Modders Use Copper Shim Pads on NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 30 Series Graphics Cards For Up To 46C Drop In GDDR6X Memory Temperatures
One of the key upgrades for the high-end NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 series graphics cards was the use of GDDR6X memory modules. Offering over 18 Gbps memory speeds, these memory chips are the best in terms of bandwidth performance but they also happen to get really hot, reaching over 100C in some cases.
While graphics card manufacturers (AIBs) have used thick thermal pads between the GDDR6X dies and their thermal solutions, they don’t seem to offer adequate cooling performance. Some users have seen a huge drop in temperatures by replacing these thermal pads with those that offer high thermal density but modders have gone one step ahead. The thermal paste needs to be applied on both ends of the copper shim pads to ensure adequate thermal dissipation. In the case of DandyWorks, the user saw a drop from 110C down to just 64C. This is a drop of 46C and quite a major one which was evaluated using prolonged testing periods within crypto mining. Crypto mining was used since it puts the most stress on the memory and it loves the new GDDR6X dies. The fan speed was set to 100% (3000 RPM in the case of the ASUS’s TUF model) and the GPU clock speed was lowered too since it doesn’t offer much use case when mining. Now some things that should be mentioned is that opening up a graphics card and applying this mod will void the warranty, no matter the region. Another thing is that copper shim pads do have the tendency to apply more pressure on the fragile components (such as GDDR6X dies) under them so if more than necessary mounting pressure is applied, they can result in permanent damage to the chips beneath them. Hence this method is only to be done if you are an expert in replacing and modding the thermal solutions on your graphics cards. Videocardz managed to get a list of users from Hardwareluxx forums who happen to have done similar modding on their graphics cards and can be seen below:
ZOTAC GeForce RTX 3080 AMP Holo ASUS TUF GeForce RTX 3080 TUF OC MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming Z Trio ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080 OC EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 FTW3 Ultra NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition
Once again, while there are massive benefits that can be obtained from this mod on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 series graphics cards, there are also some huge drawbacks such as the voiding of warranty and potential damage to the GDDR6X memory dies. It is advise that anyone who wants to try this mod out does so at his own risk! News Source: Tomshardware
