whats the best thermal compound for the 6970 ? , when i first got this powercolor it was hitting 93c after only a few min when gaming . was just about to rma
it and i noticed the screws were loose on the cooler , i replaced the TIM with mx4 and that solved the issue with the temps until now .
i seem to be getting temp into the 90's again and i have used a tin of compressed air to clean the heatsink etc . whats the thermal grease that is used on the 6990 ? , have read it is not the same as on the 6970  .

room temp is around 20-22c , mobo temps never go above 44c and 46c full load on my cpu

Arctic Sliver is still the daddy ?

with 44/46 cpu temps I guess your case can't be that hot either ?

I'd give it a run with the case side off anyway to see what difference it made !

temps are the same with the side panel off , only the mobo temps rise a few degree's

Taking the side off the case is no longer an option to keep current cards cool, you need active cooling to keep things cool.

What is your case and cooling?

6X 120MM  akasa venom fans (83cfm@1900rpm) running off of mobo headers (3x in 3x out) , fan speed changes when the temps rise (pwm)

case is the coolermaster cm690 version 1