It is Normal and Comes from the Thermal Pads.
Use 99% Isopropyl Alcohol to clean up the Oil.
Might be time to Blow out your card as well.

 
 

Normal for EVGA, I have yet to have it on other manufactures cards. 

the_Scarlet_one

chrisdglong
Normal for EVGA, I have yet to have it on other manufactures cards. 

Gigabyte:


Zotac:


Motherboards do it:


A whole thread about Strix Card doing the same thing:
Link

It’s just normal in general, even if you don’t see it yourself. It can be found from every manufacturer on their products.

I never said that it doesn't happen, I've never had it happen. 

Thanks for the confirmation!
 

bcavnaugh
Might be time to Blow out your card as well.

That is after blowing through the card as well, using an electric air duster.  The dust/fibers just cling to the oil making maintenance more complicated.
 

Hoggle
It’s important to know it’s a cosmetic issue and will not harm the card in anyway. Also it would not effect an RMA. I personally would leave it but it’s good to know the cause.

Would this not lead to increased dust accumulation and retention resulting in higher-than-normal temps?

the_Scarlet_one

chrisdglong
I never said that it doesn't happen, I've never had it happen. 

Just providing clarification for others that come in.

This part may sound terrible, but if the OP or other users typed their title “oil on GPU” directly into google, their answers would be readily available without waiting for someone to answer the question. Thousands of results come up and show that there is no harm.

Maybe, he wanted to ask around here, or get a more personal answer... who knows, who cares, posting questions like this on a forum like this is the whole point of the forum... I really hate when people create a reply just to say go search Google...

the_Scarlet_one
This part may sound terrible, but if the OP or other users typed their title “oil on GPU” directly into google, their answers would be readily available without waiting for someone to answer the question. Thousands of results come up and show that there is no harm.

 
 
Maybe before complaining or assuming, it would be best to read the actual post?
EDIT: You mentioned "if the OP..." so I took that as being directed at me.  I just wanted to point out that I did make a search but as chrisdglong pointed out, I wanted proper verification on my particular cards.  I did not want to just assume my issue was simply the thermal pad issue as other pictures show much less than what I was seeing on my cards.  Better safe than sorry!  Thanks for your PM, apology accepted but really was not needed.  Thank you for your help in this thread!
 
 

Cool GTX
Yes to the uninitiated it is alarming - when your GPU has "damp looking spots" it is not an issue ---> [unless your CPU's AIO cooler is leaking ]
The thermal pads are infused with "silicone" by the Mfg & like anything else there is probably some variation during production of the pads
Now mix in: Compression, temps, gravity & the silicone will migrate

Like I said, I've never had this happen before.  I'm not a PC building store and I upgrade PCs only every 4-5 years (when the performance jump justifies the cost), but I've been doing this for a while and I build PCs for family and friends and I have 3+ PCs in the house at any given time.  I also maintain my PCs and those of close family and friends so I clean the insides of PCs quite a lot.  This is the first time I've seen something like this outside of something actually breaking or having some insect/animal pee or die inside the case.  I am also a strong proponent for big aircoolers since catastrophic failure would simply result in a passive heatsink compared to when AIOs or liquid cooling setups fail.  Naturally, I was very surprised to see any liquid/oil/moisture inside the case!
 
I don't think thermal pads per se are the issue but rather the type of thermal pads EVGA is currently using, right?  I have had 980Tis, 980s, 960s, 7970s, and other top/2nd/3rd tier cards before with double- or even triple-slot coolers and unless you're saying those GPUs did not have or use thermal pads or that old thermal pads didn't use silicone, then the thermal pads really isn't a valid excuse for EVGA.  It seems funny to now have to accept this as the "norm" when it didn't seem to be an issue before; at least not in my limited experience!
 
 
Moving on.... it seems that I will actually have to open up these GPUs and clean them out.  Do people normally replace the thermal pads?  I'd love to hear recommendations for good pads that won't leak silicone all over the place!  If such an option is not possible, I'll probably just clean these cards and sell them on and look at the 2XXX series of GPUs, but if this issue persists with EVGA's 2XXX line, I'll definitely be looking at other manufacturers going forward. :(

No, no, not at all.  No offense seen from your post, if there is any emotion in my response, it is more to do with being disappointed at this issue.  I have had very, very good experience with EVGA in the past with their GPUs and PSUs and happily bought my 1070s based on that past experience.  From what I read online, while this issue happens on other manufacturer's GPUs as well, it seems like it's more prevalent in EVGA products?  I really wish I could RMA these if for no other reason than to avoid the hassle of opening them up and future maintenance issues.  One or two GPUs on a personal rig is fine.  Multiple GPUs across multiple PCs both for myself and for family and friends and all of a sudden, any increased maintenance requirement would be a major pain especially as I do this as a hobby and thus unpaid and on my own free time.  All because EVGA decided to use this particular brand of thermal pads.
 
