Thermal paste and cooling

Okay so I am making a switch to a new note book cpu (the t9600) and of course since it's a step up I am going to be a little overly cautious as far as cooling is concerned. I saw an article that said Intels stock thermal paste was actually better than theArtic Silvers. I am curious what goes into looking for a good thermal paste? Secondly, cooling systems for laptops. I hate those mats, but may decide to use one. I also saw a vacuum do hickey (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Notebook-Laptop-Vacuum-USB-Case-Cooling-Fan-Cooler-Pad-/220948357741?pt=LH_D... and I kind of like the concept and overall design but wonder if worth the money put into it or if it's just waste? On a more curious note with the fan. I want to get peoples opinions on that fan. It's more hypothetical from my stand point but if anybody has experiance I welcome it. That fan mentioned and my laptop the thinkpad t500. The t500 has to heat exhaust ports on the left hand corner one on the side and one on back. I think the cpu is pretty close to the one on the side. I am curious about airflow if adding two of those things assuming they are worth it (and despite severly reduced battery life)

T9600 in a T500 isn't going to cause your laptop to melt down. I have a T9900 in my current T500, and it is working just as well as when i had the P8600.
These vacuum cooler are pretty much useless in these large thinkpads, and sometimes will cause other issues. Some of these external plug in fans can cause a path crossover between the directional flow of the cool intake air and the hot exhaust air, thus causing an area with stagnant air pocket, which means it will actually cause more harm than good.
Regards,
Jin Li
May this year, be the year of 'DO'!
I am a volunteer, and not a paid staff of Lenovo or Microsoft

Similar Messages

Reapply thermal paste and get more noise?

Hi guys, from what I read, reapplying thermal paste reduces the heat but makes the fans go on much faster.
For those who reapplyed it, does it go on too often or only when processor is used at a certain level (say, 50%)?
Thanks!

T9600 in a T500 isn't going to cause your laptop to melt down. I have a T9900 in my current T500, and it is working just as well as when i had the P8600.
These vacuum cooler are pretty much useless in these large thinkpads, and sometimes will cause other issues. Some of these external plug in fans can cause a path crossover between the directional flow of the cool intake air and the hot exhaust air, thus causing an area with stagnant air pocket, which means it will actually cause more harm than good.
Regards,
Jin Li
May this year, be the year of 'DO'!
I am a volunteer, and not a paid staff of Lenovo or Microsoft

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

Thermal paste and mb replacement

has any one who reapplied the thermal paste tried to call apple to ask for a MB replacement(for getting rid of the whine)? would apple allow it?

The thermal paste issue is not considered a problem that needs repair. Thankfully, it does impact performance drastically, although one must ask why a company that prides itself on quality would allow a contracter to provide motherboards with CPU's floating in grease. I am guessing it was the rapid roll-out, and the fact that these "high end" machines are produced in mainland China, not Taiwan or other locations. I have a replaced logic board and a replaced battery. My laptop is significantly warped. I wont complain further.
My plea is for all of us to hold Apple to it's warranty. Thankfully, I puchased AppleCare, which obviously will be neeed. I hope for some sort of recall, and a dramatic focus on the next MacBook Pro that demonstrates correction of these problems. Having them built in mainland China is a profit move, not one for quality. Far better manufacturers exist in Taiwan. let's see what happens. If nothing does, I think that the free market will speak. Apple has not increased it's share of the laptop market. If they don't get this act together, I can say tha there will be one less purchase in the future. I really want Apple to succeed, but it won't happen if they cannot address their niche 3% market with a machine that is worth the "Apple Premium".

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.

