Reddit reviews ARCTIC Thermal Pad 50 x 50 x 1.5 mm - Thermal Compound for All Coolers, Efficient Thermal Conductivity, Gap Filler, Non-Stick, Safe Handling, Easy to Apply - Blue

The stock thermal pad is shite unfortunately, much like the rest of their VRM design. I used this to replace the pad with, it dropped vrm temps by 10-15C and muffled the noise a bit as well. You'll have to remove the silver VRM heatsink with the two screws on the back of the motherboard to get access to it, then basically cut off a piece of the new thermal pad that fits over the chips.

With this motherboard, at stock CPU clocks with core boost enabled (allowing it to boost to 3.9 on all cores), I needed 1.28v, right around there. The way I did it was by going into the bios (press Delete during the uefi splash screen). If you don't see "advanced frequency settings" along with other menu options, click the word "classic" at the top of your screen.

Now, under Advanced Frequency Settings, you need to set your cpu clock to 36, and under advanced cpu core settings, turn "core performance boost" to auto. Hit escape twice, then go to advanced voltage settings. In the cpu Vcore, type in 1.225 and press enter, then push the + key on your keyboard until the value changes to 1.28125V. This was the value that worked for me, I stress tested with cinebench and prime95 to make sure it wasn't crashing.

You can do mostly the same thing with the GPU and SOC voltage settings in the bios, plug in the default value on the right and use the + and - keys to adjust as necessary. Do be aware that Vega 11 has a clock dead zone between 1300-1400mhz so don't bother overclocking the GPU under 1400 MHz. I didn't experiment with undervolting or underclocking the GPU since I was trying to game on the computer without a discrete gpu.

If you want to learn more about VRMs and how they work, I'd suggest watching some videos by Buildzoid on YouTube, his channel is called Actually Hardcore Overclocking. As far as what exactly gigabyte fucked up on this board, it's hard to say, but I do know that the cpu is massively overvolted by default and the physical implementation of the VRM chips was poorly done.

If you would like to try, there are a couple of things you could do, though they vould be rather "jank"

1. You can try ordering som thermal pads to use as a heat interface between the rear VRMs and the backplate (assuming there is a backplate).
   This might work but if the issue is cooling itself you may need active cooling. I'd test it without a fan, and then again with a fan.
   
   
2. You can try removing the backplate and adding some heat pipes directly onto the aforementioned thermal pads. Doing this could be tricky but I believe that you could simply use zip ties and rubber o-rings as spacers to keep the heat pipes from making contact on the back of the PCB. The idea behind this is that if it is a heat problem, those heatpipes will be able to disperse the heat over a larger area much faster than a plain metal backplate. This would involve you possibly adding a fan near or on the area. Make sure that the heat pipes aren't making contact with any part of the backplate except the thermal pads though. Very important.
   
   
3. Buy a new card. I hate to say this but custom machining a waterblock is a pain. I know, I've done it before. Finding materials is pretty simple online now, but finding a workshop that not only is available but can babysit you and their equipment through the whole process is pretty rare.
   
   Out of all of these, the pads + active cooling is the cheapest at ~$6. But for about ~$20 you could do heat pipes and pads. I honestly would love to see the result if you do decide to do this. LMK

Measure the stock pad thickness and buy accordingly. A thicker pad with a higher thermal conductivity is equal to a worse pad that is thin. Fujipoly pads are best but quite expensive.

The one you linked is only 3x3cm. You need them to be thin and long for the VRM.

https://www.amazon.es/Arctic-Thermal-Pad-Conductividad-Especialmente/dp/B00UYTTMNI

I use those pads and cut them to the sizes I need. Only about 60% as good Fujipoly but much cheaper.

What about Thermal pads? https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Computer-Fans-Cooling/ARCTIC-Compound-Efficient-Conductivity-Handling/B00UYTTMNI

https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-thermal-pad.html?switch_new_app=y

Here you go!

