talon951
I don't follow.  He put a thicker 2.5mm pad on and then reported his core temp was 10C higher than stock.  What does that have to do with not compressing the pad enough with a 2mm?  My point was that a 2.5mm is probably not what you want whether a 2mm works or not.  At least for the air cooler.
 
And you can't really tell what happened with the VRAM temps since the Tjunc temp wasn't available at the time.  Not sure how much value the EVGA sensors are.  Obviously not much as he got thermal throttling at one point without them changing.

I'm going to use arbitrary numbers to explain the engineering side of things. 
 
The rating you see from vendors varies with compression. For example, GELID, to get that 12 W/mK you would have to compress it 40%. People read a spec of thermal conductivity and expect it to perform at that rating regardless of compression. But we know that thermal conductivity rating varies WITH compression. 
 
If 0 compression = 1 W/mK, then 20% would be 6 W/mK if it was a linear relationship (probably isn't). 
 
People look at materials like thermal putty and see "oh, it's rated at 6 W/mK, screw that, I'm going to do GELID because it's 12 and I'll get better results!" 
 
Well it's quite possible that the putty might be rated at 6 W/mK regardless of compression. 
 
So this guy goes and buys a 2.5mm pad, compresses it by 0.5mm and now it's 2mm thick. The compression is 20% (2mm / 2.5mm). What if the thermal conductivity rating with a 20% compression isn't 12 W/mK? What if it's 2-4 W/mK? That can explain the reason why someone might get worse thermals.
 
 This is probably the reason EVGA chose to use thermal putty, it seems their gap is not at a standard size divisible by 0.5mm. Thermal putty can be compressed very easily and the amount you have to compress thermal putty by is very little to get it's full thermal conductivity rating. 
 
https://www.eetimes.com/c...-gap-filler-materials/

A plus with putty pads is that they can compress down significantly — much farther than viscoelastic pads. They require a minimum amount of compression; at least 10%. They also relax over time. Standard gap fillers and putty gap filler pads have essentially the same performance for a given gap. They are soft, and eventually they will bottom out past 80% — what’s referred to as densification. The material is no longer flowing, and is being crushed.
 

talon951
One more time. It was the CORE temp that was higher in his case. You're just not following me. Compressing the pads more reduces the contact pressure on the CORE and increases core temps. It's a balancing act. Which is why softer is better. He thought it was the paste he was using,
but it's much more likely a loss of core contact pressure.

I am an engineer. Of course the pad gets better as you compress it. It's more dense then (thermal conductivity generally increases with density) as well as thermal resistance decreases because it's thinner.

Sorry, I didn't read the post in full. I was feeding a toddler at the time. What you said may be true about the contact pressure on the core or it may not. I didn't do the test myself. 
 
Yes, I am also a engineer. 
 
Edit: OKay, I was totally confused by your previous post. My mistake. When you said "core" I didn't know you were talking about GPU core temperatures. I thought you were talking about the EVGA XC1 readings of the memory modules themselves. Yes, what you said about the core going up because of the pads is true. The pads are probably too hard.

talon951

KingEngineRevUp

talon951
One more time. It was the CORE temp that was higher in his case. You're just not following me. Compressing the pads more reduces the contact pressure on the CORE and increases core temps. It's a balancing act. Which is why softer is better. He thought it was the paste he was using,
but it's much more likely a loss of core contact pressure.

I am an engineer. Of course the pad gets better as you compress it. It's more dense then (thermal conductivity generally increases with density) as well as thermal resistance decreases because it's thinner.

Sorry, I didn't read the post in full. I was feeding a toddler at the time. What you said may be true about the contact pressure on the core or it may not. I didn't do the test myself. 
 
Yes, I am also a engineer. 
 
Edit: OKay, I was totally confused by your previous post. My mistake. When you said "core" I didn't know you were talking about GPU core temperatures. I thought you were talking about the EVGA XC1 readings of the memory modules themselves. Yes, what you said about the core going up because of the pads is true. The pads are probably too hard.

No problem. I just had to throw in some caps to get your attention. Lol.

I might try to repad mine sometime. Still not completely happy with the mem temps I'm getting. For some reason I originally thought the mem thermal pad thickness was 1.5mm, but it was obvious they are thicker when I got the hybrid kit. Decided to use the included pads since all I had was 1.5mm. Kinda regret that now.

