Wrong Thermal Pads: Tear-Down of MSI RX 5700 XT Evoke OC
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Date: 2020-05-06
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Comments and reviews: 10
Bryan
Quality control with MSI seems to have gone south lately. What a shame because I have been a fan of MSI products for a long time. Against my better judgement, I went ahead and bought this card knowing what I was probably getting into; mainly because I got it for 360 after rebates. I like techie projects so I had every intention of tearing the card apart even before installing it. Yep Steve, they only made ONE tweak to this card since you reviewed it; they removed the tape and instead put two small foam/rubber spacers between the cover on that small area that you pointed out instead. The thermal pads are the same crap offset job as you have reviewed here too; and in fact, they completely missed a memory module with no thermal pad at all! I carefully removed all of the thermal pads and applied my own new ones with complete coverage for each module. I removed their soupy thermal paste and applied a better paste and spun the card up on a Ryzen 9 3900x 12-core. It posted a 15, 265 PassMark score (ver. 10) with the latest Adrenaline drivers as of this posting. Decent but nothing to go crazy over. It'll be fine for my specific needs and should last quite a while. If I've learned one thing here it's that I may never buy another GPU without first taking it apart and inspecting the factory thermal job. Thanks for doing this review.
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Quality control with MSI seems to have gone south lately. What a shame because I have been a fan of MSI products for a long time. Against my better judgement, I went ahead and bought this card knowing what I was probably getting into; mainly because I got it for 360 after rebates. I like techie projects so I had every intention of tearing the card apart even before installing it. Yep Steve, they only made ONE tweak to this card since you reviewed it; they removed the tape and instead put two small foam/rubber spacers between the cover on that small area that you pointed out instead. The thermal pads are the same crap offset job as you have reviewed here too; and in fact, they completely missed a memory module with no thermal pad at all! I carefully removed all of the thermal pads and applied my own new ones with complete coverage for each module. I removed their soupy thermal paste and applied a better paste and spun the card up on a Ryzen 9 3900x 12-core. It posted a 15, 265 PassMark score (ver. 10) with the latest Adrenaline drivers as of this posting. Decent but nothing to go crazy over. It'll be fine for my specific needs and should last quite a while. If I've learned one thing here it's that I may never buy another GPU without first taking it apart and inspecting the factory thermal job. Thanks for doing this review.
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T-K-
MSi. after all the controversy from other companies who delve in Computer and computer components. They still haven't learned or realise that people WILL teardown Computers and Components to do a thorough check and catch Companies that do Janky ass jobs. I feel like This card is exactly the same as the Mech OC but with a different Cooler Aesthetic and probably share the same thermal pad issues. And here I was about to buy the Mech OC. Maybe the Warranty is void if seal is broken stickers are there so that no one dare's to check the card's inner workings and see the sloppy work MSi did with these cards. Its a Hard Pass for me now with the MSi line of 5700 XT's. As mentioned in the video. SURE you save money from cost-cutting, but it won't matter if no one wants to buy your Janky ass cards. And This card is not exactly cheap. Here it cost 537. 80 USD and the Mech OC is 525. 58 USD including vat already. Also MSi The point of having a custom cooler is to keep the card down in temps cause it runs hot with the reference cooler. But instead you are making sure that the card will not cool efficiently. Massive Disappointment: ( Gotta wait for Sapphire stock now. or if that Red Devil is any good.
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MSi. after all the controversy from other companies who delve in Computer and computer components. They still haven't learned or realise that people WILL teardown Computers and Components to do a thorough check and catch Companies that do Janky ass jobs. I feel like This card is exactly the same as the Mech OC but with a different Cooler Aesthetic and probably share the same thermal pad issues. And here I was about to buy the Mech OC. Maybe the Warranty is void if seal is broken stickers are there so that no one dare's to check the card's inner workings and see the sloppy work MSi did with these cards. Its a Hard Pass for me now with the MSi line of 5700 XT's. As mentioned in the video. SURE you save money from cost-cutting, but it won't matter if no one wants to buy your Janky ass cards. And This card is not exactly cheap. Here it cost 537. 80 USD and the Mech OC is 525. 58 USD including vat already. Also MSi The point of having a custom cooler is to keep the card down in temps cause it runs hot with the reference cooler. But instead you are making sure that the card will not cool efficiently. Massive Disappointment: ( Gotta wait for Sapphire stock now. or if that Red Devil is any good.
