Gigabyte RTX 3070 coolers reaching speeds of up to 4500 RPM during gaming sessions
Gigabyte RTX 3070 coolers reaching speeds of up to 4500 RPM during gaming sessions
I purchased a used GIGABYTE RTX 3070 GAMING OC. The user ran it nonstop for about 18 months while mining. After installation, they checked fans and fans at full speed sounded fine. RPM reached around 2950 when all three were at 100%. During a game, GPU core temps climbed to 90°C, and the hotspot exceeded 105°C. Fans sped up dramatically—over 4500 to 5000 RPM on all three. The noise was intense enough to wake someone, and there was concern it might overheat. They decided to investigate and found the issue likely related to thermal paste. They considered replacing the paste first or the thermal pads immediately. They’re new to this and feel nervous about precise measurements and buying the right pads.
If the thermal pads remain intact, I’d just re-upload it and check for changes. That small section at the bottom of the VRAM should work if you carefully reassemble it before reinstalling the cooler. The factory paste seems too thin, possibly because the heatpipes left a gap. I don’t recall needing to clean most GPU labels beforehand, and I’ve taken apart many graphics cards.
Do you believe swapping both paste and pads might still work, or could it affect performance too much right now? It’s hard to say how long this has been happening when he was mining. Regarding your replacement question, can I just change the paste and reapply it, or do I need to adjust the pads as well? Thanks!
It could be quite dry considering it endured around 91,980 hours at temperatures above 50°C. Optimistically, you might still get by. You could explore higher-quality thermal pads or install a K5 Pro, but sticking with the current setup seems safest.
It seems the issue is probably due to a faulty thermal paste or improper installation, rather than problems with the heatpipes or GPU itself. The image we’ve reviewed suggests the die has too little thermal paste.