HP Pavilion ZV5000z thermal Paste

Is there a video or step by step instructions on how to renew the thermal paste in this laptop?
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This one is pretty good. Your processor may look slightly different. This is a "lidded" processor with a metal cover over the whole processor die. Yours may be lidless, where you can see the green circuit board part outside a metal core. I posted a picture of that kind of processor in response to another one of your questions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qum1WSJUx0E
Let me know if you still have questions after this.
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MANY thans. Although this not the same model, I follow the same instructions, I removed and the screen and I put thermal paste. 2 hours totaly! It's the worst model that I opened...
thank you

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Hi,
A good thermal paste will do the job. Many people also discuss about this task:
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Hardware-e-g-Windows-8/Pavilion-dv6-Overheating/td-p/304505/pa...
Good luck.
BH
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MacBook Pro (mid 2010, 15", i5) - heat, thermal paste and genius bar...

Hi all,
I'd like some advice. I own a mid 2010 core i5 15" MBP which I purchased when they were released (April 2010 or something like that). Since then the laptop has worked more or less OK but it's always been plagued with high temperatures, 75C+ in idle... with basically nothing running or something light such as just Safari (*without* Flash, as I only open Chrome when a website I need doesn't work without Flash; everywhere else, for example YouTube etc, I just use the HTML5 version of the players). The fans stay almost always at 6K rpm, and only rarely they run at a lower speed - when for example I switch the laptop on after having left it switched off for a while, etc. So the fans seem to work OK and seem to respond to the temperature; I have even tried resetting SMC several times, but no difference.
It just looks like the CPU runs hotter than it should. I have default energy saving settings, and don't have any software installed that may keep the CPU running high - such as Caffeine, SmartSleep, etc. Anyway, even a clean install of the OS (Lion) won't make any difference. If I leave the laptop switched off for a while and I switch it on again, within a minute or two the temperature is high again even if I don't open anything else. Even if in the activity monitor there's nothing using a lot of CPU. The temperature also does go further up if I run something CPU intensive such as Handbrake.
While the laptop has worked almost always OK (I do think that some freezes or other occasional stability issues may also depend on temperature), I don't think it's running as well as it could / should from a temperature point of view.
I have read lots of discussions in here and elsewhere, and from direct experience with other laptops (Apple and not) in the past, I believe the issue may likely be related to poor application of the thermal paste. I could re-apply it (for example the AS5 or similar) myself very easily, but I don't want to void the warranty.
I have the 3-years Apple Care, but I have never needed to ask Apple for support before, so I don't know how it works.
Sorry for the lengty introduction... here's the questions:
- Can I just go to the nearest Apple Store (London, Regent St.) or am I *required* to book an appointment with the "genius" bar?
- Is it likely they will take into consideration my advice to reapply the thermal paste as this is quite likely the source of the problem?
- What is the likelihood that they may just replace my laptop with a newer one?
- Does the AppleCare entitle me with some particular privileges for what concerns support?
- I have also upgraded the RAM to 8GB a few months ago, and replaced the HDD (which I use as external drive) with an SSD. Do I need to restore the original components in the laptop before going to the AppleStore? Or is this not needed since RAM and HDD are user-replaceable parts?
Thanks a lot in advance for your help!
Vito

Hello V-MA!
I found this webpage: http://osx86.wikidot.com/known-issues#toc1
by googeling for "com.apple.NVDAResman"
Probably you have to remove the Geforce Grafic drivers as discribed here. But please wait until some others in the forum confirm this.
If you don't understand how to do these commands with Terminal, ask once again for help.
In your message you did not metion, that you just updated 1 hour and something your OS ("System uptime in nanoseconds: 6688834587150"). This is an important information.
marek

