AORUS RTX 5090 owner checks GPU after higher fan speeds, finds thermal gel mess

Key Points:

• A GeForce RTX 5090 AORUS owner discovered an excessive amount of factory-applied thermal gel inside the cooler after more than a year of use, with the gel pooling unevenly on the vapor chamber and leaving parts of the GPU core uncovered.
• The user reported GPU temperatures up to 76°C and fan speeds reaching 2000 RPM during gaming, suggesting possible hotspot issues despite overall temperature readings.
• The original thermal gel was replaced with PTM7950, a phase-change thermal pad favored by GPU modders, with the recommendation that other AORUS owners check their thermal paste after a year of use.
• Gigabyte has acknowledged that some early RTX 50 series cards were shipped with excess thermal gel, describing it as a cosmetic variance that should not cause damage, though users mounting cards vertically reported gel migration concerns.
• No confirmed cases of damage from the thermal gel have been reported, but the issue remains a point of concern among RTX 50 series owners, especially given Gigabyte’s limited warranty support for these cards.