XFX 7900XT merc 310 high junction temperature

[blackwell1988]

Hey,
i want to ask if there is now a solution for the problem from alphacool or not.
I have a XFX RX 7900XT Merc 310 and buught the alphacool waterblock directly after the release. Since that time i replace the waterblock 4 times. Because i have in gaming (GTA v, Division 2 at 1440 p an ultra settings) a gpu temp from 50C and hotspot 85.
I have the same issue with the pcb like in the first pictures of this thread.
I repleace the pads and the wlp.
Now today i made the last replace and it looks better but i will test tomorrow again. an send here some screen shots with temps.
So is there something from alphacool what i can do??

 

[blackwell1988]

Hello again,

So I now have the following values:

When idle with a water temperature of 23 degrees and a flow of 120 L/H GPU Core 25 degrees and 28 degrees HotSpot.

When gaming at full load (except memory) 43 degrees on the GPU and HotSpot 68 degrees, the highest value.
Here is a picture of the process. I'll keep an eye on it as my card also bends slightly. I also often had hot spot temperatures of over 80 degrees.
What now seemed to be the solution, the 4 screws around the GPU are very tight and I have a little more thermal paste (Noctua NH-2) than usual.
When I just spread the paste on the GPU, I messed up the temperatures with a spatula and after removing the block I saw that parts of the GPU were no longer covered.
I have now coated the GPU with the paste and also the base of the cooler, which is usually only done with LM.
I also installed new thermal pads from Artic.
Unfortunately, I became aware of this thread relatively late because I searched for my problem in German and didn't find much.

 

[blackwell1988]

I switched to Liquid metal. Now my hot spot peaks at ~70°C with Water peaking at 36°C with the GPU @355Watt

Hi, one question.
Can I simply use liquid metal with the RX 7900XT cards or do I have to be careful because of the chiplet design? In other words, no metal is allowed to come between the individual MCMs?
Yes, I know it is conductive and I have to use TG Shield from Thermal Grizzly or something like that around the chip, but do I have to pay attention to anything with the RDNA3 chips?

 

[DirtyAlpaca]

Hi, one question.
Can I simply use liquid metal with the RX 7900XT cards or do I have to be careful because of the chiplet design? In other words, no metal is allowed to come between the individual MCMs?
Yes, I know it is conductive and I have to use TG Shield from Thermal Grizzly or something like that around the chip, but do I have to pay attention to anything with the RDNA3 chips?

Just buy Thermal Grizzly Kryosheet 25x25mm.
It's similar to L.M. but safe.

Don't use liquid metals on your GPU if these things are unclear for you.

 

[IcyStorm]

@blackwell1988 @DirtyAlpaca

I have, some 0.5mm Thermal Grizzly Extreeme, around here. Can i use it directly for the GPU hot spot...? Some of the ppl here use paste again, some of you use 7950 Honeywell...I am confused, lots of ppl on youtube state that pads are bad for CPU and GPU's...

 

[blackwell1988]

Just buy Thermal Grizzly Kryosheet 25x25mm.
It's similar to L.M. but safe.

Don't use liquid metals on your GPU if these things are unclear for you.

Hello,
I already have experience with LM, but in the RX 6000 series and they have a monolytic chip and no chiplet design. I just wanted to ask if anyone has experience with the MCM and whether there is anything else to consider here.

But your idea with the cryosheet is good. I read something about it once, but it's something new and now that you say it, I think it's good.
I just have to see if my problems are caused by unevenness in the condition of my cooler, then the cryosheet won't help me. But thanks again

 

[blackwell1988]

@blackwell1988 @DirtyAlpaca

I have, some 0.5mm Thermal Grizzly Extreeme, around here. Can i use it directly for the GPU hot spot...? Some of the ppl here use paste again, some of you use 7950 Honeywell...I am confused, lots of ppl on youtube state that pads are bad for CPU and GPU's...

