Hey, just repasted my RTX 2080 Super (Gigabyte) after noticing sudden FPS drops in games. The card is about 5-6 years old and as far as I know (got it from a friend) had never been serviced.
Replaced the thermal pads (Arctic TP-3) and applied new thermal paste on the GPU die. GPU temps dropped significantly was hitting 87°C before, now sits around 65-75°C in game.
The issue is the Hot Spot temperature in HWiNFO64 peaks around 105-106°C and stays there during gameplay. From what I understand this means there's a specific point on the die that isn't making good contact with the heatsink.
I did not check if there was a hotspot before changing the pads, only the overall temperature which dropped significantly.
My little research tells me its probably a bad paste application or uneven pressure from the screws. I did attach images with the final assembly where the thermal paste application is visible (I spread it with a spatula).
The FPS drops are pretty much gone but I don't think I should be ignoring this issue.
I added a picture "after game" because whenever I ALT+TAB the temps would drop immediately but you can still see peak values
Has anyone dealt with this?
TLDR; changed the thermal pads and paste on my RTX2080 Super. Overall temperature dropped significantly. Issue: Hotspot of 105ºC (not sure if it was there before).
Edit: SOLVED swapped one of the 1mm pads for 0.5mm and it’s now running better than ever
Thanks for the help!