Gamer uncovers factory plastic left on RTX 3070 VRM pads after five years, causing overheating — claims removal and repasting dropped GPU hotspot temperatures by 30°C
A Gigabyte RTX 3070 owner discovered protective films covering its VRM thermal pads, after nearly five years of use potentially causing excessive temperatures and frequent black screens.
A gamer discovered plastic protective film left on the VRM thermal pads of their Gigabyte RTX 3070 Gaming OC graphics card, after five years of use. According to a Reddit post by u/buczi94, the card had never been disassembled or repaired before the issue arose. The owner noticed high temperatures on the VRMs, frequent black screens during high loads and cold boots, and cold boots.
Despite upgrading the motherboard BIOS and GPU firmware, drivers, and disabling various settings, the problems persisted. Benchmark tests showed GPU temperatures reaching up to 80°C, with the GPU hotspot at 105°C. The protective film was found on the VRM thermal pads, and after removing it and repasting the core, the owner reported a 15°C reduction in GPU temperatures and a 30°C reduction in the GPU hotspot.
The black-screen problems occurred less frequently after the fix, but the owner acknowledged they were unsure if the issue was fully resolved. The excessive heat could have potentially damaged components like MOSFETs, capacitors, and caused the PCB to expand and contract, leading to solder joint stress. The owner suspected that the black screen issue might be related to this damage, but it remained a theory that needed proper testing.
The gamer contacted Gigabyte's support team to report the issue and request a replacement, but instead, Gigabyte suggested testing the GPU in another system and recommended the owner to contact the retailer or a local repair shop, since the card was out of warranty.
Written by urgent.news from Tom's Hardware's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