Hi,

what do you mean you are using Thermal Gryzzly Extreme 0.5mm?? You once the minus pads?
And if so, where do you want to use it? If you also have problems with the Alphacool water block, you need 1 mm pads and not 0.5 pads anyway.
If you want to use them directly on your GPU, I don't want to say anything about it, I have no experience using pads directly on the GPU or CPU, I only have experience in this area
Thermal paste and started with LM.

What DirtyAlpaca means here with the cryosheets from TG is something completely different. These are graphene pads, they are electrically conductive and you have to be just as careful here as with LM.
You can't just put these on the GPU and if you're unlucky, the PAD will end up on the capacitors next to the GPU.

But what exactly is your question on the topic here?
All I understand about you is that you have 0.5 thermal pads from TG and you want to put them on the GPU instead of paste? If that is your question, I would advise against it.

 

[IcyStorm]

Hi,

what do you mean you are using Thermal Gryzzly Extreme 0.5mm?? You once the minus pads?
And if so, where do you want to use it? If you also have problems with the Alphacool water block, you need 1 mm pads and not 0.5 pads anyway.
If you want to use them directly on your GPU, I don't want to say anything about it, I have no experience using pads directly on the GPU or CPU, I only have experience in this area
Thermal paste and started with LM.

What DirtyAlpaca means here with the cryosheets from TG is something completely different. These are graphene pads, they are electrically conductive and you have to be just as careful here as with LM.
You can't just put these on the GPU and if you're unlucky, the PAD will end up on the capacitors next to the GPU.

But what exactly is your question on the topic here?
All I understand about you is that you have 0.5 thermal pads from TG and you want to put them on the GPU instead of paste? If that is your question, I would advise against it.

I have proper 1mm and 3mm for the PCB, propely installed according to the manual. (Exactly followed as a good German!)

I would like to change the paste of the GPU only. To this - https://www.thermal-grizzly.com/en/products/516-minus-pad-extreme-en
The minus pad extreme is electrically insulating, and there is no issues with that.... Anyone can confirm Honeywell or TG is better? Difference is 0.2mm and 0.5mm...

 

[IcyStorm]

Is that hotspot temp particularly bad considering the +15% power draw? theres a limit on what the heatplate can do to certain spikes, and the average temperature (if thats what the GPU temperature is) seems low enough that the waterblock is doing its job just fine and thatr the Hot spot is just going to spike very high when overclocked. My XT sees 77c in games with only 5% power limit increase, 320watts. with 50c on the GPU temp. Is there anyone who can give more reference to their XTX with max power limit? as i know it would easily hit 110c on air. Just the RT cores alone seem to run incredible hot, i drop 25C by disabling RT in games. Id argue youre worrying about nothing here from a temperature standpoint. The bow in the backplate may be a aesthetic over sight but doesnt seem cause any performance issue. You mentioned the rapid swings in temperature but that's normally a positive, it means the cooler is doing its job quickly, dissipating heat after a quick rise or spike.

I have XTX ASRock Taichi with AIO Block - i have the following results after re-pasting with Noctua H2:

Idle - 33C board / hot spot 36C on 23 ambient temps.
Load 100%, + 15% power limit /455W~/-
CP2077/RDR2, or OCCT test - 72C Board / 92C hot spot.

*This is my best achievement up-until now. It takes a 2g i would say, so FAT load on the GPU die of Noctua 2H paste...

**No bends at all for me, as i have also a "holder" not sure the name, but that thing takes the GPU weight and "holds" it...actually it works.


I dont know what to think anymore - i hoped for 80C tops, and 3.1 Ghz stable...

 

[jcadduono]

I was having the same issue with my Merc310 core block, in game was around 57c core and 96c hotspot most of the time using quite a fair amount of Arctic MX-6 paste. It wasn't this bad for the first few days but gradually got worse. I decided to try the PTM7950 strategy and ordered a bunch of 80x80 pads off Aliexpress, put the PTM7950 on this morning with fresh 1mm Arctic TP-3 pads on memory and power ICs.
Ran AIDA64 GPU stress test for about 40 mins, was doing around 60-65C core and 80-95C hotspot for the first 20 minutes or so before it dropped to 55C core and 85C hotspot, then let it cool down for a bit into its "solid" form.
Well, ran a couple games and couldn't believe my eyes!
4 hours of gaming straight and I have a maximum 54c core, 75c hotspot, with an average of 42c core 48c hotspot.
1125mv + 2940MHz (pretty close to XFX factory performance bios?)
This stuff really does work miracles when suspect mounting pressure comes into play.
BTW that was the most annoying thermal paste to ever apply, I ripped the sheet like 3 times before I finally got a perfect application.
If anyone was wondering if they should try PTM7950, I'd say give it a shot.