I was searching for thermal putty to post here and the only ones I found that had potential were from Fujipoly, they have putty that retains the thermal conductivity from 10% and onward of compression, the problem it seems they only sell in bulk.

talon951
What about the one I posted?

Very good candidate. They have a 50 shore hardness so they might be too hard. The only thing I can think of doing with that is making a cheap press to get the thickness you'd want. 
 
Get two shims, two gift cards and a non-adhesive film.
 
The shims should be the thickness you want.
 
Roll the putty up, place it in the middle on top of the film between the gift card that's very flat on a table, put a shim on the left and right, then the other gift card and press down with a book. 
 
Then take something thin and cut the thermal pad to a rectangular shape to your liking. 
 
For reference of possible shims

1. Gift card thickness 0.76mm
2. Penny is 1.52mm
3. dime is 1.3mm
4. quarter is 1.75mm
5. half dollar is 2.15mm

Two pennies stacked up is close to 3mm. A quarter and a gift card id 2.51mm
 
 

KingEngineRevUp

talon951
I don't follow.  He put a thicker 2.5mm pad on and then reported his core temp was 10C higher than stock.  What does that have to do with not compressing the pad enough with a 2mm?  My point was that a 2.5mm is probably not what you want whether a 2mm works or not.  At least for the air cooler.
 
And you can't really tell what happened with the VRAM temps since the Tjunc temp wasn't available at the time.  Not sure how much value the EVGA sensors are.  Obviously not much as he got thermal throttling at one point without them changing.

I'm going to use arbitrary numbers to explain the engineering side of things. 
 
The rating you see from vendors varies with compression. For example, GELID, to get that 12 W/mK you would have to compress it 40%. People read a spec of thermal conductivity and expect it to perform at that rating regardless of compression. But we know that thermal conductivity rating varies WITH compression. 
 
If 0 compression = 1 W/mK, then 20% would be 6 W/mK if it was a linear relationship (probably isn't). 
 
People look at materials like thermal putty and see "oh, it's rated at 6 W/mK, screw that, I'm going to do GELID because it's 12 and I'll get better results!" 
 
Well it's quite possible that the putty might be rated at 6 W/mK regardless of compression. 
 
So this guy goes and buys a 2.5mm pad, compresses it by 0.5mm and now it's 2mm thick. The compression is 20% (2mm / 2.5mm). What if the thermal conductivity rating with a 20% compression isn't 12 W/mK? What if it's 2-4 W/mK? That can explain the reason why someone might get worse thermals.
 
 This is probably the reason EVGA chose to use thermal putty, it seems their gap is not at a standard size divisible by 0.5mm. Thermal putty can be compressed very easily and the amount you have to compress thermal putty by is very little to get it's full thermal conductivity rating. 
 
https://www.eetimes.com/c...-gap-filler-materials/

A plus with putty pads is that they can compress down significantly — much farther than viscoelastic pads. They require a minimum amount of compression; at least 10%. They also relax over time. Standard gap fillers and putty gap filler pads have essentially the same performance for a given gap. They are soft, and eventually they will bottom out past 80% — what’s referred to as densification. The material is no longer flowing, and is being crushed.
 

**The point is we should not have to go to the time and effort of all this when EVGA can simply sell us replacement kits which they can profit off of selling.**
 
You're also proving my point in the quoted post from you. If we can not buy pads/putty at retail that are functionally equivalent to what comes with the GPU then we have a problem.

If I could easily buy the correct and functionally equivalent pads and putty there would be no issue at all. I would buy what I need and we would not be here.

The reality is I have to spend too much on more than I need of pads that may or may not be less performant that what EVGA could provide to us. And I only find out by buying and trying.

Just because I got the cash together for a 3080 Hybrid doesn't mean I can burn $100+ CAD on thermal pads. And then maybe get pads that aren't very effective. Making for more waste and wasteful spending.

The easy solution is EVGA sells us replacement pad and putty kits. 

EVGA profits from those sales and customers are happier with EVGA providing something unique that helps bolster their reputation among enthusiasts.

KingEngineRevUp

Intoxicus

KingEngineRevUp

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.

