I don't know why it's not already an available product?

If they're selling stuff DIY Hybrid Kits it makes sense to sell replacement Thermal Pad kits, because obvious reasons.

To buy a full set of replacement Thermal Pads it's close to $100 CAD and then I have more pads than I need. It's expensive and wasteful.

Seems kinda silly when EVGA could profit off of selling us replacement Thermal Pad kits for reasonable prices that are exactly what you need.

Additionally people are reporting 3rd party thermal pads have issues like incorrect sizing(You can not buy 2.25mm or 2.75mm thermal pads) and/or compression issues where the pads are not soft enough.

All around seems like EVGA should be offering replacement thermal pads in some capacity for those that needs them.
If anything it would likely help reduce support and warranty calls/tickets.

I just opened a kit I have3 for my 3090 and it appears to have thermal pads in it. IDK the quality. I will more than likely get the pads referenced in another thread others used and did extensive testing with. let me know if anyone wants the thread I will track it down

justin_43
I do wish they would offer these. Just the right size and amount you need for your card. No more wondering what size pad you need.
 
Also how about EVGA goes back to using pads on the cards when they come from the factory? That thermal putty on the new cards is horrible to work with. Took me forever to get it all off. In the past you could just peel off the pads and even reuse them if needed. Now we have this putty and they offer no pads to replace it.
 
Come on EVGA, offer us these pads to buy. (And use them on the cards in the first place)

Yeah, that putty is a pain in the booty. I would guess it's a cost thing at the end of the day why they use that.

The problem is stuff like that might lower production costs, but comes back to bite them when they sell stuff self installed Hybrid Kits. If they sold the thermal pad/putty kits I wonder how much it would save them in support and forum people hours....(hint hint EVGA)

It seems like a silly oversight to sell DIY Hybrid and Water Cooling kits but kinda leave it up to chance on thermal pads like they are.

When you can't even buy the correct pads it's more than a silly oversigh.

This copy paste from another post highlights the issue in that you can NOT buy the pads listed retail. You have to compress over sized pads which is a support/warranty cost waiting to happen that is *completely* avoidable.

An asterix denotes a size that you can NOT buy retail(not even AliExpress has them) - There are only 4 pad specs that you can actually buy at the specified height.

3090/3080 FTW3 Pads:
*1pcs: 7.7mm x 6.5mm x 2.75mm
*2pcs: 53mm x 14mm x 2.25mm
*1pcs: 37.5mm x 14mm x 2.25mm
*1pcs: 15mm x 12mm x 2.25mm
1pcs: 110mm x 5mm x 2.5mm


3090/3080 FTW3 BP Pads:
2pcs: 51mm x 12mm x 2mm
1pcs: 38mm x 12mm x 2mm
1pcs: 14mm x 10mm x 2mm


3090/3080 FTW3 HYBRID/HYBRID Kit Pads:
Thermal pads for VRAM heatsink:
*2pcs: 49mm x 13mm x 2.25mm
*1pcs: 37.5mm x 12mm x 2.25mm
*1pcs: 13mm x 13mm x 2.25mm

Thermal pads for standalone heatsink:
*1pcs: 80mm x 4.5mm x 2.25mm
*1pcs: 75mm x 11mm x 0.75mm - Note: This thermal pad is not initially on the HYBRID card. Thermal putty is used in its place. If you remove/clean the thermal putty, then replace it with a thermal pad of these dimensions.

Thermal pads for heatsink connected to the fan:
*1pcs: 106mm x 5mm x 2.25mm
*1pcs: 105mm x 11mm x 0.75mm - Note: This thermal pad is not initially on the HYBRID card. Thermal putty is used in its place. If you remove/clean the thermal putty, then replace it with a thermal pad of these dimensions.

Yeah but it is a mess to clean ...

Intoxicus

KingEngineRevUp
The pads used on the card are a putty, they can be rolled up and reformed and flattened to your liking, just wear gloves when you do it. 
 
That's the easiest and cheapest thing you can do really. I've done it 4 times now without any issues. 

Just because you can does not mean you should or it is a good idea.

And that's not the point.

Things happen and there are all sorts of reasons people will need new pads/putty.

It makes no sense to use heights that people can not buy, then not sell/provide them.

If I had my say all DIY Hybrid Kits would come with a full back up/replacement set because, well it's a DIY hybrid kit.
If I had my way every GPU would come with a replacement/back up set of pads and putty. The stuff doesn't last forever either when exposed to air. They can dry out over time and lose effectiveness.