 

[IcyStorm]

I was having the same issue with my Merc310 core block, in game was around 57c core and 96c hotspot most of the time using quite a fair amount of Arctic MX-6 paste. It wasn't this bad for the first few days but gradually got worse. I decided to try the PTM7950 strategy and ordered a bunch of 80x80 pads off Aliexpress, put the PTM7950 on this morning with fresh 1mm Arctic TP-3 pads on memory and power ICs.
Ran AIDA64 GPU stress test for about 40 mins, was doing around 60-65C core and 80-95C hotspot for the first 20 minutes or so before it dropped to 55C core and 85C hotspot, then let it cool down for a bit into its "solid" form.
Well, ran a couple games and couldn't believe my eyes!
4 hours of gaming straight and I have a maximum 54c core, 75c hotspot, with an average of 42c core 48c hotspot.
1125mv + 2940MHz (pretty close to XFX factory performance bios?)
This stuff really does work miracles when suspect mounting pressure comes into play.
BTW that was the most annoying thermal paste to ever apply, I ripped the sheet like 3 times before I finally got a perfect application.
If anyone was wondering if they should try PTM7950, I'd say give it a shot.

My AIO just got chips in it, so i am filling a report with Alphacool...in case they send me a replacement i would start with Honeywell PTM7950...paste for the AIO is waste of time and no good....

 

[dcox12]

After you guys reported good results with thermal pads I just ordered the Core block and some PTM 7950. Thank you for your combined efforts!
Assembly is planned for early November (if all ordered parts arrive in time). I will give an update then...

 

[blackwell1988]

Hello,
I took the tip and got TG Kryosheet 25x25.
Unfortunately it's a bit expensive (20€ for a pad) and to be honest, the assembly is really not good and very annoying. This is a pad made of graphene and is dry, i.e. it sits very well on the GPU
Fits perfectly without sticking out. Now try to place the Alphacool water block perfectly straight on the card... you can't move the block anymore, otherwise you'll move the pad on the GPU. I have countless
Some attempts are needed, but somehow it works just as long as you insert small tacks into the screw holes as a “guiding aid”.

What can I say, I'm very satisfied now. I suspect that I always had a “pump out” effect with the NH-2 paste, but not anymore. At full gaming load (no Furmark) I have around 49 degrees on the core and 69-71 degrees hotspot.
I can highly recommend it, but as I said, the assembly is really demanding and you have to be very careful. You also have to prepare the GPU with Kapton tape because the pads are conductive. And you have to think about whether it's worth €20 to you.

 

[DirtyAlpaca]

Hello,
I took the tip and got TG Kryosheet 25x25.
Unfortunately it's a bit expensive (20€ for a pad) and to be honest, the assembly is really not good and very annoying. This is a pad made of graphene and is dry, i.e. it sits very well on the GPU
Fits perfectly without sticking out. Now try to place the Alphacool water block perfectly straight on the card... you can't move the block anymore, otherwise you'll move the pad on the GPU. I have countless
Some attempts are needed, but somehow it works just as long as you insert small tacks into the screw holes as a “guiding aid”.

What can I say, I'm very satisfied now. I suspect that I always had a “pump out” effect with the NH-2 paste, but not anymore. At full gaming load (no Furmark) I have around 49 degrees on the core and 69-71 degrees hotspot.
I can highly recommend it, but as I said, the assembly is really demanding and you have to be very careful. You also have to prepare the GPU with Kapton tape because the pads are conductive. And you have to think about whether it's worth €20 to you.