MBP and the Thermal Paste Discussions

I've read with interest the postings on this web site regarding the MBP heat issues and the possibility that too much thermal paste is causing that problem. I've spent quite a few years designing computer motherboards using Intel processor chips, and want to share some thoughts on the topic. I only mention my background because one thing this business has taught me is that we can all be easily mislead by our test data if our process for gathering the data isn't rigorous (and, believe me, I've learned that lesson many times).
First, the excess thermal paste is definitely a problem, regardless of whether it is the root cause of the heat issue. Some of the photos posted on the various web sites show thermal paste covering bypass capacitors on the chip carriers (the green fiberglass boards that carry the CPU and GPU die). Thermal pastes can cause stray capacitances that can interfere with circuit operation. Standard industry practice is to use only as much paste as is necessary to achieve a layer that is about as thin as a single layer of tissue paper (or less). The amount used by Apple is far too large, particularly because the paste in coming into contact with other electrical components and conductors. A common failure mode associated with degraded bypass capacitors is random (and unrepeatable) crashes due to corrupted digital data in the processor chip.
In addition, all thermal pastes contain various types of fluids. Over time, these fluids evaporate, and frequently they condense elsewhere inside a computer. When CD drives were first introduced years ago, a common cause of mid-lifetime failures was condensates on the optics of the laser. The condensation fogs the lens and interferes with the ability of the laser to focus while reading and writing data. The contamination was traced to outgassing by thermal pastes, greases, sulfurized elastomers, and similar items used to build the computer. (Note that the Apple service manual for the MBP refers to the thermal paste as “thermal grease”.) Consumer electronics manufacturers learned to minimize the use of such materials in computer designs. The amount of thermal paste shown in the Apple service manual is very large, and I wouldn't rule out that it might contribute to future DVD drive failures.
It is difficult to say, based on the available data, that reducing the amount of thermal paste actually contributes to improving the thermal behavior of the MBP. Part of the problem is that the procedure to remove the pastes involves disassembling the laptop, and this introduces the possibility that the disassembly/reassembly process is inadvertently fixing the problem.
First, the high case temperatures could be the result of loose or poorly placed thermal sensors. If the disassembly/reassembly process fixed a loose sensor, or loose sensor electrical connection, or placed the sensor in a better position, you would get lower case temperatures, and possibly (inadvertently) attribute this to less paste.
Second, the cooling system design in the MBP requires that the die caps on the chip carriers be pressed tightly against the pads on the heat sink, so that heat is transferred efficiently. If the MBP is not assembled properly, (i.e., if the logic board mounting screws are not properly torqued, or the logic board is not mechanically aligned properly to ensure a tight fit to the heat sink), it is possible that this will manifest itself as high case temperatures. In the Intel processor chips there are two paths for heat to travel – out of the die cap, and through the electrical contacts to the motherboard. If the die cap isn’t properly cooled, heat will instead go into the motherboard, and the case temperature will rise. There is a possibility that the disassembly/reassembly process will fix a loose or misaligned logic board problem, with the result that the case temp will be reduced.
Also, if you work through the details of the thermal model that results from excess paste, it's hard to see how it would result in more heat to the case and less to the heat sink. Most of the photos on the web appear to show thin paste on top of the die, indicating that there was probably a low thermal resistance path to the heat sink prior to disassembly. The excess paste to the sides will simply further reduce the thermal resistance between the chip carrier and the heat sink. I may be missing something, but it's hard to envision how this lower thermal resistivity between the CPU and the heat sink drives more heat into the case. But it is also possible that the disassembly process destroys evidence of the actual connection to the heat sink, so this failure mode is hard to judge.
The best way to determine if removing the excess paste is actually helping would be to measure the exhaust air temperature from the cooling fans before and after removing the excess paste. I haven't seen such data, but if it were taken, and showed that the exhaust air was at a significantly higher temperature after the fix than before it, then we would know that the fix worked. If not, then the heat is going elsewhere, and it is possible that fix has actually made things worse.
Finally, all the symptoms we're seeing can be explained by poor software calibration and/or incorrect software control of the CPU clock speed. I wouldn't rule out a software fix at his point.
I'm not saying removing the paste is not a fix, only that there are still open questions that remain to be answered. It would be hard for me to recommend that anyone rework an MBP for the thermal problem in the absence of additional data.
For myself, I own an MBP, and though I have access to an electronics lab and some great technicians, I intend to buy Applecare, and in the meantime wait for a fix (or at least more information) from Apple.
Best of luck to everyone who has this issue - thats what we get for being early adopters.
G5 2.5 DP Mac OS X (10.4)
G5 2.5 DP Mac OS X (10.4)
G5 2.5 DP Mac OS X (10.4)
G5 2.5 DP Mac OS X (10.4)
G5 2.5 DP Mac OS X (10.4)
G5 2.5 DP Mac OS X (10.4)