Just because you can doesn't mean you shouldn't either lol. 
 
But I agree with the remainder of your post. I'm just saying, I've had a lot of success reusing the existing pads, I hear others with 3090s didn't. I don't know if the 3090s use a different kind of putty but it seems more liquid and falls apart than what I have experienced on my 3080 and 3080 Ti.

Can't they just modify the original cards to have a better heatsink? Wouldn't that fix the majority of the issue? I mean... some fins and a little more metal...

jamey19
Can't they just modify the original cards to have a better heatsink? Wouldn't that fix the majority of the issue? I mean... some fins and a little more metal...

From a business standpoint no. They're still a business and more than likely their engineering team is already designing and working on the heatsinks for the 40 series. Yes, engineering starts very early. 

Alianz278
Would still be nice if they offered replacements, especially for the hard to find thickness pads like 2.25 and 2.75. It would be even better if they sold upgraded thermal conductivity pads of those hard to find sizes as well.

That's probably why the optioned for a putty and not a pad, it conforms to shape better compared to some pads. . 

Intoxicus

KingEngineRevUp

Intoxicus

KingEngineRevUp
The pads used on the card are a putty, they can be rolled up and reformed and flattened to your liking, just wear gloves when you do it. 
 
That's the easiest and cheapest thing you can do really. I've done it 4 times now without any issues. 

Just because you can does not mean you should or it is a good idea.

And that's not the point.

Things happen and there are all sorts of reasons people will need new pads/putty.

It makes no sense to use heights that people can not buy, then not sell/provide them.

If I had my say all DIY Hybrid Kits would come with a full back up/replacement set because, well it's a DIY hybrid kit.
If I had my way every GPU would come with a replacement/back up set of pads and putty. The stuff doesn't last forever either when exposed to air. They can dry out over time and lose effectiveness.

Just because you can doesn't mean you shouldn't either lol. 
 
But I agree with the remainder of your post. I'm just saying, I've had a lot of success reusing the existing pads, I hear others with 3090s didn't. I don't know if the 3090s use a different kind of putty but it seems more liquid and falls apart than what I have experienced on my 3080 and 3080 Ti.

Pads dry out, tear, compress, etc. **** happens. You can not assume everyone's pads will always be good forever.

When they eventually fail how do you replace them and know you did it properly?

Point is you can not rely on always having the pads that came with the GPU/Hybrid Kit for all sorts of reasons.

It seems like a massive oversight to not offer replacements.

Also I sent in a ticket and the tech must have been half asleep or new or something. 

I was told to buy EVGA thermal paste and use that. I don't think they understood I meant the 3mm thick strip of putty, not the paste on the GPU die. Which is embarrassing for EVGA and their techs because it should have been clear what I was asking about.

Imagine if someone inexperienced is told that?
They'll waste money on thermal paste and wonder why they're having thermal issues.

It would be hilarious though if that putty were the same thing as the paste EVGA sells. And not in a good way in my opinion...

By the time your pads go bad and dry out we'd probably be on the 50 or 60 series which would probably use different pad thicknesses. EVGA probably won't have yours in stock anymore.

But at least they shared the sizes with us and it's not like there isn't dozens of options over the internet.

But with that being said, have you seen the thermal paste they use on these cards or their own TIM? It's really low quality and horrid.

If I'm going to get replacement pads, I'd probably get it from a good vendor and definitely not from EVGA if we're going to go off of the thermal paste they sell.

Intoxicus

KingEngineRevUp

Intoxicus

KingEngineRevUp

Intoxicus

KingEngineRevUp
The pads used on the card are a putty, they can be rolled up and reformed and flattened to your liking, just wear gloves when you do it. 

That's the easiest and cheapest thing you can do really. I've done it 4 times now without any issues. 

Just because you can does not mean you should or it is a good idea.

And that's not the point.

Things happen and there are all sorts of reasons people will need new pads/putty.

It makes no sense to use heights that people can not buy, then not sell/provide them.

If I had my say all DIY Hybrid Kits would come with a full back up/replacement set because, well it's a DIY hybrid kit.
If I had my way every GPU would come with a replacement/back up set of pads and putty. The stuff doesn't last forever either when exposed to air. They can dry out over time and lose effectiveness.

Just because you can doesn't mean you shouldn't either lol. 

But I agree with the remainder of your post. I'm just saying, I've had a lot of success reusing the existing pads, I hear others with 3090s didn't. I don't know if the 3090s use a different kind of putty but it seems more liquid and falls apart than what I have experienced on my 3080 and 3080 Ti.