MSI GT683 Cooling - Thermal Pads and Mod

Hi,
I have a MSi GT683 notbook. Sometime ago i upgraded the GPU (https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=168610) and because of that i started to have some problems that turned out to be caused by the power supply not being strong enough (https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=172580).
Now i bought a new power supply but i am afraid that it will get my temps too high, so i want to do a maintenance of the notebooks cooling (change thermal paste and thermal pads) and maybe mod it a little bit.
But i have some doubts that i need some help with.
First, what thermal pad thickness should i use on the GPU? I changed the GPU from a 560M to a 675M and bought the appropriate heat sink.
Second, can i cut a hole in the underside of the notebook so that the cooling fan can get more air?
This is where i am thinking of cutting the hole:
It will be a small hole, that i will cover with a mesh to keep dust out, directly above the fan.
And i am going to buy this notebook cooler (http://www.coolermaster.com/mobile/notepal-series/notepal-u-stand/) which i probably going to mod changing and adding more powerful and quieter fans.
What do you guys think?

actually cutting a hole under there is useless w.o cooling pad but if you can build up or find a good cooling pad which directly push cool air thru that hole then it makes some changes.... i have went thru lots of forums, sites and any other informative places about modding notebook cooler and found out that best cooling method is that little bit alluminum + cooling pad + remove the whole lower case will give you 50-60C when your on full load.... so i tested out whichever method i have read and heard... adding alluminum on the both thermal parts on gpu and cpu w.o removing lower case and putting cooling pad under it gave me higher temp than normal... so i remove the lower case and put it on cooling pad 10 - 15C decrease than normal but i dont use my nb as station so its not for me... then i removed alluminum blocks and put the lower case back and put on a cooling pad gave me 5-6C lower temp... then i drilled some holes where you are planning to cut holes with 0.3 and put it on cooling pad then i got 9-13C lower temp normal and i tested it w.o cooling pad then i got exactly same temp as before cutting hole on the lower case... so i think that cutting hole under fan makes less air circulate is bias understanding and for my case its proven for me... so i am advising you to cut a hole there but not a big one use 0.3 drill that will give you some manufacture like clean cuts...
also refer to this fix http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/674825-improving-p170em-7970m-gpu-cooling-performance-foiled.html
i know msi fan is not loose as clevo but it helped me lower some 2 3C

New Motherboard Replace: Part Numbers? and thermal paste?

I am replacing a new motherboard in my computer
-How do I take off the old thermal paste from the CPU and fan, do I use a paper towel? Or is there something safer?
-And how do I put on the new thermal paste and how much of it should I put on the CPU?
-Also what is the difference between a motherboard that reads on it in the middle:
MCP61PM-HM REV:2.2
15-V06-012200
and another motherboard that reads:
MCP61PM-HM REV:2.2
15-V06-01221
basically that last number on each motherboard, what does it mean and what's the difference between each motherboard?

Otwa, welcome to the forum.
Here is a very good video to help you with removing the thermal paste:
It is basically an advertisement for Arctic Silver products, but Paul from Newegg always does a great job of making a guide. I have been an overclocker for years and have always used Arctic Silver products. The two part kit of remover is new to me and something to try next time I replace the paste on a CPU.
I believe that there should be another number in 15-V06-01221. It should be 12201. If this is correct, I may be able to answer your questions.
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**Click the Thumbs Up+ to say 'Thanks' and the 'Accept as Solution' if I have solved your problem.**
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Thermal Paste Study and Conclusion

This is a good article discussing the re-application of thermal paste, and comparisons. Check it out...........
http://www.macgeekery.com/hacks/hardware/thedefinitive_macbook_pro_thermalroundup

And the answer is....
The short version is that reapplication helps… but I’m not sure it helps enough to bother with.
Nice. That's simple enough, then. Let's all move on.

Thermal paste question?

Just ordered my small pile of parts for a new NLE build.
I'm trying to hunt down weather or not Thermal paste is included in any of the parts.
I7-2600K?
Asus Motherboard?
Aftermarket coolermaster cooler?
If not included, does anybody have any suggestions for wich to buy?
Thanks
James

James,
There is no more than a couple of degrees C difference between the included thermal paste and most of the aftermarket pastes.The stock thermal paste, when correctly applied to the Hyper 212 Plus (you need to fill in the gaps between the heat pipes of the cooler's base and a little dab on the CPU), should be good for an overclock up to around 4.5 GHz or so.

