Re-Seat Cooler on 8800GTA (G92)?

[DaBruuzer]

Since I like the dual-slot cooling setup of my G92 GTS, and the fan is decently quiet, I don't want to change to an aftermarket cooling solution. I like the air to exit outside of my case, not inside. But I am not thrilled with the temps I am seeing on the card under load. They are below the "holy crap" range by far, but I think they could still be better.

I have thoroughly read every review on the GTS I could find (including the one here), and there are several that mention the poor quality of the heatsink and the way it contacts the GPU. And I don't want to lap the heatsink (since I am NOT inclined for that sort of job at all, tbh).

So my question is whether or not I would see any worthwhile improvement in the stock cooler's performance if I removed it and added some AS5 or AC MX thermal compound? Or will that just not be worth the effort (17 screws to remove if I remember correctly LOL)? Opinions?

EDIT: Sorry about the error in the subject ('GTA' should be 'GTS'), but I can't seem to edit the subject.

[Prof. Dr. Silver]

I just did that on my new P35, which a really a motherboard, but for comparison....here are the numbers....I took off the old paste/pads and put MX-2 instead.

NB 'Old' = 54C
NB 'New' = 50C

After adding a crappy 40mm fan to it , it went all the way down to 33C! It makes a difference! Wether you use stock cooling or not! It is just one of those tricks that could help you squeeze the last few MHz out of your product! GOOD LUCK!

[DaBruuzer]

Oh, I know how much difference a good thermal compound can make compared to the stock crap. I am just wondering in this case if it will help, seeing as the cooler is designed to use NO compound at all, apparently.

[10e]

On both my 3870s and my 8800GTS I have done this with MX-2 and saw about a 5 to 7 celsius decline in temperatures from the old junk.

Just ensure (by mock reseating the cooler a couple of times prior to screwing it in) that the thermal compound is properly spread by the re-seating and doesn't show any empty spaces on the GPU

Regards,

10e