RTX3080 FE - Re-do thermal pads vs Warranty

GR63 · 2 Jul 2021 at 10:57

Nvidia will void warranty if you do... but IF you hammer the memory it gets awfully toasty...

In two minds.. lose warranty now or see how good Nvidia's warranty is? Its a 3 year warranty on RTX cards isnt it but is it valid if you mine on a card? Can they tell? And how difficult are they about warranty?

Warranty experiences vary a helluva lot. Western Digital for example were unhelpful until pushed (hard), John Lewis for example, never been anything other than easy. No experience with Nvidia....

xPETEZx · 2 Jul 2021 at 11:23

Remember the card isn't alarmed. (Also has no warranty void stickers) Changing the pads does not notify NVidia and void your warranty. If you ever need to claim on it, they will need to prove it.
Given the enclosed nature of the FE cards, they would have to take it apart to find out.
I personally don't believe they do that. It would take far too long, for what must be a very small sample of cards they would actually find anything.

I also think NVidia operate a 'common sense' approach here. Publicly state opening the cards voids warranty to deter people doing so as much as possible.
However when they receive a card for RMA, unless there is obvious signs of physical damage or tampering, just move on and RMA it.
Obviously don't mention you opened the card or changed the pads when initiating the RMA if you ever needed to.

One person posted on these forums that they successfully RMA'ed the card after opening it up and finding a damaged component. Initially nVidia tried to say no, but did replace it in the end.

Again, these are just my thoughts. I haven't had to deal with nvidia for an RMA before, and hope I wont need to.
I replaced the pads on my card, as it was just so loud stock. (vram would hit 104... fans go to jet-speed)
Much much better now. Fans barely go above 1100rpm. Sadly the card whines... so while eliminating one noise left with another.

If you go with a re-pad, there are plenty of really good videos showing all the steps. Even templates for cutting out the right sized strips.

GR63 · 2 Jul 2021 at 11:35

xPETEZx said:
If you go with a re-pad, there are plenty of really good videos showing all the steps. Even templates for cutting out the right sized strips.

Thank you. If we had "Like" or "Thanks" buttons you'd get one. But have to say one of the most full replies to a Q I have seen on forum

I'd see a video or two but never templates so if you have a shareable link for that would be great. Might "man uP" and do my 3080

kevman · 2 Jul 2021 at 11:41

JudgeDeath said:
Thank you. If we had "Like" or "Thanks" buttons you'd get one. But have to say one of the most full replies to a Q I have seen on forum

I'd see a video or two but never templates so if you have a shareable link for that would be great. Might "man uP" and do my 3080

I just put a water block on my 3090 - when I removed the cooler all the original thermal pads came off fully in tact and on the heat sink - both sides. It would not be too hard to put it back to its original condition if it needed to be returned.

Gavster · 2 Jul 2021 at 13:17

If you do decide to re pad your 3080FE run Heaven benchmark for around 30 minutes, it comes apart really easily then, I did that when I put my waterblock on mine and it makes life so much easier.

Benass · 2 Jul 2021 at 13:48

how will they tell if u replace thermal pads?

tommoT.Striker · 2 Jul 2021 at 13:49

kevman said:
I just put a water block on my 3090 - when I removed the cooler all the original thermal pads came off fully in tact and on the heat sink - both sides. It would not be too hard to put it back to its original condition if it needed to be returned.

Was your 3090 only fairly used? eg no mining? Reason I ask is people saying the originals can turn into a sticky mess.

clone · 2 Jul 2021 at 14:02

Don't touch it as its nvidia your just giving them a excuse to reject a rma.

varkanoid · 2 Jul 2021 at 14:19

When you undo the screws the black paint comes off so you would either need to be really careful not to let this happen or maybe try and repaint them afterwards.
So they can prove it was undone. Also the white pads they use have to be really carefully removed and stored as they disintegrate so if you were to RMA it you would need to put these back.

Also dont believe the "Nvidia wont check the card" a lot of companies use 3rd parties to inspect their RMA's (eg Acer) and their contracted job is to inspect returns for signs of customer tampering as well as the usual fault checks so for all we know the cards go back to some company like this. So yes Nvidia themselves might not check it but they will have some 3rd party that does.