• https://www.amazon.co.uk/ARCTIC-Compound-Efficient-Conductivity-Handling/dp/B00UYTTMNI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526504250&sr=8-1&keywords=ARCTIC+-+Thermal+Pad
  
  
• https://www.amazon.co.uk/ARCTIC-Compound-Efficient-Conductivity-Handling/dp/B00UYTTDO6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1526504250&sr=8-2&keywords=ARCTIC+-+Thermal+Pad
  
  
• https://www.amazon.co.uk/ARCTIC-Compound-Efficient-Conductivity-Handling/dp/B00UYTTLI4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1526504250&sr=8-3&keywords=ARCTIC+-+Thermal+Pad
  
  Different thicknesses

Basically, the gist is that if theres a thermal pad in there when you open it, there needs to be one there when you close it. The Die on the GPU and CPU are quite a bit smaller than on a desktop. Basically, use a half pea sized blob of paste on the CPU and a little bit more on the GPU. They only touch the heatsink in that one area. The thermal pads are for the VRMs and the GPU memory, so remember to replace any pads that you find when you open it up.

These are my go to thermal pads:

https://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Thermal-Efficient-Conductivity-Handling/dp/B00UYTTMNI

also these are made to be cut, so make them the right size when you apply them. Sometimes I make them slightly larger, but thats just me.

Thanks for letting me know as to both points.

These should be coming tomorrow for me:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZJSZM4C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UYTTMNI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I don't see a reference to a specific 2mm or 1.8mm thick pad on amazon and these appear to be the same pads I've seen in videos.

Sadly, one of the problems with this mod is that the whole point of it is temperatures that can't be easily monitored by software. I figure that I'll try these out and replace the pads with standard EVGA ones if I see an indication online that there's a benefit between them.

I purchased these two items and will use them when the laptop comes. It should be here in 10 days.

​

1. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002P5W4RU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
2. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UYTTMNI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I meant the mosfets, sorry. If I remember correctly they're the black chips near the chokes, right?
I would be using these pads, hopefully they wouldn't cause any issues. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00UYTTMNI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00UYTTMNI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The pads you linked are too thin at only 0.5mm thick. You'll need a pad that's at least 1.5mm thick, maybe even 2.0mm. The Arctic pads you linked are available in 1.5mm thickness, but not 2.0mm. For a 2.0mm pad you can order a couple of these or one of these.

something like this?

what thickness is best?

This is the one you need

https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-Thermal-Pad-1-5-Conductivity/dp/B00UYTTMNI

This is what I used for the pads. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UYTTMNI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_q3PJBbVVRNXDV

Have a razor hand for cutting pieces. You can buy cheap retractable at your local paint department or store.

I bought these ones if you're interesting in doing it.

​

https://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Thermal-Efficient-Conductivity-Handling/dp/B00UYTTMNI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1542860851&sr=8-3&keywords=artic+thermal+pads

I got the 50x50x1.5 which isn't enough.


Now I pushed it to +75mV, 1125mhz, 1350mhz and vrm max in Crysis 3 is 80ish

ARCTIC Thermal Pad (50 x 50 x 1.5 mm) - Silicone Based Thermal Pad with 6.0W/mK Thermal Conductivity - Flexible and Adaptive https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UYTTMNI/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_H-m7wbM9CBPW7

Install the NVMe drive to the back Z270I slot.

Grab one of these
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UYTTMNI/

Cut it into a strip that covers the whole backside of the M.2 drive and apply it to the M.2 stick. It's not electrically conductive so feel free to be sloppy and generous.

Install motherboard to motherboard tray. The thermal pad will turn the tray into a giant heatsink for your SSD.

Also, don't use the heatsink that covers the top M.2 slot. Just leave it off unless you REALLY like how it looks. You'll get moderately lower temps with the M.2 exposed.

IIRC, the 390/x only had aftermarket coolers, so whether they had pads between the card and backplate varies. Where to buy them, I really don't know. I was looking it up years ago when I used a 290x, but didn't replace my pads.

Arctic - Thermal Pad 50 x 50 x 1.5 mm | Thermal Pad for All CPU Coolers | Efficient Thermal Conductivity | Gap Filler | Safe Handling | Easy to Apply https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UYTTMNI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_q3PJBbVVRNXDV

Those seem good. The reviews show people using it with a 390x, and they used the 1.5mm thickness. So I'd say go with that.