Overheating - Thermal Paste?

I would say if you are asking this question please do not go ahead with this mod unless you have read about this very carefully.

Well, Thermal paste (gel/pad/etc) is a thermal conductive material that is usually spread on objects such as CPU/GPUs. They are placed between the actual chip itself and the heatsink to help conduct and produce thermal dissipation.

Typically you would pry apart your system. I usually use piano wire and slowly and very carefully work it back and forth to seperate the heatsink from the CPU/GPU. You can then use Alcohol or some other non abrasive fast drying solvent on a qtip to remove the residue from the old thermal pad/paste from both the heatsink and the processor. You then apply a very thin amount evenly over the processor. I'm a perfectionist and will make sure there are no bubbles or ridges in the paste. You then apply the heatsink in a firm but even pressure over the processor. Its that easy, but also will be very costly if you do it in a rush job.

You can pick up the paste from a local computer shop or best buy. I would recommend Artic Silver. I usually purchase that from New Egg. It tends to reduce temp much better than the crap you will find in Best Buy (Geek Squad Thermal Grease).

Wikipedia on Thermal Paste/Grease:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_grease

Tom's Hardware also has nice write up about it:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...08,1784-8.html

Let me know if you want me to get more indepth or go into more detail. I tried to keep it simple so I wouldn't confuse you and make it easier on you.

I would recomend however getting a laptop cooler for your laptop. It should reduce the temperature and help the laptop breathe easier. They typcially run from 30-100

I'm sorry Dan, I assumed that you would not have had experience in taking apart your laptop. If you have torn the laptop apart you really shouldn't have a problem with this.

Paste/Grease/Gels/Pads do wear out from time to time. This depends on your usage, enviroment, etc. Usually replacing this will reduce your temps from 3c to up to 15c (I usually find around 5-6 celcius). The one problem I've found is Thermal Epoxy. That is like cement and can end up tearing your chip when you try to remove it. Look for colors (typically Green, Red, Pink) to see if Thermal Epoxy was used. Piano Wire will go through this, but you have to work very very very slowly as you don't want to scratch the base of your heatsink or top of the die.

A good laptop cooler will do 15-20 celcius. I find using the cooler to be a much easier solution.

I would recommend looking at :
PacificBreeze Laptop cooler + 2USB port, Model SP300

for a laptop cooler. It pushes out high CFMs. I can not stand the constant blue light but my partner uses it on his HP all the time and that thing keeps it cool.

I personally use this
Antec Unbeatable Notebook Cooler 200:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00..._ya_oh_product

My laptop is on its last leg and I've had to keep it tethered to that thing. It doesn't even blow hot air with this thing circulating under it (13 inch laptop)

Don't pry the CPU off from its socket! It should come (lift) off easily after you release the locking mechanism that holds the CPU onto the socket (white bottom as you say it).

Yes, the thermal paste should be between "that" and the processor.

Take a look at this guide for reference.

http://www.notebookforums.com/showth...=thermal+paste

cheers ...

Dan, First Kudos on great pictures and taking it apart so cleanly.
You will want to put thermal paste on the chip itself (the little black square beneath the amd logo). You don't want to put it anywhere else. Make sure you put in a thin amount and make sure its as close to flat and evenly placed as possible.

If you look at the second picture of your heatsink you will see that little silver square inside the Black Thermal Pads should line up correctly over this section.

Dan,
You have already seperated your heatsink from your processor. There is no need for piano wire or such. The hard job is over. The desktop/older laptops is where I use that technique because after the paste/grease/etc gets old and has been on there for a while it sometimes turns into a cement like adhesive.

I personally only place the thermal paste/grease/etc on the small black chip and allow it to form a buffer between that chip and the heatsink.

You are not the only one that can not see the pictures in the post. The pictures don't exist anymore. I'm not sure if I will get in trouble for posting this link, but I came across it a few months back and book marked it. I will link it at the bottom with the page you should start with. It may not match your images, but should be used to give you a rough idea.

Qhn, if I shouldn't post links like this just let me know and I'll remove it and never do it again.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/274/4

There is nothing with what you post and link here. Anything that is informative and not self-promoting is totally cool!

cheers ...

Something is not going right here. You are the 2nd member that reported the same issue with this particular thread.

We are looking into it. Sorry for the inconvenience Dan.

cheers ...

I can see the post. The pictures are just showing the red "X" of death. Usually when I see that I other think the server they are connected to is down or if its photobucket the pictures have been removed.

Strange, I was just in there again, in the first post and ALL pics show up. Clicking on any of them would bring up the larger presentation.

Firefox 3.5.5, IE8 and Chrome Beta - all work.

But what Dan had is that he did not have the "permission" to see the pics.

cheers ...

Nope, Clicking on the pictures gives me the access denied.

Uh oh ... Be patient with us gents ... we are hurrying in this and coming back with a resolution. Sorry!

cheers ...

Dan, I am sorry I confused you. I typically have to use that technique I described earlier to get my heatsinks away from the processor. On a side noteou will find alot of Heatsinks will now be called heat pipes as that is what is being used now in place of the heatsinks.

Hope it all went well for you.

try it now, should be working