Hello there. I paid 13.90 EUR for that pad and 3.90 shipping. You get a small box/package and a miniscule graphene pad. I was like, "this is it?".

I can confirm that the assembly is tricky compared to thermal paste.

I placed the GPU PCB on it's back facing the core upwards using two folding trestles.
Two boxes would work too I guess.
Centered the Kryosheet on the core.
Place some good lightning under the board.
Lowered the waterblock dead center on the board aligning with the screw holes.
Next I screw everything in, but only tightened down when all screws were in there.

Quite uncomfortable because you need to lie on your back or however you like

I also saw Jayz2cents promoting these pads on graphics cards a few days back. Guess we are doing the right thing.

All the best of luck and happy cool gaming.

 

[blackwell1988]

Hello there. I paid 13.90 EUR for that pad and 3.90 shipping. You get a small box/package and a miniscule graphene pad. I was like, "this is it?".

I can confirm that the assembly is tricky compared to thermal paste.

I placed the GPU PCB on it's back facing the core upwards using two folding trestles.
Two boxes would work too I guess.
Centered the Kryosheet on the core.
Place some good lightning under the board.
Lowered the waterblock dead center on the board aligning with the screw holes.
Next I screw everything in, but only tightened down when all screws were in there.

Quite uncomfortable because you need to lie on your back or however you like

I also saw Jayz2cents promoting these pads on graphics cards a few days back. Guess we are doing the right thing.

All the best of luck and happy cool gaming.

Hello,
Then you quickly paid €20 including shipping.

I have to admit, I can already see the pad from YouTube, “Der8auer” introduced it, as he is also the founder of
Thermal Grizzly is. But I didn't remember it to be honest.

But as you say, the assembly is a bit inconvenient, but once it's in place it's very good and it never will
drying out. I'm thinking about whether I'll make a dent for my CPU or whether I'll go with the Ryzen 7000 anyway and then I would
Do a little shopping at TG and get the DirectDie water block.

 

[LaurisXTX]

Hello everyone. On Saturday I received the Kryosheet from Thermal Grizzly. I started to take it apart and could see that the thermal paste I had applied the first time on the graphics card had moved excessively towards the edges of the DIE. In the end the problem with the excess hot spots was the thermal paste pumping. Because the GCD did not have thermal paste. Only the MCDs had thermal paste. Also, the thermal paste I had applied was very viscous and due to those excess hot spots, the thermal paste became almost liquid, it looked like water.

I cleaned everything and was able to verify that it is true that the MCDs are a few microns above the GCD. I tried to put the kryosheet but in the end I didn't see the installation so clearly (because it is electrically conductive). It also did not have yellow electrical protection tape or protective paint to protect the microcapacitors. In the end I did not dare to install it because of the risk it entails.

In the end I decided to use a thermal paste that I had bought a few weeks ago and that had great thermal conductivity but was not as viscous as normal thermal paste. They are that type of paste that is thicker and more complicated to apply (the kind that you hit with the palette and tear it off every time you apply it). Well, I have hit the nail on the head with this type of pasta. I poured a large amount into the center of the GCD (the widest part of the GCD from edge to edge) and applied it with the included palette and stretched it from the center of the GCD to the top 3 MCD and from the GCD to the other three MCD . Leaving a thicker layer on the GCD and a normal to thin layer on the MCD. But focus more on leaving that thick layer on the GCD.

Then wipe off the excess thermal paste and try to mount it. Tighten with your fingers without using force with the screwdriver (as far as it can be screwed with your fingers without using force). I took it apart again to see how the thermal paste had spread and again cleaned the little excess paste from the edges of the DIE with precision tweezers. And now I finally installed the water block. Then mount the rest of the liquid cooling. In addition to larger ones, I upgraded the radiators by changing a 240x30 radiator for a 360x54mm radiator and a Corsair D5 pump.