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Haoming
You are completely correct, MSI does this. My R9 390x died 4 month after the warranty expired, so I decided to open it up. ALL the thermal pads were like that, not even 50% (more like 30%. I see burn marks on those components and the card is pretty much SOL, tons of artifacts and green spots in 3D rendering. I replaced all the thermal pads myself and ended up with another 3-4 month of use before it completely just artifacts way too much to bare, probably one of the memory chips going bad from the heat. Note worth taking that the thermal paste on the gpu was half as well, the other half was on the PCB board. this is probably a QC problem but many users of 390x from MSI has complained about bad thermals. I was able to get the card under 80c on full load vs 95c brand new by just redoing what should be done in the first place. Everything is also hidden behind that warranty void sticker which stops people from fixing their shit. I'd stay away from MSI with this shady practice, either they are saving a dollar per card or this is some planned obsolescence or both.
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You are completely correct, MSI does this. My R9 390x died 4 month after the warranty expired, so I decided to open it up. ALL the thermal pads were like that, not even 50% (more like 30%. I see burn marks on those components and the card is pretty much SOL, tons of artifacts and green spots in 3D rendering. I replaced all the thermal pads myself and ended up with another 3-4 month of use before it completely just artifacts way too much to bare, probably one of the memory chips going bad from the heat. Note worth taking that the thermal paste on the gpu was half as well, the other half was on the PCB board. this is probably a QC problem but many users of 390x from MSI has complained about bad thermals. I was able to get the card under 80c on full load vs 95c brand new by just redoing what should be done in the first place. Everything is also hidden behind that warranty void sticker which stops people from fixing their shit. I'd stay away from MSI with this shady practice, either they are saving a dollar per card or this is some planned obsolescence or both.
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Artcore103
Steve the coldplate is big enough to cool the entire memory module. I'm surprised you didn't catch that, but notice the pad is on the FURTHEST part of the memory from the center, which means the other half is not beyond the plate, but further inward. They literally just put half sized thermal pads on for no reason, the area is there to cool the whole thing. This would be an easy mod. And even if a module did stick past the cold plate, it would still be beneficial to put a pad on the whole thing when only half of the pad touches the cold late. the pad itself will allow for some increased heat transfer horizontally from the module.
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Steve the coldplate is big enough to cool the entire memory module. I'm surprised you didn't catch that, but notice the pad is on the FURTHEST part of the memory from the center, which means the other half is not beyond the plate, but further inward. They literally just put half sized thermal pads on for no reason, the area is there to cool the whole thing. This would be an easy mod. And even if a module did stick past the cold plate, it would still be beneficial to put a pad on the whole thing when only half of the pad touches the cold late. the pad itself will allow for some increased heat transfer horizontally from the module.
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Fender178
This almost ranks up there to what EVGA did to their 1070 cards where they forgot to give the card thermal pads on the memory which caused alot of problems lucky EVGA corrected their mistake by either giving you some thermal pads to put on the card yourself or you could send the card in for a version of the card that has the pads already on them. Hopefully MSI follows suit an they put on more suitable pads on future productions of the card and you can either opted in to get more suitable pads from them for free or you can send your card in for another that has the suitable pads on them.
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This almost ranks up there to what EVGA did to their 1070 cards where they forgot to give the card thermal pads on the memory which caused alot of problems lucky EVGA corrected their mistake by either giving you some thermal pads to put on the card yourself or you could send the card in for a version of the card that has the pads already on them. Hopefully MSI follows suit an they put on more suitable pads on future productions of the card and you can either opted in to get more suitable pads from them for free or you can send your card in for another that has the suitable pads on them.
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Brandon
Hey, thanks for the heads up on that MSI video card. That is damm sloppy of them to do this kind of low level cooling and should be watched to see if they can correct this. Funny that the last MSI video card I had went wacky from bad memory. Hey, you think they are behind that as well? hahah. No, I doubt it but I have been a long term Sapphire card user and never had any problems with them. I think I'll continue with Sapphire for future cards. Plus I really do not like Power Color prices so they can take a flying leap as well. Love your vids Keep up the great content.
