Graphics Cards

[3oddbits]

I found some posts here stating "the card needs to be in an upright position" to fix the -Vapor Chamber- issue.

If that doesn't work and heat is still high ...

Would water cooling solve that?

-- How much of the problematic heat is from the memory chips? from the GPU chip?

-- Can the usual 'CPU thermal compound' be used on the GPU? Or is that a different compound?

-- Would the memory chips need any additional cooling besides a ( free airflow / open case )?

Note : I have a ( spare / not in current use ) GPU water cooling block handy.

[FunkZ]

Within 3 weeks of the 7900XTX launch (12/13/22) some reference card vapor chamber were discovered to have an issue. This was addressed over a year and a half ago and is no longer relevant.

[3oddbits]

I just had to RMA a RX 7900 XTX card. It burned up in just under 10hrs. after the install.

( Playing Red Alert 2 ?!? )

And yes, downloaded the latest driver from AMD.

That is why I am so -nervous- about this.

[FunkZ]

That's unfortunate.

Orientation doesn't affect normal vapor chamber operation. IIRC the issue was not enough coolant in the chamber during manufacturer filling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxaDZ6n2MNo

Replacing the stock cooling solution with a water block would eliminate the vapor chamber. Most of the heat comes from the GPU itself, however full coverage water blocks typically also cover memory and voltage component cooling. Use a good thermal compound on the GPU die and appropriate pads for the memory and VRMs. If the block does not cover the memory and VRMs you will need separate heatsinks for those.