Really? Interesting. I've heard people use nail polish around the GPU die to ensure the LM doesn't short any components it may touch should it leak/run. I've also got myself an EK Quantum Vector block which is Nickel-plated Copper so that shouldn't pose a problem.
That's amazing. So I could be looking at anything around 45 degrees with LM and a hotspot of 60-65 at full load. I think I've pushed my card as far as it can go when overclocking. I doubt it'll be able to push it higher than 2.7Ghz stable in games but the temp drop is worth considering.
Nickel-plated Copper would not have issues with LM, only copper and aluminum have issues with LM, aluminum has most problem with LM, copper a bit less, and nickel plated basically none, except maybe some staining but not corrosion. In the past I also used LM on a copper heatsink, id did some very minor damage, but nothing to bad. On nickel LM is almost harmless in general.
I was amazed by how much the temps dropped after applying LM on the chip, was expecting a good drop but not as much
I used normal MX4 thermal paste to cover everything around the chip so that if any LM drop would travel somewhere else, it would not cause any damage, since its non conductive and easy to apply and cover, and also easy to remove, plus being a heat conductor
For the 6800XT, 2.7ish is the max it can go, I read somewhere there was a good rason for AMD to put 2.8 max, since the logic inside the chip could not handle more than 2.8. The only reason for applying LM is to have great temps, and maybe to help stabilize your max overclock. For me it was 100% worth it, just for the temps, I am also getting 2.7, 2725mhz at best.
Temps are around 44-45c on chip and 56-57 max on hotspot with a 350w max limit, usually using 310-320w.
Seeing guys here with such low temps on their cards; I am just thinking how much my reference card is being help up by temps. My current settings are 2665Mhz (max), 2150MHz Mem ,~430W, 1175mv (can't get stability on anything lower) which are stress tests stable. Clocks always remain above 2600MHz but junction temp can reach 110C for certain extreme situations which forces a downclock. Any Ideas on how I can increase my clocks and get to sweet that 2.7 GHz game stable settings while on air?
Also, are people here not afraid of voiding their warranty when messing around with cards?
"Also, are people here not afraid of voiding their warranty when messing around with cards?" yes and no
Yes because GPUs are such a rare commodity these days, and no because I have done this things countless times in the past and not afraid of doing it again, also if I would be scared of tuning any piece of hardware, I would buy a console and live happily ever after
Plus its no fun if you don't take any risks