In other threads people are reporting bulging backplates with Gelid pads so...

That's because GELID is not a putty and too hard.

Intoxicus

KingEngineRevUp

talon951
I don't follow.  He put a thicker 2.5mm pad on and then reported his core temp was 10C higher than stock.  What does that have to do with not compressing the pad enough with a 2mm?  My point was that a 2.5mm is probably not what you want whether a 2mm works or not.  At least for the air cooler.
 
And you can't really tell what happened with the VRAM temps since the Tjunc temp wasn't available at the time.  Not sure how much value the EVGA sensors are.  Obviously not much as he got thermal throttling at one point without them changing.

I'm going to use arbitrary numbers to explain the engineering side of things. 
 
The rating you see from vendors varies with compression. For example, GELID, to get that 12 W/mK you would have to compress it 40%. People read a spec of thermal conductivity and expect it to perform at that rating regardless of compression. But we know that thermal conductivity rating varies WITH compression. 
 
If 0 compression = 1 W/mK, then 20% would be 6 W/mK if it was a linear relationship (probably isn't). 
 
People look at materials like thermal putty and see "oh, it's rated at 6 W/mK, screw that, I'm going to do GELID because it's 12 and I'll get better results!" 
 
Well it's quite possible that the putty might be rated at 6 W/mK regardless of compression. 
 
So this guy goes and buys a 2.5mm pad, compresses it by 0.5mm and now it's 2mm thick. The compression is 20% (2mm / 2.5mm). What if the thermal conductivity rating with a 20% compression isn't 12 W/mK? What if it's 2-4 W/mK? That can explain the reason why someone might get worse thermals.
 
 This is probably the reason EVGA chose to use thermal putty, it seems their gap is not at a standard size divisible by 0.5mm. Thermal putty can be compressed very easily and the amount you have to compress thermal putty by is very little to get it's full thermal conductivity rating. 
 
https://www.eetimes.com/c...-gap-filler-materials/

A plus with putty pads is that they can compress down significantly — much farther than viscoelastic pads. They require a minimum amount of compression; at least 10%. They also relax over time. Standard gap fillers and putty gap filler pads have essentially the same performance for a given gap. They are soft, and eventually they will bottom out past 80% — what’s referred to as densification. The material is no longer flowing, and is being crushed.
 

**The point is we should not have to go to the time and effort of all this when EVGA can simply sell us replacement kits which they can profit off of selling.**
 
You're also proving my point in the quoted post from you. If we can not buy pads/putty at retail that are functionally equivalent to what comes with the GPU then we have a problem.

If I could easily buy the correct and functionally equivalent pads and putty there would be no issue at all. I would buy what I need and we would not be here.

The reality is I have to spend too much on more than I need of pads that may or may not be less performant that what EVGA could provide to us. And I only find out by buying and trying.

Just because I got the cash together for a 3080 Hybrid doesn't mean I can burn $100+ CAD on thermal pads. And then maybe get pads that aren't very effective. Making for more waste and wasteful spending.

The easy solution is EVGA sells us replacement pad and putty kits. 

EVGA profits from those sales and customers are happier with EVGA providing something unique that helps bolster their reputation among enthusiasts.

No one disagreed with you, I already said I agreed several post back. Please keep up with the conversation.

My bad and I apologize. I must have misread something.
Perhaps partly I'm so used to contrarians that argue against things everything just to be opposite I fell into that pattern.
Definitely checking myself on that.

I didn't even realize this was an issue until I read some people's posts about bulging backplates due to lack of compression.
I had assumed EVGA was using standard sizes and so on if they're not selling a replacement kit for pads and putty. Because if you're going to do something people can't buy at retail and market as the DIY friendly brand then it seems obvious to provide/sell non standard consumables and replacements.

You can't get a replacement heatsink assembly either. Don't ask me how I found that out...
They don't make spares just in case someone needs one for some odd ball reason.
Which seems like it may save money on paper and in theory. But in practice I want to say it's a form of stepping over dimes to save pennies.
Which I kinda get from someone like ASUS. But from EVGA I expect more and better than the other brands because of how EVGA market's itself.

Which is really where this issue bugs me most is from EVGA this is contrary to their branding and marketing. If this were any other brand it would not phase me because those brands don't market themselves like EVGA does.