Well I replaced my thermal compound and the temperature on my cpu went down and the temperature of my case went down also. The fans also kick in sooner leaving me to believe that the heat is being properly distributed the heatsink whereas before it was not as there was too much thermal compound making it act like an insulator.
I cannot say if the exhaust air is any hotter, but I know overall my laptop is much more cooler and never gets extremely HOT. Even under heavy loads the areas where it used to get really hot, above f keys, palm area, underneath the MBP are not hot to the point where someone could burn themself at all.
I really do hope that Apple does address this issue because I could not live with the heat before, I always had to hook up an external keyboard because my hands got too sweaty from the palm rest and the keyboard. Now everything is operating like any other laptop I've owned and I am a very satisifed Apple user. Let's hope that Apple is really looking into it and will have a reasonable answers for all MBP users in a reasonable amount of time.

How can I successfully reapply the thermal paste in my MacBook Pro? (2008)

I'm having issues with keeping my computer cool, mainly while playing games like SC2 that require a good amount of power. I've downloaded fan control apps, bought cooling pads (usb powered) and still no luck in cooling this thing down. I recently learned that Apple for some reason applies the thermal paste too thick, which can cause the computers to be a lot hotter than they should be.
I'm not worried about voiding warranty, seeing as I don't even have a warranty. I've already opened it up to upgrade the ram and the hard drive so I know my way around inside there and have the stuff I need in order to do it properly.
What I need to know is where I can get the thermal paste, what kind I need, how it needs to be applied and with what (as well as how to get the old paste off), the steps I need to take in order to get to where this paste is even at inside the computer...etc.
If there's anyone who's already successfully pulled this off, lemme know how you did it and if it helped any. I've read there've been significant temp drops since reapplying it in a lot of these pros, so I'm just interested.

Hi
I’ve yet to remove the heatsinks of the CPU and GPU on my MBP. But I’ve replaced CPU and GPU heatsinks on my PC many times, so hopefully you’ll find my suggestions helpful.
1st use the laptop for a bit to get both the CPU and GPU warmed up so it will be easier to remove the heatsinks.
Remove the back cover and run your hands over the back side of the metal cover few time to get ride of any static charge that might be there (or any unprinted metal surface will do).
Remove the screws and heatsink one at a time. You might find the thermal past dried up (happens when company used cheap past and after computer is used for few years). Use tissues to wipe the past off both cores and heasinks.
You can also buy thermal past remover and clearer such as this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Arctic-Silver-ArctiClean-Material-Purifier/dp/B000BKP306 /ref=pdbxgy_computers_textb
I normally use Arctic Silver Thermal Paste, I found it's the best past around, and everybody I know are happy with it.
There are two ways to apply the past. If your CPU is a Core2Duo, than you can just put a little bit on the center and press down with the heatsink. This is because the 2 cores on the CPU are located near the center of the processor so it does not matter if the edges are not covered with past.
Or if you want to play safe, you can cover the enter CPU with an even thin lay of past using a flat plastic card.
When it comes to thermal past, less is more, you only want little bit to cover up the metal cover on the processor. I say no more than 0.5 mm thick.
Cover the entire GPU with past as well, I’m not sure if the RAMs on your graphic card are cooled by the heatsinks. If they are, you might need some thermal pads for them.
You’ll find the whole process quite easy as long as you take your time. You can found lots of info on this with Google and Youtube.
Good luck and don’t forget to give the heatsinks a clean with a can of compassed air before you put them back on.

Early 2011 MacBook Pro- The thermal paste discussion.