Pads dry out, tear, compress, etc.poop happens. You can not assume everyone's pads will always be good forever.

When they eventually fail how do you replace them and know you did it properly?

Point is you can not rely on always having the pads that came with the GPU/Hybrid Kit for all sorts of reasons.

It seems like a massive oversight to not offer replacements.

Also I sent in a ticket and the tech must have been half asleep or new or something. 

I was told to buy EVGA thermal paste and use that. I don't think they understood I meant the 3mm thick strip of putty, not the paste on the GPU die. Which is embarrassing for EVGA and their techs because it should have been clear what I was asking about.

Imagine if someone inexperienced is told that?
They'll waste money on thermal paste and wonder why they're having thermal issues.

It would be hilarious though if that putty were the same thing as the paste EVGA sells. And not in a good way in my opinion...

By the time your pads go bad and dry out we'd probably be on the 50 or 60 series which would probably use different pad thicknesses. EVGA probably won't have yours in stock anymore.

But at least they shared the sizes with us and it's not like there isn't dozens of options over the internet.

But with that being said, have you seen the thermal paste they use on these cards or their own TIM? It's really low quality and horrid.

If I'm going to get replacement pads, I'd probably get it from a good vendor and definitely not from EVGA if we're going to go off of the thermal paste they sell.

You can NOT buy .25mm stepped sized retail. 
That's the point.

You CAN NOT buy what they tell you to use at a commercial retail level. 

Unless you got to a wholesaler and buy in bulk.

You should check the posts of people talking about buying pads that are not soft enough having bulging backplates and bending backplates to accomodate for the lack of compression.

There is an actual problem, that could result in people damaging their GPUs because the compression forces are too much on the ICs.
If the backplate is literally bulging because the pad isn't soft enough to compress .25mm that is a potential for damage. Components can only take so physical force before taking physical damage.
I built PCs back in the you actually had to be careful about screwing down your mount because you could crack the CPU with too much compression force days. They do try and minimize the risk of this, but it's still a hazard to consider. 

And you're missing the point in the first place. 
feces happens. People make mistakes. Pads get damaged.
People need replacements they know are correct, in size, and compression/softness.
And these replacements should be easily and readily available if EVGA is going to sell DIY hybrid kits.
I would go as far to say a full replacement kit should be included with every Hybrid Kit by default. (Hint Hint EVGA...)

Using heights that are not available at retail, then telling people "Oh yeah, just buy new ones, here are the correct sizes, that you can't buy. And we don't easily offer replacements" is a bad idea, for all the reasons.

EVGA is creating an issue they could have avoided by thinking ahead a little and not forgetting that we're all human and you can't reasonably expect people to be perfect and never make mistakes.

If people were perfect and never made mistakes, then sure, you could expect thermal pads to last forever and never be damaged. 
But we live in reality.
And we are all human.
For better or worse...

Don't buy a pad then, buy putty. That's the reason EVGA uses a putty because it comes moist and conforms and compresses easily where a pad usually has a maximum compression rate like 30% then it becomes like a solid.

EVGA list 2.25mm and 2.85mm, do you understand how small 0.25mm and 0.15mm is? That's .009" and 0.006", that's literally within a tolerance zone, if you bought 2.25mm pads they could sell you 2.5mm pads and say they're within tolerance.

It's highly likely no one even makes 2.25mm pads, EVGA probably just uses 2.5mm putty because .009" is nothing and wouldn't"damage" a cars like you're making it sound like it was. Putty will spread out to the side if it needs to.

So do 2mm pads not work in place of the 2.25mm stock pad? Has that been proven?

talon951
So do 2mm pads not work in place of the 2.25mm stock pad? Has that been proven?

For thermal pads to work, compression is necessary.

https://www.eetimes.com/c...-gap-filler-materials/

"Fujipoly recommends at least a 10% compression."

Even GELID shares their test data and they had to compress their pad by 40% to get the rating they promise here



2.5mm - 10% = 2.25mm

The problem with OP is, he thinks you literally have to get pads that are the EXACT gap length, he wants EVGA to supply 2.25mm and 2.85mm thick thermal pads.

But if compression is necessary, a 2.5mm and 3mm pad is recommended with a SHORE hardness I believe around 25 SHORE, someone said they asked EVGA what the hardness of their thermal pads were and it's apparently 25 SHORE.

