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Arctic silver 5 in laptops?

post #1 of 16
4/19/09 at 10:16pm
Thread Starter 
i got a dell XPS M1710 Its been overheating lately (gpu kissing 90) and shutting down i blew out the air vents and got tons of dust out but its still running hot. I figure its got a lot of dust up on the heat sinks and the like. That seems to be the main problem i noticed cruising the threads here. Its under warranty still so i called dell to come out and dust it, ect. They said they'd do that and replace the fans/heatsink, ect. I guess that's fine, but when i asked if they use AS5, or if they would if i provided them with some, the guy said they dont because it can cause shorts in laptops or something ... is this true?

I asked what they use and he said thermal pads and some kinda paste combo.. thermal pads generally suck, if theyre replacing all this wouldn't AS5 be the best bet? or can it really cause problems. If its being taken apart and switched up id really prefer the guy slapping some AS5 on there even if i gotta buy it.

someone else sugested offering to use AS Ceramique since that should be non conductive, but ive never used that before. My main concern is that if theyre taking it all apart i dont want pads and their junk back on there, because i always thought pads suck.

any sugestions? can the silver really cause a short?

Also i was thinking that maybe i dont want them replacing the fans. Im pretty sure they use refurbished junk with the parts, wouldn't it be better to leave the old fans that worked fine in there, instead of risking some broken piece of junk being slapped in?

i called them over a week ago before going on vacation and they said i couldn't set up an apointment more than a week out so i had to wait till i got back. I just got home today and am waiting for some sugestions before i call them and set this up
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post #2 of 16
4/19/09 at 11:17pm
Dell never agrees to put in AS5 for you. The best hope you have is to ask the technician to do it but they will probably disagree. The technician might not even know how to put on AS5. If you want to put on aftermarket thermal compound, you are gonna have to either install it yourself or someone outside of Dell to install it for you.

Silver is the most electrically conductive element so yes it would short a circuit if placed improperly. Also, the new fans they give you will most likely work. Its a rare case that I've seen fans fail. I guess you can refuse to let them install the fans if you please (they just might not take it kindly in the future). The same old fans you have that work would be used to replace another person's system fans. The "new" fans you get could even be new, you never know.

You can open your laptop yourself without losing warranty. So you, or someone else, can put AS5 on the laptop. If you do though, you probably don't want to tell Dell. Also, you cannot replace an area as thick as the thermal pads with AS5 however. The pads may look like crap but they function well enough in my opinion. The only alternative I have seen to the thermal pads is to cut equally sized copper pads.
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post #3 of 16
4/20/09 at 8:52pm
Thread Starter 
well its still under warranty and after looking at the disasembly guide i dont think i want to mess with it while i still have the warranty, it looks like a giant pain in the arse.

odd.. you use AS with a pad? i had used it by itself in the past not a combo

does anyone know how decent dells cooling pads/paste is? Id just feel so much better using AS5, or ASceramique possibly. Has anyone used the latter before?
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post #4 of 16
4/20/09 at 9:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kenshindono View Post
odd.. you use AS with a pad? i had used it by itself in the past not a combo.
I never said that. There is the thermal paste that is put on the core of the CPU and GPU and then there are the pads on the GPU to cool the memory. I simply said the pads are too thick to be replaced by AS5 or even AS Ceramique.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kenshindono View Post
does anyone know how decent dells cooling pads/paste is? Id just feel so much better using AS5, or ASceramique possibly. Has anyone used the latter before?
Plenty of people here use/have used AS5. At best, it gives you around a 3-6 C difference in temperature. If you apply too much though, your temperatures may rise.
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post #5 of 16
4/20/09 at 9:11pm
Thread Starter 
ah, id never messed with it with a gpu before.

also, whats generally the best way to apply it? i havent done it in a long time, think it was called as3 back then. But i just did the dab method with a little spreading, not all the way to the edges but i didn't just slap the heatsink on after the dab
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post #6 of 16
4/20/09 at 9:53pm
The method is the same as applying AS5 to a desktop CPU. Essentially, you clean the old thermal paste off. Apply a half-grain of rice sized amount and rub it in (finger in a paper bag to rub it in used to be pretty popular). And replace the heatsink. There used to be a photo guide for Dell's here but there is nothing unique about Dell CPU's.