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Hey, thanks for the heads up on that MSI video card. That is damm sloppy of them to do this kind of low level cooling and should be watched to see if they can correct this. Funny that the last MSI video card I had went wacky from bad memory. Hey, you think they are behind that as well? hahah. No, I doubt it but I have been a long term Sapphire card user and never had any problems with them. I think I'll continue with Sapphire for future cards. Plus I really do not like Power Color prices so they can take a flying leap as well. Love your vids Keep up the great content.
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Brandon
Oh yeah, that tape. You think it could be the tape of doom? The tape that if torn you loose the Warranty on it? You could say or they could say hey, you not only took the card apart which we hate and curse all to a lingering death but you also DAMAGED part of the video card and we deem that horrible and we curse you and your next 3 generations of computer builds and oh yeah, we will not fix it either. Die, Die you video card tape tearing video card malcontent. Well, that is just what I would say but maybe MSI using kinder wording you think? LOL.
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Oh yeah, that tape. You think it could be the tape of doom? The tape that if torn you loose the Warranty on it? You could say or they could say hey, you not only took the card apart which we hate and curse all to a lingering death but you also DAMAGED part of the video card and we deem that horrible and we curse you and your next 3 generations of computer builds and oh yeah, we will not fix it either. Die, Die you video card tape tearing video card malcontent. Well, that is just what I would say but maybe MSI using kinder wording you think? LOL.
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Ryley
I am purchasing a new graphics card and simply want to know which one is going to be the best for gaming performance/overclocking. I've dwindled my choices down to two cards, the EVGA RTX 2080ti FTW 3 Ultra and the EVGA RTX 2080ti FTW 3 Ultra HYBRID. From what I can tell, the only difference is the HYBRID cards cooling system. However, the tipple fan card has a physical switch for OC mode, and the HYBRID doesn't. Does anyone know if this limits the HYBRID cards ability for the amount it can be overclocked? Thanks all. I'm new with this stuff.
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I am purchasing a new graphics card and simply want to know which one is going to be the best for gaming performance/overclocking. I've dwindled my choices down to two cards, the EVGA RTX 2080ti FTW 3 Ultra and the EVGA RTX 2080ti FTW 3 Ultra HYBRID. From what I can tell, the only difference is the HYBRID cards cooling system. However, the tipple fan card has a physical switch for OC mode, and the HYBRID doesn't. Does anyone know if this limits the HYBRID cards ability for the amount it can be overclocked? Thanks all. I'm new with this stuff.
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Chris
The thermal pads are too thick on the memory to start with, which is leaving a bigger gap between the cooler and the gpu, look how much thermal paste is on that gpu die because of this. When do you ever need that much thermal paste, MSI need to use thinner pads on the memory modules so the gap between the cooler and gpu is smaller, then maybe they will get better thermal contact, will not be buying this card after seeing this, Look how much thinner the paste is on the sapphire cooler, That is how it should be MSI.
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The thermal pads are too thick on the memory to start with, which is leaving a bigger gap between the cooler and the gpu, look how much thermal paste is on that gpu die because of this. When do you ever need that much thermal paste, MSI need to use thinner pads on the memory modules so the gap between the cooler and gpu is smaller, then maybe they will get better thermal contact, will not be buying this card after seeing this, Look how much thinner the paste is on the sapphire cooler, That is how it should be MSI.
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qlum
I think the solution sapphire solution is not for thermal isolation but rather for easier manufacturer. They don't have to redesign the main cooler for different cards but only the cooling for the memory / and vrm cooling portion. As well as not having to make the main cooler more complicated just to cool other parts. The vrm / memory cooling on the sapphire one looks actually pretty cheap to make and it also reinforces the pcb.
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I think the solution sapphire solution is not for thermal isolation but rather for easier manufacturer. They don't have to redesign the main cooler for different cards but only the cooling for the memory / and vrm cooling portion. As well as not having to make the main cooler more complicated just to cool other parts. The vrm / memory cooling on the sapphire one looks actually pretty cheap to make and it also reinforces the pcb.
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