Honestly fed up with my 3080 Ti hitting 105C while gaming this weekend here in Chicago, the stock pads look like oily trash and I'm ready to rip it apart. I'm actually super excited to try those Gelid ones though... are high-performance thermal pads worth the upgrade for GPUs?
TL;DR: Definitely worth it. I used Gelid Solutions GP-Extreme Thermal Pad 12W/mK, just make sure to check exact thickness requirements so you dont lose core contact. Be careful during the teardown tho.
TL;DR: Absolute game changer! You are gonna see a massive drop in those memory junction temps, like seriously. I have done this to a few 30-series cards now and honestly, the factory pads are such a joke. They bleed oil everywhere and just dont transfer heat well at all. If you want to go beyond the basic stuff, you gotta check out Thermalright Extreme Odyssey II 14.8 W/mK Thermal Pad because they are super high performance. Just a heads up tho, they are a bit stiffer than others, so you gotta be really precise with the thickness or your core temps might actually go up from lack of contact. If the pad doesnt squish enough, it lifts the heatsink off the GPU die... which is basically a nightmare scenario. If you want the absolute best of the best, look at Kritical Pads 20 W/mK Thermal Pad Custom Kit. They are amazing because they are pre-cut for specific cards like your 3080 Ti so you dont have to mess around with a ruler and scissors all day. It is incredible how much better the card runs when the memory isnt throttling at 105C or higher. My VRAM temps dropped by nearly 20C after I swapped mine out. It is such a satisfying project once you get it back together and see those numbers crushing it. Totally worth the stress of the teardown!
ngl i am in the exact same boat right now and it is stressing me out. those temps are honestly scary. you might want to be really careful before tearing things apart tho... maybe check some teardown guides on youtube first? i saw a great one just by searching 3080 ti pad replacement. just be super careful about the warranty and those tiny screws, dont want you to brick anything.
Building on the earlier suggestion, I think it is totally worth it but you really gotta be careful with the measurements. A friend of mine actually messed up a card because they used pads that were way too stiff and it caused the board to flex too much. When I finally worked up the courage to do mine, I was honestly terrified of ripping a ribbon cable or losing one of those tiny screws. If the pads are even 0.5mm off, you could actually make your temps way worse or even crack the die if you tighten things down too much. I ended up choosing Fujipoly Sarcon XR-m 17.0 W/mK because I wanted something high-end that wouldnt bleed oil everywhere like the stock ones do. It was nerve-wracking tho. Spent like two hours just cleaning the old gunk off with isopropyl alcohol and a bunch of q-tips before I even touched the new pads. Just make sure you have a digital caliper handy to measure the old ones exactly because manufacturer specs you find online are sometimes wrong. Better safe than sorry when you are dealing with an expensive 3080 Ti...
Been thinking about your setup since I saw this post earlier. Are you planning to repaste the GPU core at the same time, or are you just focusing on the memory modules? Dealing with the VRAM is half the battle, but if your core is also spiking, you might as well do it all at once. For what its worth, I swapped over to Alphacool Eisschicht Thermal Pad 17W/mK on my old card and was really satisfied with how easy they were to compress. Theyre less finicky than the stiffer stuff and perform great.
Just catching up on this thread and man, I feel your pain. My 3080 Ti is hitting those same crazy temps lately and it is honestly so frustrating to watch the junction temp climb while just browsing. I am also planning a repad soon but I am trying to keep the costs down since I already spent a fortune on the card. Building on the earlier suggestion, you might want to look into ARCTIC Thermal Pad 6W/mK if you want something reliable that is way easier on the wallet than those super high-end kits. Honestly, it is a huge relief to see others dealing with this too, makes me feel like less of a DIY wreck. Just be careful with those tiny screws, I have lost so many of those over the years it is not even funny. Good luck with the surgery, hope it helps lower those numbers!