It is my goal to clear up the questions and concerns Apple customers have been having regarding heat or fan related concerns with Early 2011 MacBook Pros. If your MacBook Pro was produced within the last few months the thermal issue has been resolved and it will likely not be in issue for you. If you are still wondering if your computer is effected or what the real issue is keep reading.
The MacBook Cools itself by 2 main methods: active and passive. The active cooling is via a fan that blows air through a heatsync and into a tube called a heat pipe which leads to the back of the computer where the hot air is discharged through a vent at the bottom of the screen behind the hinge. The fan lowers the air pressure inside the case causing outside air is drawn in the case, displacing the hot air inside and helping to cool the other components.
The computer uses passive cooling to remove the residual heat from the processor which comes mostly in the form of radiant heat. Passive cooling is also used to cool the other components of the computer (memory, disk drives, battery etc). Passive cooling works by conductive heat transfer ie. syncing to the case of the computer. Some of the heat then is radiated. Some of it is transferred from the outside of the case via convective cooling; the foot pads on the bottom cover are designed to raise it up just enough to allow air underneath for convection to occur. (Convection is the process in which hot air to rises and is displaced by cooler air.) The rest of the heat from the bottom cover is absorbed by whatever surface you have the computer on.
The processor will not sync to the case very much if the board is assembled properly however the other components of the computer will, requiring the case to be in open air to allow for passive cooling to take place.
If you have some sort of covering such as a plastic snap on case it will likely interfere with passive cooling in all of it's 3 of it forms, this will cause the computer to be abnormally hot. I recently saw someone in the Apple store with a MacBook Air experiencing abnormal heating due to a plastic snap case so this particular problem is not unique to MacBook Pros and it is not the cause of the issue being discussed here. I do not recommend the use or anything that covers the computer while it is running with the exception of something that covers the back of the display panel only. If you are worried about your computer getting damaged go and buy a laptop insurance policy from Worth Ave group. The insurance does not cover cosmetic damage or misplaced items but will cover accidental damage including spills. This insurance also covers theft, vandalism and natural disasters, is quite inexpensive and the claims process and deductible is similar to most phone insurance plans (which they also offer).
User induced overheating can also occur when the computer is placed on an improper surface such as a couch cushion, car seat, bed, pillow etc. Doing this can interfere with both passive and active cooling.
As I mentioned earlier In all likelihood if your computer was produced after May it is not affected. I personally have been in posession of 3 MacBook Pros, one produced before May which had the problem, one after which had no problems and one produced more recently that has mind blowing thermal performance way beyond all of my expectations.
So the question at this point is exactly what is the problem, how can it be diagnosed and how can it be rectified.
After extensive research and testing I have determined the issue to be related to improper application thermal paste. I involuntarily became involved in this pursuit as a result of the problems I was experiencing and I did not initially come at from an objective viewpoint but rather one of cautious skepticism. I had anticipated before purchasing my computer that there may be a thermal issue. This anticipaion came as a result of reading an article on ifixit.com about the disassembly of the brand new early 2011 MacBook Pro. When the technician performing the disassembly removed the main heat sync he expressed concern about how much much thermal paste was present, expressing that it seemed excessive. This lead the technician to question wether or not it would cause heating problems.
Proper application of thermal paste is critical to the functionality of the active cooling system and when applied improperly will not properly transfer the heat to the heat-sync which in turn gets cooled by the fan. Proper application of thermal paste insures the heat is removed from the case as efficiently as possible. Doing this both reduces the speed at which the fan needs to run in a lot of situations and prevents too much heat from the processor needing to be cooled by passive means. If is is not applied properly it will eventually lead to overheating of the case as well as the other components of the computer. This can cause damage firstly to the computer's battery and can also significantly shorten the life computer. (Or any other kind of electronic device for that matter.)
The problem can be diagnosed by testing the computer using a program called System Load or any other software that will put your computers proscessor use up to its maximum and keep it there indefinitely. Placing full load on your GPU at the same time during the test is also recommended. Keep in mind, if you are using your computer the fan will spin up if needed for additional cooling. You should expect the fan go up to its maximum speed during the test, it is not in of itself an indication of a negative result. Make sure to have the computer plugged in, fully charged and on a proper surface. A desk or other flat surface should be fine. Exceptions would include the top of a refrigerator since it has insulation just underneath the metal exterior or any surface that is heated by any means such as a dryer or other appliance.
(The temps to follow are in ºF)
Run the test for up to 1 hour. If the case of the computer breaks 93 degrees your unit is likely affected. Expect the unit to even possibly reach temps approaching and exceeding 100º, if this happens immediately abort the test. Also look for the processor temp shooting up to around 180 in the first 30 seconds and the fan spinning up right away. Typically on a properly functioning unit the temperature of the case will end up being somewhere in the neighborhood of 88-91º. If this test is preformed in a room with a normal ambient room temperature of about 68 degrees. Even after an hour the case of the computer should not be significantly hot, just warm to the touch. On a normally operating unit the fan will start to kick in within 90 seconds or so and may not reach full speed even after several minuets.
At one point the case of my computer actually reached 95º during normal web browsing.
This is a problem that I have had successfully corrected twice by reapplication of thermal paste. The first time was on a machine produced prior to may and the second was after a logic board was replaced at the repair depot. (I suspect the inventory turnover is lower for boards than whole computers resulting in a board from the initial production run being installed in my computer.)
If you forget everything I just wrote remember this. #1 if you are using your computer hard enough the fan will end up running at high speed at some point. #2 This problem is not in any way related to the design of the MacBook Pro, or its use/application. #3 This mostly not a problem of the CPU being too hot; these Sandy Bridge CPUs are rated for 212ºf and will routinely be in the neighborhood of 200º, this is hotter than other chips but well within design limits. #4 I have done everything in my power to make sure that this problem has been corrected and I have every logical and evidenced based reason to believe it has been resolved in machines produced after may. #5 This is not an Apple acknolidged issue. Technicians will tell you that there is no problem because these higher temps are normal and within operating limits and if they weren't the machine would shut itself off. (This is a bit extreme; just like a lot of other devices such as electronics, toaster ovens and space heaters with thermal overload protection this automatic shutoff is intended to occur when damage or risk of fire is imminent because the device is WAY outside of normal operating paramaters.) They will also not tell you when asked what these limits are, that they know what they are or in some cases that such figures they even exsist.
I stake my personal and professional reputation on the accuracy of my findings, it is my job as a private consultant to help my clients to resolve complicated and expensive issues just like this one.
Bottom line if you are having a problem and Apple won't fix it on warranty don't ditch your machine, just pay to have it done yourself. In most cases you can pay have it done at the Apple store. It will probably cost you less than 100.00, and it will not void your warranty as long as the work is done by Apple certified technician. It will be well worth it; after all in spite of this MacBook Pro's are hands down the best portable computers on the market, with an industry leading warranty and support to back it up. On it's worst day Apple's service and support is better than any computer/ consumer electronics company, even on its best day.
I hope this helps to clarify this issue! I also hope it will help anyone affected to resolve the problem instead of resorting to a refund and settling for something else.