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 (

Equium A60 Overheating Issues - thermal paste fix

Hi,
Recently, I have been experiencing the same overheating problems seen by many others on this forum. I even discovered this forum by looking for a fix for the problem.
**This posting is to be used as a guide only - repairs are undertaken at your own risk**
Now, my laptop is sitting beside me, idling at about 50 degrees - which is a massive improvement over the 64 degrees it was running at yesterday!
To solve this, I used the method of blowing out all of the dust from the vents (covered in numerous posts in this forum). However, I also ventured to take apart the laptop and give it a THOROUGH clean. This is quite a long, complicated process - but not beyond everyone. Firstly - I used this guide found here to disassemble the laptop - http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/ToshibaA65/satA65_1.htm - be careful to retain *ALL* parts removed!
Once this is completed, you will be left with the main board exposed. After this, I undid the screws holding the TFT on the hinge, and separated it from the chassis, so it was in two parts. I then carefully removed the TFT connector from its place on the motherboard. There is a tiny screw, securing an extra wire from the TFT ribbon to the chassis - I left this on, as I couldn?t remove it! Next, I removed the ribbon for the touchpad (with caution!), and carefully lifted the whole silver plastic part, right off of the chassis. Next, I disconnected the power switch from the motherboard - and completely took off the plastic part.
Now the whole heatsink assembly will be displayed. From here, it gets slightly more complicated - and involves removing your heatsink, and processor chip. If you are not willing to do this, or just think that you don?t want to fiddle around with the 'inner workings' - then have a good clean around the parts that are exposed, and replace all the parts which you have taken out. For people who are having worse overheating problems - the following steps did work for me quite well.
Exposed will be the heatsink and fan assembly. The silver screws on the metal heatsink are numbered - and I took these off sequentially. Next, I disconnected the fan power cables, and removed the screw to the far right of the large fan. The heatsink assembly should now lift clear of the chassis, exposing the processor assembly. Next, I took the processor off of the chassis. You should now have a processor, and a heatsink in front of you. On both should be a gunky, grey paste. This is known as thermal paste, and provides heat dispersion from the chip, to the heatsink. On my parts, the paste had bubbled from the heat, and shifted to the sides of the chip - away from where it was needed most. Now, I didn?t actually have any spare paste when I took it apart last night - so I got a guitar plectrum, and smoothed the paste from heatsink and chip, on to the surface of the chip. Once I covered the chip in a level amount of paste, I placed it back in the chassis, and refitted the heatsink. Finally, I replaced everything I had taken out - and the laptop powers on fine.
I realise that this might not work for everyone - I had nothing to do last night, and this was a last ditch attempt to improve the heat management of this laptop. Luckily for me it worked. I am looking into getting some thermal paste today, so that I can do a proper application of paste on to the chip before I re-assemble it again.
Obviously, if you have a warranty on the laptop, it is not a good idea to open it up, and perform this method. I only recommend people who are confident at performing this procedure to attempt it - it?s not dangerous - but you can mess up the insides of the laptop/ your processor, if you are not careful.
Good luck!
Sam

Thanks for the kudos.
Yes - just to re-illiterate - Do Not attempt this procedure if you do not feel confident, or have no experience. If in any doubt, find your nearest Toshiba service centre, and take it there. There is a potential to cause damage to the laptop if you do something wrong whilst having the chassis open.
Also, if the laptop is still under warrenty opening the cover and performing this procedure will void the warrenty

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.