http://www.notebookforums.com/thread165929.html

http://www.arcticsilver.com/ins_rout...2intelas5.html

http://www.notebookforums.com/thread80879.html

If you're uncomfortable taking your laptop apart though, AS5 may not be for you. You may just need to open up the laptop and clean out the dust from the inside.
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post #7 of 16
4/21/09 at 12:34pm
There is a new TIM that is non-conductive. It is called Innovation Cooling Seven Carat Diamond. I have just concluded some tests between IC7CD and AS5. I saw temp drops, on average, about 3 degrees C. I will post the results soon.
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post #8 of 16
4/21/09 at 12:52pm
I'm an AS5 user here too. I keep a tube of it close by anytime I do any kind of computer work.
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post #9 of 16
4/21/09 at 2:46pm
Skillz, you should check out Innovation Cooling 7 Carat Diamond TIM. I just ran some comparison tests on some laptops. Here is the link to the thread:

http://www.notebookforums.com/thread227026.html
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post #10 of 16
4/22/09 at 2:19am
I ruined an FX2500m with AS5 (even when following instructions to the T it had substantially higher temperatures). I think the copper face of the heat spreader is not smooth enough to make good use of AS5. I'm also pretty sure there's a good reason the factory uses some kind of thermal adhesive as opposed to a thermal grease (AS5 is a thermal grease and will never "dry"). Make sure you're careful; it was a $330 mistake.
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post #11 of 16
4/22/09 at 4:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Altoid View Post
I ruined an FX2500m with AS5 (even when following instructions to the T it had substantially higher temperatures). I think the copper face of the heat spreader is not smooth enough to make good use of AS5. I'm also pretty sure there's a good reason the factory uses some kind of thermal adhesive as opposed to a thermal grease (AS5 is a thermal grease and will never "dry"). Make sure you're careful; it was a $330 mistake.
You should have just got the thermal paste made by Arctic Silver then.
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post #12 of 16
4/22/09 at 5:31pm
You NEVER remove the adhesive pads, the gap left is much too large for AS5.

AS5 is only used when heat sinks make direct contact with a component, and very sparingly then (too much can have the opposite effect).

I scraped off all the old compound, rinsed the fans and heat sinks in hot water (made sure to let them COMPLETELY dry over 24-48 hours before attempting to place them back in the case just to be totally safe), applied AS5 and my temps dropped over 10 degrees (I had a ton of dust built up and the old compound sucked).

It's all about doing it correctly .
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post #13 of 16
4/24/09 at 12:50am
I use AS5 on my 1705's CPU and GPU core, it does make a small but nice difference in temps. Considering the GPU is still volt-modded, every little drop in temps is welcomed.
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post #14 of 16
4/24/09 at 4:48pm
Thread Starter 
what thermal adhesive does AS make? the ceramique?


i guess the best thing to do would probably be let them just replace the fans/heatsink and put fresh paste of whatever they use on it again then.. should i even bother trying to get him to use AS ceramique or some kinda paste?

maybe when the warranties out i'll put something else on myself

im just not clear on teh whole pad thing. Like i said ive never messed with thermal compounds on gpus or anything and thats whats running hottest on mine. Ive only done it on CPUs in the past, and those a thermal pad was usually used instead of paste, it was a big sticky thing that kinda melted and conducted the heat between the cpu and heatsink but never worked like paste/grease... not sure how not using one and just using grease would leave a gap
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post #15 of 16
4/24/09 at 6:18pm
Do what you are comfortable with is my Motto
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post #16 of 16
4/29/09 at 6:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by zzpulp View Post
Dell never agrees to put in AS5 for you. The best hope you have is to ask the technician to do it but they will probably disagree. The technician might not even know how to put on AS5. If you want to put on aftermarket thermal compound, you are gonna have to either install it yourself or someone outside of Dell to install it for you.

Silver is the most electrically conductive element so yes it would short a circuit if placed improperly. Also, the new fans they give you will most likely work. Its a rare case that I've seen fans fail. I guess you can refuse to let them install the fans if you please (they just might not take it kindly in the future). The same old fans you have that work would be used to replace another person's system fans. The "new" fans you get could even be new, you never know.

You can open your laptop yourself without losing warranty. So you, or someone else, can put AS5 on the laptop. If you do though, you probably don't want to tell Dell. Also, you cannot replace an area as thick as the thermal pads with AS5 however. The pads may look like crap but they function well enough in my opinion. The only alternative I have seen to the thermal pads is to cut equally sized copper pads.
You don't void your warranty by using AS5. I've had Dell techs and managers tell me it's OK to use however Dell has their own thermal paste! They have a contract with another company who provides them with the thermal compound used in Dell products. The Dell idiot techs simply don't realize this most of the time. Its a product packaged for Dell by Shin-Etsu Microsi. You can call/email Dell anytime and request some if you are having heat issues.

I posted a thread back some years ago.... Here it is! In this thread you'll find all the info and a pic of the syringe it comes in. If you don't have any it is still fine to use AS5 or other products.

Matter of fact my XPS 710 desktop had the mainboard die 2 months ago and in the replacement box came the new board and 2 3oz syringes of this Shin-Etsu thermal paste.
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