getting with the benchmark (Cold start, TimeSpy Extreme, Power Limit set to 600W):


In terms of "Day-0" temps, it seems to slightly outperform the CM MasterGel Maker by about 2c, and match the Kryonaut Extreme. That's pretty impressive considering its not an actual paste.
Will it pump out? I'll have to wait and see how it holds up over time. A week for now should be a good time to repeat this test.

 

[yoadknux]

I'll post some overclock results with PTM7950.

The card manages to pass Superposition at a core of 3060MHz (+270MHz on MSI AB). Memory is a bit on the disappointing side at +1100MHz. Anything more and I start seeing artifacts.

Temps were really low at 52c core and 59c hotspot. That's "cheating" though as I had the fans at 100% (sounds like a jet engine). At regular profile it's about +10c and lower clock because of thermal throttle.

 

[yoadknux]

PTM7950, after one week:



Completely identical to the result from 7 days ago (top post on this page). So far, no sign of ANY degradation!

 

[yoadknux]

Day 14, TimeSpy Extreme benchmark (same as posts #41 + #43), 600W PL, identical temps. No paste was able to achieve such consistency over time for me, only PTM7950. Magic. Will keep updating weekly until the end of the month.

 

[yoadknux]

Day 21, same benchmark, same power limit, same temps.

 

[yoadknux]

Day 30, same testing conditions. Guys, PTM7950 is a clear winner. Amazing performance, better than the top pastes, with no sign of degredation. Goes to show you how important the thermal interface is, and how it unlocks the thermal capabilities of a GPU on air. 63.4c with 73.7c hotspot is truly a wonder for an air cooled card drawing a maximum of 514W.

 

[yoadknux]

Day 50. I think the (slight) temperature increase is due to an increase in ambient temperature as the summer approaches. Anyway, +1.7c in core temp, +0.5c in hotspot temp and +2c in memory temp can't really be called degredation.

 

[EarthDog]

Nice to see it's keeping up. Recording ambient room temp is critical when testing for things like this.

 

[freeagent]

The pink stuff has been noted by its creator that longevity is not its strong suit.

 

[yoadknux]

Nice to see it's keeping up. Recording ambient room temp is critical when testing for things like this.

Yeah, I set the air conditioner to the same temperature when I do those tests, but there will always be some variation. I probably should find an unused motherboard sensor (like "System") and use it to monitor the ambient.

 

[EarthDog]

I probably should find an unused motherboard sensor (like "System") and use it to monitor the ambient.

...that isn't the answer.

I happen to have a weather station with a remote (outdoor) sensor I out in front of my intake amd use that. Or, when testing motherboards, I have an external probe where 3 sensors get stuck to the mobo/vrm, the other right in front of the intake fan on the test bench.

But yeah, 1-2C difference in ambient translates 1:1... so if you're off 1-2C and your ambient is different..........

 

[freeagent]

I happen to have a weather station with a remote (outdoor) sensor I out in front of my intake amd use that

There has always got to be someone more hardcore than the average bear out there

 

[JLK03F150]

There has always got to be someone more hardcore than the average bear out there

I have one of these...

https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-52-2-Input-Digital-Thermometer/dp/B00012Z124

 

[freeagent]

I have one of these..

But vintage??

Maybe

Vintage Accu Temp Thermometer with Humidity | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage Accu Temp Thermometer with Humidity at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[EarthDog]

Yeah, for motherboard testing, I'm using an Extech SDL200. My 12x12' room also has a window AC that runs during testing. It can, even with all 3 PCs in the room doing things, hold ambient to about a max ~1C difference during logged testing (about 30-40 mins).

I have one of these..

But vintage??

Analog FTW!!




But just something that gives you an idea of what the intake temps are.

 

[yoadknux]

I promised to update this thread. Here's day 80-90ish.


Core<>Hotpsot delta is now at 10.4c, compare it to post #34 in this thread that used regular paste (21.7c delta) and you will realize how well PTM7950 works on this GPU in terms of hotspot temperature. As for the slight increase in core temperature compared to post #43, it's been discussed already, but I think it has to do with the ambient temperature in April being lower than in July.

 

[EarthDog]

but I think it has to do with the ambient temperature in April being lower than in July.

Did the room temp change? Outside is irrelevant.

 

[yoadknux]

7 months since last repaste with ptm 7950.

 

[yoadknux]

9 months. Same benchmark. Ambient was a bit lower, sorry, look only at the hotspot - core delta