Gigabyte Graphics Card Thermal Gel: Appearances on Newer Cards Addressed
Perhaps you have heard some chatter online, or even seen it yourself. Appearances of a gooey substance, a thermal gel, materializing on some Gigabyte graphics cards. Specifically, from the latest RTX 50 and Radeon RX 9000 ranges. It looks pretty frightening, especially when it starts creeping its way towards sensitive areas like the PCIe connector. Gigabyte has finally had an official say on this incident.
What's Going On and Gigabyte's Response
Only last week, a user shared images of their one-month-old Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5080, with this thermal gel overflowing. Naturally it looked like a solitary incident. Then reports began of the gel on other cards within Gigabyte's RTX 50 series, and even on certain RX 9000 cards.
Gigabyte has now acknowledged the problem. They say the excess gel is a problem with some early production runs. They say it was because they applied "a bit more volume of gel" to those first lots. It is the over-appliquéing, they say, which causes the extra gel to show or project past its original place.
Here is the most significant reassurance from Gigabyte. They assure us that this visible gel is purely cosmetic. The firm assures us it does not degrade the graphics card's performance, its reliability, or the life of the card. They further stated they have examined the issue and changed the quantity of gel used in subsequent production batches to prevent this from happening in future models.
Why Gel Instead of Pads
Gigabyte uses a thermally conductive gel specifically engineered instead of the usual thermal pads on some of their newer flagship graphics cards. They say the gel has better contact over the components (e.g., VRAM and MOSFETs) and is applied by automated equipment. This should actually lower human error over manual pad installation. They also assure customers this gel is an insulator and can handle up to 150°C before becoming liquid.
What About My Card
This situation naturally raises concerns, especially for consumers who have paid a great deal for these expensive graphics cards. To observe any kind of leakage, even one that is said to be innocuous, is certainly unsettling. The consumer whose initial complaint emerged had his card installed vertically. While Gigabyte insists they have tested vertical as well as horizontal installation, to observe the gel near the PCB is disturbing to many.
Regrettably, Gigabyte has yet to clarify whether this leakage problem with its thermal gel is warrantable. Even as it admits to a cause as the result of manufacturing (too much gel was applied), it looks like no formal warranty for such cosmetic fault of this particular cosmetic imperfection issue is yet on the table. Affected customers are reminded to approach regional offices of customer services by Gigabyte.
Moving Ahead
While it is reassuring that Gigabyte has acted on the stories and says that the over-application of gel in subsequent batches has been fixed, the story indicates how much consumers demand from premium hardware. For some, shelling out top dollar means anticipating flawless build quality in every regard. Hopefully, this issue is indeed limited to early batches and poses no long-term inconvenience for users who were caught.
Do not worry, though. As far as Gigabyte is concerned, newer cards coming off the assembly line should not show this visible gel leakage.