hello all
you can try this:
Go to system preferences > settings > built in display > see bottom of window.
check "show mirroring options in the menu bar when available". then click "airplay display" > and select your device.
That's what happened to my MBP - 15-inch, Late 2011 model.

My powerbook will not start! please help! could be due to thermal paste?

I was recently reinstalling the keyboard within my 17' Al Powerbook. Afterwards, the computer booted fine and worked for maybe less than an hour, and then, on a reboot, shut down abruptly before OS X was finished loading. I restarted and was able to log in for several minutes. Now, upon opening the system, I noticed while replacing the RAM door I missed the slot it should fit into and it was put into place below this (which apparently is right over the CPU)...and when I pulled this part out there was some thermal paste along the edge. Looking into this area with a flashlight, the thermal paste seems sort of messy and some is in front of the chip rather than directly on it.
How likely is it that lack/messiness of paste is what is causing this? The battery fully charges within the system and the AC light is on. When I attempt to boot the machine, you can hear the HD, fans, and Superdrive spin for a second but you never see anything on screen.
Another thing that maybe the problem - when reinstalling the keyboard i forgot to replace the adhesive seperating the keyboard mount area and screws from the logic board - the first time the system shut down, I brushed my hand across the newly installed keyboard and the system shut right down. I'm not sure if this caused the overheating CPU to shut down, or if this caused the keyboard to contact with the logic board and I shorted it out and need a new one. I've since replaced this adhesive insulation plastic and the system still won't boot.
Any help would be appreciated. Please leave suggestions. I don't want to lose my mac

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
It sounds like the directions you used weren't clear enough how to do the job right. Send it in for service at one of these places:
http://www.dttservice.com/
http://www.powerbookresq.com/
http://www.microdocusa.com/
http://www.macspecialist.com/
http://www.techrestore.com/
Sometimes there are good instructions on http://www.ifixit.com/ or http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/ If you found the instructions weren't good at either of those places, please do write them so they are aware of the problem and others aren't stuck having to mail their machines to a shop.

