Want to apply new thermal paste to HD5850

[Avinexis]

Hey guys! I've had my HD5850 for almost 4 years now and it's never been opened up or cleaned or had any maintenance really done to it other than a quick dusting.

 

It's only now beginning to run quite hot. No artifacts or anything else worrisome but the GPU fan is starting to make some serious noise in some rather unintensive games (Deus Ex: HR comes to mind.) It used to idle at 30/40 Celcius and Peak at ~ 70 during games, now it idles at 60+ and peaks between 80/90.

 

I've never applied Thermal Paste before, and I've never had to take my GPU apart either. It's a cased Gigabyte 5850 similar to this one:

 

Naturally I don't want to do any damage but I feel it's definitely time to check under the hood for any dust build up and to reapply some new paste. I can't imagine I'll be rocking this card much longer but it's still my first and I'd like it to last me another year at the most

 

So I'll need to know:

• What tools will I need for the job?
• How do I remove the case from my GPU? What screws will I need to be aware of? Anything else?
• How do I remove the old thermal paste?
• What purity rubbing alcohol will I need?
• What's the best way to remove stubborn dust buildup?
• Is there a certain type of Paste I need or will any stuff do?
• Do I spread the paste or let the heatsink do that job for me? (I know this one is a big topic of contention)
• What exactly is "curing time" and how will that affect the paste whilst my GPU is in use?
• Have I missed anything else?

Thank you very much for your help guys! I used to think I knew a lot when it came to building PC's but quite obviously not

[ir_cow]

HERE is a link to installing a waterblock. It should explain how to take it apart.

 

I guess to answer your questions

• What tools will I need for the job?

philips scredriver

• How do I remove the case from my GPU? What screws will I need to be aware of? Anything else?

Link above

• How do I remove the old thermal paste?

Rubbing alcohol

• What purity rubbing alcohol will I need?

I use 90% but 70% works alright if you can't get higher grade

• What's the best way to remove stubborn dust buildup?

I use a small paint brush for getting dust out of the fan my fingers can't reach

• Is there a certain type of Paste I need or will any stuff do?

None conductive

• Do I spread the paste or let the heatsink do that job for me? (I know this one is a big topic of contention)

I've done it both ways but for the GPU I would say sprend it yourself. I've also been lazy and tired so I just put a big blob in the middle of a GTX 285 and it works out well enough.

• What exactly is "curing time" and how will that affect the paste whilst my GPU is in use?

depends on the paste, I would say 15min to 24hrs. Either way the temps will only drop a few degrees if that. I've only found a curing time on AS5 paste.

• Have I missed anything else?

Maybe?