The GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition runs scorching, as we found final month when we reviewed NVIDIA’s flagship GeForce card. Whereas NVIDIA has equipped the Founders Edition with an progressive cooling resolution, it struggles to chill the cardboard’s 24 GB of GDDR6X VRAM. In our tests, as an instance, we measured hotspots of 84 °C across the VRAM, which is within Micron’s 94 °C high working temperature.
However, Tom’s Hardware recorded the VRAM reaching 110 °C, an unsustainably excessive temperature. Unsurprisingly, the cardboard downclocked enormously to mitigate these temperatures and pause its VRAM from overheating. A YouTuber called CryptoAtHome has found a resolution, though.
Because the video underneath presentations, changing the inventory VRAM thermal pads with third-birthday celebration ones dramatically improves thermal performance. According to CryptoAtHome, their Founders Edition card would possibly possibly additionally bustle at a excessive memory clock while sitting at approximately 85 °C. Earlier than the modification, the VRAM in CryptoAtHome’s Founders Edition card additionally reached 110 °C.
One would possibly possibly additionally possibly terminate a excellent higher temperature reduction through the use of superior thermal pads. CryptoAtHome worn Thermalright’s Odyssey Thermal Pad, which has a 12.8 W/mk thermal conductivity rating. In distinction, Thermal Grizzly’s Carbonaut Thermal Pad is rated at up to 62.5 W/mk. As commenters have identified, Fuijipoly Ultra Ugly XR thermal pads at 1.5 mm thickness would possibly possibly be a bigger change. These are rated for 17.0 W/mk of thermal conductivity. Alternatively, one would possibly possibly additionally pick a custom RTX 3090 that cools its VRAM higher than the Founders Edition does.
