I used thermal grizzly pads on my 3080ti with EK water block happy with temps.

Check out my thread on the 3070Ti for pics of the pad kit that EVGA sent (scroll down), marked as Ziitek.  You can pull up a few web pages with products, but not sure which ones are specific to EVGA GPUs.  Assuming these are the same as those applied at the factory?  Not sure about the paste, but what they applied was rock solid and had to be chipped off.  Use something like Arctic MX-2 or -5, or Thermal Grizzly, etc.  A few good choices out there.
 
Here is a link to another evga forum thread on the topic.

the_Scarlet_one
I would not suggest changing thermal pads or paste with the max temp at 55c. You may get slightly better temps, but it won’t change performance enough to justify the cost and time. The thermal paste that EVGA is using is pretty good, and the only time people have truly seen benefits is when the thermal paste had a less than optimal application at the time of manufacturing, and at that time it is pretty obvious that something is wrong.

Agreed. 55c is pretty good already. You probably aren't going to do much better.

All depends on said system.  What are you loop's specs?  Different ambient temps, cases, etc, etc.  55c might seem a tad high than one expects under custom cooling but than again, it's not horrible and plus, you're running OC on a already power hungry GPU. 
 
IIRC, my custom loop had both GPUs in SLI, GTX 780 Classified HCs @ 250w each on default clocks @ around 45c but that was with lots of rad in a very large case. Water temps would stabilize around 42c on load.
 
You could repaste and shed a few degrees but noting crazy unless it's old and dry and or not making good contact.

Changing the pads causes can cause more headaches than anything.  Some see some improvements but if you're not mining on it, it shouldn't be too of a concern.

Taint3dbulge

talon951
What is your water temp when the GPU core hits 55C? Number and size of rads? What power level?

Only reason to repaste is if you think the block isn't performing well. The paste companies use now is quite good. You'd be lucky to get 2C reduction unless there is an actual issue with the original paste spread.

You would gain more with good thermal pads for mem temps if that's of interest to you. Probably minimal performance gain though (unless mem temps are way too high 100C+).

Water temps are 34-37c depends on what temp it is inside. Im running a 280 and 420, 60mm rads in a big open case. I had a 3080 gigabyte waterforce. That only hit 45c, my 1080ti overclocked would only go to 38-40c heck a 780Ti kingpin with modded bios so i could control the voltage 1.3v iirc would hit 48c. So this seems very high to me. For my OCD, i think ill try and repaste and replace pads just to see if i can get it under 50. OFC running 430-450watts will be warmer, but shouldnt be to much more then a 780ti kingpin.

That's about an 18C delta. I think that's typical of the HC blocks. They're not the best. Give it a shot though. Use soft pads like Gelid Extreme. That'll give you the best possible core pressure. Sounds like you've had several blocks/loops though so you probably already know that.

Probably the only way to improve a bunch is a better block though. The Heatkiller FTW3 block is finally out I think. It would probably get you 5-6C. Maybe a bit more depending on the mount. I have a reference version and it's about 11-12C@450w. And of course there's the pricey Optimus option.

GTXJackBauer

talon951

That's about an 18C delta. I think that's typical of the HC blocks. They're not the best. Give it a shot though. Use soft pads like Gelid Extreme. That'll give you the best possible core pressure. Sounds like you've had several blocks/loops though so you probably already know that.

Probably the only way to improve a bunch is a better block though. The Heatkiller FTW3 block is finally out I think. It would probably get you 5-6C. Maybe a bit more depending on the mount. I have a reference version and it's about 11-12C@450w. And of course there's the pricey Optimus option.

and


Agree.  While I like to keep the looks of EVGA on the GPU via HC, they're not the best.  My HC for the 2080 Ti didn't even last 2 years before it had a leak/crack and I was out of warranty on it.  I wish they went away from 'in-house' and went back to having their HC's made by reputed WC mfgers.

I personally like the EK GPU blocks and some others are nice as well.

Ya, i will only use EK because iv never had a problem besides my 1080ti block started to discolor and they sent me a fresh block to mount to the plexiglass. Still cant believe how cool that card was, only went over 40c after the coolant sat in it for over 12 months, then a cleaning of the block, fresh paste and coolant and back down to 38c. running 2063mhz core and i cant remember what the ram did, was like +650 on it. Those FE cards were all you needed lol.

Taint3dbulge

aseandempsey
Super helpful stuff, was curious how different patterns of paste worked

iv tried many ways, best is to just put a dot in the middle and spread a thin layer over the entire surface. I do it with a latex glove on. Or if it comes with a small spreader use that. 
 

Agreed.  After many years of trying different methods, I have resorted to the very-thin spread method.  Using a little plastic spreader that sometimes come with new syringes of paste.  After setting the HS down on the chip, I twist it CW and CCW just a slight bit just to work out any voids.