Sub-par thermal paste gets blame for soaring GPU temps

Tech outlet Igor’s Lab has pinpointed the reasons why modern graphics cards are having problems with high temperatures. It all comes down to thermal paste.

Thermal paste is hardly the most exciting part of any PC build. It is, however, a vital part of making sure components such as CPUs and graphics cards stay cool.

Igor’s Lab has been conducting an extensive series of tests. They’ve checked various graphics cards and the thermal compounds that they use.

These tests have led to the conclusion that poor-quality thermal paste is the main cause. This would provide answers for reported issues with modern GPUs posting scorching temperatures.

Even we’ve noticed some brands of GPUs running hotter than normal. Some of these problems can be attributed to issues with ventilation and airflow, but a significant portion of them were seeing hotspots over 100°C even with optimized airflow.

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Igor tested several graphics cards, including a brand new Manli Geforce RTX 4080 16GB Gallardo and the Asus RTX 4080 TUF Gaming model. The tests showed that regardless of which manufacturer built the graphics card, the same issue kept occurring.

An examination found that over time, the thermal paste in affected models lost its thermal conductivity. This was what was causing the temperatures to spike.

This inferior thermal paste is being used by board manufacturers because it is cost-effective. This allows them to significantly cut costs for large-volume production.

Users can fix the issue by dismantling their graphics cards and applying better-quality thermal paste. Unfortunately, this does run the risk of voiding the warranty.