Can a bubble in thermal paste make CPU temp range 39ºC-60ºC?

Hello.
I've read the postits above and they say 45 ºC idle is very likely the heatsink spreader is not properly seated or the temperature is wrong.
But, what if idle temp is about 39 on the heatsink (meassured with a termometer) and the bios says CPU temp is 39? Does that mean I did well with thermal paste and heatsink? Does that mean the motherboard is reading the righ temperature?
It could look like I am asking a very easy question, but I feel it is not. Just go on reading.
I need to know if BIOS does actually provide the rigth temp because:
When the system heats up due to CPU under heavy load, CPU temp goes up to 50-55 ºC sometimes even close to 60 ºC. Could that mean there is an air bubble within the thermal paste but it is too small to interfere when cold enough (40ºC) but big enough when warm (50ºC) lowering heatsink performance and rising CPU temp up to 60 ºC?
Also sys temp is very high. It never gets below 50 ºC but I do not know where that sys temp is taken, and as I have the NB-fan connector conected to the power supply fan, I do not know what that sys temp means. :(
Room temp is around 25 ºC.
It does boot OS and I can actually play games (heavy load for graphics card and CPU). All readings I take were got from CoreCenter application at stock settings (Vcore 1.42 - FSB 201 - Mem volt 2.5 - AGP volt 1.5).
I am afraid of having done a nice job with thermal paste. I know (just read it here) I could easily fry the CPU if not, and I feel 55-60 ºC is too much, isn't it? Of course if BIOS readings are right.
BTW. Here follow details on the system:
CPU: AMD 64 3000+ NewCastle
CPU Family/Model/Step: 15.12.0
Thermal compound: Artic Silver 5
CPU Heatsink: Thermaltake Silent Boost K
Motherboard: MSI K8N Platinum
Motherboard BIOS: 1.4 (08/26/2004)
Graphics Card: Sapphire ATI Radeon 9800 SE AIW (not modded in any way)
Power Supply: Enermax 465 W [EG-465AX-VE(W)FMA]
Case: Lian Li PC-V1000
Mem, hdd, dvd-rw, floppy and D-bracket are present but did not feel necesary to provide details on them.
Thanks

Well, if your heatsink is cold and your CPU temp on BIOS is hot there are two possible reassons:
[list=1]
BIOS 1.4 does not guarantee accurate CPU temp readings
Heatsink is not properly seated on the CPU or thermal paste has bubbles within[/list=1]
But that is not my situation. I do know CPU readings are accurate when it shows 39 ºC because I actually used a termometer in contact with the heatsink to meassure it.
What I am not sure is if that accuracy is so when the CPU is hot (>50ºC) as it is when cold (

Whether or not to change stock thermal paste on early 2009 unibody 17" MBP CPU?

I have a first generation (early 2009) unibody 17" MBP, now out of warranty / Apple Care. It's been working fine in general, however I've been increasingly concerned about the CPU temps when I encode with Hand Brake, and some times when doing things in VMWare (Win XP) and in OS X at the same time. Under those two sets of circumstances, my CPU temp (as read out by iStat Menus 3) routinely hits 100 C. (I've never seen it hotter than 102 - 103, it'll hang around 100 for a while, then eventually cool down to mid 90's as a new equilibrium seems to be reached. Will hang there until the processor intensive task is done, then quickly cool off.) Generally idles in the 40's.
I've looked and looked, and found no reassuring consensus on whether or not changing the stock Apple glob of thermal grease for a thin application of Arctic Silver will help this situation. I've found as many no's as yes's on the matter, and about as many different views on the details of MBP cooling as posters expressing them.
So, what I'm really looking for is whether or not anyone's collected a lot of data points on the subject, and can paint any sort of trend based upon a large denominator of users reporting their experiences. I did find links to a website that apparently did this in 2005, or thereabouts, but all those links are dead, and that was well before the dawn of the unibody anyway.
Was wondering if anyone knew of a source of knowledge on this issue that draws from more than educated hypothesis, or one's own experiences.
I'm already planning on routinely jacking up the fan speeds when doing these CPU heavy tasks, and I elevate the computer off the table to help with ventilation. Also, I've seen several people say that the CPU was made to handle these temps, however, I looked at the Intel data sheets on these processors (<http://download.intel.com/design/mobile/datashts/32012001.pdf>, page 102), and the max tjunction temp is 105C, which I'm getting awfully close to whenever I encode.
Thank you!
early 2009 17" MBP (very good condition)
2.93 Core 2 Duo
8 GB RAM
750 GB HD
latest Lion

