07/05/2026 7:55 am
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So my RTX 3080 FE is basically a space heater at this point. I was playing Cyberpunk last night and noticed my memory junction temps were hitting like 104 or 105 degrees which is insane. The fans sound like a jet engine taking off and honestly Im worried the thing is gonna fry itself before the end of the year. I use this rig for some 3D rendering work too so I really cant afford for it to die on me right now. Ive been watching a ton of teardown videos and I think Im finally ready to swap out the stock pads because everyone says the factory ones are oily trash.
Ive narrowed it down to a couple of options but Im stuck. First one is the Gelid Solutions GP-Extreme. People say they are super soft and squish well which is good because Im terrified of using pads that are too hard and causing the core to not touch the heatsink. But then I see everyone talking about the Thermalright Extreme Odyssey II pads because they have a higher thermal conductivity rating on paper. The Thermalrights are like 12.8 W/mk while the Gelids are 12.0 I think? Not sure if that small difference actually matters in the real world or if the stiffness of the Thermalrights is gonna be a headache for a first-timer like me.
Im also looking at Kritical Pads since they sell custom kits for specific cards but theyre a bit more expensive and Im trying to stay under 40 bucks for this whole fix. I need to get this done by next Saturday because I have a big project deadline coming up and I need the PC stable. Im buying from Amazon US just for the fast shipping.
Should I just go with the Gelids because theyre easier to work with or is the performance jump with the Odyssey II worth the risk of them being too stiff? Or is there something else Im missing entirely? Ive got the 1.5mm and 2.0mm sizes in my cart but Im just staring at the checkout button...
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07/05/2026 7:56 am
Dude, I totally feel your pain! My 3080 FE was doing the exact same thing when I was heavy into some Blender renders last year. It felt like I was living next to a furnace! I spent hours obsessing over the same data points you are right now. Seriously, dont overthink that tiny difference in thermal conductivity between the Thermalright Extreme Odyssey II 12.8 W/mK and the Gelid Solutions GP-Extreme 12W/mK. In reality, the shore hardness—basically the squishiness—is way more important for these Founders Edition cards because the tolerances are so incredibly tight. I actually tried the Odyssey pads first and it was a total nightmare tbh. They were way too stiff! Even after cranking down the screws, the memory was held too high and the GPU core itself wasnt even touching the heatsink properly. My memory temps dropped, sure, but my core temp shot up to like 95C instantly because of the gap! I had to tear it all back down and swap them out for the Gelid Solutions GP-Extreme 1.5mm. The difference was amazing. They squish down like play-dough which ensures that perfect sandwich fit. My memory junction temps dropped from 106C down to a beautiful 82C under full load... its honestly a life-changing mod for these cards. Definitely grab the Gelids, they are way more forgiving for a first-timer and the performance is fantastic! Just take your time with the tweezers and you will love the results.