EVGA is supposed to be the most enthusiast friendly, then kinda drops the ball on that promise in weird ways recently.

"Here at EVGA we allow OC on warranty, provide DIY hybrid and water cooling kits, provide XOC bios, we'll RMA your GPU as long as there is not physical damage. But damn it, don't you dare tear, lose, damage, or make any errors with the thermal pads because you only get one set and you have to make a strong case to support if you want replacement pads(which I am more than willing to pay for in full) instead of support trying to sell you EVGA's thermal paste."

I'm not joking about support trying to sell me Thermal Paste.
"Hi Graeme,

I am sorry to hear this however it is unusual that you would need to replace the thermal pads as they are re-usable. For the thermal putty, if you Google Thermal Grease or Thermal Paste or Thermal Compound it is something very common at retail and it is also used for CPUs and we even produce our own and you can see it here."

Did they think I meant paste and not putty? Or are they trying to imply their paste can be used like the putty. I've never used EVGA's thermal paste so maybe it's putty thick?
If it is as thick as that putty, I guess I will try it. But that leaves so many more questions that are, well, questionable in nature.
I don't think most thermal pastes will stay in a .75mm-1mm thick layer when at operating temperature. Especially during next week's heatwave set to hit 38C or more.

Hell, the local heat wave from last week before last had a permanent effect on my temps. I can tell the heat made my Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut seep out of place or something. Temps have not been the same since, even at normal ambient temps. And I don't want to open it up again to repaste and repad unless I know the new pads are going to be at least as good as stock. 

KingEngineRevUp

Intoxicus

KingEngineRevUp

Intoxicus

KingEngineRevUp

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.

In other threads people are reporting bulging backplates with Gelid pads so...

That's because GELID is not a putty and too hard.

Intoxicus

KingEngineRevUp

talon951
I don't follow.  He put a thicker 2.5mm pad on and then reported his core temp was 10C higher than stock.  What does that have to do with not compressing the pad enough with a 2mm?  My point was that a 2.5mm is probably not what you want whether a 2mm works or not.  At least for the air cooler.

And you can't really tell what happened with the VRAM temps since the Tjunc temp wasn't available at the time.  Not sure how much value the EVGA sensors are.  Obviously not much as he got thermal throttling at one point without them changing.

I'm going to use arbitrary numbers to explain the engineering side of things. 

The rating you see from vendors varies with compression. For example, GELID, to get that 12 W/mK you would have to compress it 40%. People read a spec of thermal conductivity and expect it to perform at that rating regardless of compression. But we know that thermal conductivity rating varies WITH compression. 

If 0 compression = 1 W/mK, then 20% would be 6 W/mK if it was a linear relationship (probably isn't). 

People look at materials like thermal putty and see "oh, it's rated at 6 W/mK, screw that, I'm going to do GELID because it's 12 and I'll get better results!" 

Well it's quite possible that the putty might be rated at 6 W/mK regardless of compression. 

So this guy goes and buys a 2.5mm pad, compresses it by 0.5mm and now it's 2mm thick. The compression is 20% (2mm / 2.5mm). What if the thermal conductivity rating with a 20% compression isn't 12 W/mK? What if it's 2-4 W/mK? That can explain the reason why someone might get worse thermals.

This is probably the reason EVGA chose to use thermal putty, it seems their gap is not at a standard size divisible by 0.5mm. Thermal putty can be compressed very easily and the amount you have to compress thermal putty by is very little to get it's full thermal conductivity rating. 

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

A plus with putty pads is that they can compress down significantly — much farther than viscoelastic pads. They require a minimum amount of compression; at least 10%. They also relax over time. Standard gap fillers and putty gap filler pads have essentially the same performance for a given gap. They are soft, and eventually they will bottom out past 80% — what’s referred to as densification. The material is no longer flowing, and is being crushed.

**The point is we should not have to go to the time and effort of all this when EVGA can simply sell us replacement kits which they can profit off of selling.**

You're also proving my point in the quoted post from you. If we can not buy pads/putty at retail that are functionally equivalent to what comes with the GPU then we have a problem.

If I could easily buy the correct and functionally equivalent pads and putty there would be no issue at all. I would buy what I need and we would not be here.