I've never opened a GPU cooler assembly before.  I've never cleaned/scrubbed a PCB before.  Now I will have to do this and EVGA will not cover any damage that may occur.  All because EVGA decided to use this particular brand of thermal pads.
 
 
Thank you for your recommendations on thermal pads.  As you can see, I'm very unhappy with the stock ones and will be replacing them.  I assume that if I do, these aftermarket pads will not leak silicone?  Here's one that I've found:
 
EDIT: seems like I can't post links yet so
Watercool Replacment thermal pads for HEATKILLER® IV für GTX 1080 und 1070 FTW
from the PPCS website costing $7.95
 
Unfortunately, I'm located in the UK so will have to find some on this side of the pond.
 
Watercool Replacment thermal pads for HEATKILLER® IV für GTX 1080 und 1070 FTW Model: WC-79369
 
edit Cool GTX added link

 

Cool GTX
Failed heatpipe - Have your GPU temps changed drastically for the worse ?

I can't really say.  Up to now, I've been using the 980Ti on my personal rig.  The others were used on my boys' PCs, wife's PC, home theatre PC, etc. so I wasn't really monitoring them.  What would you say would be the norm?  I've put one in my personal rig now to test it out and it's sitting at 52-53C with a 0-8% fan speed and going up to about 65-70C at 36% fan speed when game testing; everything about the card is default, I've not changed anything.  I've not really run stress benchmarks or anything on these, any suggestions?  I can probably hook each one up to the home theatre setup and run tests from there.

performance-pcs.com/watercool-replacment-thermal-pads-for-heatkillerr-iv-fur-gtx-1080-und-1070-ftw.html
 

Cool GTX
Do Not Scrub
Blotting with lint free (coffee filter works) and 90% or higher rubbing alcohol - Use caution as rubbing alcohol is flammable

LOL, I didn't mean actual scrubbing....
 
 
fixed link Cool GTX

Frosty Aviator
performance-pcs.com/watercool-replacment-thermal-pads-for-heatkillerr-iv-fur-gtx-1080-und-1070-ftw .html
 

 
look up in post #14 - that was the part I had already put a link in

FAQ

What size are the thermal pads for the thermal mod?
 1080/1070 FTW:

Baseplate (Narrow) Pad: 26mm x 110mm x 1mm +/-0.1mm thickness
Backplate (Wide) Pad: 58mm x 110mm x 2mm +/-0.1mm thickness


Non-FTW, Non-Classified, Non-Black Edition:

Baseplate (Narrow) Pad: 26mm x 93.4mm x 1.5mm +/-0.1mm thickness
Backplate (Wide) Pad: 58mm x 93.4mm x 2mm +/-0.1mm thickness
 

What thickness are the thermal pads on my graphics card?

If you choose to replace the thermal pads on your graphics card, you will want to use thermal pads which are 1.0mm thick. This is the same for all of our graphics cards regardless of the generation. Typically, thermal pads come in packs of strips and then you would want to cut them down to the length you need.

Sajin
Nothing to worry about. Nothing a good cleaning can't fix.

Where the old cleaning method of pressurized air and a brush would've done the trick, it simply won't do now unless I just leave alone the dust that stuck to the oil.


 
Thanks for the awesome help guys especially Cool GTX!  I'll look for some YouTube tutorials just to make sure I'll be doing the teardown correctly but if you guys have any recommended videos, that would help me make sure I'm not watching a wrong tutorial.  Anyone here know of the "tutorial video" released by The Verge a few months ago?
 
Any reason for the X shape bead recommendation?  I use the grain-of-rice method for when I replace my CPU thermal paste.... and I assume using the same thermal compound would be good for the GPU too?  Or is a GPU thermal paste different?
 
To those that have used aftermarket thermal pads, do you still have this issue of silicone/oil leaking?  Or is it really just the type EVGA used that is to blame?
 
 

So a bigger grain of rice? 

More like a Pea size for the GPU  (bcav posted while I built my links   )

I prefer to spread the TIM - it is a more advanced method; but, ensures that it is all covered - May take practice to get it covered correctly (1 smooth wipe)
 
The object is full coverage of the GPU with a tiny bit extra, Not folding over & trapping Air.  The tiny bit extra ensures coverage & can squeeze out around the GPU Die "valley area"



I like MX-4 TIM ---> Good Quality, fairly cheap price, Non-conductive
 
 
https://www.ekwb.com/blog/thermal-compound-guide/
 
EKWB.com ---> How to correctly apply the thermal interface material
 
This PDF should be very Helpful ---> Installation manual for EK-FC1070/1080GTXwater block
The EK guide is for the EK water block - However - it has some good information (do not use the EK thermal pad thickness - Unless it is the same as the EVGA)

Since the GPU die doesn't have an integrated heat spreader like a CPU does, it's important to make sure the whole die gets covered. Having a little excess shouldn't hurt anything as long as you are using a non-conductive thermal paste.