Zotac got me on this years ago on a GTX280 so be careful that is all.

BTW I did it on 3080FE on the back and it was a waste of time didnt improve mem at all. Most people say replacing pads on front and thermal paste gives biggest improvement that I have read, eg here and overclock.net

kevman · 2 Jul 2021 at 14:19

tommoT.Striker said:
Was your 3090 only fairly used? eg no mining? Reason I ask is people saying the originals can turn into a sticky mess.

Yeah no mining just gaming - probably more luck than anything else that the all came off in one go

andybird123 · 2 Jul 2021 at 14:25

Benass said:
how will they tell if u replace thermal pads?

It would be obvious if they opened it up, if you are careful and don't give them any reason to be suspicious e.g. mangle the screws putting it back together, then they probably don't bother

varkanoid · 2 Jul 2021 at 14:29

Someone on here sent a 3080 fe back after discovering a crack in a small component on the rear so that had been opened and he got a replacement. You wont really know till you try but there is no guarantee either way so its upto the person who wants to do it whether its worth the risk over the actual gain (which for me was not worth it)

xPETEZx · 2 Jul 2021 at 16:08

varkanoid said:
When you undo the screws the black paint comes off so you would either need to be really careful not to let this happen or maybe try and repaint them afterwards.
So they can prove it was undone. Also the white pads they use have to be really carefully removed and stored as they disintegrate so if you were to RMA it you would need to put these back.

Also dont believe the "Nvidia wont check the card" a lot of companies use 3rd parties to inspect their RMA's (eg Acer) and their contracted job is to inspect returns for signs of customer tampering as well as the usual fault checks so for all we know the cards go back to some company like this. So yes Nvidia themselves might not check it but they will have some 3rd party that does.

Zotac got me on this years ago on a GTX280 so be careful that is all.

BTW I did it on 3080FE on the back and it was a waste of time didnt improve mem at all. Most people say replacing pads on front and thermal paste gives biggest improvement that I have read, eg here and overclock.net

Your Zotac story goes back even further than my last GPU RMA.
Which was an ASUS GTX285. I had replaced the cooler with a chunky Artic cooling one. I RMA'ed that card no issue. Put stock cooler back on, and sent it back.

So far, I have yet to see a single report anywhere of somebody having there warranty claim rejected because of changed pads.
Have however seen the story of the chap who had his card replaced despite admitting to opening it up.

Lmg80 · 2 Jul 2021 at 16:58

What are the benefits of doing this, does it hold max clock better?

fs123 · 2 Jul 2021 at 17:39

Lmg80 said:
What are the benefits of doing this, does it hold max clock better?

The memory junction temp can get to 110C and thermal throttle the card using the stock pads, especially if mining or some other intensive task that uses a lot of memory. Even games can push the memory temp to 100C. Replacing pads can drop memory junc temps to around 70-80C under load.

Lmg80 · 2 Jul 2021 at 18:14

Thank you

hyperseven · 2 Jul 2021 at 19:42

couldn't they just test the torque of the screws to see if been opened as doubt people who take apart are going to use a torque driver to reassemble?

Benass · 2 Jul 2021 at 20:00

andybird123 said:
It would be obvious if they opened it up, if you are careful and don't give them any reason to be suspicious e.g. mangle the screws putting it back together, then they probably don't bother

if they opened the card, it means its already been taken in for a warranty.

Benass · 2 Jul 2021 at 20:02

hyperseven said:
couldn't they just test the torque of the screws to see if been opened as doubt people who take apart are going to use a torque driver to reassemble?

Imagine how it looks in PR. Oh torq rate doesnt mach factory speqs. Warranty Voided.

Sarge2255 · 2 Jul 2021 at 20:26

xPETEZx said:
Your Zotac story goes back even further than my last GPU RMA.
Which was an ASUS GTX285. I had replaced the cooler with a chunky Artic cooling one. I RMA'ed that card no issue. Put stock cooler back on, and sent it back.

So far, I have yet to see a single report anywhere of somebody having there warranty claim rejected because of changed pads.
Have however seen the story of the chap who had his card replaced despite admitting to opening it up.

This thermal pad thing is a new mining craze, as the activity frys the cards memory. If gaming, an AIB card is totally fine if you have good airflow. Some water cool the card as well.