Thermal paste reapplication - myths and facts

I've decided today that i've had enough of sweating while working with my MacBook and shoving thick magazines under it whenever i carry it somewhere etc., so i assembled all the needed supplies and tools and went to work.
The results are... Well... positive, though not what many people out there expect. Removing the mess Apple made and reaplying the paste isn't a magic bullet that solves everything and beats a few laws of thermodynamics along the way. It, however, does make the machine more usable. Here are a few observations:
1) What a mess! Not only was there too much thermal paste, but it was the worst, cheapish kind and it all dried up!
2) The heatsinks are also cheap and messy. Very badly polished, with numerous surface flaws. Retention mechanism also leaves a lot to be desired.
3) Air flow is bad and completely nonsensical. Everything before the "aluminum era" made sense. AlBooks and MacBooks don't, because apple moved the connectors and ports to the sides, eliminating two vents in the process.
4) Apple's iMessy Paste (TM) IS the reason top surfaces heat up on some machines, after all! Instead of being absorbed by the heat pipe assembly, it accumulates in the casing and (probably much worse) the motherboard itself.
5) Don't expect an enormous drop in CPU core temperatures, especially under max. load. 5 deg C less, tops, is what you'll probably get. Do, however, expect considerably lower case and idle temperatures - i get about 30-45 deg C idling and up to 75 deg C under max. load.
6) The top surfaces around keyboard are quite comfortable now, even when cores are at 75 deg C for prolonged periods of time. The part between the keyboard and the screen is still as hot as before, but you never put your fingers there, so it's not a problem.
7) Machine cools down after heavy load considerably faster now. It goes down from 75 to 60 in about 5-10 seconds, then to 50 in about a minute or two.
8) Fans work exactly the way they did before the whole ordeal. They are idling at minimum RPM until about 75-80 deg C, at which point they start reving up slowly until the core temperatures go down to 65-70. Then they return to idle mode.
9) Temperature probe placement is a bit weird. One of them sits on the heat pipe, which makes sense, the other on the back of MacBook Pro casing itself. Wouldn't it be logical for that second probe to override and engage the fans when case temperatures get to high?
That's about it. Sorry for a longish post, hope this helps someone...

Did some further testing, so here's an update...
Ambient temp.: 24 deg C (wooO! temperatures finally dropped!)
Power profile: Best Performance
Power supply: Internal (battery)
Machine: 2.0 GHz MBP, 2 GB RAM, 256 MB VRAM, Week 12
Load: 2 x "yes > /dev/null"
10 minutes since startup, Idle, battery meter says 4:25 left:
http://o.orcinus.googlepages.com/MBPidle1.jpg
16 minutes since startup, Full Load, battery meter says 1:22 left:
http://o.orcinus.googlepages.com/MBP_load.jpg
20 minutes since startup, Idle, battery meter says 3:56 left:
http://o.orcinus.googlepages.com/MBPidle2.jpg
Given enough time, the core temperatures go back down to around 43-45 deg C.
Unfortunately, i wasn't farsighted enough to record the graphs before the surgery
Interesting thing... During the whole test, the fans never reved up higher than maybe 25% full speed. I could barely hear them. It occured to me that maybe something was wrong, that i may have left a fan cable loose and it disconnected or something, but they DO kick in when i run the hardware test from the DVD, so it's definately not that. Weird.
MacBook Pro, PowerBook Ti Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Thermal paste for i7 3930k to Nuctua CPU cooler?

I'm considering using Arctic silver 5 as the thermal interface between my 3930k and Nuctua NH-DI4 SE 2011 cooler. Is Arctic silver 5 a good choice? (The 3930k will be overclocked).
I was to use Liquid Ultra , but Coolaboratory somehow botched my order, so it might not arrive for some weeks now.
A store nearby store has Arctic silver 5 in stock, and I could pick some up today, if it's a suitable thermal paste for my build.

That is what I bought when I built my computer... older, so mine is not a 3930, but the paste still works well
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007
With over 5 thousand people giving it 5 of 5 "eggs" I would say it is very good

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.

Thermal paste and cooling

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