I say go for it. About a year ago I had to replace the fan system on my old Dell i8200. To do that I had to take the complete system apart. So while I had everything out of the case, laying there in pieces/parts (including taking the heatsink system completely off the CPU/GPU) I cleaned everything and applied Arctic Silver to both CPU/GPU. System ran cooler then the first day I took it out of the box new.
Personally I would disregard the comment above. Yes you can use WAY to Much thermal paste but if you cover the complete CPU with a thin even layer (even if it is a little to much) it will still work fine, as long as you move the heatsink around when resetting it to even it all out.
From reports from other Mac users, the one that have Baked there logic boards to fix the 2008 NVidia problem that Apple refuses to stand up for, that when they took there systems apart there was thermal paste everywhere. Clearly Apple assemblers think that if a little is good a whole bunch is better. Which isn't the case. But what do they care. The assemblers need something like Macdonald's has for dispensing Ketchup. One squirt and you always get the same amount.
Go For It.
Good Luck.

Reapplied the thermal paste, now the fans kick in too early - downgrade FW?

First of all, I have not forgotten to attach the temp sensor as previously mentioned. I was quite lucky that everything went well.
My MBP is now 60 C top at almost full load (doing video at 80% load) and runs 48 in idle.
Which is incredible but it's also loud. Even when idle the fans run faster than the minimal speed, which is obviously caused by better heat conductance. When under load the fans quickly begin to spin full speed. As I said I havn't topped the 60 C mark yet.
Partly I think this has to do with the SMC firmware update, as Apple tweaked the fans to spin up earlier.
What I'm looking for is a way to get the old threshold setting back (the one before the smc firmware update). So that my MBP is as cold as possible but also more quiet than now.
And I read that there is a way of editing some powermanagment settings in order to change the threshold but havn't been able to google it.

Maybe it's my english, but the fans don't go full speed all the time. Now as I barely started the MBP and just surfed the internet a bit, I have fans running at their minimum.
And they stay on minimum as long as I don't do any harder work. Let's say start playing iTunes with visualization on.
As for the skills. I'm not professionally trained, but I've been building my own PCs for a couple of years now. Never laptops, obviously, as they come already built. And yes I also have a copy of the Service Manual that was floating around. I think I tend to infrom myself very carefully before doing any such work. That's probably I'm a medical student, which brings us to thermodynamics.
Apple defenitely applied too much termal paste, which has the effect that instead of filling in only the microscopic spaces of air between the heatsink and CPU, the thermal paste actually forms a layer between the CPU and heatsink. And generally speaking the thermal grease is a worse conductor than the CPU/Heatsink junction, but still much better than small spaces of air that would be between the CPU and Heatsink if no thermal paste was applied.
Strangely my girlfriend has a MBP which doesn't get as hot as mine. But her was bought in august, mine in april, so Apple might have looked into the problem themself.
About the Apple support thing:
I'm from Slovenia, the official Apple seller ( www.epl.si ) has a very rude way of customer support. Luckily I live very near the Austrian border, so I bought my MBP in Austria.
Well it seems to me that controlling the fans isn't yet possible on the MBP, as noone was able to point into any direction.

Does the MacBook have the thermal paste "problem"?

