Key Takeaways
1. A user reported leaking thermal gel from the Gigabyte AORUS RTX 5080 MASTER ICE 16G GPU after about a month of use.
2. The thermal gel is a “Server-grade Thermal conductive gel” intended for cooling components but is leaking towards the PCB.
3. The leaking compound is non-conductive, but its movement towards the PCB could lead to significant issues.
4. Gigabyte has not provided warnings against installing the GPU vertically, which the user did.
5. A distributor is in discussions with Gigabyte regarding the thermal gel issue and plans to announce a customer service policy on the matter.
We’ve seen problems with power connectors and PSU cables melting in the RTX 50 series GPUs, but a new “melting” concern has emerged involving one of Gigabyte’s RTX 5080 cards, specifically the AORUS RTX 5080 MASTER ICE 16G. A member of the Quasar Zone community has reported that the thermal gel appears to be leaking from their GPU, which might not seem too serious at first, but it’s moving towards the PCB.
User’s Experience Shared
According to a report from a Korean source, translated into English, a user named ‘Rolling around’ uploaded a few images of their Gigabyte AORUS RTX 5080 MASTER ICE 16G that showed thermal compound leaking. The user mentioned this issue arose after about a month of gaming, primarily World of Warcraft, for around two hours each day. Since the GPU was set up vertically, the compound, while not electrically conductive, was making its way towards the PCB, where it could potentially lead to significant problems.
Details About the Thermal Gel
The leaking thermal compound is described as a “Server-grade Thermal conductive gel” utilized by Gigabyte in this high-end GPU. The company asserts that this gel is meant for cooling the VRAM and MOSFETs. It’s very flexible yet non-fluid, and it resists deformation from long-term usage or transport. Usually, these components inside the GPU are protected by solid thermal pads. Additionally, Gigabyte is applying this thermal gel solution to several other RTX 50 series cards, including the 5090 XTREME WATERFORCE 32G, RTX 5090 MASTER ICE, RTX 5070 Ti MASTER, and more.
GPU Orientation Not Restricted
The user did install the GPU in a vertical position; however, Gigabyte has not issued any warnings or guidelines against this setup.
A distributor engaged in the conversation and mentioned they are currently discussing the thermal gel issue with Gigabyte, along with future customer service protocols. They plan to release the finalized customer service policy regarding this matter in a separate announcement.
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