Now the temperatures have improved noticeably. Thanks to having applied the thermal paste in this way (as I mentioned previously, focusing more on the GCD) and having chosen one with very low viscosity (the kind that is difficult to apply), but that does not look like stone. For example, ArticMX4 is very viscous. This way I have gotten temperatures in 3DMark in the "Directx ray tracing feature test" temperatures of:

Edge: 40ºC and Hotspot: 55-60ºC, repeating the test about 10 times. And similar temperatures in the “Port Royal” test. The critical point never exceeded 60ºC. "Previously, these tests passed the 60ºC border and the 100ºC hotspot on the GPU. And now things have changed."

Then in the game cyberpunk 2077 at 5120x1440 ultra without raytracing
Edge: 39ºC and Hotspot: 54ºC. About 50 minutes playing.

With Raytracing cyberpunk 2077 in the same configuration.
Edge: 40ºC and Hotspot: 56-58ºC. About 40 minutes playing.







Right now I am delighted with the result. It was a great success to have applied the thermal paste in this way. The thermal paste I used is Thermalright TF9 2.9Gr. I almost emptied everything. But it was worth it XD.

 

[blackwell1988]

Hello everyone. On Saturday I received the Kryosheet from Thermal Grizzly. I started to take it apart and could see that the thermal paste I had applied the first time on the graphics card had moved excessively towards the edges of the DIE. In the end the problem with the excess hot spots was the thermal paste pumping. Because the GCD did not have thermal paste. Only the MCDs had thermal paste. Also, the thermal paste I had applied was very viscous and due to those excess hot spots, the thermal paste became almost liquid, it looked like water.

I cleaned everything and was able to verify that it is true that the MCDs are a few microns above the GCD. I tried to put the kryosheet but in the end I didn't see the installation so clearly (because it is electrically conductive). It also did not have yellow electrical protection tape or protective paint to protect the microcapacitors. In the end I did not dare to install it because of the risk it entails.

In the end I decided to use a thermal paste that I had bought a few weeks ago and that had great thermal conductivity but was not as viscous as normal thermal paste. They are that type of paste that is thicker and more complicated to apply (the kind that you hit with the palette and tear it off every time you apply it). Well, I have hit the nail on the head with this type of pasta. I poured a large amount into the center of the GCD (the widest part of the GCD from edge to edge) and applied it with the included palette and stretched it from the center of the GCD to the top 3 MCD and from the GCD to the other three MCD . Leaving a thicker layer on the GCD and a normal to thin layer on the MCD. But focus more on leaving that thick layer on the GCD.

Then wipe off the excess thermal paste and try to mount it. Tighten with your fingers without using force with the screwdriver (as far as it can be screwed with your fingers without using force). I took it apart again to see how the thermal paste had spread and again cleaned the little excess paste from the edges of the DIE with precision tweezers. And now I finally installed the water block. Then mount the rest of the liquid cooling. In addition to larger ones, I upgraded the radiators by changing a 240x30 radiator for a 360x54mm radiator and a Corsair D5 pump.

Now the temperatures have improved noticeably. Thanks to having applied the thermal paste in this way (as I mentioned previously, focusing more on the GCD) and having chosen one with very low viscosity (the kind that is difficult to apply), but that does not look like stone. For example, ArticMX4 is very viscous. This way I have gotten temperatures in 3DMark in the "Directx ray tracing feature test" temperatures of:

Edge: 40ºC and Hotspot: 55-60ºC, repeating the test about 10 times. And similar temperatures in the “Port Royal” test. The critical point never exceeded 60ºC. "Previously, these tests passed the 60ºC border and the 100ºC hotspot on the GPU. And now things have changed."

Then in the game cyberpunk 2077 at 5120x1440 ultra without raytracing
Edge: 39ºC and Hotspot: 54ºC. About 50 minutes playing.

With Raytracing cyberpunk 2077 in the same configuration.
Edge: 40ºC and Hotspot: 56-58ºC. About 40 minutes playing.

View attachment 5623

View attachment 5624

View attachment 5625

Right now I am delighted with the result. It was a great success to have applied the thermal paste in this way. The thermal paste I used is Thermalright TF9 2.9Gr. I almost emptied everything. But it was worth it XD.

Hello,

Sounds good. Keep an eye on your temperatures and let us know if it stays that way or if there is a “pump out” effect with this thermal paste.