The reality is I have to spend too much on more than I need of pads that may or may not be less performant that what EVGA could provide to us. And I only find out by buying and trying.

Just because I got the cash together for a 3080 Hybrid doesn't mean I can burn $100+ CAD on thermal pads. And then maybe get pads that aren't very effective. Making for more waste and wasteful spending.

The easy solution is EVGA sells us replacement pad and putty kits. 

EVGA profits from those sales and customers are happier with EVGA providing something unique that helps bolster their reputation among enthusiasts.

No one disagreed with you, I already said I agreed several post back. Please keep up with the conversation.

My bad and I apologize. I must have misread something.
Perhaps partly I'm so used to contrarians that argue against things everything just to be opposite I fell into that pattern.
Definitely checking myself on that.

I didn't even realize this was an issue until I read some people's posts about bulging backplates due to lack of compression.
I had assumed EVGA was using standard sizes and so on if they're not selling a replacement kit for pads and putty. Because if you're going to do something people can't buy at retail and market as the DIY friendly brand then it seems obvious to provide/sell non standard consumables and replacements.

You can't get a replacement heatsink assembly either. Don't ask me how I found that out...
They don't make spares just in case someone needs one for some odd ball reason.
Which seems like it may save money on paper and in theory. But in practice I want to say it's a form of stepping over dimes to save pennies.
Which I kinda get from someone like ASUS. But from EVGA I expect more and better than the other brands because of how EVGA market's itself.

Which is really where this issue bugs me most is from EVGA this is contrary to their branding and marketing. If this were any other brand it would not phase me because those brands don't market themselves like EVGA does.

EVGA is supposed to be the most enthusiast friendly, then kinda drops the ball on that promise in weird ways recently.

"Here at EVGA we allow OC on warranty, provide DIY hybrid and water cooling kits, provide XOC bios, we'll RMA your GPU as long as there is not physical damage. But damn it, don't you dare tear, lose, damage, or make any errors with the thermal pads because you only get one set and you have to make a strong case to support if you want replacement pads(which I am more than willing to pay for in full) instead of support trying to sell you EVGA's thermal paste."

I'm not joking about support trying to sell me Thermal Paste.
"Hi Graeme,

I am sorry to hear this however it is unusual that you would need to replace the thermal pads as they are re-usable. For the thermal putty, if you Google Thermal Grease or Thermal Paste or Thermal Compound it is something very common at retail and it is also used for CPUs and we even produce our own and you can see it here."

Did they think I meant paste and not putty? Or are they trying to imply their paste can be used like the putty. I've never used EVGA's thermal paste so maybe it's putty thick?
If it is as thick as that putty, I guess I will try it. But that leaves so many more questions that are, well, questionable in nature.
I don't think most thermal pastes will stay in a .75mm-1mm thick layer when at operating temperature. Especially during next week's heatwave set to hit 38C or more.

Hell, the local heat wave from last week before last had a permanent effect on my temps. I can tell the heat made my Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut seep out of place or something. Temps have not been the same since, even at normal ambient temps. And I don't want to open it up again to repaste and repad unless I know the new pads are going to be at least as good as stock. 

Well for now talon and I (more talon) have found a potential solution, it's $30, it's putty and should have the right compression, has a higher thermal conductivity and doesn't need compression to work like the gelid.

It's in my previous post here.

It sucks, but this is a solution for now.

https://www.digikey.com/e...ogy/TG-PP10-50/6204863

I posted an idea to easily press thermal pads using household items in my previous post.

I've seen a few success stories of it being used too.

https://www.reddit.com/r/...p&utm_source=share

If and when I need to, I'll try this putty out.

Digikey is a wholesaler. They are not a place where it's realistic for people to buying pads from when you have to make expensive bulk orders.



Thermal Silicone Putty 50 gram Container


What you linked is a 50 gram container of thermal putty. If someone wants to repackage that 50g into single 1g syringes and sell them on Amazon there is profit to be had.

It's not practical for me to spend $40 CAD + shipping for 5 life time supplies of putty when I only need a gram for $5-$10 CAD.