BTW, the sizes that EVGA recommended are the "minimum" thickness, that probably means that's the gap size and at a minimum, you don't want to go under that.

talon951
I'd probably still try the Gelid Extreme 2mm pads. Even if you didn't get quite enough compression, they would probably perform as well or better than stock and give as much core pressure as possible.

I would go 2.5, EVGA numbers are the "minimum" recommendation meaning those are probably the gap sides and any lower there won't be contact.

Intoxicus
I don't know why it's not already an available product?

If they're selling stuff DIY Hybrid Kits it makes sense to sell replacement Thermal Pad kits, because obvious reasons.

To buy a full set of replacement Thermal Pads it's close to $100 CAD and then I have more pads than I need. It's expensive and wasteful.

Seems kinda silly when EVGA could profit off of selling us replacement Thermal Pad kits for reasonable prices that are exactly what you need.

Additionally people are reporting 3rd party thermal pads have issues like incorrect sizing(You can not buy 2.25mm or 2.75mm thermal pads) and/or compression issues where the pads are not soft enough.

All around seems like EVGA should be offering replacement thermal pads in some capacity for those that needs them.
If anything it would likely help reduce support and warranty calls/tickets.

jamey19
Can't they just modify the original cards to have a better heatsink? Wouldn't that fix the majority of the issue? I mean... some fins and a little more metal...

get out of here you make too much sense. Next you will recommend a heat sink on the back of card as well? Burn this black magic witch. 

talon951

KingEngineRevUp

talon951
I'd probably still try the Gelid Extreme 2mm pads. Even if you didn't get quite enough compression, they would probably perform as well or better than stock and give as much core pressure as possible.

I would go 2.5, EVGA numbers are the "minimum" recommendation meaning those are probably the gap sides and any lower there won't be contact.

Hmm, not so sure now.  Looks like 2.5mm might be too thick, at least with the Odyssey pads used by the 3090 guy in the other thread bouncing around today.
 
https://forums.evga.com/3090-FTW3-Ultra-Thermal-Pad-and-Paste-Findings-m3209526.aspx
 
Last update increased his core temp by 10C.  That's probably not the TIM.  I don't think he said what his core temp was with the 2mm pads though.  Can see that's the case by the VRM pad not making good contact too.

What people don't understand is thermal pads don't work without the right compression. You can have a 12 rating from GELID BUT that rating from them is when they compressed it at 40% compression.

If you're compressing it at 10% then you can have a transfer rate much lower, arbitrarily speaking let's say it goes from 12 to a 4 rating.

That's more likely why.

https://forums.evga.com/m.m.aspx?m=3249351&p=2

EVGATech_LeeM
Sorry for the delay; I wanted to confirm something with the HYBRID cards/kits.
 
3090/3080 FTW3 Pads:

Spoiler

1pcs: 7.7mm x 6.5mm x 2.75mm
2pcs: 53mm x 14mm x 2.25mm
1pcs: 37.5mm x 14mm x 2.25mm
1pcs: 15mm x 12mm x 2.25mm
1pcs: 110mm x 5mm x 2.5mm

close

 
3090/3080 FTW3 BP Pads:

Spoiler

2pcs: 51mm x 12mm x 2mm
1pcs: 38mm x 12mm x 2mm
1pcs: 14mm x 10mm x 2mm

close

 
3090/3080 FTW3 HYBRID/HYBRID Kit Pads:

Spoiler

Thermal pads for VRAM heatsink:
2pcs: 49mm x 13mm x 2.25mm
1pcs: 37.5mm x 12mm x 2.25mm
1pcs: 13mm x 13mm x 2.25mm
 
Thermal pads for standalone heatsink:
1pcs: 80mm x 4.5mm x 2.25mm
1pcs: 75mm x 11mm x 0.75mm - Note: This thermal pad is not initially on the HYBRID card.  Thermal putty is used in its place.  If you remove/clean the thermal putty, then replace it with a thermal pad of these dimensions.
 
Thermal pads for heatsink connected to the fan:
1pcs: 106mm x 5mm x 2.25mm
1pcs: 105mm x 11mm x 0.75mm - Note: This thermal pad is not initially on the HYBRID card.  Thermal putty is used in its place.  If you remove/clean the thermal putty, then replace it with a thermal pad of these dimensions.

close

My question to EVGA is, what are these dimensions? Are they the actual pad or the dimensions some engineer grabbed off of the CAD file? Like they just measured the gap and that's what they're giving us.