On the subject of the TG KryoSheet, if you buy this there is NO material included to protect the capacitors around the GPU. Either you get TG Shield (nail polish is also available from the drugstore) or Kapton tape.
These things are not included in the KryoSheet. But as the experience of me and DirtyAlpaca shows, it's great. But I understand you when you say you don't have the courage to do it, after all we're talking about one
Graphics card currently costs around €900, which you don't want to destroy through your own fault.

LG

 

[LaurisXTX]

Hello,

Sounds good. Keep an eye on your temperatures and let us know if it stays that way or if there is a “pump out” effect with this thermal paste.

On the subject of the TG KryoSheet, if you buy this there is NO material included to protect the capacitors around the GPU. Either you get TG Shield (nail polish is also available from the drugstore) or Kapton tape.
These things are not included in the KryoSheet. But as the experience of me and DirtyAlpaca shows, it's great. But I understand you when you say you don't have the courage to do it, after all we're talking about one
Graphics card currently costs around €900, which you don't want to destroy through your own fault.

LG

exactly. Well, I have the 7900XTX and in my country it was worth €1,200. And it's not to kill her. The kryosheet looks so thin that I barely placed it and it moved. And it is not that when assembling the block it moves and makes a short circuit. That's why I haven't dared. But I will always have the kryosheet there for another time or another project. Also to learn how to install it. I will keep in mind the nail polish (I didn't know that works too) and the kapton tape. Thanks.

I will tell you how it evolves and if I no longer experience the "pumping" of thermal paste. Thanks to you I had the strength to experiment and not give up.

 

[dcox12]

As promised, my feedback with the Core block using PTM 7950. I'm running the XFX 7900XT with a quick'n'dirty undervolt/overclock (max clock 2950 MHz, 1050 mV, power +15%). I haven't even tried thermal paste.

- Temps are ok when GPU is under load: several 3DMark stress tests, CP2077 benchmark, FC6 benchmark, some Starfield gaming, some Alan Wake II gaming.
- Hotspot temp is a little lower than with stock cooler (around 80°C when loop is already warm) but this could be due to overall lower ambient temp in November and my fan settings on the radiators (2x 360) of course.
- Average chip temp is notably lower than with stock cooler, which means delta is bigger but no problem.
- Idle temps are at about 30°C average and hotspot.
- PCB gets bent by the water block (all screws are tight).
- Alphacool's thermal pad thickness between PCB and back plate is partially wrong (too thick) which results in a small gap between back plate and water block.

And here it is - finally:



Again I wanted to express my gratitude to all early adopters and all your troubleshooting efforts!

 

[Arran]

As promised, my feedback with the Core block using PTM 7950. I'm running the XFX 7900XT with a quick'n'dirty undervolt/overclock (max clock 2950 MHz, 1050 mV, power +15%). I haven't even tried thermal paste.

- Temps are ok when GPU is under load: several 3DMark stress tests, CP2077 benchmark, FC6 benchmark, some Starfield gaming, some Alan Wake II gaming.
- Hotspot temp is a little lower than with stock cooler (around 80°C when loop is already warm) but this could be due to overall lower ambient temp in November and my fan settings on the radiators (2x 360) of course.
- Average chip temp is notably lower than with stock cooler, which means delta is bigger but no problem.
- Idle temps are at about 30°C average and hotspot.
- PCB gets bent by the water block (all screws are tight).
- Alphacool's thermal pad thickness between PCB and back plate is partially wrong (too thick) which results in a small gap between back plate and water block.

And here it is - finally:

View attachment 5660

Again I wanted to express my gratitude to all early adopters and all your troubleshooting efforts!

I'd definitely recommend that people use PTM, although is rather harder to apply compared to paste as the plastic is a nightmare to remove. I think AC should consider including it with the cooler.
But on the reference card I'm running +10%, 1030mv getting around 2800 clock speed, and Temp's are 46/66 on for example Witcher 3 when the water is at 39c. I have 1x 480, 1x360, 1x240 on a loop with the CPU as well with all fans set at 650rpm, manages to keep the water below 40c.