Overheating GPU, heatsink compound

[Krovlar]

My wife's GeForce GTS 250 started running really hot a few days ago. Nothing to bad in nonGPU intensive games, like DCUO, but whenever she loads up Skyrim or SWTOR it shoots into the 90s before very long. Well it used to stay in the 70's under load, and 90c is a little hot for me, so I decided to clean it out. I've never opened a graphics card before, but it wasn't too hard. I cleaned out ungodly amounts of dust and cat hair from the air intake of the GPU, so I'm guessing that is what caused the overheating.

Well, I cleaned the old thermal compound off of the GPU and heatsink, then put on some new stuff (just the radio shack brand that I had lying around). Everywhere I read told me not to put too much on, so I put on barely enough to cover the GPU, even though when I originally opened it the compound was EVERYWHERE, like they had used gobs. Well, I immediately closed it back up, threw it into the computer and booted up. I use EVGA Precision to monitor temps, and when she went into SWTOR it shot into the 100's almost instantly before I pulled the plug.

Should I apply more thermal paste? does it need to sit for a while after application before use? Is this card just trash?

Thanks in advance, Billy

[Wrench97]

Apply more paste, make sure to tighten the screws evenly.
Make sure the fan is plugged in and spinning.
It's ready for use right away.

[Krovlar]

When I opened it up there was almost no compound, a very thin layer over everything but still almost invisible. So I applied a bit more, a pea sized dab in the middle, then pressed the heatsink on it and closed everything up. It idles on the desktop at around 50c, DCUO gets up to the high 70s, and the character creation screen in SWTOR got to 100 with artifacts appearing before I shut it off again.

I'm thinking this graphics card might be scrap, unless anyone has any other ideas on what could be wrong.

[Tyree]

You need to thoroughly remove any old paste with 90% alcohol before applying new paste.
A thin, almost invisible amount, application is the desired application.
Brand & Model of the PSU?

[Krovlar]

Corsair TX700W PSU

[Tyree]

There is no Corsair TX700 but there is a GS 700. The CX-GS Series are lower quality but it should be sufficient for the GTS250 GPU.