Back to the half the reason EVGA should supply kits is because to buy the stuff is wasteful in terms of spending and unused excess amounts of pads/putty.

talon951
I'm confused, good thermal pads can easily cost $30. How is a $30 container of thermal puddy such a terrible buy? If that's expensive to you, you're in the wrong hobby. Lol

Yeah, $30 for 50g is cheap compared to people paying $50 for the set they need for GELID, Odyssey or thermal grizzly, 

I bought a 30 gram container of 10Mkw putty for $35usd shipped. that seems to be close to what people spend on different pad mils and you still have to factor in the compression. i will be installing on a 3090 ftw hybrid conversion

Jstandaert
I bought a 30 gram container of 10Mkw putty for $35usd shipped. that seems to be close to what people spend on different pad mils and you still have to factor in the compression. i will be installing on a 3090 ftw hybrid conversion

I'll buy 5g from you for $8.50 CAD plus shipping.

I'm not against buying the putty.
Only against buying such a wasteful amount when it's far more than I could ever use myself.

Intoxicus

talon951
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.

No, that's not what I am saying. Do not put such words in my mouth please.

I'm saying if people are having issues with bulging backplates because the 2.5mm pads are not compressing enough regardless of any other factor EVGA is making a significant oversight in assuming we don't need replacement kits easily purchased from EVGA.

I had no concerns until I read about people's bulging backplates and people talking about bending backplates to accomodate for lack of compression.
 

Once again, I'm playing devils advocate here and I'm not saying I disagree with you, but from a business perspective I don't see how EVGA would make money from this. 
 
You think they would make money but we're in the minority here. I highly doubt the average consumer takes apart their cards and modifies it for temperatures that wouldn't affect them because they're not meticulous like we are. 
 
From a business stand point it makes sense a thermal pad seller that is selling thermal pads to a wide audience for anyone that wants to change their thermal pads across all board partners and every GPU of every kind, including other PCs, raspberry pies, etc. 
 
It probably doesn't make sense for EVGA to try and sell thermal pads because they vary in size and are only good for their own cards. I'm pretty sure they did the numbers and the capital they make would probably break even or lose money with staffing, storage, etc. Someone must have crunched the numbers and decided the effort wasn't worth it when they got so much other stuff going on. 
 
What makes more sense is the T-group that makes that thermal putty Talon found to make their own thermal pad strips and the putty conforms much better and would probably be highly compatible with several cards across the board. We need more thermal putty solutions and not hard pads with high hardness. 
 
It would be nice if EVGA sold the replacement pads, but for not I think we're on our own. Talon found a good solution, it's actually cheap compared to the price of several other thermal pad kits out there so don't complain about the price or the quantity when it's confirmed to work very well and seems to be a cheap option. 

It wouldnt be a bad idea

Old news but using decently compressible 2.5mm pads in place of 2.25mm pads is totally fine.  Also as mentioned, EVGA will gladly send you a replacement set of thermal pads (at least they did for me) if your card is registered and you make an official support request.  I don't think they have a store page for pads as they do for their putty, though.
 
Otherwise, check this site for information on how to acquire quality, pre cut and complete sets for EVGA 30 series GPUS (including pads to replace putty on VRM's): Kritical Pads.  These are custom sourced pads measuring exactly as EVGA specs each pad (ie: he actually provides the hard to find sizes like 2.25mm and 2.75mm).
 
 
But def order stock pads and putty for your particular card as it will have to be in original factory condition if you ever need to RMA/warranty service your card.
 
 
 
 

rjbarker
Way ahead of you....EVGA has provided me with no less than 3 replacement pad kits over the last 6 months for both 3080 n 3080Ti FTW3's....at $10 per kit ....0 shipping as sent Postal USP to Canada Post...about 2 weeks for delivery....

$10.  Me too ... they were quite responsive and had me the kit quickly.  I hope to never have to RMA but at least will have stock pads/putty on hand should that case ever arise.  I think I'm going to install the Kritical Pads today and test for any gains over the stock VRAM pads ... also going to use T-Global TG-PP-10 putty on the VRM areas instead of pads or EVGA putty...

transdogmifier
Put a replacement kit in with they hybrid kits "just in case" or accept RMAs without the pads/putty being replaced.
 
End of story.
 
 

Now that would make too much sense.....very good point....throw a replacement thermal pad kit in the retail box...novel idea for sure!