I'm really thinking about saving up my money to get a MacBook, but with all of the thermal paste "problems" with the MacBook Pro, I'm not sure if the MacBook has the same problems. Has anyone with a MacBook taken it apart and examined the thermal paste? I'm hoping that Apple has chnaged their instructions on how much thermal paste to apply in the MacBooks and MacBook Pros. If anyone has done this, or knows of any place on the web with pics of the MacBook taken apart, I would love to hear about it. Thanks in advance!
-MRCUR
Message was edited by: MRCUR

Some people have encountered very excessive amounts of paste on the MacBook as well, and one person out of curiosity went into his 12 inch Powerbook and found it glopped on there too -- and of course a healthy improvement in the thermal performance of the computer once it was done properly. Seems to be an ongoing Apple problem -- but not necessarily a problem in every machine, as some people have found much less excessive paste application and only a minimal improvement in thermal performnce after reapplying.
The MacBook is very much easier to disassemble than the other machines in part because the logic board and heat sink faces up and therefore you do not need to remove the logic board, but do please note that if you do take it apart, any damage that is deemed to have resulted from your repair will not be covered.

Reapply thermal paste? Last gen black MacBook fans running.

Hi.
I have a black MacBook (MacBook4,1) that seems to get pretty hot sometimes. It happens even when I'm not running Illustrator, Aperture, or Photoshop. It can also happen when I visit a site without flash.
I had to replace the top case last year because someone poured water into the keyboard.
I'm thinking I may have ruptured or otherwise unseated the heatsinks, which may have displaced some of the thermal paste's contact with the heatsink. The computer was purchased in early 2008, so it's kind of old.
Would it benefit me to replace the thermal paste between the processor and the heatsink? How much of a pain is it to do that?

My computer is a bit older than yours and I have never seen that problem with this machine.
Have you checked Activity Monitor (Applications>Utilities) to see if any processes are using more than 30% of your CPU?
~Lyssa

Laptop doesn't turn on after re-assembly and replacing thermal paste. Please help!

Hi,
I hope anyone can help me. I took apart my laptop HP HDX16 to replace thermal paste and clean up the fan. I did everything very carefully as showed in manual. I cleaned the old paste and pads off and replaced thermal paste but not the pads as someone in the store suggested that there is no need for putting pads and that the thermal compound is enough to have it on there. I left only one pad on the heat sink in place where it services Northbridge as it was in good condition. On the Northbridge itself I put thermal compound as well as on the GPU and CPU. I put back every screw and connected each cable as it was before (I am pretty sure about it). I was quite happy with my job but after I tried to turn the computer on it wouldn't start at all. Did I do something wrong? Please help me because I don't have any idea what to do now.

I am a little confused here, it sounds like you removed all the thermal pads except for one, if this is so, you need to put all the thermal pads back in place.
Anyways aside from that, if you plug the adapter in you will have a steady light where it plugs into the laptop. The light will always be on whether the machine is booted up or not.
If you don't have a steady light then you need to check the DC receptor where it plugs into the MoBo. Sometimes a cable may look like it's fully seated, but isn't. It still will boot up with the battery in place even if the DC jack plug is not correctly seated.
Check the small ribbon cable on the power button board where it connects into the MoBo.
Check that the processor is correctly aligned with it's key and that the locking mechanism is fully locked.
Make sure the RAM is seated correctly.
If these suggestions sound obvious, I have to start some where.
The problem here is that only you can help your self because you disassembled you machine, I can only make suggestions as what you may have missed and obviously something was missed.
If your thinking that you incorrectly applied the thermal paste, then that's not the problem. Even if there were no thermal pads or paste in place, the machine would still boot up, but it would heat up very quickly.
If the fan plug was plugged in incorrectly you would get a message in the BIOS upon boot up saying that the fan has a problem and it would shut down, but it sound like it's not even getting that far.
There is also a secondary fan that is used to cool the hard drive bays, check that plug as well. You may not get a BIOS message if this fan is not plugged in.
Here is the HP Media Services Library, you may find it helpful. Make sure you're signed in before clicking on the link.
http://h20574.www2.hp.com/default.htm?lang=en&cc=US&hpappid=psml
If you need help with the library, post again, give the video page time to load, the small video screen may stay black for a little while.

HP Pavilion ZV5000z thermal Paste

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